MUSIC X
ML
410
N9
C5

GIFT
OF
Frederick K. Stearns
OF DETROIT
TO THE LIBRARY OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
1899
P

Vincent Novello
cum oppidoN A A
THE
Life and Labours
of
VINCENT NOVELLO,
by
HIS DAUGHTER,
MARY COWDEN CLARKE.
}
"It is my Father's mufic
To fpeak 'his' deeds."
Shakespeare.
LONDON:
NOVELLO & CO., 69, Dean-ſtreet, Soho, and 35, Poultry.
64
013DURF
taws. to
Musrex
4416-44

Life and Labours
OF
VINCENT NOVELLO.
i
то
trace the career of one, who has done perhaps
more than any other fingle individual towards
fpreading a love and cultivation of the beft mufic
amongst the leaft wealthy claffes of England, muſt
needs be interefting; and the example afforded by
fuch a life, with the incentive given to perfevere in a
good refolve, even when circumſtances appear far
from encouraging, feems fufficient cauſe for pointing
out this example to others, by recording the fimple
and uneventful biography which forms the fubject of
the preſent memoir.
In a ſmall houfe overlooking Hyde Park,-240,
Oxford Street, then called Oxford Road,—an Italian,
named Giuſeppe Novello, fettled with his Engliſh
wife. To them were born feveral children; and
among the younger was a fon named Vincent. He
was born on the 6th of September, 1781; and, early,
MN-27-36 4202
[2]
fhowed a marked predilection for mufic. He would
flip away from meals, to uſe his recreation-time in
CC
finding out chords" on an old pianoforte, when
once he had "learnt his notes." Theſe were taught
him by a friend of his father, one Signor Quellici;
and this was the only direct inftruction ever received
by the young Vincent in his favorite art.
Poffeffing "a good ear," he had an aptitude for
languages; and he was fent, with an elder brother,
Francis, to a fchool at Huitmille, a village near
Boulogne-fur-mer, to acquire French, in addition to
his naturally-learnt Engliſh and Italian. It may be
a circumſtance worth noting, that the veffel in which
the two boys came back to England was the laft boat
that left France before war was declared between the
two countries towards the clofe of the century.
On his return, eager to feize every opportunity of
practice and attainment of mufical knowledge, Vincent
fang as a choir-boy at the Sardinian Embaffy's chapel,
Lincoln's Inn Fields, as long as his voice remained
unbroken. Samuel Webbe, fen., was organiſt there;
and an acquaintance with him and with Danby,
organift of the Spaniſh Embaffy's chapel, Mancheſter
Square, were among Vincent's early incentives to
mufical ſtudy. While ſtill a mere lad, he officiated
as deputy for thefe organifts; and commenced his
profeffional career in actual youth. He was not
more than fixteen years of age when he became
[ 3 ]
organiſt at the Portugueſe Embaffy's chapel in South
Street, Groſvenor Square; and began to teach, when
he himſelf was hardly more than a learner. But his
taſte and aptitude for the ſcience, together with his
native induſtry and perfeverance, early rendered him
a proficient in thorough-bafs, as well as a fkilful
executant.
He was engaged at the Pantheon, as pianist and
conductor, when Catalani was prima-donna in the
Italian operatic company that performed there; and
hence he acquired that facility in reading from ſcore,
which was, at that time, a rare accompliſhment.
Hence alfo, and from his direction of the Portugueſe
choir as organiſt, arofe his ſkill in accompaniment,
which had all the excellence of a peculiar gift. When
accompanying voices, he ſeemed to know, by intuition,
which finger required aid; and he would, as it were,
imperceptibly prompt, as well as fupport, the particular
vocaliſt needing guidance. His fenfitive ear followed
the inner parts no lefs accurately than the more falient
baſs or foprano; and many an uncertain tenor, or
wavering alto, would he-with his diſtinctive finger
preffing flightly out their particular required note or
paffage-ſteady back to their appointed courfe. He
would come to their reſcue with the moft opportune
affiftance, and help them with a timely fupport that
ſeemed like inſpiration. As a timist, he was firm and
correct; fo felf-poffeffed and competent, as to inſpire
[4]
confidence in thofe he led. Not only was his own
performance on the organ fine and potential, but his
ability in conducting the vocal choir was fupreme.
It became a faſhion to hear the ſervice at the Portu-
guefe chapel; and South Street, on a Sunday, was
thronged with carriages waiting outfide, while their
owners crowded to fuffocation the fmall, taper-lighted
ſpace within. With attentive hufh were oftentimes
liſtened to, the ſtrains of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven,
or Himmel, in fome foft offertory, breathed out by
four well-difciplined voices, and fuftained by Vincent
Novello's fmooth fingers, creeping with a certain
maintained equipoife from note to note of the ivory
keys, hardly whiter than his own hands. They were
fmall, ftrongly knit, and remarkably pliant; with
capability of ſtretching that fitted them admirably
for organ-playing. The not very large, but exqui-
fitely ſweet-toned inftrument that belonged to South
Street chapel, had three rows of keys; over which
the white, fupple, yet ftrenuous fingers of Vincent
Novello uſed to wander with a touch almoft loving,
in its careffing clofenefs. Now light and hovering,
in fome florid paffage of Kyrie eleifon; now firm and
dominant, in fome affertive Gloria in excelfis; now
rich and majestic, in a lofty Hofanna; now full of
pathos, in an Incarnatus eft; now perfuafive and con-
foling, in fome Benedictus; now ſteadfaſt, ſtrict,
peremptory, yet, withal, inftinct with ſpirit and
[ 5 ]
animation, in fome concluding fugue of exhortive
The Adefte Fideles, although
Dona nobis pacem.
really a compofition by an Englifhman named John
Reading (who alſo wrote Dulce Domum), obtained
the name of "The Portugueſe Hymn" from its
having been heard by the Duke of Leeds at the
Portugueſe chapel, who imagined it to be peculiar to
the ſervice in Portugal. Being a Director of the
Ancient Concerts, his Grace introduced the melody
there; and it fpeedily became popular, under the
title he had given it. So widely has its liking ſpread,
that Vincent Novello's arrangement of this favorite
hymn, Adefte Fideles, has been reprinted in France,
Germany, and America. His organ-playing eventually
became fo famed, that George the Fourth offered him
the appointment of private organist at the Pavilion,
Brighton; but this was declined, from devotion to
more extended and preffing profeffional calls upon
the muſician's time in London.
Organ-builders efpecially liked to have Vincent
Novello exhibit their inftruments, from the peculiarly
ſuſtained ſtyle of his playing. It was well calculated
to diſplay to advantage the various ftops of the organ;
while his thorough acquaintance with the mechaniſm
enabled him to develop to the utmoft the different
points of excellence in conſtruction. A large number
of organs were built under his infpection, and from
his deſigns, both for England and for abroad.
He
[6]
was frequently appointed umpire at competitions for
organifts' fituations, from his known difcrimination
in judgment, as well as his great care and juftice in
decifion. Theſe latter were evinced by his defire to
be kept uninformed of even the names of the feveral
candidates, whom he diſtinguiſhed merely by numbers
in the order of fucceffion in which they played. Theſe
numbers he noted down, with minutely-detailed
comments, in his memorandum-book, as each candi-
date performed; and then, at the conclufion, he gave
his verdict according to the pre-eminence of favorable
remark appended to that particular number.
Later in life, he became organiſt at Moorfields
chapel, from 1840 to 1843. He alſo prefided at the
organ during the Weſtminſter Abbey feſtival in 1834,
and at the performance of Beethoven's Grand Maſs
in D at the Philharmonic Society. Of this laft-named
Society, Vincent Novello was one of the original
founders, in 1812. With his eagerneſs for the dif-
femination of ſterling claffical mufic, he perceived how
ſuch an inſtitution would ftimulate and preferve the
progrefs of the art; a perception which the refult has
amply verified. In thefe early days of the Philhar-
monic, before the functions, or even the title of a
conductor were known among us, he uſed, in turn
with his compeers, to prefide" at the pianoforte.
(as the phraſe went) in this Society's concerts; in
later times, when, through his exertions and the
[7]
efforts of others, mufic had made advance, he filled
the more honorable, becauſe more refponfible, office
of conductor.
On becoming a member of the Royal Society of
Muſicians, Vincent Novello played the viola for fome
years in the orcheſtra at the Feftival of the Sons of
the Clergy at St. Paul's Cathedral; it being the duty
of the forty youngest members of the firft-named
Charity to fupply the orcheſtra for that Feftival, the
remuneration for which goes to the funds of the
Royal Society. During thefe years he occafionally
took part in a ftring quartett; but afterwards he
ceafed viola playing.
One of Vincent Novello's early advantages was his
acquaintance with the Rev. C. J. Latrobe, who gave
the young musician accefs to his valuable library.
The ample uſe made of this privilege, is beſt proved
by Vincent Novello's having culled from it ſome of
the fine Maffes of Mozart and Haydn, which, with
the zeal of a true mufical enthufiaft, he edited and
publifhed, at his own coft of time and money, in
order to introduce them, in acceffible form, among
his countrymen in England.
No pains of perfonal exertion were ever ſpared by
Vincent Novello in the advancement of the higheſt
intereſts of his beloved art; no perfonal facrifice was
ever thought too great to enfure their eftabliſhment.
In theſe views he was nobly feconded by the admirable
[8]
woman he took to wife. On the 17th of Auguſt,
1808, Vincent Novello married Mary Sabilla Hehl;
and from that period to the clofe of their wedded
union,—when her death occurred, 25th July, 1854,—
fhe exaltedly fulfilled the duties of help-meet to her
huſband. As aider in his artiſtic aims, fhe enabled
him to devote his whole mind and thought to them,
by her active ſuperintendence of his houſehold, his
family, and his domeftic affairs; while fhe made his
profeffional efforts doubly and trebly available by the
excellent economy with which fhe appropriated, to
their mutual benefit, the income he earned. Strictly-
kept houſe accounts, energetic and conftant exertion,
judicious forefight and counfel, bore witnefs to her
unwearied felf-dedication to his interefts. When
immerfed in the duties of her houſe and coming
family, fhe was never too buſy or too tired to make
home cheerful and happy to him after a long day's
teaching, by reading, through a whole evening, fome
favorite book of poet or poetical writer; while he,
with his extraordinary power of induftrious work,
would copy mufic, or correct proofs.
She brought him eleven children, of whom fix
furvive; and amid all the fatigue and care of bringing
them into the world, nurfing them, watching them,
teaching them, fhe was ever
was ever a cheerful, ready,
enlightened companion to her huſband. Out of the
limited means of a young profeffor, fhe contrived, by
[9]
taking an unuſually active and intelligent fhare of
exertion upon herſelf, to make for her huſband and
children a neat and even elegant home, a fuperior
circle of friends, and many advantages only to be
obtained through the influence of a wife and mother
no leſs intellectually gifted than morally good. No
expenſe was ſpared in the education of the children;
both father and mother agreed in this, as in all other
points concerning them. By frugal felf-denial on
their own parts, by liberal expenditure on behalf of
their offspring, by fedulous ftudy of the different
individual capacities and fpecial tendencies of each
child,—boy or girl,—did Vincent and Mary Novello
fofter and develop fuch talents as their children were
endowed with by nature. Books in abundance,-
felected with care, and always previously read by
both parents,-good mafters (for fchool-inftruction
was held lefs eligible than home-teaching), frank
companionſhip and intercourfe with their elders,
encouragement to afk queftions and derive inform-
ation through ever-prompt anſwers, judicious indul-
gence, and affectionate equality in treatment, were
unfailingly forthcoming, and made parents and
children feel themſelves reciprocal friends. The
The way
in which books were made high treats in the Novello
family, by the kindly mode of their bringing,
furniſhes pleaſant and falutary example for other
young fathers and mothers rearing a family on flender
[ 10 ]
pecuniary reſources.
Often, when late overnight
profeffional avocations made early rifing an impoffi-
bility to Vincent Novello, he would have his young
ones on the bed while he ate the breakfaſt his wife.
brought him, and fhowed them fome delightful
volume he had purchaſed as a prefent for them.
Firft came the "looking at the pictures;" then, the
multiplicity of eager inquiry they elicited; then, the
explanation; then, the telling of the ſubject of the
book; then, the account of its author; then, the final
glory of feeing V. Novello's children, 240, Oxford
Street, written in the blank leaf, or cover, at the
beginning. After this faſhion were " Æſop's Fables,”
