MY dear Novello,—I am afraid I shall appear rather tardy in offering my
congratulations, however sincere, upon your daughter’s marriage. The
truth is, I had put together a little Serenata upon the occasion, but was
prevented from sending it by my sister,
to whose judgment I am apt to defer too much in these kind of things; so that,
now I have her consent, the offering, I am afraid, will have lost the grace of
seasonableness. Such as it is, I send it. She thinks it a little too
old-fashioned in the manner, too much like what they wrote a century back. But
I cannot write in the modern style, if I try ever so hard. I have attended to
the proper divisions for the music, and you will have
| 1828 | THE SERENATA | 783 |
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Duetto
Wake th’ harmonious voice and string,
Love and Hymen’s triumph sing,
Sounds with secret charms combining,
In melodious union joining,
Best the wondrous joys can tell,
That in hearts united dwell.
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Recitative
First Voice.—To young Victoria’s happy fame
Well may the Arts a trophy raise,
Music grows sweeter in her praise,
And, own’d by her, with rapture speaks her name.
To touch the brave Cowdenio’s heart,
The Graces all in her conspire;
Love arms her with his surest dart,
Apollo with his lyre.
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Air
The list’ning Muses all around her
Think ’tis Phœbus’ strain they hear;
And Cupid, drawing near to wound
her,
Drops his bow, and stands to hear.
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Recitative
Second Voice. While crowds of rivals with
despair
Silent admire, or vainly court the Fair,
Behold the happy conquest of her eyes,
A Hero is the glorious prize!
In courts, in camps, thro’ distant realms renown’d,
Cowdenio comes!—Victoria,
see,
He comes with British honour crown’d,
Love leads his eager steps to thee.
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Air
In tender sighs he silence breaks,
The Fair his flame approves,
Consenting blushes warm her cheeks,
She smiles, she yields, she loves.
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Recitative
First Voice.—Now Hymen at the altar stands,
And while he joins their faithful hands,
Behold! by ardent vows brought down,
Immortal Concord, heavenly bright,
Array’d in robes of purest light,
Descends, th’ auspicious rites to crown.
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| 784 | LETTERS OF C. AND M. LAMB | Nov. |
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Her golden harp the goddess brings;
Its magic sound
Commands a sudden silence all around,
And strains prophetic thus attune the strings.
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Duetto
First Voice.—The Swain his Nymph possessing,
Second Voice.—The Nymph her swain caressing,
First and Second—Shall still improve the
blessing,
For ever kind and true.
Both.—While rolling years are flying,
Love, Hymen’s lamp supplying,
With fuel never dying,
Shall still the flame renew.
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To so great a master as yourself I have no need to suggest that the peculiar tone of the composition demands sprightliness, occasionally checked by tenderness, as in the second air,—
She smiles,—she yields,—she loves. |
Again, you need not be told that each fifth line of the two first recitatives requires a crescendo.
And your exquisite taste will prevent your falling into the error of Purcell, who at a passage similar to that in my first air,
Drops his bow, and stands to hear, |
Here the first violin must drop his bow. |
But, besides the absurdity of disarming his principal performer of so necessary an adjunct to his instrument, in such an emphatic part of the composition too, which must have had a droll effect at the time, all such minutiae of adaptation are at this time of day very properly exploded, and Jackson of Exeter very fairly ranks them under the head of puns.
Should you succeed in the setting of it, we propose having it performed (we have one very tolerable second voice here, and Mr. Holmes, I dare say, would supply the minor parts) at the Greyhound. But it must be a secret to the young couple till we can get the band in readiness.
