(b. Hamburg, Mar. 10, 1823,24; d. Nov. 14, 1893), opera singer. He was 1 he son of a stable-keeper, and began life by driving his father's cabs. He learnt to sing from Mme. Grandjean, and obtained operatic engagements a t Schwerin, Dresden, Hanover (1854), Berlin, Darmstadt, Vienna, etc. On June 7, 1862, he made his debut in England a t the Royal Italian Opera as Edgardo in * Lucia,' and failed completely. He sang there again in the seasons of 1804 and 1865 with better results ; and indeed obtained a certain popularity, more on account of his fine and powerful voice than from any artistic use he made of it. His principal attraction was the wav he produced a C in a lt direct from the chest instead of by the customary falsetto ; he brought out the note with stentorian vigour and great success, especially when he played Manrico or Arnold. Of his other parts may be named Stradella on the production of Flotow's opera of th a t name a t the Royal Italian Opera, June 4, 1864, and Vasco da Gama on the production of ' L'Africaine ' in England, July 22, 1865. He reappeared in 1870, and again in 1877, a t Her Majesty's. In 1869 he sang in Paris with very indifferent results, b u t was successful in America both in German and I talian opera. His son, (2) T h eo d o r (b. 1841; d. Jan. 1871), began life as a clockmaker, and a t one period of his life was a tenor singer of the same calibre as his father. He died of consumption, a . c.
Archive | W
WALLACE(GRACE), LADY
(b. Apr. 1815 ; d. 1878), daughter of John Stein of Edinburgh, married in 1836 Sir James Maxwell Wallace, who died 1867. She translated the following musical works : Tw o vols . o f Me n d e ls so h n 's L e t te r s : F rom I ta l y a n d Sw itze r la n d (1862) ; F rom 1833 to 1847 (1863) ; Letters o f M o zar t, 2 vols . (1865) : Reminiscences o f Mendels sohn, b y Elise P o lk o ( I 860 ) ; Letter s o f Beethoi'en, 2 vols. (1866) ; Letters o f d is tin g u ish ed M u s ic ia n s , f rom a colle c tio n b y L u dw ig N o h l (1867) ; N o h l 's L i fe o f M o za r t (1877). All p u b l ish ed b y L o n gm a n & Co . , L o n d o n .
WARNOTS, (1)HENRY
(b. Brussels, July 11, 1832 ; d. Mar. 3, 1893), was taught music first by his father, and in 1849 became a pupil a t the Brussels Conservatoire, in harmony, pianoforte- playing and singing. In 1856 he appeared in opera a t Liege as a light tenor, and was engaged for a short period a t the Opera- Comique, Paris, as the titular hero of Boieldieu's ' Jean de Paris.' He next sang a t Strassburg, and on Jan. 24, 1865, an operetta of his composition, ' Une Heure du manage,* was performed there. He also composed a patriotic cantata sung a t Ghent in 1867, and in th a t year he was engaged a t the National Theatre, Brussels ; in October he sang in Flemish the hero's pa r t in De Miry's 4 Franz Ackermann.' In December of the same year he obtained a professorship a t the Conservatoire, and retired from the stage. In 1869 he was appointed director of the orchestra of the Brussels City Musical Society, and in 1870 he founded a school of music a t St. Jos se-ten-Noode- Schaernbeeck, a suburb of Brussels. His daughter and pupil, (2) E l ly (E l isa b e t h ) (b. Liege, 1862) made her debut, Sept. 9, 1878, as Anna (' Dame Blanche') a t the Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels. She sang there for two seasons, and in 1881 she was engaged a t the Pergola, Florence ; on May 17 of the same year she made her first appearance in England a t the Royal Italian Opera as Marguerite de Valois in t h e 4 Huguenots.' During the season she also played the pa r t of the same Queen in Herold's 4 Pre aux Clercs,' and was favourably received. After th a t she was frequently heard a t the Promenade Concerts, a t the Crystal Palace, and elsewhere. For some years she was a regular visitor to London. A. c.