"Lamb's Tales from Shakeſpeare," "Sandford and
Merton," "Maria Edgeworth's Early Leffons and
Parents' Affiftant," "Prifcilla Wakefield's Juvenile
Travellers," "The Hundred Wonders of the World,"
and the "Book of Trades," fucceffively brought
home and enjoyed. The due intermixture of practi-
cality and imagination in the works chofen for and
given to their children, ferve to indicate the judgment
evinced by Vincent and Mary Novello in eliciting
and cheriſhing the various biafes in their boys' and
girls' feveral faculties. The names of theſe children,
known afterwards to the world in their fubfequently-
developed capacities and adopted careers, will perhaps
beſt furniſh an indication of their parents' wife pro-
cedure in educating them from firſt to laſt:-
[ 11 ]
MARY VICTORIA,-married to Mr. Charles Cowden
Clarke.
JOSEPH ALFRED.
CECILIA,—married to Mr. Thomas James Serle.
EDWARD PETRE,-died in early manhood.
EMMA ALOYSIA.
SYDNEY VINCENT,-died in childhood.
CLARA ANASTASIA,-married to Count Gigliucci.
JULIA HARRIET,--died in infancy.
MARY SABILLA.
FLORENCE,-died in childhood.
CHARLES VINCENT,-died in infancy.
Among the diftinguiſhed literary friends whom the
Novellos had the pleaſure to affemble in their ſmall
drawing-room at 240, Oxford Street, may be named
Charles and Mary Lamb, Shelley, Keats, Leigh
Hunt, Hazlitt, Coulfon, Charles Cowden Clarke,
Henry Robertſon, and John Byng Gattie. The two
laft are named here, not fo much for their publicly-
known attainments, as for their conſociation with the
fubject of the prefent biographical ſketch, in the
ſonnet which Leigh Hunt addreſſed
To HENRY ROBERTSON, JOHN GATTIE, and VINCENT NOVELLo,
not keeping their appointed hour.
Harry, my friend, who full of tafteful glee
Have mufic all about you, heart and lips,
And John, whoſe voice is like a rill that flips
Over the funny pebbles breathingly;
[12]
And Vincent, you, who with like maſtery
Can chace the notes with fluttering finger-tips,
Like fairies down a hill hurrying their trips,
Or fway the organ with firm royalty;
Why ſtop ye on the road? The day, 'tis true,
Shews us as in a diamond all things clear,
And makes the hill-furmounting eye rejoice,
Doubling the earthly green, the heavenly blue;
But come, complete the charm of ſuch a ſphere,
And give the beauty of the day a voice.
No apology need be offered for quoting the above,
which, in its italicifed lines, fo accurately, as well as
poetically, characterifes the excellence of Vincent
Novello's playing. As affording a graphic picture
of the friendly eaſe which diſtinguiſhed the meetings
in the little drawing-room, a paffage from Charles
Lamb's delightful Elia effay, called a "Chapter on
ears,” may alſo be ſubjoined
CC
:
Something like this fcene-turning I have experienced
at the evening parties at the houſe of my good Catholic friend,
Nov——, who, by the aid of a capital organ, himſelf the moſt
finiſhed of players, converts his drawing-room into a chapel, his
week days into Sundays, and theſe latter into minor heavens.*
When my friend commences upon one of thoſe folemn anthems,
which peradventure ftruck upon my heedlefs ear, rambling in the
fide-aifles of the dim abbey, fome five-and-thirty years fince, waking
a new fenfe, and putting a foul of old religion into my young appre-
henfion, (whether it be that, in which the pfalmift, weary of the
* "I have been there, and ftill would go;
'Tis like a little heaven below."-Dr. Watts.
[ 13 ]
perfecutions of bad men, wifheth to himſelf dove's wings-or that
other, which, with a like meaſure of fobriety and pathos, inquireth
by what means the young man ſhall beſt cleanſe his mind)—a holy
calm pervadeth me. I am for the time
rapt above earth,
And poffefs joys not promiſed at my birth.
But when this mafter of the fpell, not content to have laid a foul
proſtrate, goes on, in his power, to inflict more blifs than lies in her
capacity to receive,-impatient to overcome her earthly' with his
'heavenly,'-ftill pouring in, for protracted hours, freſh waves and
freſh from the ſea of ſound, or from that inexhauſted German ocean,
above which, in triumphant progrefs, dolphin-feated, ride thoſe
Arions, Haydn and Mozart, with their attendant tritons, Bach,
Beethoven, and a countleſs tribe, whom to attempt to reckon up
would but plunge me again in the deeps,-I ftagger under the
weight of harmony, reeling to and fro at my wits' end; clouds,
as of frankincenfe, opprefs me-priefts, altars, cenfers, dazzle before
me-the genius of his religion hath me in her toils-a fhadowy
triple tiara inveſts the brow of my friend, late ſo naked, ſo ingenuous
—he is Pope,—and by him fits, like as in the anomaly of dreams,
a fhe-Pope too, tri-coroneted like himſelf! I am converted, and yet
a Proteftant, at once malleus hereticorum, and myſelf grand
Herefiarch; or three herefies centre in my perfon: I am Marcion,
Ebion, and Cerinthus-Gog and Magog-what not?-till the
coming-in of the friendly fupper-tray diffipates the figment, and a
draught of true Lutheran beer (in which chiefly my friend fhows
himſelf no bigot) at once reconciles me to the rationalities of a
purer faith; and reftores to me the genuine unterrifying afpects of
my pleafant-countenanced hoft and hoftefs."
Truly a pleaſant fight was that fame drawing-room
at 240, Oxford Street, when poets, artiſts, and
muficians, friends of the mafter of the houſe, met in
i
[14]
kindly, lively converfe. The walls fimply coloured
of a delicate rofe tint, and hung with a few choice
water-colour drawings by Varley, Copley Fielding,
Havell, and Criſtall (who were alſo perfonally known
to Vincent Novello); the floor covered with a plain
grey drugget bordered by a taftefully-defigned gar-
land of vine-leaves, drawn and embroidered by
Mrs. Novello; towards the centre of the room a fofa-
table ftrewed with books and prints; and at one end,
a fine-toned chamber-organ, on which the hoft pre-
luded and played to his liſtening friends, when they
would have him give them " ſuch delights, and ſpare
to interpoſe them oft" between the pauſes of their
animated converſation. Keats, with his pictureſque
head, leaning againſt the inftrument, one foot raiſed
on his knee and ſmoothed beneath his hands; Leigh
Hunt, with his jet-black hair and expreffive mouth;
Shelley, with his poet's eyes and brown curls; Lamb,
with his fpare figure and earneſt face; all feen by the
glow and warmth and brightneſs of candlelight, when
the young muſician and his friends affembled in that
unoftentatious informal fafhion which gave zeft to
profeffional focial intercourfe at the then period.
Vincent Novello's unaffected fympathy with pupils
and muſical aſpirants-both profeffional and amateur
was a marked feature in his character throughout his
own mufical life. He was laviſh in imparting know-
ledge; patient in conveying inftruction, cordial in
[15]
manner, hearty in communication, benevolent in
encouragement. His moft eminent pupil was Edward
Holmes, the author of "A ramble among the
muſicians in Germany," and of " Mozart's Life." In
order to facilitate the more affiduous ftudy of the
young man, Mr. Novello received Edward Holmes
as an inmate of his own houfe; fo that at all hours
left free by other avocations, he could fuperintend
the progreſs of his pupil in theory and practice. Mr.
Holmes became thoroughly verfed in harmony, and
was, for many years, organiſt at Poplar Church, and
at Holloway Chapel. He was not only a found
mufician, but his tafte for letters gave him that
poliſhed vigor of ſtyle which diſtinguiſhes his writings
upon the Art. From his ſchoolfellowſhip with John
Keats and Charles Cowden Clarke, Edward Holmes
had early acquired a ftrong predilection for literature
and his becoming a refident under Vincent Novello's
roof confirmed the bent. Books were chief fources
of recreation to the mafter; and the pupil naturally
fell into a liking that chimed with his own original
preference. Reading had fo great a charm for
Vincent Novello, that he indulged it at every moment
which did not interfere with his Art-purſuit. He
would read at night; he would read as he went along
the ſtreets to his leffon-giving: and many a time
have friends fmiled to fee him paſs them by unnoticed,
abſorbed in his volume, making his way through the
[16]
The
crowded thoroughfare, indifferent to the joftle of
hurrying paffengers. The fubjects that moſt intereſted
him were fiction, travel, and natural ſcience.
romances of Walter Scott, the novels of Mifs Burney
and Lady Morgan, the tales of Miſs Edgeworth, were
main favorites of his; while works on chemiſtry,
aſtronomy, and mechanics, engaged his attention,
together with voyages and tours. As a youth, he
had a fondneſs for two paftimes that fafcinated him
powerfully - billiard-playing and ſkating; but when
he found that their purfuit was in danger of becoming
too engroffing, and of trenching upon the time
demanded by his felf-dedication to Mufic, he refolutely
abſtained from either, and gave them both up for
evermore. When a very young man, alſo, he had a
taſte and talent for acting. There ftill exifts a certain
playbill of ſome private performance of Shakeſpeare's
Henry IV., wherein figures the part of Sir John
Falſtaff as played by "Mr Howard;" which was the
name affumed by young Vincent Novello on that
occafion. This partiality for theatricals abided by
him in the ſhape of intereſt in our beft actors, and
frequent going to the theatre. John Kemble, Elliſton,
Banniſter, Munden, and Liſton, Mrs. Siddons, Mrs.
Davenport, and Mifs Kelly, were idols of his; while
his admiration for Mrs. Jordan amounted to a young
man's enamoured fancy. He would often afterwards
expatiate on the enchantment of "her laugh, her
[ 17 ]
exquifite laugh," and of "her arch roguifh fmile,"
with a gufto that betrayed the bewitchment he had
once felt.
It was pleaſant to mark-and ftill more pleaſant to
recall, for the emulation of his furvivors-how Vin-
cent Novello's inclinations were ever held fubfervient
to his principles. Not only did he give up favorite
ſports, when they threatened to impede ftudy; but he
made his attraction for the theatre a means of cultiva-
tion and improvement for his children. As a refining
influence, the higheſt Drama, and the beſt acting, are
valuable in the hands of a judicious parent; and,
allowed as a rare treat, they produce an impreffion no
lefs good than delightful. Some of theſe theatre-treats
remain ftill as bright points in "the dark backward
and abyfm of time" to the remembrance of Vincent
Novello's children. Once, riding home on his ſhoulder,
tired and fleepy, after the glory of going "to fee the
play;" fo young was then the rememberer, fo kind
was the good father. Once, a wondrous night of
finely-caft comedy, when Munden played Old Dornton;
Elliſton, young Dornton; Terry, Sulky; Knight,
Silky; Mrs. Harlowe and Miſs Kelly the Widow and
the Spinſter, in "The Road to Ruin :" and when the
farce was "The Turnpike Gate," with Munden as
Crack, the Cobbler. Once, a night of joyful ſurpriſe,
when the father, coming home tired with a long day's
ſchool-teaching, bade his little girl get Shakeſpeare's
C
[18]
play of "Much ado about nothing," and read him the
opening ſcenes while he ate his dinner (which fhe had
prepared, laying the cloth for Papa, as Mamma was
upſtairs with the new baby); and then, as a reward for
his daughter's good houſewifery, telling her to put on
her bonnet and he would take her to Covent Garden
Theatre, to ſee Charles Kemble play Benedick.
Vincent Novello's economy of time, and his inde-
fatigable induſtry, were the reafon of his achieving
fo much. That which has been printed and given to
the world is ſcarcely a third of the manufcripts he
made. His editing generally implied re-writing the
whole work; voice-parts as well as feparate accompa-
niment, which he himſelf added. His ſpeed in copy-
ing was really wonderful; while the neatnefs and
diftinctness of the writing equalled its rapidity. An
anecdote will ferve to exemplify his power in this
reſpect. At the Muſical Feſtival in 1828, in York
Minſter, he obtained permiffion to have a copy taken
of Purcell's four anthems, and the Evening Service
in G minor, which were unique in the Minfter library.
The copyift to whom Mr. Novello applied, faid he
fhould require three weeks to tranſcribe them; and
next morning, on confideration, faid they would more
probably take five weeks to write out. Mr. Novello
fmiled, and replied that he himſelf had already made a
copy of the whole feries during the previous day; for,
that having begun to look them over, he had ſet to at
[ 19 ]
once, and never left his taſk till it was completed. The
original manufcripts were deftroyed in the fire at York
Minfter not long after, and Vincent Novello was
enabled to give back a tranſcript of that mufic to the
Minſter library, which, but for his affiduity, would
have been loft to the world.
Of the mufic which he gained leave to tranſcribe
from the library in the Fitzwilliam Muſeum, Cam-
bridge, Mr. Novello felected and copied material for
ten volumes beyond the five he publiſhed under the
title of "The Fitzwilliam Mufic."
The extreme correctnefs of his works aroſe from his
habit of keeping a pocket-book in four columns (for
the page, the ſtaff, the bar, the note), wherein errors
were carefully noted at the time of diſcovery, when
playing or reading the works after publication, and
