PETER CORNELIUS.
Born 24M Daenilier 1S24 ; died 2(>lh October 1S74.
THE only Englishman whom we have heard mention the name of this eminent composer is oiu- lamented friend AValter Bache, who, with that generous assiduity which was the characteristic of his life, would have made his countrymen ac- quainted with the musical treasures left behind by Peter Cornelius, had not an untimely death cut short his own brilliant career.
Even in Germany, Cornelius, outside a select circle of artists and amateurs, remained compara- tively unknown until his inestimable merits were brought to light by Felix Mottl of Carlsruhe, one of the famous trio of conductors, ' Richter, Levi, Mottl,' and by Director Porges, the choirmaster of the Munich Royal Opera, and of the Bayreuth Festspiele, one of those unselfish artists, whose lofty aims remain uninfluenced by the temptations which the prospect of an easy popularity offers. It was tliis Director Porges, who with a private choir, cultivated the choral compositions of the half- forgotten master, and who never ceased forcing the score of the Barber of Bagdad — the most charming- opera comique of modern times — upon the notice of the management of our Royal Stage.
If Cornelius compositions, in spite of their eminent qualities, are so seldom to be found on the concert repertory — Munich always excepted — the omission sjseaks little for the artistic taste of con- ductors and concert-goers. His choruses, for male voices especially, should figure on the programme of every choral society : it is true they are very difficidt, bat not insuperably so, and they might well take the place of many works which are not worth the time and pains wasted upon them.
Cornelius was also a poet, and most of his com- positions, including the Barber of Bagdad, were worded by himself. Of his poems, under the title of Lieder, which are replete with grace and deep religious feeling, we shall not speak. His musical compositions are one and all high above the con- ventionalism of our times, original in the best sense of the word, now tender and soft, without sickly sentimentality, now strong and powerful without coarseness or noise. Noble soft harmonies lead to remarkably bold transitions, to strange modula- tions, and to dissonances strikingly effective, and yet never farfetched or afi'ected. While the music of his songs is admirably adapted and subordin- ated to the words, the piano accompaniments are very characteristic, and often form, as it were, a picture of themselves.
The following is a list of Peter Cornelius' principal works, to which we have added a few critical and descriptive notes. Op. 1. Six ' Lieder' for one voice with piano accom- paniment. Both words and music are equally imbued with deep poetic feeling. Oj]. 2. Vater Unser. The title of nine sacred songs, for one oice with piano accompaniment, which reveal the true Christian nature of the com- poser, a heart full of piety and childlike purity. These are indeed the prayers of a poet in the grace of God. Op. 3. Trailer und Tro.it, for one voice with piano accompaniment, a cyclus of six ' Lieder,' which begin in unspeakable but clarifying sadness, and gradually rise to accents of consolation and peace. O/;. 4. Tliree songs for a tenor or soprano voice, and. Op. 5. Six songs for a baritone, of unequal worth ; their extraordinarily bold but of course always correct polyplionic treatment will afford great pleasure to the scientific musician. Op. 6. Three songs for soprano and baritone, a sweet, deliciously simjDle melody, a spriglitly bit of diablerie in which the accompaniment plays an extraordinary part, and a cleverly constructed canon. Op. 8. Christmas carols for one voice, with piano accompaniment, full of religious thought and Christian simplicity, the product of one who pre- served all through life a childlike mind. It is perhaps the only work which became widely known, and in a sense popular during the lifetime of the composer. Op. 9. Mourning Anthems for four male voices, as noble in form, as dee]D in feeling, and as clear in expression as anything in the whole repertory for male choruses. Sebastian Bach himself might have written them. They lay, liowever, the most exact- ing claim on the training of chorus and conductor. Op. 10. Beethoven Lied, for male and female chorus, written for Beethoven's centenary in 1870 ; a powerful hymn to the greatest of all masters, in which the theme of the Eroica, is introduced with marvellous effect. Op. 11. Three choruses for six and eight male and female voices, not less important than the mourning anthems. Op. 9, mentioned above. It is impossible to conceive a nobler musical interpre- tation of Heine's Der Tod, das ist die Kiihie Nacht. Op. 12. Three choruses for male voices, patriotic and truly inspired compositions.
