A year after this, April 15, 1784, the Elector died, the theatrical music was put down, and a series of economies begun by the new Elector Max Franz, which resulted in the reduction of Neefe's pay from 400 to 200 florins. In 1788 a new court theatre was organised, with Reicha as director, and Neefe accompanyist and stage manager. Then came the war, and in 1794 the theatre was shut up, the company disbanded, and Neefe lost his place. He led a poor existence as municipal official under the French, his family were dispersed, and at last we hear of him as conductor at the theatre at Dessau. Here his wife fell seriously ill, and ultimately he himself sank under his troubles, and died Jan. 26, 1798. Neefe was an industrious musician; the names of eight pieces are preserved which he wrote for the theatres of Leipzig and Bonn between 1772 and 1782. He wrote also for the church, and a mass of chamber-music, besides arranging and adapting many operas. He also published articles on musical subjects in the periodicals of the time, and left an autobiography which was communicated by his wife to the Allg. musikalische Zeitung of 1799 (p. 241). (See Thayer's 'Beethoven,' i. 81–85, 117, etc).
[ G. ]
NEGRI, Maria Catterina, otherwise Maria Anna Catterina, a distinguished singer, was born at Bologna about 1705. She was taught by Pasi, himself a pupil of Pistocchi. In 1724 she was engaged at the theatre of Count Sporck, at Prague, where she continued to sing until 1727, when she returned to Italy. She appeared at many of the Italian theatres from 1727 to 33, after which she came to London. Here she, with her sister Rosa, formed part of the new company with which Handel opened the season at the Haymarket, Oct. 30, 1733; and very useful members of this company the sisters Negri proved to be, one or both of them singing in all the operas produced by the great Saxon down to 1737, as well as in 'Deborah.' Maria Catterina appears to have sung both soprano and contralto parts, the former of these having probably been transposed for her, as her voice was undoubtedly a contralto. That of her sister was a soprano.
[ J. M. ]
NEIGE, LA, ou le Nouvel Eginhard. Opera comique in 4 acts; words by Scribe and Delavigne, music by Auber. Produced at the Theatre Feydeau Oct. 8, 1823; in London at Covent Garden, as 'The Frozen Lake,' Nov. 26, 1824.
[ G. ]
NEITHARDT, August Heinrich, founder of the Berlin Domchor (Cathedral choir), was born at Schleiz, Aug. 10, 1793. His early musical studies were interrupted at 20 years of age by his military service, which lasted through the campaigns of 1813–15. This led to his becoming bandmaster to the Garde-Schiitzen Battalion (1816–22) for which he composed and arranged a host of pieces. From 1823 to 1840 he was master of the band of the Kaiser Franz Grenadiers, and wrote and did much for the improvement of military music. In 1839 he was made 'königliche Musikdirector,' and in 1843 was commissioned to found a regular choir for the Berlin Cathedral, which he did by uniting the scholars and seminarists who sang the ordinary Cathedral service with the smaller choir who sang in the Court-chapel, about 80 strong in all. Thus was formed the famous Domchor, for which Mendelssohn wrote his noble psalms and motets. In 1846 Neithardt went to St. Petersburg to hear the famous Russian choirs, and in 1850 he and his choir visited London and created much astonishment by their extraordinarily refined and effective performances. Neithardt died at Berlin April 18, 1861. He was a remarkably able conductor, indefatigable in drilling his choir and in providing them with masterpieces of all schools, some of which were edited by him under the title of 'Musica Sacra' in 8 vols. (Berlin, Bote & Bock).
[ G. ]
NEL COR PIÙ NON MI SENTO. A duet in Paisiello's Molinara, which was for a long time a remarkable favourite. Beethoven and many others wrote variations upon it, In England it was known as 'Hope told a flattering tale.'
[ G. ]
NÉRON. An opera in 4 acts; words by Jules Barbier; music by A. Rubinstein. Intended for the French stage, but first performed, in German, as 'Nero,' at the Stadt Theatre, Hamburg, on Nov. 1, 1879, under the direction of the composer.
[ G. ]
NERUDA. A distinguished family of violinists. According to [1]Dlabacz, the founder was Jakob, who belonged to Rossicz, near Prague, and died Feb. 19, 1732. He left two sons; first, Johann Chrysostom, born at Rossicz December 1, 1705, learnt music at Prague, became famous on the violin, and took orders at the Præmonstratensian convent there, a few months after his father's death; became choir-master of the convent, and died December 2, 1763. The next brother, Johann Baptist Georg, was first at Prague, and then, for thirty years, at the Elector's Chapel at Dresden, where he died in 1780, aged 73, leaving a mass of compositions behind him, and two sons, Ludwig and Anton, both chamber musicians to the Elector of Dresden.
Another member of the Neruda family was Josef, organist of the Cathedral at Brtinn, in Moravia, who was born in 1807, and died Feb. 18, 1875. He had five children, Victor, Amalie, Wilhelmine, born March 21, 1840, Marie and Franz. Amalie adopted the P.F., and made no important career; Franz became a cellist. Wilhelmine began to play the violin almost as soon as she could walk, became a pupil of Jansa, and made her first appearance, with her sister, in the winter of 1846 at Vienna, where she excited much astonishment for the extraordinary power of her bow, and her great execution, notwithstanding the smallness of her hands, and the deep sentiment of her cantiléne. (Hanslick.) From Vienna the family journeyed northwards, visiting Leipzig, Berlin, Breslau, Hamburg, and other cities. In London, Wilhelmine made an
- ↑ Künstler-Lexicon für Böhmen.