which errors he pertinaciouſly required fhould be
corrected in the plates, with a proof fent to him;
thereby cauſing much impatience to his engraver, but
fecuring the continued improvement of his editions.
His particularity and exactitude in the matter of
proof-ſheets and reviſes were remarkable. Rarely did
he allow the proofs of the day to remain uncorrected;
fo that he was unburthened by arrears. At ſome
period of the twenty-four hours he was fure to find
fome odd moment in which to fulfil the taſk of
correction; and often the roll of proofs from the coat-
pocket, and the ſcrap of red pencil from the waiſtcoat-
[20]
pocket, were drawn forth during the few minutes of
waiting for a meal, or while preparing to go out. No
man better underſtood and put in practice the philo-
fophy of the French proverb, Sauvez vos quarts-
d'heures. Not only had he this wiſdom of faving
valuable ſtray quarters of hours; but he poffeffed that
faculty of "making time," with which very diligent
and very perfevering people are endued. Frequently,
after returning from the theatre, or after an evening's
brilliant converſation and gay ſupper with fome friends,
Vincent Novello would fit down to a batch of proofs
with as wakeful and active a ſpirit of energy as though
it were noon-day inſtead of long paſt midnight. His
order and method equalled his induſtry and perſeverance.
He was not orderly according to fome perfons' ideas
of neatneſs; his books and papers lay in heaps that
looked diforderly but he had his own notions of
claffing" them, as he called it; and had the fame
repugnance to their being arranged or duſted by other
hands than his own, which that zealous antiquary,
Jonathan Oldbuck, felt when proteſting againſt the
officioufnefs of his "womankind." Vincent Novello
was methodical after his own peculiar faſhion; and
though it might not be an ordinary faſhion, yet it had
extraordinarily advantageous refults. His account-
books had not the conventional appearance of ledgers,
and were not kept on the fyftem purfued by clerkly
perfonages; but they preſented a minute and accurate
(C
[21]
ſtatement of each tranfaction, and gave faithful record
of every receipt and payment. His note-books were
plain and fimple: but they contained details both
luminous and voluminous, fuch as few gilt-edged or
richly-bound memorandum-books can boaft. In
examining mufical libraries, he made very ample notes:
not only lifts of compofitions by the various authors;
but thematic catalogues, fo as to be able to collate
or compare with the contents of other manufcript
fources.
Punctuality was a prominent characteriſtic of Vincent
Novello. Not only in profeffional engagements was
he fcrupulouſly exact, but he obferved the fame pre-
cifion with regard to pleaſure appointments. He liked
to be earlier than the time ſpecified: and at a coach
office or railway ſtation, a playhouſe or a picture
gallery, he always arrived a few minutes beforehand;
faying that he preferred waiting on the fpot, to the
chance of being there too late. In his profeffional
avocations, he was fo punctual in attendance, that
during the ſeven-and-twenty years that he taught in
one ſchool (in Brunſwick Square), he never miffed
a fingle day in the bi-weekly leffon-giving there;
and during the fix-and-twenty years that he played
the organ at the Portugueſe Embaffy's Chapel in
South Street, Grofvenor Square, he never miffed the
performance of a fingle Sunday's fervice, with the ex-
ception of one, which occurred at a period when a
[22]
private grief (the recent loſs of a favorite child) had
rendered this exertion in public impoffible to him.
Vincent Novello's attachment to this favorite child,
his boy Sydney, had fomething of an exclufive
fondneſs about it, that rendered it different from his
affection towards his other children. The little fellow
was fingularly handſome-what is known in common
parlance as "the flower of the flock." Symmetry of
form and limb, bloom of complexion, regularity of
feature, grace and freedom of action, curly gold-brown
hair, eyes of a deep violet blue, thick long eyelashes,
and a certain brightneſs, brilliancy, and daſh in all he
faid and did, made this boy a family darling. Some
of his fcape-grace ways-fuch as once upon a time
mounting on a ſtool to reach the candle, that he might
try and burn off at its flame fome of the auburn
bruſhes on his eyelids, which he choſe to confider a
troubleſome appendage, from their frequently attracting
notice and admiration under the guife of laughing at
them-made him only the more an idol among his
brothers and fifters; while the parents fhared the
idolatry even in reproving the prank. As for the
father, he hardly cared to veil his idolizing by affected
reproof; he openly ſpoiled Sydney, and the ſpoiling
ſeemed univerfally admitted as the moſt natural thing
in the world. He would feat the boy on his knee
while writing; break off his work to attend to or
play with him; give up talking to anſwer his prattle
[23]
and queſtions; and fit down to the pianoforte, after
giving leffons on it for hours, to play the dance-tunes
which the boy aſked for, one after another. Many an
antiquated country-dance air of "The Tank," "The
Triumph," or "Sir Roger de Coverly," are affociated
with Sydney's childiſh demand for “More, Papa,
more!" while an old French tune, known as Voulez
vous dancer, Mademoiselle? was eſtabliſhed by him as
the one he meant to aſk for when he defpotically faid--
"Now play the Fatty-forty," Mr. Vincent.”
The anguiſh felt on the death of this boy-treaſure
was the foundation of the firſt of thoſe long and ſevere
fits of illneſs which befet Vincent Novello at intervals
during certain periods of his life. They were not ſo
much illneſs, as malady of the fpirits; not fo much
phyfical ailment as utter depreffion, dejection, and
proftration of the faculty for enjoyment. While the
digeftive organ affuredly fuffered to a certain amount,
the nervous temperament was difordered to a pitiable
degree. So long as this fombre vifitation lafted, a
deep melancholy ſettled upon the patient's mind, and
deprived it of all powers of taking pleaſure in life,
family, friends, or purfuits. Even his beloved Art,
his adored Mufic, ceafed to have intereſt for him; and
it was only mechanically, and as a mere matter of
principle, that he fulfilled his profeffional duties. He
attended to his pupils, he fuperintended his various
publications as ufual, fo far as intellectual exertion
was concerned; but the elaftic delight, the joyful
[24]
alacrity with which he labored in his muſical avocation
when bleſſed with full health, entirely vaniſhed while
under the dominion of theſe periodical fits of difordered
liver, or fpleen. Obſtruction of bile, from over
fedentary habits, was the caufe frequently affigned by
medical men as the one which occafioned thefe vifit-
ations of gloom; and it is probable that, in a great
meaſure, devotion to Art-toil, with careleſſneſs in the
matter of regular meal times, helped to originate thoſe
fits of illneſs, one of the earlieſt of which attacked
him on the loſs of Sydney. Not long before this
boy's death, the family had removed from 240, Oxford
Street, to 8, Percy Street, Bedford Square: and here
for a few years (from about 1820 to 1823) they
refided. It was during this period that Mr. Novello
obtained from Prince Efterhazy the permiffion to
publiſh ſome more of Haydn's Maffes; and the energy
with which he entered into this new production aided
to revive his fufpended ſpirit of muſical intereft.
The next removal of the Novellos was to Shackle-
well Green; as Vincent had an idea that country walks,
with ceffation from the late hours and focial gatherings
of town exiſtence, would conduce to entirely reſtore
his health.
The experiment proved partially fuccefsful; but,
after two or three years' trial, was abandoned, from the
parents' conviction that their children's advancement
in the world would fuffer from protracted feclufion
[25]
in a ſuburban village.
Now that their boys and
girls were reaching an age to require placing in ſuch
pofitions as would enable them advantageouſly to
commence their ſeveral appointed careers, Mr. and
Mrs. Novello returned to the metropolis, and went to
live at 22, Bedford Street, Covent Garden, as being
a central fituation; although they foon left this houſe
for another no leſs fo-No. 66, Gt. Queen Street,
Lincoln's Inn.
Her marriage with a man of letters, when ſhe had
juſt attained her nineteenth year, confirmed their eldeſt
daughter's early ambition to make literature her profef-
fion; while their eldeſt fon's decided bent for chemiſtry
and mechanics, which feemed to mark him out by
preference for an engineer or a man of practical ſcience,
had been merged, on prudential confiderations, in a
fedulous cultivation and acquirement of fuch knowledge
as fhould beft fit him for becoming a mufic publiſher,
and promulgator of his father's mufical productions.
The fecond daughter's fweet voice and predilection for
the ſtage, induced her parents to place her under the
tuition of Mrs. Blane Hunt, formerly Mifs Merry, a
fellow-pupil with Mifs Stephens of Thomas Welſh;
and the fecond fon's marked talent for painting
-amounting to genius, in its youthful ſtrength of
ability and development-led his father and mother to
fend Edward as a ftudent to Mr. Safs, the firſt maſter
for young artiſts, in ſkilful preparation as draughtſmen
[ 26 ]
before they became colourifts. The third daughter,
Emma, at a fubfequent period evinced a fimilar
inclination for an artiſt's career; and was alſo a pupil
in Mr. Safs's ſtudio.
Having thus promoted their elder children's efta-
bliſhment in ſuitable channels for happily, honorably,
and independently earning future livelihood, Mr. and
Mrs. Novello, in the year 1829, took a pleaſant
journey together to Germany, for the fulfilment of a
no leſs pleaſant purpoſe. This was the prefentation
of a fum of money to Mozart's fifter, Madame
Sonnenberg which fum had been fubfcribed by fome
mufical admirers of the great compofer, who had
heard with deep fympathy and concern that ſhe was
then in poor health and poorer means.
Theſe gentle-
men intrufted their friend and brother-fubfcriber
(indeed, he was the original propoſer of the fubfcrip-
tion, and undertook all its contingent expenfes himſelf,)
Vincent Novello, with the execution of what they
knew would be a moft welcome commiffion to him,--
the conveyance of this contribution to Mozart's fifter;
and in the fummer feafon huſband and wife fet out for
Salzburg. An extract from Vincent Novello's own
diary, kept during this memorable journey, will beft
defcribe the circumftances of an event intereſting to
all lovers of Mozart: "Monday, July 15th.-A ftill
more delightful day, if poffible, than yeſterday—
Mozart's fon came to me at about II to conduct us
[ 27 ]
to his aunt Sonnenberg-after a little chat we accom-
panied him to her houſe, which was within a few yards
of where we refided.-It feems that ſhe had paffed a
very reſtleſs and ſleepleſs night for fear we ſhould not
come to ſee her, and had repeatedly expreffed her
regret that we had not been admitted when we firſt
called. On entering the room, the fifter of Mozart
was reclining placidly in bed-but blind, feeble, and
nearly ſpeechless.--Her nephew kindly explained to
her who we were, and fhe feemed to derive much
gratification from the intelligence we conveyed to her.
During the whole time, I held her poor thin hand in
mine, and preffed it with the fincere cordiality of an
old friend of her brother. She appeared particularly
pleafed that the little prefent we had brought her
ſhould have arrived on her own Saint's day (St. Ann,
the 26th of the month). Her own birthday is on the
30th, on which day fhe will have completed her 78th
year. Her voice is nearly extinct, and fhe appears to
be faft approaching that bourn from whence no
traveller returns.' Her face, though much changed
by illneſs and drawn by age, ftill bears a ftrong
reſemblance to the portraits that have been engraved
of her; but it was difficult to believe that the helpleſs
and languid figure which was extended before us was
formerly the little girl reprefented as ftanding by the
fide of her brother, and finging to his accompaniment.
Near the bed was the original painting of which
[28]
Madame Niffen has a ſmall copy, and which has been
engraved in the Biography, repreſenting Mozart and
his fifter playing a duett on the piano, the likeneſs of
Mozart's mother in a frame, and the father leaning on
the piano with a violin in his hand. In the adjoining
apartment, over the fofa was the print which his fon
told me was generally confidered the beſt likeneſs after
that in Madame Niffen's poffeffion (in which opinion
he himſelf coincided).* Around the room was hung
a very numerous collection of portraits of the greateſt
painters, amongſt whom I particularly noticed thofe of
Vandyck and Rembrandt. In another part of the
which ſhe had
room was a miniature of herfelf; another of her fon
(who had fome refemblance to Leigh Hunt); and
another likeneſs in miniature of Mozart. In the middle
of the room ſtood the inftrument on
often played duetts with her brother.
of clavichord-with black keys for the naturals and
white ones for the ſharps, like our old Engliſh Cathedral
organs-the compafs was from
It was a kind
F
to
F

