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94 National Music of the World.
English collections as a dance, to serve the turn of his ' Pastoral symphony ' in the ' Messiah '; music in which (to quote from the Goethe and Zelter correspondence), 'one feels the star-light.' The same character of melody, with disregard of the drone bass, was exquisitely called out for the same situation by John Sebastian Bach in his Christmas oratorio. Beethoven, again, though he broke away from the traditional triple tempo, used the Sicilian shepherds' drone in his ' Pastoral symphony.' It has often occurred to me that the theme of Signor Rossini's delightful ' Di tanti palpiti' in ' Tan-credi,' notoriously derived from a national tune, bears not indistinct traces of Pifferari origin; though the theme, of course, has been ' rhymed and twisted' so as to alter its character. Thus, it may be proved that from an instrument and a dancing measure, was planted in Italy one of the first types of rhythmical measure, as distinguished from harmonised chant; since, if the above speculations be tenable, the Siciliana bore an earlier date than the lauds or sacred canticles or than the madrigals accompanied by less savage instruments, which kept alive the Italian towns on festival days. The pastoral alia Siciliana may well be called the tune of Rome. |
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