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ATTWOOD, THOMAS. 



AUBIONE, THEODORE, AQRIPPA D 1 . 



evident that Aturet od hi. coadjutor*. UM Jesuits, Caetiglione and 

 Sikelbar, paid too much deference to the teete of the Chinese to 

 satisfy that of the Europeans. The emperor created Attiret * man- 

 darin, but by his position M a Jesuit it was impossible for him to 

 assume the distinction. H. died at Pekins;. December, 1 7, 1 768. aged 

 66, and the emperor gar* 200 ounce* of silver townl the expense of 

 hi. burial (' Extrait d'une Letire da P*re Amiot, da 1 Mars, 1700, 

 de Peking, contenant rflage do Fr*re Attiret,' 4c., inserted in the 

 Journal dee Scavana.' for June, 1771.) 



ATTWOOD, THOMAS, an eminent mtuioal oompOMT, equally 

 distinguished bj hi. production! for toe church, the chamber, and 

 the theatre, was born in 1705, and commenced hit professional 

 education a* one of UM ' children of the Chapel Royal,' under Dr. 

 Kara*, and hi* successor Dr. Ayrton. On the change of hU voice, 

 an J consequent retirement from the king's service, he wu cent abroad 

 I y and at the expenee of hit patron, the Prince of Wales, for the 

 purpose of completing his (tadiee in the schools of Italy. At Naples 

 he continued two years, and afterwards proceeded to Vienna, where 

 he became a pupil of Mozart, with whom he formed an intimacy 

 which led to a daily intercourse, and to the imparting not only the 

 usual information, but also a knowledge of those deeper recesses of 

 the art which seldom, if ever, is, or can be, communicated in the 

 course of ordinary lessons. This happy result is manifest in all 

 AUwood's secular compositions, and was recognised by the great 

 matter, who said according to the report of Michael Kelly, the 

 singer " Attwood partakes more of my style than any pupil I ever 

 had," (Kelly's ' Reminiscences.') 



Soon after his return to his native country, Attwood's royal patron 

 made him one of his chamber musicians, an appointment however 

 which he soon relinquished. On the arrival of the Duchess of York 

 in this country, he became her ' miuieal preceptor; ' and on the ill- 

 fated marriage of the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.) he 

 gave almost daily lesrani in music to the princess. His conscientious 

 performance of this duty subsequent to the public estrangement, gave 

 *frtl'i to his patron, who for sereral years after made his resentment 

 Mi 



In 1795 he was elected organist of St. Paul's cathedral, and in the 

 following year, on tbe death of Dr. Dupuia, he was appointed com- 

 poser to the Chapels Royal For the solemnity of tbe coronation of 

 U-orge IV.. be wa* required officially to compose an anthem, when he 

 produced ' The King shall Rejoic.-,' a grand work, which has since 

 been beard and admired in all parti of the kingdom. This restored 

 him to the favour of his early protector, who appointed him organist 

 of his private chapel at Brighton. For the coronation of William IV., 

 Mr. Attwood composed the anthem, ' Lord, grant the Kiug a long 

 life,' another great work, and in all respects equal to the former. In 

 1837 hi- was, without solicitation, appointed by the Biahop of London 

 to succeed Mr. SUfford Smith in the office of organirt of the Chapels 

 Royal In March of tbe following year he died, and his remains were 

 deposited in St. Paul's cathedral, under his own organ, with every 

 honour that the church to which he belonged, the choirs of the Royal 

 Chapel and Westminster Abbey, and the mot distinguished members 

 of his profession, could confer. 



Mr. AUwood's compositions are numerous and of great merit. His 

 (lees and <ong were, and many still are, very popular ; and his cathe- 

 dral works unite the elegance of the modern school with the becoming 

 sobriety of Kngluh church music. 

 'uN. 1)' 



AUBENTOS. l>'. (D'AOBKXTOK.I 



AUBER, DANIEL FRANCOIS ESPRIT, wu born at Caen on 

 the 19th of January, 1 784. He was educated with a view to his taking 

 in due time the management of bis father's business, that of a print 

 seller, at Paris. At tbe age of twenty he was sent to London for tbe 

 purpose of acquiring commercial knowledge, but returned to Paris on 

 the rupture of tbe treaty of Auiiena. By this time he had conceived 

 strong dislike to oommurcia] pursuit*, but he did not relinquish them 

 until his father's death, which occurred some fourteen yean later. 

 ure hours were however devoted chiefly to the study of music, 

 ln associate* including a Urge number of eminent professional and 

 amateur musicians. He soon became known in private circles by the 

 eompositioo of various short pieces for the violin, violoncello, and piano- 

 fort*. He is said by M. Donne-Baron to have composed about this 

 period for Us friend Umare, the celebrated violoncello player, all the 

 pieoee which appeared under the name of Lamare. A concerto for the 

 violin excited e strong sensation at the Conservatoire de Muaique, 

 where it was played by Maxaa. Stimulated by the applause of his 

 friends, M. Auber at length essayed tbe composition of an opera, which 

 was pUred with success at the private theatre of the Prince de Chimay. 

 Bat be had now become aware that bis studies bad been too superficial, 

 and be placed himself under the tutelage of Cherubini with great 

 advantage to his future style. 



