'Pietro l'Eremita,' and in 'Otello,' in 'Così fan tutte,' and 'Il Crociato.' In the latter opera he reappeared in 1826, as also in 'Medea,' where he was very effective in the part of Giasone. His portrait was drawn by Hayter in this character, and there is a good lithograph of it. He was re-engaged in 1827, at the increased salary of £1450, and played a principal part in Pacini's 'Schiava in Bagdad.' In 1828 he was again at the King's Theatre, where he was heard by Lord Mount-Edgcumbe in 1834, singing with undiminished powers. He was an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music.
[ J. M. ]
CURIOSO INDISCRETO, IL. An opera of Anfossi's, produced at Milan in 1778; of little interest for the present day, except for the fact that Mozart added three songs to it on the occasion of its performance at Vienna in 1783. Two of these, 'Vorrei spiegarvi' and 'No, no, no' (bravura), were for Madame Lange; the third, 'Per pieta non ricercate,' was for Adamberger, but owing to a trick of Salieri's was not sung (Köchel, 418, 419, 420).
CURSCHMANN, Karl Friedrich, born at Berlin June 21, 1805. As a child he showed considerable talent for music, and had a beautiful soprano voice, but having been intended for the law it was not till 1824 that he decided to adopt music as a profession. He studied for four years under Spohr and Hauptmann at Cassel, and in 1824 settled in Berlin, making occasional concert tours in Germany, France, and Italy. He died in the prime of life Aug. 24, 1841. Curschmann's fame rests on his 'Lieder.' He was the favourite song-writer before Schubert's songs were known, and when Schumann had scarcely attempted vocal composition. His songs are full of real melody, and if they do not possess the intensity of expression which characterise the creations of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, they are far superior to the shallow productions which deluged Germany at that and a later period. The fact that many of them are still sung speaks much for their inherent merit. Curschmann's collected 'Lieder' (2 vols., Berlin, 1871) comprise 83 solos, and 9 songs in 2 and 3 parts. A few of them have Italian words. Among his other works may be mentioned a one-act opera, 'Abdul und Erinnieh,' written and performed at Cassel, and some church music now forgotten. In England he is best known by his song 'In every opening flower' and his trios 'Ti prego' and 'Addio,' the former a general favourite with amateurs.
[ A.M. ]
CUSANINO. See Carestini.
CUSHION DANCE (i.e. possibly 'kissing-dance'). An old English dance, dating from the beginning of the 16th century—especially used at weddings. The curious old melody is as follows:—
[App. p.602 "Omit the words (i. e. possibly 'kissing-dance'). The false derivation was probably suggested by some too ingenious German, and rose from the similarity of the words Kissen and Küssen. A full description of the dance is given in the Harmonicon, vol. ix. 191."]
[ E. P. ]
CUSINS, William George, was born in London, Oct. 14, 1833, and in his tenth year entered the Chapel Royal, as so many good English musicians have done before him. In 1844 he entered the Brussels Conservatoire under Fétis for the study of the piano, violin, and harmony. In 47 he gained the King's Scholarship at the R. A. M. of London, where his Professors were Potter, Sterndale Bennett, Lucas, and Sainton. In 49 his scholarship was prolonged for two years and he made his first appearance in public as a piano player in Mendelssohn's D minor Concerto, and as composer with a MS. overture. In 49 he was appointed organist to the Queen's Private Chapel, and entered the orchestras of the Royal Italian Opera and the principal concerts of London, in which he played the violin for about five years. In 51 he was appointed Assistant Professor at the R. A. M. and afterwards Professor. In 67 he became Conductor of the Philharmonic Society, vice Sir W. Sterndale Bennett resigned. In 70 he was appointed Master of the Music to the Queen; in 75 succeeded Bennett as examining Professor at Queen's College; and in 76 became joint examiner, with Mr. Hullah and Mr. O. Goldschmidt, of scholarships for the National Training School of Music. Besides these posts Mr. Cusins has been often before the public as a player and concert giver, having amongst other places performed at the Gewandhaus Leipzig, and at Berlin, as well as the Philharmonic [App. p.602 "he resigned the Philharmonic appointment in 1883"] and Crystal Palace at home. His works, if not numerous, are all on an important scale:—Royal Wedding Serenata (1863); Gideon, an oratorio (Gloucester, 1871); two Concert overtures, 'Les Travailleurs de la Mer' (1869), 'Love's Labour's Lost' (1875); Piano Concerto in A minor; besides marches, songs, etc.
CUTELL, RICHARD, an English musician of the 15th century, was the author of a treatise on counterpoint, a fragment of which is preserved among the manuscripts in the Bodlean Library, Oxford.
[ W. H. H. ]
CUTLER, William Henry, Mus. Bac., was born in the city of London in 1792. Having manifested a precocious musical ability, he was instructed in pianoforte playing by Little and Griffin, and in singing by Dr. Arnold. In 1803 he became a chorister of St. Paul's Cathedral, on quitting which he studied under William Russell, Mus. Bac. In 1812 he took the degree of Bachelor of Music at Oxford, his exercise for which (an anthem for voices and orchestra) he afterwards published. In 1818 he was appointed organist of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, and about the same time opened an academy for teaching music on Logier's system, but which he gave up after about three years' trial. In