and
had evidently been conftructed before the additional
keys were invented.
The tone was foft, and ſome of
the baſs notes, eſpecially thoſe of the loweſt octave Cs
to
were of a good quality; at the time
*This, in its fimple brown frame, was afterwards prefented by Mozart's fon to
Vincent Novello.
[29]
it was made, it was doubtlefs confidered an excellent
inſtrument. You may be ſure that I touched the keys
which had been preffed by Mozart's fingers, with great
intereſt. Mozart's fon alfo played a few chords upon
it with evident pleaſure; the key he chofe was that of
C minor; and what he did, though fhort, was quite
fufficient to ſhow the accompliſhed mufician. On the
deſk were two pieces of mufic, the laſt which Mozart's
ſiſter had ever played, before ſhe took to her bed, fix
months ago.
They were the "O cara Armonia "
from her brother's opera of the Zauberflöte, and the
Minuet in his Don Giovanni ;-this, to me, was a moſt
touching proof of her continued fifterly attachment to
him to the laſt, and of her taſteful partiality for his
inimitable productions. About two days before we
arrived fhe had defired to be carried from her bed,
and placed at the inftrument. On trying to play ſhe
found that although fhe could ftill execute a few
paffages with her right hand, yet with her left hand
ſhe could no longer prefs down the keys, and it was
but too evident that her powers on that fide were
entirely gone.
"On leaving this eftimable and interefting lady,
both Mary and myſelf could not refrain from kiffing
her weak and emaciated hand with tender refpect,
convinced as we were that we fhould never again
behold her. I fear that fhe cannot continue much
longer in her prefent exhaufted ftate; but whenever
[30]
that hour arrives which no one living can ultimately
avoid, I can only hope that it will not be attended
with the leaft fuffering, and that ſhe will calmly ceaſe
to breathe as if ſhe were merely finking into a tranquil
fleep. I was particularly charmed by the reſpectful
and kind cordiality with which Mozart's fon behaved
to her; calling her repeatedly "Meine leibe Tante,”
and exerting himſelf to the utmoſt to afcertain and
fulfil all her wiſhes."
Another extract, undated, but evidently later on, is
fubjoined, as ſhowing the writer's enthuſiaſtic intereſt
in the woman beloved as a wife by Mozart-Vincent
Novello's favorite compofer. He ſeems to have met
her, on the evening he refers to, at a friend's houſe;
for he writes thus :-" After fupper I had the grati-
fication of feeing Mozart's widow and her fiſter ſafe
home. They had brought their fervant with them, to
fave my doing fo, and would fain have perfuaded me
there was not the leaft neceffity for my accompanying
them home; but (as I told her) it was not every
evening that I could enjoy the fociety of fo rare a
companion as one who had been the companion of
Mozart, and ſhe politely gave up the little friendly
conteſt, and at once took my arm as cordially as if
I had been her own brother. There was a beautiful
moon fhining on the diftant mountains, and illuminating
both the old Gothic church of the convent and the
ancient fortrefs above. The interefting converfation
[ 31 ]
which took place, and the enchanting beauty of the
furrounding ſcenery, rendered this one of the moſt
romantic and delightful walks I ever enjoyed. On
our arrival at the houſe I was at laſt obliged to take
my leave; when Madame Mozart* once more fhook
hands with me moſt cordially, and affured me (after
renewing her promiſe to write to me) that our viſit
altogether to Salzburg had been one of the moft
gratifying compliments which had been paid for
ſeveral years both to herſelf and to the memory
'her Mozart.' I need not ſay what a crowd of
intereſting aſſociations, curious thoughts, and fingular
reflections, paſſed through my mind in the courſe of
my folitary walk back to my Inn.”
of
It was at Paris, on their return from their tour in
Germany and viſit to Mozart's family, that Mr. and
Mrs. Novello brought to maturity their project for
placing their daughter Clara at Mons. Choron's
eſtabliſhment for vocal pupils in the French Academy
of Singing for Church Mufic. The child had given
tokens of poffeffing a voice and mufical abilities rare
in their order; and though fo young, hopes were
given by Mons. Fètis and other influential perfons,
that the little girl might poffibly obtain admiffion
there, were ſhe to compete with the other young-lady
candidates about to try for a nomination. On learning
* Vincent Novello involuntarily calls her fo; though fhe was then Madame
Niffen, having married a ſecond time.
[ 32 ]
this chance, Mrs. Novello, with her ufual energy of
decifion, ſet out immediately to fetch the little Clara
in time for the approaching trial in Paris.
So young
was the childish candidate, that ſhe had (rather againſt
the grain of her little ladyfhip's dignity!) to be placed
on a ftool when the first public performance of the
pupils took place after Clara had gained her election ;
yet ſo potent was the youthful voice, fo affured was
the mufical execution, that her umpires at once decided
in her favor. That ftool was the firſt ſtep of her
fteady aſcenſion to the throne of vocal fupremacy.
The father had reafon to congratulate himſelf on the
firm bafis he had given to his little girl's education in
grounding her thoroughly in the elements of her art;
for fhe acquitted herſelf with a felf-poffeffion and
certainty that won her immediate fuccefs. Her
judges were almoſt as much amufed as pleaſed with
the buſineſs-like, quiet, unfluttered manner of the
child, in the delivery of her competitive exerciſe and
piece. She fang theſe as though fhe had been
accuſtomed to face an audience for years, inſtead of
having feen but a few fummers fince her cradle.
an indication of the full tone and unwavering ſtyle
which characteriſed Clara's finging even at that early
age, one of her judges chancing to hear the little
girl fing in an adjoining room on the eve of the trial-
day, thought it was a girl of fixteen, and could hardly
believe his eyes when he beheld the blue-eyed Engliſh
As
[ 33 ]
child in a white frock who had just been performing
Arne's "Soldier tired" with that confident brilliancy
and rich roundness of voice. The weight and wealth
of tone, with purity and precifion in Clara's high
notes, were as remarkable then as they have been
ever fince,-filvery, bell-like, clear, and ringing.
Before that year came to a clofe, Vincent Novello
had to pay the final tribute of reſpect to Mozart's
fifter. Not many months after he had been to
Salzburg to viſit the Mozart family, the news of
Madame Sonnenburg's death reached England; and
Mr. Novello, in commemoration, and as a homage
to her illuftrious brother, got up a performance of
Mozart's Requiem, with a fmall orcheſtra and organ,
in South Street Chapel. A few choice inftruments,
-Mori's violin, Mariotti's trombone, Anfoffi's
double-bafs, and fome other profeffional friends'
affiftance, fuftained the organist in this refined exe-
cution of the great muſician's masterpiece. Eye as
well as ear was gratified upon that occafion (the laſt
wherein South Street Chapel fhone with its former
glory; for, foon after, it was diſmantled, and the
Embaffy's fervice no longer performed there) in the
expreffion of Vincent Novello's countenance, while
the reflection of the light from the tapers fell full
upon it, beaming with intellectual rapture and
enthuſiaſm for the great mafter he was illuftrating,
as well as for the art in which he himſelf fo excelled.
D
[34]
Here
His admirably-ſhaped head, in harmonious relief
againſt the crimſon drapery furrounding the organ-
loft, formed a picture that might have been a ſtudy
for Titian. Here may be a fitting place to mention
that Vincent's elder brother, Mr. Francis Novello,
had been the principal bafs-finger at the Portugueſe
Chapel, in South Street, during the whole period of
the former's organiſtſhip there; and on the occafion
in queſtion, it was that beautiful voice, mellow yet
fonorous, which gave full effect to the noble "Tuba
mirum," "Recordare," and "Benedictus." The
quality of Mr. Francis Novello's voice, and the
earneſtneſs of feeling which his enthufiaftic admir-
ation of mufic enabled him to throw into the compo-
fitions wherein he took part, will not be readily
forgotten by thoſe who remember the choir at South
Street.
It was in the following year that the family
removed to 67, Frith Street; and it was here that
Vincent Novello's eldeſt fön, Alfred, firft commenced
bufinefs. A very modeft beginning, in appearance,
-a couple of parlour-windows and a glaſs-door,
with a few title-pages bearing compofers' names of
fterling merit, and Vincent Novello's as editor; but
confcientious faith in promoting the diffuffion of the
beſt muſic on the part of him who edited,-induſtry,
punctuality, and zeal on the part of the young
publiſher, with practical counſel, moral encourage-
[35]
ment, and untiring ſympathy on the part of her who
aided huſband and fon in their public endeavours as
in their private hopes and aims,-made that original
fimple parlour-ſhop the germ of the mart for fupply-
ing England-nay, the world with higheſt-claſs
mufic. It was at 67, Frith Street, and fubfequently
at 69, Dean Street (to which latter place he removed
in 1834), that Vincent Novello had the gratification
of ſeeing his fons and daughters around him in the
exerciſe of thoſe talents which nature had given, and
which himfelf and wife had foftered. Judicious
indulgence, affectionate care, and wife cheriſhing,
brought their happy fruits; and the art-loving father
had the joy of poffeffing, in his own offspring,
individuals all more or lefs gifted with the mufical
capacity which he particularly prized. Among his
daughters he had an ample ſupply of foprano voices,
and one alto; his fons Alfred and Edward had each
a bafs voice, while his fon-in-law, Charles, fang
tenor; thus, at any time, the muſician could have
performed in his own family thofe more refined
compofitions which were his eſpecial favorites. The
delight he took in hearing fuch vocal gems as
Mozart's "Ave verum," Leonardo Leo's "Kyrie
eleifon," Wilbye's "Flora gave me," or Linley's
"Let me carelefs," fuggefted to him the writing out
of four green-bound part-mufic books, filled with the
choiceft unaccompanied concerted pieces, amounting
[36]
1
to more than two hundred; and thus, when he and
his young people ſpent a day in the fields, took a
journey, or were otherwife beyond the reach of an
inftrument, they could enjoy the paſtime of muſic as
a crowning pleaſure. He entitled theſe volumes
"Mufic for the Open Air," and they always accom-
panied the family in their holiday excurfions. One
of the opening pieces is the Canon 4 in 2, which
is here printed, and which for years was daily fung
for him by Vincent Novello's family as an after-
dinner Grace. The charming quartett, "Delightful
thus the fleeting hours to ſpend," was written by
its compofer, Charles Stokes, for his friend Vincent
Novello's family-choir at this happy period of their
lives. Thoſe "mufical evenings," one of which is
alluded to in the note which Vincent Novello
appended to the "Thankſgiving after enjoyment,
were indeed memorable epochs; perhaps the moſt
memorable was the one in queſtion. It was foon
after Malibran's marriage with De Beriot; and they
both came to this party at the Novellos' houſe.
Beriot played in a ftring quartett of Haydn's, with
that perfect tone and ftyle which diſtinguiſhed him.
Then his wife gave in generouſly laviſh fucceffion
Mozart's "Non più di fiori," with Willman's
obbligato accompaniment on the Corno di baffetto, a
"Sancta Maria" of her hoft's compofition (which fhe
fang at fight with confummate effect and expreffion),
* See pages 38, 39.
*cc
De
[ 37 ]
a gracefully tender air, "Ah, rien n'eft doux comme
la voix qui dit je t'aime," and laftly a fpirited
mariner's fong, with a failorly burden chiming as it
were with their rope-hauling. In theſe two latter
fhe accompanied herfelf; and when ſhe had concluded
among a rave of admiring plaudits from all preſent,
ſhe ran up to one of the heartieft
one of the heartieft among the
applauding guefts-Felix Mendelffohn-and faid in
her own winning playfully-imperious manner (which
a touch of foreign fpeech and accent made only the
more faſcinating), "Now, Mr. Mendelffohn, I never
do nothing for nothing; you must play for me, now
I have fung for you." He, "nothing loath," let her
lead him to the pianoforte; where he dafhed into a
wonderfully impulfive extempore--maſterly, muſician-
like, full of guſto. In this marvellous improviſation
he introduced the feveral pieces Malibran had juſt
fung, working them with admirable ſkill one after
the other; and finally, in combination, the four
fubjects blended together in elaborate counterpoint.
When Mendelffohn had finifhed his performance,
Vincent Novello turned to an eſteemed friend, who
was one of the hearers, and expreffed his admiration
in thefe remarkable words: "He has done fome
things that ſeem to me to be impoffible, even after
I have heard them done.” No wonder the delight
experienced by the mufical foul of the mafter of the
houfe took the ſhape which it did "next morning."
[38]
A Thanksgiving after enjoyment.
With Spirit.
VINCENT NOVELLO, 10th July, 1833.

