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(b. Venice, latter half of 17th cent.), sumamed ' II prete rosso,' was the son of Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, a violinist in St. Mark's a t Venice. There is no evidence in support of the statement th at he went to Germany. He entered the service of the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1 who was then resident in Italy. On his return to his native city in 1713 Vivaldi was appointed maestro de' concerti a t the Ospedale della Pieta, a post which he held until his death in ] 743. The institution, which was a foundlinghospital for girls, possessed a choir and a good orchestra composed entirely of females. (See Venice.) Vivaldi's own instrument was tho violin, for which he wrote very largely ; he is stated also to have contributed something to the development of its technical manipulation. The publications on which his fame rests are all works in which the violin takes the principal part. Fetis 2 enumerates the following : violoncello. Besides these works,3 twenty-eight operas by Vivaldi are named (he was in Rome in 1735 for the performance of one of them), and a few cantatas and even motets will be found scattered in various manuscript collections. As a writer for the violin Vivaldi held apart from the classical Roman school lately founded by Corelli. He sought and won the popularity of a virtuoso ; and a good pa r t of his writings is vitiated by an excessive striving after display, and effects which are striking simply in i R iem a n n d e sc r ib e s h im a s K a p e l lm e is te r t o th e D u k e P h i l ip p v o n H e s sen , a n d co n c lu d e s th e r e fo r e t h a t h e w a s a t M a n tu a f rom 1707-13. * F i t i s , v o l. viii. p. 369a. 3 A c o n c e r to a n d a s in fo n ia in 3-5 p a r t s fo r v io la d ' am o re a n d lu te a lso e x i s t in m a n u s c r ip t . A t r a n s c r ip t is in th e B r i t i s h Mu seum A d d . MS. 31,305, f. 10. so far as they are novel. His ' stravaganze ' for the violin solo, which were much played in England during the 18th century, are, according to Dr. Burney, 4 nothing better than showpieces. The ' Cimento ' (op. 8 ) illustrates another fault of the composer : ' The first four concertos,' says Sir John Hawkins,6 ' are a pr e ten d ed paraphrase in mu s ic a l n o te s o f so m an y s o n n e t s on th e four sea son s , wh er e in th e a u th o r endea vour s , b y th e force o f ha rmon y a n d pa r t icula r modif ica t ions o f air a n d measure, t o e x c i t e id e a s correspond en t w i th th e s e n t im en t s o f th e s ev eral p o em s . ' Vivaldi in fact mistook the facility of an expert performer (and as such he had few rivals among contemporaries) for the creative faculty, which he possessed but in a limited degree. His real distinction lies in his mastery of form, and in his application of this mastery to the development of the concerto. I t is thus th a t we find his violin concertos constantly studied in Germany, for instance by Benda and Quantz 6; and the best proof of their sterling merits is given by the attraction which they exercised upon Sebastian Bach, who arranged sixteen 7 of them for the clavier and four for the organ, and developed one into a colossal concerto for four claviers and a qua rte t of strings. 8 (See A r r a n g e m e n t .) A portrait of Vivaldi is in Hawkins's History. r . L. p., rev. B i b l .- W . A l tm a n n , T hematischer Katalog der g edrucklen Werke A n to n io Viva ld is nebst A n gabe der A 'e u am g a b en u n d Bea rb eitu n yen . A .M .Z . A p r . 1922, p p . 262-79.

