| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
|
258 A CENTURY OJh BALLADS
" 'Specially Jim," " The Birth of Morn," and the song-cycle Fairy Dreams. Mention must also be made of Luigi Denza, the composer of "Funiculi, Funicula," "A May morning," and a number of other successful songs ; of Edgardo Levi, composer of "When thou art sad' and "Last night I dreamt"; and of Napoleone Zardo's "Paquita," "Happy Bird," and "A June Rose."
A composer whose earliest successes date back a considerable number of years is A. H. Behrend, a grandson of Balfe, from whom, no doubt, he inherited his gift of melody. One of the first of these was his setting of Hood's " Song of the Shirt," which was sung a great deal by Antoinette Sterling. This was seized upon by our critic in Musical Jottings, who wrote :—
"'Song of the Shirt,' by Behrens [sic], sung by Antoinette Sterling. We don't like it, and therefore must leave it to its fate."
Behrend's next popular success was "Auntie," a lyric by Weatherly, which he was very near not setting at all. He had tried several times without success, until one day he got a letter from the author to say that Molloy wanted to set it. Behrend asked for another week's grace, during which time he set it and took it to Madame Patey, who liked it so much that she bought it on her own responsibility for the firm of Patey and Willis, |
||
|
|
||