Give thanks to God, and praiſe. His Name for e - ver,
•
Treble.
Alto.
Praiſe the
Lord
for
e - ver and e
ver,
Tenor,
(8ve lower.)
Bafs.
Give thanks to
Praiſe the
O praiſe the Lord our God for
Praiſe the Lord
for
all
His
lov
-
ing
God, and praife. . His Name.
for
•
e - ver,
Lord
for e
-
ver and e
ver,
Praiſe
the

all His loving - kind
Cha
nefs and good
nefs,
kind
nefs,
for all
His
ten
der
O praiſe the Lord our God
for
all His loving
Lord,
for
all
His
lov
ing
kind

E-ver praiſe His Ho
ly
Name, for
e
ver praiſe
His
mercy
un
to
us,
Praiſe his Ho
ly
kind nefs and good
Ka
M
nefs,
E
- ver praiſe His
nefs,
for all
His
ten
der mer-cy un
[39]

Ho
ly
Name,
e
ver
blefs the Lord and praiſe
His
Name
for
ver,
e
ver,
ver and
Ho
ly
Name, for
e
- ver praiſe
His
Ho
Y
to
SUN
us,
Praiſe His Ho
ly
Name for

Ho
ly
Name
for e
ver and e
ver, for
e
ver,
Name, e ver blefs the Lord, and praiſe
e
-
ver,
His Ho
-
ver,
e
ver
and
e
ver,
for

all
His
ten
der
mer-cy un- to
us,
O praiſe
the
e
-
ver, for
e
ver and e
ver,
Name
for
e
ver and e
ver, for all
His
ten
der
-SS-
Lord, give thanks to God, and praife.
for
e
ver, for
e
ver and

