WEBER. 



WEBER, HENRY WILLIAM, was the son of a 

 native of Westphalia, who was married to an Eng- 

 lish lady, and settled as a merchant at St Peters- 

 ourg, where the son was born in 1783. His father 

 dying when he was but three years old, his mother 

 removed into Saxony, and her son received his edu- 

 cation at a Germany university. At the age ol 

 fourteen he quitted Germany for England, and, 

 adopting the profession of medicine, attended lec- 

 tures one winter at Edinburgh, and then went to 

 finish his studies at Jena. Returning to Edinburgh 

 to obtain a medical diploma, he there formed an 

 acquaintance with Sir Walter Scott, who employed 

 him in various literary labours. In 1808, he com- 

 menced his career by publishing a new edition of 

 the Battle of Flodden Field, a Poem of the Six- 

 teenth Century, which was followed by Metrical 

 Romances of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fif- 

 teenth Centuries, from ancient Manuscripts, with 

 an Introduction, Notes, and a Glossary (3 vols.) ; 

 and, in conjunction with Jamieson, he produced a 

 work entitled Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, 

 from the earliest Teutonic and Scandinavian Ro- 

 mances (1814, 4to.). In September, 1816, Mr 

 Weber became disordered in his intellects, in which 

 state he remained till his decease, in 1818. Be- 

 sides the works already noticed, Mr Weber pub- 

 lished editions of the Plays of Ford (2 vols, 8vo.), 

 and of those of Beaumont and Fletcher (14 vols.); 

 but his execution of these undertakings did not add 

 to his reputation ; and his errors as a dramatic com- 

 mentator, were exposed by Mr Gifford. 



WEBER, CHARLES MARIA VON, was born Dec. 

 18, 1786, at Eutin, in Holstein, and received a very 

 careful education. Painting and music occupied his 

 attention in his leisure hours. His efforts in the 

 former art were not without success. But music 

 gradually took entire possession of him. As soon 

 as his father observed the promise of distinguished 

 talent in his son, he fostered it with great care. 

 Towards the end of the year 1798, he went to Mu- 

 nich, and his talent for dramatic music began to de- 

 velope itself. He wrote, under the eyes of his teacher, 

 an opera called the Power of Love and Wine ; also 

 a mass, and other compositions, all of which he 

 subsequently burned. Soon after, he became pos- 

 sessed with the idea of excelling Sennafelder's new 

 invention of lithography. He thought that he had 

 discovered a better process, and went with his fa- 

 ther to Freiberg, in Saxony, where all the necessary 

 materials seemed to be at hand. But he soon gave 

 up his idea, and with redoubled zeal resumed his ap- 



plication to his music. Six variations of his were 

 published at that time in Munich. When a boy of 

 fourteen, he composed an opera (the Maid of the 

 Wood), which was performed in 1800, and acquired 

 a celebrity subsequently disagreeable to the author, 

 who had come to consider it a very immature pro- 

 duction. In 1802, he made a musical journey with 

 his father, and collected and studied theoretical 

 works on music with the greatest zeal, and, having 

 been led, by his own reflections, to study harmony 

 thoroughly, formed a musical system of his own, in 

 which he adopted the excellent rules of the old 

 masters. He went to Vienna, where he became 

 acquainted with the immortal Haydn, and with 

 Vogler, who received him with great kindness. 

 By Vogler's advice, he gave up for a time, though 

 with reluctance, the composition of large pieces, 



and studied for two years the works of the greatest 

 masters. At the same time, he acquired great pro- 

 ficiency in playing on the piano. During this time, 



he published only a few small works. He then 

 went, as musical director, to Breslau, where he 

 composed the greatest part of Rubezahl, an opera 

 by Rhode. In 1806, Eugene, duke of Wtirtemberg, 

 induced him to go to Carlsruhe, in Silesia, where 

 he wrote two symphonies, several concerts, &c. 

 He soon after followed the duke to Stuttgard, 

 where he wrote his opera Silvana ; re-wrote his 

 cantata the First Tone, several overtures, &c. ; 

 and composed much for the piano. In 1810, he 

 set out for France, Munich, Berlin, &c., and wrote 

 his opera Abu-Hassan. From 1813 to 1816, he 

 directed the opera in Prague, where he composed 

 the great cantata Battle and Victory, which, though 

 imposing by its grandeur and copiousness of ideas, 

 does not yet show a settled style. Living only for 

 his art, he gave up his place, when his purpose 

 the entire re-organization of the opera, was effected. 

 In 1816, he lived in Berlin, where he received an 

 invitation to form a German opera at Dresden, 

 which he accepted, and to which he devoted all 

 his powers. There he wrote, besides several in- 

 strumental pieces, various occasional cantata; a 

 mass and offertorium (1818) for the day of tne 

 king's baptism, which was afterwards followed by 

 a second one ; and his Der Freyschutz (text by 

 Kind), which was first performed in Berlin in 1821, 

 and since that time has acquired universal reputa- 

 tion ; and several melodies, which, like some of 

 Mozart's, are sung, and even whistled, wherever 

 Europeans or their descendants are found. At the 

 same time, he composed the music for Preziosa. 

 The uncommon success of Der Freyschutz pi orured 

 him an invitation to compose an opera for Vienna, 

 for which purpose madame de Chezy wrote for him 

 Euryanthe, after an old French tale. This work 

 occupied him chiefly from 1822 to the autumn of 

 1823 ; and, in September of the same year, he 

 travelled to Vienna to direct its performance, 

 which took place, for the first time, October 25, 

 1823. It met with great applause. In 1824, We- 

 ber received from London an invitation to compose 

 Oberon for Covent-garden theatre. The first act 

 was sent him at the same time. He prepared him- 

 self for it by studying English. But the numerous 

 duties of his appointment, often increased by the 

 addition of those of his colleague, Morlachi, who 

 was in ill health, and often went to Italy, together 

 with his devotion to study, impaired his health. 

 He went, in the summer of 1825, to Ems. To- 

 wards the end of 1825, he directed the performance 

 of his Euryanthe on the stage of Berlin. His health 

 grew worse in 1826. In February, he went to 

 London, where he finished his magnificent Oberon, 

 directed the performance of it, and on the day when 

 Der Freyschutz was to be performed for his benefit 

 (June 5), breathed his last. Weber made an epoch 

 in opera music, produced mueh that was new, ap- 

 plied the instruments with great effect, and, in fact, 

 gave a new life to the opera. The songs of the 

 spirits in Oberon have a peculiarly ideal character. 

 Unfortunately, his comic opera the Three Pintos, 

 on which he had laboured for several years, was 

 left unfinished. Weber united many great musical 

 qualities : he was not only one of the most original 

 composers, a great performer, showing peculiar ori- 

 ginality in piano playing, an ardent, judicious and 

 intelligent director, equally at home in the aestheti- 

 cal and in the technical parts of his art, but also 

 a very intellectual and accomplished man, with 

 higher and more philosophical views of life than 

 artists often have. Besides the works already 