WECKMANN, MATTHIAS
(b. ? Oppershausen, 2 Thuringia, 1621 ; d. Hamburg, 1674). At an early age he was received into the Electoral Chapel a t Dresden as soprano singer, and enjoyed the instruction of Heinrich Schiitz. On the recommendation of Schiitz he was sent in 1637, a t the expense of the Elector Johann Georg I., to receive further instruction in organplaving and composition from Jacob Praetorius in Hamburg. After his return to Dresden in 1640 he was appointed organist to the Electoral Chapel, and had the further duty of training the choir boys. A visit of the Crown Prince of Denmark to Dresden was the occasion of Weckmann's being permitted to go for a time to serve as Kapellmeister to the Crown Prince a t Nykjobing in Denmark. He returned to his Dresden duties in 1647, but in 1654 the occasional friction between Germans and Italians in the Electoral Chapel induced him to apply for the vacant organistship of St. James's, Hamburg, which in 1655 the Elector permitted him to accept. With the exception of an occasional visit to Dresden, Weckmann remained a t Hamburg for the rest of his life, living an exceptionally busy musical life till his death in 1674. In conjunction with the other organists and musicians of the town, such as Scheidemann, Praetorius, Selle, Schop and Bernhard, and with the hearty support of all the citizens of highest social standing, he founded the Collegium Musicum, a musical society which gave frequent performances of the best and newest native and foreign music, vocal and instrumental, the beginning of the system of public concerts in Hamburg. As an organist and clavier-player generally, Weckmann enjoyed great reputation in his day. Mattheson gives an account of a trial of skill which took place a t Dresden between Weckmann and Froberger, who parted from each other with 2 Some doubt is thrown on the alleged place of birth, because his father, who was a Lutheran pastor, was not appointed to Oppershausen till 16*28, and his name is not found in the baptismal * register expressions of mutual respect, Froberger declar- . ing his competitor to be a real virtuoso. None of Weckmann's works were printed in his lifetime, and only eight of his larger works for voices and instruments have been preserved. Five of them are due to the diligence with which Gustaf Duben, the Swedish Kapellmeister a t Stockholm, collected the works of North German musicians for the use of his chapel, and these are now in the Royal library a t Upsala. Diiben made Weckmann's personal acquaintance a t Hamburg in 1664, and was afterwards in correspondence with him. The other three works Weckmann took with him to Dresden in 1667 as a gift to the Elector Johann I Georg I I ., and they are now in the library a t Dresden. These eight works are all in the sacred concerto style of Heinrich Schiitz, and have now been published in modern form in D.D.T. vi. Besides these, only a few choraltreatments for organ have been preserved, of which one now appears in Straube's ' Choral- Vorspiele alter Meister ' (Peters). J. R. M.
WELSH, THOMAS
(b. Wells, Somerset, c. 1780; d. Jan. 24,1848), became, when 6 years old, a chorister in the cathedral there. Ho made such rapid progress th a t in the course of a few years Wells became the resort of lovers of music attra cted by the beauty of his voice and excellence of his singing. His fame drew the attention of Sheridan and Linley, and he appeared in 1792 a t the Bath concerts, in the concerts given a t the King's Theatre during tho rebuilding of Drury Lane, and also on the stage in Attwood's ' Prisoner.' He subsequently performed a t Drury Lane in Attwood's ' Adopted Child,' Storace's ' Lodoiska,' and other pieces. John Kemble thought highly of his abilities as an actor, and taught him to perform the p a r t of Prince Arthur in Shakespeare's ' King John.' After the breaking of his boyish voice Welsh pursued his studies under C. F. Horn, John Cramer and Baumgarten. In 1802, his voice having become a deep and powerful bass, he was admitted a gentleman of the Chapel Royal. A few years later he essayed dramatic composition, and produced ' Twenty Years Ago,' a melodramatic entertainment, 1810 ; ' The Green-eyed Monster,' musical farce, and ' Kamtchatka,' musical drama, 1811. But his greatest reputation was gained as a singing master and instructor of pupils for the stage. Foremost among those whom he taught were John Sinclair, C. E. Horn, Miss Stephens and Miss Wilson. He joined Hawes in carrying on the Royal Harmonic Institution. (See Argyll Rooms.) He published some glees and pianoforte pieces and a * Vocal Instructor.* He married Miss W ilso n (q.v.) (d. 1867), who had been his pupil, and had issue an only child, who became the wife of Alfredo Piatti, the eminent violoncellist. w. H. H.