His Name
for
e - ver.
Praile the
Lord
for
-
ver and e
ver.
ff
mer - cy un
to
us,
O praiſe
the Lord, give thanks to
ver,
Praife the
"The above Canon was written in commemoration of a most delightful mufical
evening, which the Compofer had paffed in company with Malibran, De Beriot,
Willman, Mendelsohn, and other rare muficians. As foon as he awoke next
morning, he wrote the above little compofition, in acknowledgment of the great
pleafure which he had enjoyed."-V.N.
[ 40 ]
It is not, perhaps, too much to ſay that the mufical
evenings at Vincent Novello's houfe gave one great
original incitement to the performance of high-claſs
mufic in domeftic circles which has now fo generally
obtained in England. The profeffor's mufical focialities
in England excited emulation, and produced fimilar
aſſemblages in private circles of the metropolis; theſe
ſpread, and thus the pleaſant practice of performing
fterling claffical mufic among family and friendly re-
unions has now become univerfal in town and country.
Bacon pronounces a garden to be "the moſt humane
of pleaſure : we might call domeftic mufic "the moſt
urbane of pleaſures," were it not that, though capital
in itſelf, its delight is not confined to the capital; but
is equally felt and enjoyed in the provinces. Vincent
Novello was alfo the prime mover of another branch
of focial mufical performance; a performance partaking
of a public and of a private character. He was one
of the founders of the "Claffical Harmonifts' "
Society; which confifted of fome twenty to thirty
gentlemen and lady members who met monthly to
get up good vocal and inftrumental mufic. And he
likewiſe promoted the inftitution of the "Choral
Harmoniſts'" Society, which numbered a ſtill larger
body of fubfcribers. Thefe London muſical focieties
gave rife to provincial ones on the fame plan, and
were another ſource of promoting that diffuſion of
fine mufic, its tafte, its culture, its practical knowledge
[ 41 ]
and performance, which Vincent Novello ever had fo
much at heart.
During this elate period of Vincent Novello's life,
the Mufical Feſtival in Westminster Abbey took
place in 1834. He himself prefided at the organ ;
and his daughter Clara was one of the foprano
vocaliſts in the facred oratorios performed on the
occafion. Many can remember the young angelic
voice fo appropriately heard in "How beautiful are
the feet," and other Handelian ftrains. The reader
will be pleaſed to ſee a ſportive note of Charles
Lamb's, written to Vincent Novello's fon-in-law at
this time; a note ftill carefully preſerved, deſpite
its pencilled characters and worn edges. It is directed
outfide, "Charles Cowden Clarke, Efq."; but begins
and ends without addreſs or ſignature. "We heard
the mufic in the Abbey at Winchmore Hill! and the
notes were incomparably foften'd by the diftance.
Novello's chromatics were diftinctly audible. Clara
was faulty in B flat. Otherwife fhe fang like an
angel. The trombone, and Beethoven's walzes were
the beſt. Who played the oboe?" In the fame
ſpirit (moft confiftent with that which pervades the
whimfical, witty "Chapter on Ears ") are fome lines.
which Charles Lamb wrote in his friend Vincent
Novello's album; and which he entitled-
[42]
F
FREE THOUGHTS ON SOME EMINENT COMPOSERS.
Some cry up Haydn, fome Mozart,
Just as the whim bites. For my part,
I do not care one farthing candle
For either of them, nor for Handel.
Cannot a man live free and eaſy
Without admiring Pergolefi?
Or through the world with comfort go
'That never heard of Doctor Blow?
So help me God, I hardly have;
And yet I eat, and drink, and ſhave,
Like other people, if you watch it,
And know no more of ftave or crotchet
Than did the primitive Peruvians,
Or thofe old ante-queer-Diluvians,
That lived in the unwashed world with Tubal,
Before that dirty blackſmith, Jubal,
By ſtrokes on anvil, or by fumm'at
Found out, to his great furpriſe, the Gamut.
I care no more for Cimarofa
Than he did for Salvator Rofa,
Being no painter: and bad luck
Be mine, if I can bear that Gluck.
Old Tycho Brahe, and modern Herſchel
Had fomething in 'em; but who's Purcell ?
The Devil, with his foot fo cloven,
For aught I care, may take Beethoven;
And if the bargain does not ſuit,
I'll throw him Weber in to boot.
There's not the ſplitting of a ſplinter
To chooſe 'twixt him laft-named, and Winter.
Of Doctor Pepuſch old Queen Dido
Knows juſt as much, God knows, as I do.
[ 43 ]
I would not go four miles to vifit
Sebaftian Bach-or Batch-which is it?
No more I would for Bononcini.
As for Novello, and Roffini,
I ſhall not fay a word to grieve 'em,
Becauſe they're living. So I leave 'em.
C. LAMB.
Beneath, on the fame page, Mifs Lamb fubjoined
the following:
The reaſon why my brother's fo fevere;
Vincentio is my brother has no ear :
And Caradori her mellifluous throat
Might ſtretch in vain to make him learn a note.
Of common tunes he knows not anything,
Nor "Rule Britannia" from "God fave the King."
He rail at Handel! He the gamut quiz!
I'd lay my life he knows not what it is.
His fpite at mufic is a pretty whim-
He loves not it, becauſe it loves not him,
M. LAMB.
After a few years, the Novellos left London for
Bayſwater; and refided for fome time, fucceffively,
in two of the pretty cottages on Craven Hill, when
that place ſtill retained its primitive fimplicity, and
confifted of ſmall detached dwellings with gardens,
inſtead of the grand houſes which now riſe there
in lofty rows. For a large portion of this time,
Vincent Novello remained in England, fuperintending
his various mufical works; while his wife accompa-
nied their daughter Clara abroad on a lengthened
profeffional tour in Germany and Ruffia, and during
[44]
a period when it was refolved that ſhe ſhould ſtudy
in Italy with a view to the lyric ftage. Be it here
noted, that Mrs. Novello's abfence from home, far
from preventing her fulfilment of home duties, only
afforded ſcope for her manifefting how exaltedly a
woman can accompliſh apparently incompatible taſks.
Even while perfonally devoting exclufive attention to
one child, by her prefence and vigilant care, Mrs.
Novello no leſs influenced and guided thoſe remain-
ing under the paternal roof by conftant and minutely-
detailed letters, filled with accounts of what ſhe her-
felf beheld abroad that might tend to the inftruction
and entertainment of thofe fhe wrote to, or with
advice, fympathy, and the livelieft intereſt in all they
were thinking, ſaying, and doing at home. Not only
did ſhe cheer and fupport her huſband, by theſe
frequent and loving epiftles, (models of letter-com-
pofition!) but fhe continued the good work of
ftimulating and encouraging their children to conduct
that ſhould redound to their own and their parents'
honour and happineſs. So felicitoufly did fhe blend
counfel with affectionate encouragement, that her
opinion, her encomium, were ever the incentive to
freſh exertion; and they no leſs ſtrove to fatisfy the
mother, than to gratify the tender friend. With a
vivacity of participation in everything that occupied
their hopes or their wifhes, fhe made herſelf almoſt
more a comrade than a parent to her adoring children;
[45]
and even while fhe was away from them, they felt
her with them in fpirit. By a paradox wrought to
a truth through the might of fuch a nature as hers,
-thofe who moft miffed her, beft bore feparation.
from her. The talent which diftinguifhed yet
another of Vincent Novello's daughters, for finging
and for languages, prolonged this feparation; the
mother's namefake, Mary Sabilla, finding fimilar
maternal devotion to that which Clara had found.
At the cloſe of the year 1848, it became evident
that Mrs. Novello's health required refidence in a
warmer climate; and fhe wintered in Rome, near to
her daughter Clara, who was by that time married to
an Italian nobleman, Count Gigliucci.
In 1849,
Vincent Novello joined his wife at Nice, where they
took a pleaſant houfe, for themfelves and their
youngeſt furviving daughter, Sabilla, to dwell in
henceforth; as the latter's delicacy of throat, and
ſuſceptibility to cold and damp, rendered a fouthern
atmoſphere equally needful for her. Here, vifited
every autumn by their other children, Vincent
Novello and his wife lived for fome years in quiet
retirement, after the life of active exertion they had
hitherto led with fuch profperous effect; and it was
with complacent feeling, that they found themfelves
fettled, during the evening of exiftence, in that
beautiful land which had given birth to the immediate
progenitor of Vincent Novello.
[46]
Theſe happy autumnal vifits continued uninter-
ruptedly until the year 1854; when the fevereſt
affliction befel the family that it had yet ſuſtained.
Mrs. Novello's fragile phyfical condition rendered
her peculiarly ſuſceptible of any caſual influence, and
cholera prevailing that ſeaſon, a ſudden attack of that
terrible malady proved fatal, ending her life in a
very few hours after ſeizure. Calm, thoughtful for
others to the laſt, fhe yielded breath, attended by
two of her daughters, Clara and Sabilla. Cheerful,
energetic in ſpirit, until attacked by mortal illneſs,
the very day before her death ſhe ſpent with thoſe of
her children and grandchildren then in Nice; fympa-
thizing in their purſuits, promoting their amuſements,
enhancing their pleaſure by her prefence and lively
intereſt in all they did.
This mental vivacity, imparting a fingular zeft and
charm to all ſhe faid; this fpiritual intenſity, giving
vigour to all ſhe thought and planned; this ftrength
and decifion of character, blended with the moſt
perfect womanly gentlenefs and benignity, rendering
ſupremely valuable her counſel and aid ;-combined
to form one of the most matchlefs wives and mothers
ever vouchſafed to humanity. With ftrangers, fhe
was bland, courteous, eafy; inſpiring immediate con-
fidence and liking. To the poor, and to dependants,
ſhe was largely benevolent and kind. To her friends,
ſhe was warm-mannered, warm-hearted, thoroughly
[ 47 ]
47]
loyal and conftant; fo cordial, genial, frank, and
generous, that they were attached to her with a loving
fondneſs and affectionate refpect, more like the regard
and preference fubfifting between kindred than thoſe
belonging to ordinary friendſhip.
As a woman, fhe was attractive in no common
degree: tall, finely proportioned, of clear complexion
and delicate ſkin, and of a moſt ſweet and winning
aſpect. Graceful in movement; dignified, yet of
extreme fuavity in demeanour. She was well-
accompliſhed wrote with elegance and taſte (having
written much verfe, and the libretto of an oratorio
for her huſband when he had thoughts of compofing
one; feveral profe: tales, of poetic and romantic
feeling; and many hundreds of eloquent delightful
letters); drew with confiderable ſkill; fang prettily;
embroidered in coloured filks, and made her own
defigns for work with truly artiſtic maſtery; read
aloud with even dramatic fitnefs and effect; and con-
verfed with a knowledge, an imagination, and a
diverſity that made talk with her a privilege and a
feaſt.
As a wife, fhe excelled with a cultivated mind,
with an intellect and native intelligence of rare order,
with a temper of exquifitely fympathetic quality,
with refined taſtes, with gracious perfonal appearance,
ſhe made one of the moſt perfect companions and
"other-felfs" to her huſband that it is poffible to
[ 48 ]
conceive.
In the moſt exalted aims of his exiſtence,
as in the moſt common-place details of his every-day
life, ſhe was thoroughly his help-meet, his confort.
She elevated and fuftained his views, the fupported
his courage, ſhe made his home a reſt, a bliſs. She
enabled him to dedicate himſelf wholly to his choſen
Art-avocations, by taking upon herſelf the leſs-
interefting, but equally-needful duties of each day's
work; fhe enabled him fully to enjoy his leifure by
fharing it with him vividly, and by entering with
ſpirit into all his predilections. She read to him
when he could liften; talked with him when he had
time for converfation; walked with him when he
took air, exerciſe, or recreation. Her fine ftrong
natural fenfe gave vigour to his plans, fubftance to
his ideas, ſhape and practicality to his projects.
That he might have none of the petty details of
income, outlay, or domeftic affairs, fhe made them
all her province, and executed their various ordina-
tions with admirably-calculated economy.
In this,
ſhe was wifely and nobly feconded by her huſband.
He, perceiving her talents, her good ſenſe, her
excellent principles, entruſted her with the whole
controlling management of their joint concerns; and
fo well was his truft and confidence refponded to on
her part by judicious fulfilment of his wifhes and
care of their united interefts, that fhe conducted
buſineſs with the combined clever-headednefs of a
[ 49 ]
She
man, and the ſharp-fightedneſs of a woman.
wrote buſineſs letters, fhe faw bufinefs people, fhe
completed buſineſs tranſactions, with a precifion and
alacrity that ſpared her huſband's time and attention;
while fhe behaved, through all, with a lady-like
grace, that won him freſh eſteem and refpect from
all who had dealings with them both. Every houſe
they lived in, the wife inſpected it, decided upon its
eligibility, arranged for the terms, wrote out the
agreement, took the leafe, &c. Every fchool, every
teacher, provided for their children, the wife went to
fee, or examined herſelf. Many a taſk that uſually
falls to the ſhare of the maſter of a family to do, the
miſtreſs, in this cafe, undertook and executed. Thus,
mutual conſultation, mutual agreement, were the fole
points needed; while the wife fpared her huſband all
active trouble by voluntarily affuming it to herſelf.
Thus too, it may be faid, that his fuper-excellent
wife was one main cauſe of Vincent Novello's
achieving fo much,-fo very much,-as he did.
Had he had paltry concerns to attend to, had he had
the perpetual worry and diftraction of houſehold
queftions to decide upon, had he had the conftant
interruption of appeals, refponfibilities, family cares,
and buſineſs tranſactions,-is it likely that he would
have found time and opportunity for the inceffant
muſical labour and induſtry-befides extenfive pro-
feffional teaching--which were his? Had his brain
E
[50]
been diſturbed with ordinary ſubjects; had his fingers
been employed in penning bufinefs letters; had his
hours been frittered away by other calls upon his
time, inſtead of being devoted to the one great and
abſorbing purſuit, is it probable that he would have
been able to accumulate all that maſs of mufical
work, which forms an almoft incredible amount for
one man to have achieved with his own unaided
hands? Men of artistic calling, poffeffed of fuch an
ineſtimable treaſure as a wife like Vincent Novello's,
are thereby enabled to give not only a double, but a
multiplied product from their genius and labour to
the world.
As a mother, Mrs. Novello fhone confummate.
She fulfilled her maternal duties, from firſt to laſt,
with a noble confecration of herſelf to that moſt
hallowed of earthly miffions. With a peculiar gift
for difcerning the feveral capacities of her children, fhe
forefaw what would be their beſt future ſpheres of
action then, diligently fought the means of fitting
them for thoſe ſpheres, and of placing them therein.
She took fcrupulous care of her own health to bring
them forth; fhe took ceaſeleſs care of them and their
health from the moment they were born, never
delegating to a nurſe the privileged office of yielding
nouriſhment from the mother's own bofom; ſhe gave
them watchful nights, thoughtful days, and hourly,
minutely fuperintendence. She made herſelf their
1
[51]
food, their joy, their guardian angel in infancy; their
playmate in childhood; their preceptor and comrade
in youth; their guide, their friend, their everything
as they grew up. While the lived they feemed to
poffefs all; when fhe died, they ſeemed to lofe all.
They had this fole confolation: fhe remained upon
earth to ſee her children's profperity in thofe careers
ſhe had chofen for them with her own beautiful
wiſdom of previfion; and when ſhe went to heaven,
ſhe left them the abiding confcioufnefs of gratitude
and love towards her for what fhe had been to them
in life, and of poffeffing her immortal ſpirit thenceforth
evermore with them,-thus, ftill to comfort in afflic-
tion, to fuftain in endeavour, and to exalt in divine
faith, hope, and truſt.
It remains but to ſpeak more particularly of
Vincent Novello's feveral productions; thoſe muſical
labours which fo worthily and fo happily had occupied
the active portion of his life.
The difficulty of publiſhing fuch works as were
the early compofitions and arrangements of Vincent
Novello, can hardly be appreciated at the preſent day.
Publiſhers could not then be found to run the risk;
and the expenſes of engraving and printing had to be
provided for by himſelf out of his hard earnings. At
the fame time, he had almoſt to create the taſte for fuch
mufic among the public, by the production and execu-
tion of them in his own choir at South Street.
[ 52 ]
The ſeparate accompaniments for the organ or
pianoforte, which are fo familiar in the preſent day,
were quite the exception in the early part of this
century. Vincent Novello's works were among the
firſt where a definite part was printed for the accom-
panyiſt. Previouſly, vocal ſcores had only a line with
the baſs part, having the addition of figures to indicate
the harmonies; and the melodies of the various parts
had to be gathered and adapted to the inftrument, as
the performance proceeded.
Vincent Novello's firft work, "Sacred Mufic in
two volumes," dedicated to the Rev. Victor Fryer,
