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256 A CENTURY OF BALLADS
" Mattinata," and of his French songs, " Ninon," "Chanson de l'adieu," and " Pour un baiser," have all become great favourites in this country. To his list of English songs has quite recently been added " Once More," his latest song, written at the age of sixty-four!
Another Italian song which has had enormous success in this country is Tito Mattel's " Non e ver." Published nearly fifteen years ago, it is still being sung to-day, not only in the original Italian, but in English, German, French, Russian, and Spanish. The words were written by Signor Caravoglia, the famous operatic baritone. One morning he arrived at the Hotel Previtali in London, where Mattei was staying, and found the composer in bed. " Get up, you lazy fellow," said he ; " I want you to write me a song. I've got the words here." Mattei protested sleepily at being disturbed, but on hearing the title of the song, " Non e ver," he was so struck with it that he got up. In an hour the music was finished, Caravoglia sang it through, and together they went off to Hutchings and Romer, the publishers, who were immensely pleased with it, and eventually published it. There are probably few songs of modern times of which more copies have been sold than of " Non e ver."
Of Mattel's English songs two of the most popular have been "Oh, oh, hear the wild wind |
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