He made hie first appeal to the public judgment in 1813 in a comic 

 open, in one act, entitled ' Le Sejour Militaire,' which was played at 

 the Theatre Feydeau, but received so coldly that Auber did not again 

 appear as a composer for seven! yean. But the death of his father 

 and severe reraises of fortune led him to adopt music as a profession, 

 giving lessons on the piano whilst he set about the composition of 

 another one-act opera for the Opera Comique. This was ' Le Testa- 

 ment et lee Billets Doux,' produced in 1819, and with no more success 



than the former. But Auber could not now afford to refrain from 

 composition out of ill-humour with the public ; he therefore speedily 

 made another venture in a three-act opera entitled ' La Bergcre Chate- 

 laine,' which was produced at the Opera Comique in 1820 with entire 

 success. From this time every year at least one, often two, and some- 

 times three operas varying in length from one to five acts appeared 

 from tbe pen of this prolific composer, and in almost every instance 

 commanded a fair share of public applause. Several of his operas, as 

 is well known, have ranked among the iao*t popular of his time ; and 

 some, as the ' Muette de Portici' (Maaaniello), ' Fra Diavolo,' and one 

 or two others, have taken their place as stock pieces in the chief opera- 

 houses of Europe. 



From nearly the period of M. Auber' s regularly devoting himself to 

 his art, his works have been marked by a decided originality and 

 b-illianoy which have won for them general favour, except of course 

 with those musical partisans who can only tolerate a particular school 

 of composition. The culminating point of his genius perhaps, as 

 regards sustained power, elevation, brilliancy, and breadth of style and 

 effect, was attained in hu ' Muette de Portici,' which was produced for 

 the first time at the Grand Opera, Paris, in 1828. The works in which 

 he has most successfully aimed to sustain his reputation u a composer 

 of the higher order are 'Fra Diavolo' (1830), 'Oustavu. III.' (1833), 

 'Lestooq' (1834), 'Le Domino Noir' (1887), and -Haydee' (1847). 

 But in the long list of works which followed the ' Muette de Portici ' 

 none perhaps have appeared which have not displayed the hand of a 

 master, however unequal they may have been in conception, originality 

 of thought, and artistic finish; and some are regarded by eminent 

 musicians as even more decidedly works of genius, or more masterly 

 in execution, than either ' Fra Diavolo' or ' La Muette.' 



Auber has received a fair share of honorary as well aa more sub- 

 stantial rewards. Besides those decorations which commonly fall to 

 the lot of the more eminent savants and artists of the continent, he 

 was elected in 1829 a member of the Institute, section of the Fine 

 Arts ; in 1842 be succeeded Cherubim as director of the Conservatoire 

 de Musiqne ; and during the reign of Louis Philippe he was director 

 of the court concert*. 



(iV<meU< Biograpkie UtuvtndU, where ii a complete list of his 

 works ; Fetio, Bioyrapkit dtt Ituiiciau.) 



AUBlONfc, MERLE D 1 . H'ADBioHt] 



AUBIUNE, THEGDOltE AORIPPA D', the Huguenot historian 

 of his time, was born on February 8, 1550, at St. Maury, in the pro- 

 vince of Saintonge. The utmost care waa bestowed upon D'Aubignd's 

 education, and some very absurd stories are told by liimnelf and others 

 of his early proficiency in the Latin. Greek, and Hebrew languages. 

 Hit father wai a bold and turbulent Hiwuenot, and bad been engaged 

 in the conspiracy of Amboise. While conducting his son to Paris they 

 passed through this town. Perceiving the heads of his brother con- 

 spirators still exposed over the gates, the elder b'Aubigne' adjured his 

 son " never to spare his bead, in order to avenge those noble victim* ;" 

 an exhortation which was not lost upon the son. After some time 

 spent in the colleges of the capital, young D'Aubigntf was obliged to 

 By from persecution. He succeeded in escaping to Orleans, where, in 

 tbe ensuing siege, his father received a wound, of which be died. He 

 was then placed for two yean under the superintendence of De Beie 

 at Geneva. Here, and afterwards at Lyons, he pursued a singular 

 course of study, consisting of the Rabbins, Pindar, mathematics, and 

 magic, the latter with the resolve of never making use of it. At the 

 breaking out of the third civil war he eaeapcd from his guardian, who 

 had endeavoured to detain him, and joined the Huguenot bands, which, 

 in 1567, had assembled in the south of France, and with whom he 

 remained through 1568, enduring many dangers, resulting in fever 

 which had nearly proved fatal. 



When peace returned, love put poetry into his head, and awakened 

 his scribbling propensities, but these again were put to flight by the 

 massacre of St llartholomew. Soon afterwards he entered the st- rvice 

 of the king of Navarre, the future Henry the Fourth. Thus installed 

 at court, D'Aubigne' rendered himself remarkable for his boldness, 

 talent, oddity, and impertinence. He abounded in repartee his 

 hands were full of quarrels. He wrote a tragedy called ' Circe,' and 

 seems to have excited some admiration but little friendship. As a 

 partisan however, I)'Aubign<< was valuable, and as such Henry of 

 Navarre both priced and used him. When war broke out D'Aubignu 

 accompanied the armies, and even shared in the personal adventures 

 of the prince. Tbe king of Navarre had little wherewith to reward 

 such service, and D'Aubigno' took advantage of his familiarity with 

 the prince to puth his frankness to insolence : he vented his discon- 

 tent in sarcasms, and at hut wore out the patience of the best-natured 

 of kings and companion*. He Quitted the service of Henry in 1677. 

 Soon after he fell in love with Mademoiselle de Lezay, married her, 

 and rejoined the king of Navarre, but the influence of hii former 

 enemies again drove him from court In order to be av.-nged, he 

 determined to turn Catholic if possible a resolve that he ingenuously 

 avows ; and he betook hinuelf to the perusal of tbe contrm 

 writen of that party, among whom Bellannin made most impression 

 on him. The result of bin efforts and studies was however to render 

 him a firmer proteeUnt than before. In 1587 we find D'Aubignrf 

 again in the service of Henry, and engaged at the battle of Coutras. 

 In the following year he was rewarded with the government of Mail- 



