Archive | B

is the n ame of the 7th degree of the n a tu ra l > scale of C. In French an d I ta l ia n i t is called S i, and in German H. the name B being given to our B. The reason of this anomalous a r rangement is explained in the article A c c id e n t a l s . (See also N o t a t io n ; H e x a c h o r d .) The fu r the r nomenclature is as follows : E n g l i s h . F r e n c h . G e r m a n . I t a l i a n . B flat. Si Mmol. B (Be). Si bemolle. B double flat. Si double txhnol. Bes. Si doppio bemolle. B sharp. Si digze. His. Si diesis. B double sharp. Si double didze. Hisis. Si doppio diesis. In the modal system B is theoretically the final of Modes XI . and X I I . (Locrian and Hypolocrian). (See Modes.) Wind ins truments said to be ' in B ' are in B flat.

(b. Horbury, Yorkshire, Mar. 26, 1899 ; d. York, Nov. 6, 1922), English composer. He showed remarkable musical gifts a t a very early age ; b u t his circumstances were such th a t little could be spent on musical tuition. He had a few lessons from Albert Jow e t t of Leeds ; beyond th a t , he was entirely self-taught. W ith o u t the stimulus of travel, or even secondary education, he found inspiration in Yorkshire scenes, the gardens a t York, the Flamborough seas, the Knaresborough su n sets, in the music of a few of the modern adventurous composers (Scriabin, Ravel, Debussy), in the writings of Ke a ts an d E dga r Allan Poe, an d in the friendships of a few choice spirits, Frederick Dawson, the pianist, an d others. He was always in weak health, an d a most promising career was c u t sh o r t by his d eath a t the age of 23. A memorial has been raised to him in his birthplace, in the P rimitive Methodis t Church a t Ho rb u ry , an d progress has been made with a similar fu n d in York. A symphony (MS.) a n d the ' Seven Piano Preludes * a n d ' P aradise G ardens ' were w r itten before he was 20. The la s t two works are thoroughly repre sentative of his style, although the la te r pieces go fu r the r in harmonic te c h nique. There is no morbidezza in a n y of them, b u t the re is a br illiant imagination an d an ex t rao rd in a ry au d a c ity of h a rmony which succeeds in its expression. A symphony, a P h a n ta s y for s tr ing q u a r te t , pieces for violoncello, o the r chamber music and some songs are all in MS. F o r P F ., ' Paradise Gardens,' 7 4 Preludes *; sets of pieces en titled 4 Silverpoints ,' 4 Milestones,* 4 Tides,' 4 Coloured Leaves,' 4 4 Poems,* are published (Elkin ; A u g e n e r ) ; the re is also a P F. so n a ta (MS.). (See articles by the writer in B ritish Music Bulletin, Mar. 1920 and Dec. 1922; also Mus. T ., J u ly 1924.) a . e . h .

(b. Bologna, c. 1 5 6 7 ; d. there, Convent of San Bernardo, 1634), pupil of Guami, the organist of the Cathedral of Lucca and afterwards of S. Marco in Venice. He was organist of S. Michele in Bosco near Bologna in 1599, and from ab o u t 16 0 0-07 was a t Imola, as organist of S an ta Maria in Regola. In 1607 he was a t Monte Oliveto, an d on many of his works he is described as ' monaco olivetano.' From the title-pages of some it would ap p e a r th a t in 1 6 09-13 he was again organist of S an Michele in Bosco, an d in 1613 retu rn ed to Monte Oliveto, where he became abbot. He was the founder of the ' Accademia Florida ' which met a t Bologna from a b o u t 1623 (Q.-L.). He was g re a t in all depa r tments , theory, the Church and the theatre. His most im p o r ta n t theoretical work is probably his ' L' organo suonarino ' (Amadino, Venice, 1605), which was often reprinted. I t contains the first precise rules for accompanying from a figured bass- afterwards published separa te ly by Lomazzo a t Milan. (See T h o r o u g h - b a s s . ) In ' Moderna practica musicale ' (Venice, 1613),1 he tre a ts of the influence of the basso continuo on the ornaments in singing, an d the a lterations necessary in consequence thereof. At the same time he mentions the changes in harmony and tona lity which were a t th a t time beginning to prevail, as incomprehensible. In addition to his many compositions for the Church, masses, ' Eeclesiastiche sinfonie,' etc., Banchieri wrote what were then called ' intermedi ' for comedies. In his ' La pazzia senile,' published a t Venice in 1598 and reprinted a t Cologne-itself a kind of imitation of the ' Arnfiparnasso ' of Orazio Vecchi-the transition from the madrigal to the new form of the intermedio is very obvious ; the work may be almost called the first comic opera. He afterwards composed a p en d an t to i t u nder the name of ' La saviezza giovenile,' published by Gardano, Venice, 1628. Other analogous works were ' II zabaione,' 1603, ' La barca di Venezia a P a d u a , ' 1605, an d ' La fida fanciulla, commedia esemplare, con musicali intermedi appa rente de in ap p a ren ti,' Bologna, I 1628 and 1629. Banchieri was a poet as well as a musician, and wrote comedies u n d e r the name of Camillo Scaligeri della f ra t ta . I n his 1 Not m entioned in Q.-L. Cartella musicale (1614) we find a p roject for the foundation of an academy of science and a r t in his m ona s te ry a t Bologna, and a Direttorio monastico di canto fermo (1615) appe a red in 1615. Ten of his organ pieces are p r in te d in vol. iii. of V arte musicale in Italia. f . G., a d d n s .