was received with very great favor. It was compiled
from the mufic which had been moft appreciated
among that which had been collected in manufcript for
the uſe of the choir at South Street; and compriſed
feveral long compofitions of his own, including the
"Salve Regina,” "Alma Redemptoris," and other
complete pieces, as well as the portions which he added
to what is called "The Selected Mafs." The Sanctus
and Benedictus for five voices, and Hofanna fugue—
a compofition which he had completed before his
eighteenth year-may be pointed out as a fpecimen of
remarkable beauty in five-part vocal compofition.
"Twelve Eaſy Maffes " for fmall choirs were
publiſhed ſhortly after; of which three are original
compofitions by himſelf; and the reft by Spaniſh,
Portugueſe, and other authors.
[53]
Two more works were commenced in books, ap-
pearing from time to time over a confiderable period,
entitled "Motetts for the Morning Service," and
"The Evening Service." Theſe contain many of
Vincent Novello's original compofitions, which have
remained conſtant favorites in the choirs of the Catholic
Church, for whofe fervices they were compofed.
The compofitions of Vincent Novello are very
numerous, and many are of important length; but
they are much difperfed amid his various Collections,
and they have been, to a certain degree, overshadowed
by his ſtill more abundant arrangements. His reputa-
tion as a compofer would probably have been greater
than it is, had he confined himſelf to the publication of
his own compofitions alone; but all his works were
produced for ſpecial utility; and, bearing that object
more in view than perfonal renown, he fupplied the
compofition moft adapted to the fervice required,
without regard to whether it were compofed by himſelf
or another. Perhaps the ſecret of the ſucceſs of his
early publications, was not only their muſical merit;
but, that being compiled from the books of his own
choir, they were all pieces which had had the previous
fanction of fuccefsful performance.
The chief of his mufical compofitions are to facred
words; but he has alſo produced ſome very approved
compofitions to fecular words-fongs, canzonets,
glees, and choruſes. In 1832 the Mancheſter Prize
[54]
for the beſt cheerful glee was awarded to his glee,
"Old May Morning;" at the fame time that Sir
Henry Biſhop obtained the prize for the beft ferious
glee.
"The Infant's Prayer,” a recitative and air, enjoyed
a very extended popularity; there having been fold of
it upwards of ſeventy thouſand copies; and it is ftill
in demand for ſchool teaching, from its pleafing and
fterling merits.
The Philharmonic Society having requeſted Vincent
Novello to fupply their concerts with an original
cantata of his compofition, he wrote for them the
"Rofalba;" which contains foprano and contralto
folos, a quartet and chorus, with full orcheſtral
accompaniments.
The attention which Vincent Novello gave to
pfalmody, during fome years of his life, tended very
greatly to improve that fimple branch of devotional
mufic. Various denominations of Chriſtians applied
to him to revife and renew their collections; and how
well he accompliſhed their requeſts by the harmoniza-
tion of their tunes-avoiding extreme chords, yet ever
maintaining a folid ecclefiaftical harmony, flowing and
melodious inner parts, combined with the utmoſt
fimplicity is proved by the fteadfaſt ufe made of
them in the multitude of churches and chapels where
the various collections edited by him have been
adopted. He was often defired by profeffional
[55]
friends to contribute original pfalm tunes to their
collections; and thofe he wrote for them are among
the continued favorites of the congregations. In his
latter days he made a manufcript affemblage of all
thefe contributed pfalm tunes, with a view to their
being brought out in a collected form; but the work
has not yet been publiſhed. They are a hundred and
fifty original pfalm tunes; two hundred and fifty
adaptations of melodies by others; and a hundred
fingle and double chants. It is hoped that the
publication of the original pfalm tunes and chants
may ſtill take place at an early period,* if it ſhould
be found defirable.
A fimple enumeration of the various works of
Vincent Novello would imply the reprinting almoſt
the whole of the large catalogue of the Dean Street
Houſe, extending to two hundred pages; and, in
addition to thefe, he edited feveral important works
for other publiſhers. It muſt therefore ſuffice to make
a brief mention of fome of thoſe whoſe appearance
had an influential effect upon the mufic of the period.
Among theſe muſt certainly rank the edition of
Mozart's and Haydn's Maffes. When this was com-
menced, the publiſhed Maffes of Mozart were eight,
including the Requiem; and of Haydn, feven. Theſe
works were to be had only in full orchestral ſcore,
without ſeparate accompaniment for the organ; and
*Now in the prefs.—1863.
[56]
theſe full ſcores were printed only abroad. From
great reſearch, and by the kind aid of thoſe who
poffeffed manuſcript ſcores, Vincent Novello was
enabled to publiſh eighteen Maffes of Mozart and
fixteen of Haydn. Theſe are not only printed in
vocal ſcore, with ſeparate accompaniment, but alſo the
ſeparate orcheſtral and vocal parts are printed for the
uſe of orcheſtras. Nothing has contributed more to
the diffuſion of good mufic than the printing of parts
for orcheſtras; and thofe who revel in the abundance
of the preſent day (who may be ſupplied by the
publiſher, at the laſt moment, for a few pence), are
not aware what were the previous difficulties of getting
up even a ſmall performance of claffical mufic with
accompaniment; when manufcript parts had to be
made with much labor, uncertainty, and delay, from
fcores to be procured only by favour from a few
amateur libraries.
About the year 1824 Vincent Novello was requeſted
by the authorities of the Fitzwilliam Muſeum, at
Cambridge, to examine and report on the large
collection of muſical manufcripts which were in their
library: and he ſpent confiderable time in doing ſo;
making ſeveral vifits to Cambridge, at his own expenſe,
for that purpoſe. The ancient Italian ſchool had his
chief attention; and a portion of the refult of his re-
fearches he publiſhed, confifting of felections from
Bonno, Bononcini, Cafaro, Cariffimi, Clari, Colonna,
[ 57 ]
Conti, Durante, Feroce, Jomelli, Leo, Lupi, L. Da
Vittoria, Martini, Orlando di Laffo, Paleſtrina,
Pergolefi, Perti, Stradella, &c. Only about one-third
of the extracts he thus made were publiſhed; but fine
fpecimens, calculated to fill ten volumes more, were
copied from the library, and ſtill remain in manuſcript.
The commercial difficulties and uncertainties of
fuccefs, which had to be encountered in the earlier
publications, having given place about 1825 to a ſteady
demand for every new work that had the advantage of
bearing the name of Vincent Novello as editor, made
the continuous flow of important works to be limited
only by his induſtry; and the brief enumeration of the
titles of the more valuable works which appeared up
to 1840, will ſhow how great that induſtry muſt have
been.
"Purcell's Sacred Works" was a labour of much
reſearch and collation; as the larger portion had re-
mained in manuſcript, diſperſed in the choir-books of
different cathedrals, or rare copies in the collections of
individuals. Vincent Novello preſented the original
manuſcript copy he made of this work to the Britiſh
Muſeum; for, contrary to wont, it was in beautifully
prefervable form.
The majority of his manuſcripts.
(eſpecially latterly), though moft neatly and legibly
written, were jotted down upon fuch mere odds and
ends of mufic-paper, and generally ftitched together
(or rather, threaded together, like a file of papers),
:
[58]
that they ſerved but to be uſed by the printer, and then
were thrown away or deſtroyed.
To Boyce's celebrated Collection of Cathedral Mufic
in three volumes, was not only added a ſeparate organ
part, but the fame was reprinted in feparate vocal parts.
Similar organ parts were added by him to the four
volumes of Boyce's own anthems, to the anthems and
fervices of Greene, Croft, Kent, Clarke Whitfeld, and
Nares; and all theſe were likewife edited by him in
fingle vocal parts.
The "Cathedral Choir Book," a collection of mufic
(in cheap and varied forms) ſelected from various
ſources by himſelf, was another contribution to the
large library of that branch of mufic which he edited.
A careful revifion of the fourteen principal oratorios
by Handel, included a feparate accompaniment to each
oratorio; editing the original orcheſtral and choral
parts; adding to Judas Maccabæus additional wind
parts; and ſuperintending the cheap octavo editions of
the ſcores.
Similar editions of Haydn's Creation, Seafons,
Paffione, Tempesta; and other oratorios by Romberg,
Spohr, Himmel, &c., he produced in a variety of
forms. Maffes, cantatas, litanies, &c., by Beethoven,
Hummel, Cherubini, Weber, Spohr, Bühler, Fenoglio,
and Zingarelli, comprife long works for which he
arranged ſeparate accompaniments, and which he edited
in various forms.
[59]
In the fhape of pianoforte arrangements for four
hands, Vincent Novello familiarized feveral favorite
operatic pieces of claffical authors. His pianoforte
duets from Mozart's Figaro, Idomeneo, and Cofi fan
tutte; and from Spohr's Fauft, Jeffonda, and Zemire
and Azor, obtained favour; while the latter may be
faid to have ſerved firft to introduce Spohr's opera
mufic to Engliſh knowledge.
Three extenfive works for the ufe of organiſts, as
voluntaries, or where voices are not at command, have
been found of eſpecial utility; if we may eſtimate by
the very great fale they have obtained. They are :—
The "Select Organ Pieces," three large volumes;
the "Cathedral Voluntaries," in two volumes; and
the "Short Melodies,” in one volume.
Vincent Novello had the rare privilege of completing
and giving to the public during his lifetime moſt of
the more important works which he had undertaken ;
among the exceptions to this rule, however, was one
of confiderable volume, of which no part has yet been
publiſhed. He propoſed to ſet to original or ſelected
muſic the words appointed to be fung at the "Offer-
tory" (a portion of the Roman Catholic Service) for
every Feſtival contained in the Miffal during the
ecclefiaftical year. Of the feveral feries therein con-
tained, about eighty have been completed for thoſe
feſtivals diftinguifhed as "Pro Tempore ;" and theſe
were engraved and corrected ready for prefs. It is
[60]
intended to give what are completed to the public at
an early period.
No man was more fuccefsful than Vincent Novello
in producing muſic in forms that placed it within reach
of the leaſt wealthy. He may be faid to have created
both demand and fupply; for, by his early efforts he
introduced little-known works of great maſters, thereby
originating a taſte and defire for them; and, by his
perfevering toil, continued to bring them forth in fuch
abundance and uſable ſhape, that they became neceffities
not only to muſicians, but afpirants in mufical cultiva-
tion. Out of this abundance and ufableneſs grew the
requifite cheapnefs which fhould place theſe fterling
works within command of the large claſs of uſers that
had been rendered fo extenfive; and thus, numerous
demand and numerous fupply alike aroſe from Vincent
Novello's earneſt devotion to his art.
He had no bigotry in mufic. His wide-embracing
appreciation had love for all really good mufic, what-
ever its peculiar character. From the ancient ſtores
of Paleſtrina or old Gregorian mufic, to the modern
opera or glee,—from each and all, the induſtry of
Vincent Novello was ever culling and printing in
ſerviceable form the best portions; and a mufical
library conſtituted alone of the works edited by
Vincent Novello would in itſelf compriſe a very
varied collection of all the beſt ſtyles of muſic.
Vincent Novello's perfonal appearance is well indi-
[61]
cated by the portrait given at the commencement of
the prefent biographical ſketch. The original picture
was one of his fon Edward's first attempts in oil
painting; and is a beautiful fpecimen of tafte in
colouring (the young artist had never had a fingle
leffon in colouring), with fidelity in feature, figure,
and expreffion. The pofition of the head, the atti-
tude, the ſhape and look of the hand, are all true;
and Mr. Humphrys' engraving has preferved thefe
particulars of reſemblance. Vincent Novello's ſtature
was about middle height; his perſon ſomewhat ſtout ;
his carriage and walk wonderfully energetic and
purpofeful; his hands and feet remarkably ſmall and
white. On a certain occafion, the fhapelinefs and
delicacy of theſe latter were made obvious; when,
going down to the fhore to meet her father returning
from a morning plunge in the fea, one of his
daughters faw him take off his ſhoe and ſhake out the
fand that had drifted in, leaving his fair ftockinglefs
foot revealed to view. No one feeing his boots or
ſhoes would have gueffed the fmall fize of his foot;
for he wore them of a magnitude more fuited to a
flipper-bath than to human dimenfions. He faid he
liked to have them easy; and the confequence was
that they might have accommodated any amount of
fea-fand in addition to the foot they fhod, giving
ready admiffion to whatever quantity chofe to lodge
there. His clothes were of an equally (what he
[ 62 ]
called) commodious make; and his cravat was always
tied looſely enough to allow of his chin repofing
roomily therein, as well as his throat. He was early
bald; lofing the chief portion of his hair when he was
no older than fix-and-twenty. It preſerved its brown
colour for many years; and only latterly turned grey.
His manners, when in good health, were focial,
gay, and lively. Fond of converfation, he talked
well and freely, when with thofe he intimately knew ;
but he was retiring-nay, fhy-with ftrangers. He
had a good deal of Engliſh referve in his bearing
towards thoſe whom he met for the firſt time; though
it wore off on acquaintance, and vaniſhed altogether
when he took a liking to them. He had a certain
quiet pride, common to very modeft men; conſcious
of innate merit, yet averfe from felf-affertion.
his chofen friends he was eafy, genial, cordial.
them he gave way to mirth and good-fellowſhip;
laughed, bantered, punned. He was a great punſter ;
and vied honorably with Charles Lamb, Leigh Hunt,
and Henry Robertfon,-thofe maſters in the art of
punning.
With
With
but upon
Vincent Novello was no vocaliſt;
occafion he was heard to fing. He was trying over
fome concerted piece from the ſcore of "Don Gio-
vanni ;" the part of Leporello was unfupplied, and he
murmured the notes required. There was not much
voice; but the intervals taken truly, the phraſes well
[63]
phraſed, the ſpirit of the mufic exquifitely given-
bore witneſs to the musician's finging.
His care in arranging-either the ſeparate accom-
paniment for organ and pianoforte, or for four-hand
duets was manifefted by (among other things) the
minute pains he took to make the paffages "lie well
under the hand.” Often would the pen be placed
between the lips, while the fingers were ſpread and
moved over the table as if in the act of playing; fo
that he might mechanically teft the moſt facile and
beſt mode of arranging the phraſe under confideration.
In "laying out" works for printing, alſo, he ſpared
no trouble in devifing favourable turnings, with well-
ſpaced bars, lines, and pages; and frequently, when
dividing his manufcripts for this purpofe, he would
count up, with flight raps of his pencil on the paper,
aſking half aloud :-" How many ſevens in fifty?"
And when the reply came from fome one of thoſe
fitting quietly near him, he would reply:
muſt be ſo-and-fo.”
CC
Ay, it
Vincent Novello was what is called fhort-fighted;
that is, he uſed a glafs to diftinguiſh far-off objects.
But his fight was fo naturally ftrong, that he could fee
to read a ſmall print with a very flender allowance of
light in the room, even at an advanced age; and during
the twelvemonth preceding the laſt year of his life, he
wrote fome autographs at the requeſt of his eldeſt
daughter, which were as clearly and ſteadily penned as
his fignature had ever been.
[64]
She had the inestimable privilege of being with him
night and day through his final illneſs at Nice. It
was without pain; he was patient, gentle, affectionate,
longing for reft. This was granted to him on the
evening of the 9th of Auguſt, 1861. Had he lived
until the 6th of the following month, September, he
would have been eighty years of age. After a life of
unfparing induſtry, with the bleffing of beholding his
labors achieve honorable fuccefs in advancing the art he
loved fo devotedly, his end was crowned by peace.
CC
The moſt proper monument to a uſeful man's
memory is that which he has himſelf erected in the
works he leaves behind him. But if ever a cenotaph
be erected in England to the memory of Vincent
Novello, the moſt appropriate fite for it would be in
Weſtminſter Abbey; an edifice he loved fo well, and
which he at one time made the termination of his daily
walk, to go in and hear the anthem." His well-
known place was a feat in the aiſle, where Poet's
Corner abuts upon the door to the cloifter. The old
vergers called it "Mr. Novello's feat ;" and pointed
it out to his Italian grandchildren when they came to
England and viſited the Abbey in 1860. There could
hardly be a more fitting ſpot than the neighbourhood
of this feat for placing a tablet-record of how much
this eminent muſician and eftimable man contributed to
the improvement of cathedral muſic.
Genoa, April 1862.

