- his own 
GRETE TY: 
quitted him, faying to myfelf, I have learned nothing by commanding the maeftro di cappella, under fevere penalties; 
thefe two leffons ; but let us go on fair and foftly. Yet I to finifh the vefpers by day light. 
could not help {cribbling. I compofed fix fymphonies, which When this part of the author’s book was written, he 
were fuccefsfully executed,in our city. M. Hafler, the feems to have been untainted. with philofophifm, and to have 
canon, begged me to let him carry them to the’concert. refpected the church, concerning the mufic of which he 
He encouraged me greatly ; advifed me to go to Rome, in gives fome admirable counfel to young compofers, 
order to purfue my ftudies, and offered me his purfee My = The matters of Italy, particularly of the Neapolitan 
mafter in compofition thought this little fuccefs would be {chool, begin with church mufic, and the matter-pieces of 
mifchievous to me, and prevent me from purfuing that re- Alef. Scarlatti, Durante, Leo, Pergolefi, Piccini, and 
gular courfe of ftudy, fo neceffary to the becoming a found Sacchini, which are their maffes, and are compofed in a ftyle of 
contrapuntift. He never mentioned my fymphonies.” The mufic which fhould be totally diftin&t from that of the 
author, however, does not pretend that the fame method theatre. — e 
will do for all ftudents : the leffons fhould be proportioned In church mufic a compofer may ftill with propriety avail 
lar, imfelf of all the riches of learned counterpoint, o canons 
e walked to Rome on foot, at eighteen years of age, Ecclefiaftical mufic is degraded if it quits the bounds 
where he remained five years ; anes which time he was. prefcribed to it by piety and propriety, while dramatic 
lodged and boarded mufic is exalted by the occafional admiffion of folemn ftrains. 
f all that concerns his private life, focial intercourfe, pal bufinefs of a compofer of facred mufic. M. Gretry calls 
Ibferva mguage of found. Ina 
i : } ir ds and fituation of the 
tions as may be ufeful to mufical ftudents, who are likely to finger muft be exa@, becaufe they have a determined fenfe, 
feek for profeffional knowledge from books. and the true expreffion of the words fortifies the fituation 
On his arri u in Italy, after croffing the Alps, his re- through all the accompaniments. : 
fleGtions are animated, and do juttice to that country and He thinks a dull man, if a good harmonift, may writ 
feelin BS. . : = ood church mufic ; but we find a charm in the moft folemn 
“« After we had penetrated a little way into the moun- and feemingly dry choral compolitions of Paleftrina, Coftan- 
ins, rocks, an laciers ; nature feems fuddenly to have tio, Feta, Leo, Jomelli, Pergolefi, and Sacchini, apart 
changed her face. With what pleafure did I find myfelf all from the learning and gravity of their ftyle. 
at once in a field enamelled with flowers! It feemed as if He does not allow that any mufician plays or performs 
ine: Good ge nius had tranfported us from earth to heaven. mufic perfeétly at fight, that is not very eafy and very coms 
[ begged our ide to let me ftop a moment to enjoy this mon, which is the fame thing ; and, in general, what is 
delicious profj ect 5 but what was my rapture when I heard, meant by zatural mufic. “A mufician, to prove himfelf 2 
for the firft time, Italian melody fung by an Italian! © T¢ good fightfman, muit fatisfy the author himfelf, not only 
a charming female voice, which tranfported me by performing the notes corre€tly, but by feizing the true 
acce expreffion, and not auditors ignorant of the compofer’s de-, 
child, who paffed for a pro- 
» defired M. Gretry to compofe a 
. 
af nels , and f 
» were found in a fimple country girl.” 
rs in the Roman c ee 
a eee e 5 
of preferving the 
> but a compofer teh lar will perpetually miitake each other’s meaning.’” 
is cea ee ee piesis, even ih the church: a Cafali onduéted him from fugue to fugue in 2, 3, and 
induces the chapel-maites to caer e. this 4 parts, advifing him not to indulge Sat) emsind estes 
of performanc ne of a lefs fevere kind. This was the method which P Mar=> 
mutic of the ¢ Maia, tmt purfued with all his difciples, in proportion to their ad- 
At the end a ncement in the art. bs ee aaa 
Lo ae acre, vi 
dere 2 XIv. ae He com uns of the cold reception he had from Piccini, 
ved the when introduced to him as a promifing young artift.. Picci 
ni had always a cold and difcou: raging countenance, and was 
at all times profeflionally fo much occupied, that he had no 
time to facrific edge eS 
’ After our author began to write good fugues zone 
Bs ae 2 eee, 
rn he altar. He prohibited the ufe 
pets, and all: noify wind-inftruments, 