Count of Vernio (end of 16th cent.), a Florentine noble an d an accomplished scholar an d mathematician, member of the Accademia della Crusca, and of the A lterati in Florence, maes tro di camera to Pope Clement VI I I . Doni a t t r ib u te s to him the first idea of the opera, an d i t is cer tain th a t the first performances of the kind were held in his house by his celebrated band of friends, Vicenzo Galilei, Caccini, Strozzi, Corsi, Peri and Rinuccini, and th a t he himself composed the words for more th a n one such piece, e.g. 4 L ' amico fido,' and ' II comba ttimento d ' Apollino col serpen te .' A 4-p a rt composition, 4 Miseri h a b i ta to r ,' by him appeared in Malvezzi's lntermedii, 1591, and a 5-p a rt madrigal is a t t r ib u te d to him b y Vogel, Biblioth. d. gedruckten weltl. Vocalmusik, ii. 429, in a collection of 1582 : E itn e r (Q.-L.) considers th a t the name is only given as th a t of the person to whom the madrigal was dedicated. m. c. c.

(b. London, J u n e 10, 1830 ; d. Mar. 21, 1915), a wr ite r on musical subje cts an d a composer. E d u c a ted a t Ru g b y School an d T r in i ty College, Cambridge, he was a pupil of T. A. Walmisley, an d af terwards s tudied music a t Cologne, Leipzig and Dresden. He contr ib u te d for long to the Guardian, edited the Monthly Musical Record, 1875-79, an d was well known as the ' C. A. B.' of the Rich te r Concert programmes, in which his admirable analyses of the compositions of the advanced school were of especial value and interest. He published several songs and PF. pieces. A MS. Festival March of his was often played a t the Crystal Palace in 1862-63, a n d he h a d a symphony and other orchestral pieces in MS. He was se cre ta ry to the Liszt Scholarship Fund, 1880, and was an e a rn e s t champion of musical advance. G.

Italian for a chamberbass ; th a t is a small double-bass, such as is generally used b y double-bass players for solo performances.

