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Untitled Article
would be the easiest thing in the world . Since I have alluded to ornament , I beg to remark that even this , whether it be considered a merit or defect , he has in common with Rossini ; and ,. like the latter , makes use of it to such a degree as to lay himself open to the paradoxical charge of poverty , when in fact it is caused by real richness , of fancy . The fine carvings and fretwork , the arabesques , the gildings , abound in each , but they never conceal the beauty of the original conception ; when one of them appears almost suffocated with flowers , you see him , nevertheless , m all his simplicity ; exactly as you recognize the massy trunk of a proud oak in spite of the ivy and wild vine which cling around it in a thousand forms , and envelop it as with a verdant net .
Rossini not unfrequently abandons his theme in order to seize a passing thought apparently unconnected with it ; and these leaps and starts sometimes strike you as rather fantastic , and not
sufficiently smoothed down by regularly-modulated transitions . But rules were not made for genius : genius can break through , or modify , or entirely alter them ; and it is the result which decides whether such a bold course deserves applause or hisses .
Rossini never involves himself in the intricacies of insignificant transitions , as those are accustomed to do , who toil in vain to conceal their want of inspiration or melodious ideas , under cover of useless modulations and false colouring—Rossini ' s jumps , though unaided by the transitions required by rule , never occasion a shock of disgust : on the contrary , every one * is pleased at his eccentric starts ; they are the oases of the desert , beneath
whose shades the traveller reposes for a moment in order to re * - new his journey with fresh vigour . Now , if there be an absolute analogy between created things , I do think there exists one here between the genius of Rossini and that of Scott . lake the Italian musician , the Scotch romance writer disdains all vulgar , artificial regulations , and leaps sometimes from the melancholy gloom of a funeral into the gaieties and delights of a ball or banquet . The transition appears at first sight rather abrupt , certainly ; but a moment ' s reflection discovers the concatenation of ideas ; indeed , reflection is useless , for the web unites of itself as if by enchantment ; and you perceive at once that the fabric ,
which you might have thought would be torn beyond repair , except by a bungling patch , has been restored to perfection , presenting to your eyes an elegant figured sprig , increasing the value of the tissue . f Perfection appertains not to things of this world : accordingly the works of Itossini and Scott have not the privilege of exemption from certain little blemishes which many persons have taken upon themselves to point out ; we shall only refer to some ? Except the fine counterpointed ear of the learned listener Ed . f This is most ingenious tailoring . — Ed .
Untitled Article
Rossini and Walter Scott . 565
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1836, page 565, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2661/page/41/
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