an organ solo played in connexion with a church service. To-day it is so regular a feature th a t the term has little meaning ; b u t originally, no doubt, the 1 T h e n am e is s a id t o h a v e b e e n o r ig in a l ly W o u lm y e r . > Mendel. voluntary was so called because i t was merely a casual adjunct to a service, limited to special occasions or dictated by convenience. The use of the word as a musical term seems to have been confined to this country, and its significance in the matter of form was extremely vague. At the hands of its chief exponents, e.g. Benjamin Cooke, Thomas Adams, William Russell, the Wesleys, etc., the voluntary took on a variety of shapes, comprising the prelude and fugue, the hymn tune varied, a group of movements suggestive of the suite or sonata, etc. I t is worth noting th a t when the music publishers, Coventry and Hollier, asked Mendelssohn to write some organ music, their request was for ' three Voluntaries.' The change of title was due to the composer, who wrote (Aug. 29, 1844): ' I h a v e b e e n b u s y a b o u t t h e o r g a n p i e c e s w h i c h y o u w a n t e d m e t o w r i t e f o r y o u , a n d t h e y a r e n e a r l y f i n i s h e d . I s h o u l d l i k e y o u t o c a l l t h e m , " T h r e e S o n a t a s f o r t h e O r g a n " i n s t e a d o f " V o l u n t a r i e s . " T e l l m e i f y o u l i k e t h i s t i t l e a s w e l l ; i f n o t , I t h i n k t h e n a m e o f " V o l u n t a r i e s " w i l l s u i t t h e p i e c e s a l s o , t h e m o r e s o a s I d o n o t k n o w w h a t i t m e a n s p r e c i s e l y . ' Though the term apparently did not come into general use until the 18th century, many of the pieces by Byrd, Gibbons and other early keyboard writers were obviously designed for use as voluntaries. As English organs a t th a t time had no pedal board, composers often wrote indiscriminately for organ and virginal; and there is little difference in style between pieces called ' Voluntary,' ' Fancy,' * In Nomine,' Fantasia and Prelude. Two of the earliest accessible examples of English organ music of the voluntary type are a ' Glorificamus ' (in j which a plain-song theme occurs in the alto) by John R e d fo rd (c. 1486-1540) and a Voluntary by Richard A lwood (q.v.)> both issued in John E. West's series of ' Old English Organ Music.' The voluntary is now used only a t the beginning and end of a service. For a long period, however, i t was a prominent feature during the service, being called the ' Middle Voluntary.' An entry in a ' Vestry Book,' Boston (Lincs.), under date Apr. 29, 1717, is of j interest as showing th a t the voluntary has long had a recognised place in the musical arrangements of a parish ch u rch : Austere in its early days, the voluntary | fell from grace during the 18th century, when, despite some admirable examples th a t j are still well worth playing, the general style I was superficial. As evidence of its triviality during this period may bo cited the well-known essay in the Spectator of Mar. 28, 1712, on ' Merry Epilogues after Tragedies, and Jigging Voluntaries.' Similar complaints may be found in periodicals as late as the middle of the 19th century, a t which time the custom arose of using transcriptions from all kinds of sources, often inappropriate. There is now a better and rapidly improving standard, owing to the general recognition of the principle th a t a voluntary should justify itself on the grounds of (a) musical quality, and (b) fitness for use in connexion with divine service. The ideal is reached when the principle of fitness is developed from the general to the particular, and voluntaries are chosen to suit the liturgical season-and even a given Sunday or holy day. This may be done without great difficulty, as there is now a largo repertory of admirable English, German and French organ music based on liturgical themes from plain-song and chorales to modern hymn tunes and carols. Thanks to this wide field of choice, a service may now open and close with organ music not less appropriate than the hymns and anthems. Thus used, the voluntary amply justifies itself, both as a decorative accessory and an aid to devotion. For examples of the 17th and 18th century ' Voluntary ' a t its be3t, see the large collection of John E. West alluded to above (Novello). H . u .

(b. Modena, 1775 ; d. Portugal, after 1823), an excellent violinist, who a t the age of 10 studied under Nardini a t Florence ; three years later he was giving concerts a t Mentone, and here i t was th a t Pichl induced him to astonish his auditors with a concerto played a t first sight. Following upon this, he achieved successes a t Parma, Piacenza, Verona, Padua and Venice, after which he spent some years a t Milan. In 1804 he was appointed a member of the court band of Spain, but the troubles of 1808 brought about his resignation. He toured in Spain until the rollowing year, when he visited Paris, and j travelled in Germany. In 1815 he came to i 429 England. He also went to Lisbon in the same year, and subsequently returned to Madrid, where he was appointed leader of the royal music. He was again in Paris in 1823, and also in London, where he was heard a t the Philharmonic Concerts. He composed several potpourris of popular airs, for violin and piano ; also some popular variations for the same instruments, on ' God save the King.' An ' Aria ' by him for soprano was published in London in 1814. B i b l .- G e r b e r , Neues historisch-biographischet Lexikon ; C h o r o n e t F a y o l l e , Diet, de Mus. ; D u b o o r g , The Violin; M a s o n C l a r k e , Diet, of Fiddlers ; F G t i s , Biog. des Mus. H . - A .