(b. London, No v . 6, 1883), one of the mos t prominent English composers of his generation, entered the R.A.M. in 1900 and studied composition for five years under Frederick Corder. His earliest works, which have since been either withdrawn or revised, date from 1903. As a s tudent he impressed every one by the ease with which he overcame all difficulties. He could already then play any orchestral score at sight on the piano. This facility led him cons tant ly to underestimate the complexity of his own writing, which for a time frustrated due appreciation. In 1910 he paid a brief visit to Russia, the impressions of which are recorded in some piano pieces. Otherwise the chief influence to be discerned in his music is th a t of the Celtic revival, and especially of the Irish literary movement with all its connotations, including an intense love of Irish folklore, symp a th y with Irish ideals, and an abiding affection for Irish scenery. I t would, however, be wrong tosee the Celtic influence in all his works. Though i t is premature to speak of the conventional three ' periods,' i t is feasible to discern three phases of development in his writing. One turning-point occurred a b o u t 1913, when the luxur iant harmonic tex tu re began to be more definitely subordinated to the polyphonic interest. The other came a b o u t 1920, from which da te a tendency can be observed towards compression and conciseness - n o t th a t the length of preceding works could often be ascribed to diffuseness, for i t was mostly due to exuberance of invention, and consequent a b u n d ance of material. B a x 's two main cha ra c te r istics are his feeling for poetic beauty of line, which would have been remarkable in any age, and is doubly so when the prevailing tendency is towards other id e a ls ; and his use of a kind of harmonic arabesque, cons tantly varied, to enrich his texture. His Celtic predilections frequently induce a mystical softening of outlines in favour of wh a t is termed ' atmosphere,' b u t th a t this was a yielding to the incentive of his subject, and not a cons tant feature of his musical thought, is proved by the robust virility of such a work as the symphony. Bax's orchestral music clearly falls into the three phases indicated. To the period 1909- 1913 belong the four Irish pieces performed a t F . B. Ellis's concerts in the spring of 1914, the ' Festival Over ture ,' the scherzo, and two works inspired by Swinburne, ' Nympholept ' and ' Spring Fire,' the la t te r of which has been withdrawn after having been p u t into rehearsal more th an once. The years 1916-17 produced the popular ' Garden of F a n d , ' ' Tintagel ' and ' November Woods,' and the most recent period is represented chiefly by the symphony. The trio of 1906 has ceased to be representative. The most im p o r ta n t chamber works are the piano quintet, string q u a r te t and four sonatas, two for violin, one for viola an d one for violoncello with piano. He has evolved a distinctly personal mode of pianistic writing derived largely from his decorative use of the harmonic arabesque, but the two piano sonatas are of more massive character, approaching to | the epic. An early inclination to overburden the I accompaniment delayed his recognition, which is now general, as one of the most delicately | poetic song-writers of the day. An interesting I recent development which promises much is j his turning to choral music from 1921 onwards, when he set the carol ' Mater ora F ilium' for I double choir unaccompanied. This is one of the most striking works of its kind produced in recent years, and i t has been followed by several other choral pieces for different combinations. Bax has wr itten no opera, as he undoubtedly would have done in the ordinary course, had he lived on the Continent, b u t he has proved an ap titu d e for stage work in three ballets, the la s t being incidental to Barrie's fantasy ' The T ru th a b o u t the Russian Dancers,' which was p ro duced a t the London Coliseum in 1920 with T am a r Ka rsavina in the leading p a r t . On Nov. 13, 1922, a concert of his works was given a t Queen's Hall, those performed comprising ' The Garden of F an d ' an d ' Mediterranean ' for orchestra, the ' P h an ta sy ' for viola and orchest ra , the first three caroLs, the second piano sonata, an d numerous piano pieces and songs. In 1924 the ju ry of the In te rn a tio n a l Society for Contemporary Music selected B a x 's symphony and his viola sona ta for performance respectively a t Prague in Ju n e and a t Salzburg in August.see the Celtic influence in all his works. Though i t is premature to speak of the conventional three ' periods,' i t is feasible to discern three phases of development in his writing. One turning-point occurred a b o u t 1913, when the luxur iant harmonic tex tu re began to be more definitely subordinated to the polyphonic interest. The other came a b o u t 1920, from which da te a tendency can be observed towards compression and conciseness - n o t th a t the length of preceding works could often be ascribed to diffuseness, for i t was mostly due to exuberance of invention, and consequent a b u n d ance of material. B a x 's two main cha ra c te r istics are his feeling for poetic beauty of line, which would have been remarkable in any age, and is doubly so when the prevailing tendency is towards other id e a ls ; and his use of a kind of harmonic arabesque, cons tantly varied, to enrich his texture. His Celtic predilections frequently induce a mystical softening of outlines in favour of wh a t is termed ' atmosphere,' b u t th a t this was a yielding to the incentive of his subject, and not a cons tant feature of his musical thought, is proved by the robust virility of such a work as the symphony. Bax's orchestral music clearly falls into the three phases indicated. To the period 1909- 1913 belong the four Irish pieces performed a t F . B. Ellis's concerts in the spring of 1914, the ' Festival Over ture ,' the scherzo, and two works inspired by Swinburne, ' Nympholept ' and ' Spring Fire,' the la t te r of which has been withdrawn after having been p u t into rehearsal more th an once. The years 1916-17 produced the popular ' Garden of F a n d , ' ' Tintagel ' and ' November Woods,' and the most recent period is represented chiefly by the symphony. The trio of 1906 has ceased to be representative. The most im p o r ta n t chamber works are the piano quintet, string q u a r te t and four sonatas, two for violin, one for viola an d one for violoncello with piano. He has evolved a distinctly personal mode of pianistic writing derived largely from his decorative use of the harmonic arabesque, but the two piano sonatas are of more massive character, approaching to | the epic. An early inclination to overburden the I accompaniment delayed his recognition, which is now general, as one of the most delicately | poetic song-writers of the day. An interesting I recent development which promises much is j his turning to choral music from 1921 onwards, when he set the carol ' Mater ora F ilium' for I double choir unaccompanied. This is one of the most striking works of its kind produced in recent years, and i t has been followed by several other choral pieces for different combinations. Bax has wr itten no opera, as he undoubtedly would have done in the ordinary course, had he lived on the Continent, b u t he has proved an ap titu d e for stage work in three ballets, the la s t being incidental to Barrie's fantasy ' The T ru th a b o u t the Russian Dancers,' which was p ro duced a t the London Coliseum in 1920 with T am a r Ka rsavina in the leading p a r t . On Nov. 13, 1922, a concert of his works was given a t Queen's Hall, those performed comprising ' The Garden of F an d ' an d ' Mediterranean ' for orchestra, the ' P h an ta sy ' for viola and orchest ra , the first three caroLs, the second piano sonata, an d numerous piano pieces and songs. In 1924 the ju ry of the In te rn a tio n a l Society for Contemporary Music selected B a x 's symphony and his viola sona ta for performance respectively a t Prague in Ju n e and a t Salzburg in August.