Jall
IN-MEM-VINCENT NOVELO
Deum
Gaudemus
NOVELLO AND CO.,
TYPOGRAPHICAL MUSIC AND GENERAL PRINTERS,
DEAN STREET, SOHO, LONDON.
ADDENDA.
[66]
The defire expreffed at page 64 has been carried
out in the moft gratifying manner, by a permiffion
from the Dean and Chapter of Weſtminſter to have
a Memorial Window of ſtained glaſs erected in the
Abbey. This window has been placed in the North
Tranfept; its fubject being, very appropriately, a
Saint Cecilia,-the patron faint of mufic; and the
work was executed with much ſkill and taſte by
Meffrs. Lavers and Barraud. An engraving is fub-
joined. Thus many admirers of Vincent Novello,
who are unable to fee the memorial window itſelf,
in its glorious fite, will at leaſt have the pleaſure of
knowing the kind of tribute that has been judged
proper to be erected in honor of a thoroughly ac-
compliſhed, induftrious, and confcientious muſician,
who devoted his life to the world-wide promotion
of mufic's refining influence among his fellow-
creatures.
Genoa: September, 1863.

RESEARCH
COPY
DATE DUE

GENERAL LIG
ALLIG
UNIV. OF MIGA.
FEB 81 1900

ド
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