a popular songcomposer in the early part of the 18th century. Besides many single songs, and those found in different collections, he issued two thin folio books of songs, the earlier being ' Mirth and Ha rmo n y ; Consisting of Vocal and instrumental Musick ; as songs, and ariets. for one and two voices,' London, Walsh, for the author, c. 1713. The latter is ' Modem Harmony or a desire to pleasing,' London, Walsh, c. 1720. No biographical details of him appear to be extant. f . k .

(E g id iu s ), an oarly 15thcentury church composer (probably Netherlander), of whom some MS. compositions are preserved a t Bologna, Vienna, and 5 songs in the Bodleian Library. One of the latter, ' Je vool servir,' has been republished in score by Stainer (Q.-L.).

(i.e. The Conspirators)- a one -ac t play, with dialogue, adapted by Castelli from the French, and composed by Schubert. The MS. in the British Museum has the date Apr. 1823 a t the end. The title was changed by the licensers to the less suggestive one of ' Der hausliche Krieg ' (i.e. The Domestic Struggle), but the piece was not adopted by the management, and remained unperformed till Mar. 1, 1861, when Herbeck produced i t a t a Musikverein concert. I t was brought out on the stage a t Frankfort, Aug. 29, 1861 ; in Paris, as ' La Croisade des dames,' Feb. 3, 1868; a t a Crystal Palace Concert (' The Conspirators '), Mar. 2, 1872. g.

(b. Brescia; d. ? Mantua, c. 1610), organist a t Brescia, 1570; a t the courts of Modena and Ferrara from about 1584- 1591, and finally a t Mantua, where he was appointed to the church of S. Barbara. He was also a famous chitarrone player, for which instrument he wrote a book of ricercari, madrigali, etc., in tablature (1584), and composed 2 books of madrigals 5 v. (1584,1588), and 1 book of madrigals 6 v. (1591).

an organ stop of 8 ft. pitch, in scale between the open diapason and the dulciana. The pipes aro open, and have a slot near the top. (See Organ : V ocabulary o f St o p s .) w . p *.

(b. Lille, May 17, 1808 ; d. Paris, Sept. 1892), though of German origin, is accounted a Franco-Belgian composer. He studied a t the Paris Conservatoire. His opera, * Le Podestat,' was produced a t the Opera-Comique in Paris in 1833, and a grand oratorio, ' Le Jugement dernier,' represented with costumes and scenery, had a good deal of success. ' La Siege do Leyde ' came out a t the Hague in 1847; ' La Moissonneuse * a t the Theatre Lyrique in 1853 ; ' Rompons,' a piece in one act, a t the Bouffes-Parisiens in 1857 ; ' Le Nid de cicognes ' a t Baden-Baden in 1858; ' Gredin de Pigoche ' a t tho Folies- Marigny, Paris, 1806; and ' La Filleule du Roi ' first in Brussels and afterwards in Paris in 1875. He wrote numerous songs, of which one of his earliest, ' Les Trois Couleurs, ' 1 celebrating the return of the tricolour after the revolution of 1830, had a peculiar fame. He also wrote several symphonies, quartets and quintets for strings which gained the Prix Tremont a t the Academie, and other things. m., addns.

teacher of music a t Leu warden from about 1600-40. He wrote a book of madrigals, canzons and villanelle a 4 v. (1603), and a musical instruction book, ' Isagoge musicae ' (1618) (Riemann).