(b. Rennes, c. 1765 ; d. Paris, c. 1815), violinist an d conduc to r a t Rennes theatre. He went to Paris in 1796. He composed two ' Symphonies periodiques,' sonatas for violin and harp, duos and solos for violin. E. v. d. s.

(b. Paris, May 24, 1858), eminent French critic, lau re a te of the Academie F ra i^a ise . He studied for the law, b u t worked a t music a t the same time with Paladilhe. He was af terwards in the Conservatoire, in Marmontel's class, where he won a first prize for piano in 1878. His first essays in musical criticism were made in the Correspondent in 1884 ; from 1885 he was a con tr ib u to r to the Revue des Deux Mondes, an d the Academie bestowed on him the V ite t prize in 1894. Bellaigue's admirable criticisms have been collected in the following : L 'A n n e e musicale (1886-93), V n Siecle de musique fran<;axse, Psychologie musicale, Portraits et silhouettes de musiciens (trans. English and German), Etudes musicales et nouvelles silhouettes de musiciens (trans. English). L a te r works are : Impressions musicales et litteraires ; La Musique. V n sit'cle, mouvement du monde de 1800 a 1 9 0 0 ; Mozart (Musiciens Celebres) (1906); Mendelssohn (Maitres de la musique (1907) ; Les Epoques de la musique (1909) Notes breves, 2me serie (1914); Propos de musique et de guerre (1917); Etudes musicales (2nd an d 3rd series) ; Souvenirs de musique et de musiciens (1921), 1st a n d 2nd series. o. f., with addns.

(b. Quedlinburg, 1683 ; d. 1724), an e x t r a ordinary singer. His father, J o h . P h i l i p p B e n d e l e r (q.v.), gave him his first in s tru c tio n in music. Gifted with ar tis tic feeling an d a magnificent bass voice, young Bendler was soon a most rem a rk able singer. I n 1712 he came to London, and sang the p a r t of the King in ' Ambleto ' by Gasparini, an d of Argante in Han d e l's ' Rinaldo.' However, he preferred an engagem en t a t the opera in Hamburg, where he obtained a most br illiant success, as also a t Leipzig an d Brunswick. J . M.