WHITE, JOHN
(b. York, 1779; d. Leeds, Aug. 22, 1831), organist and composer, studied for the medical profession, but his performance on the violin, when a boy, showed th a t he had considerable musical ability, and medicine was therefore abandoned for music. As ' Master White ' ho played a t concerts in York, Leeds and other Yorkshire towns. In 1794 he came under the patronage of the Earl of Harewood, who employed him as leader and director of his private concerts, and teacher to the family. Visiting London with the family, ho took lessons on the pianoforte from Dussek, singing and the organ from John Ashley, violin from Raimondi, and the harp from Philip Meyer. At some of the London concerts he played the violoncello in tho absence of Lindley and Dahmen. He becamc organist of Harewood Church in 1804, and settled a t Leeds in 1807 as organist of St. Paul's Church. Ho was leader of the Doncaster Meeting of 1812, and one of the assistant conductors of the great York Festivals of 1823, 1825 and 1828. From 1793 to nearly the period of his death he was the main organiser and loader of concerts in the West Riding. In 1821 he held, in addition to his Leeds appointment, the post of organist of Wakefield Parish Church. He was tho writer of a few unimportant musical compositions, some of which were published by Muff of Leeds, and was probably tho Whito who was in a partnership with the Knaptons of York as musicsellers there during the early twenties. His son was also in the musical profession, and in later years assisted his father. The wife of John White played the harp and published some compositions. r . k .
WILHELMVONHIRSAU
(b. Bavaria; d. monastery of St. Aurelius, Hirsau, June 4, 1091), writer of legends to Othlos of Wurzburg, c. 1032. Ho was first a monk of St. Emmeran's, Ratisbon, but from 1068-91 abbot of tho Benedictine monastery a t Hirsau in tho Wiirtemberg pa r t of the Black Forest, which was destroyed by the French. He was a man of great learning, who, apart from many philosophical and astronomical works, wroto tho treatise published in Gerbert's Scriptores I I . under the title Musica S. Wilhelmi, etc., in which he deals with the antique and mediaeval tonal systems, and points out the errors of his predecessors, including Boetius, whom even as much as to doubt was considered sacrilege during the whole of the Middle Ages. A second work, De musica et tonis, was contained in a 12th-century codex belonging to a Nuremberg antiquarian, von Murr, which has unfortunately been lost, and only a full description b}r von Murr, published a t Nuremberg in 1801 under the title Notitia duorum codicum, dedicated to Haydn, is still in existence. From this it is apparent th a t the Guidonian hand existed long before G u id o d ' A r e z z o (q.v.) (Mendel; Ambros).
WINCKWORTH, ARTHUR
(b. Bath, 1866), started his musical career as a choir boy in Bath Abbey. He afterwards studied there as basso with Emilio Pieraccini and later went to Italy to study repertory with Bevignani. In 1894 he joined the Royal Carl Rosa Opera Co. as principal basso, and has appeared in about 60 operas with th a t company. He was also artistic director from 1 91 6 -21 , and from th a t date on has been principal of the Carl Rosa School of Opera.
WOLF, THE
(1) A term applied to the harsh howling sound of certain chords on keyed instruments, particularly the organ, when tuned by any form of unequal temperament. The form of unequal temperament most widely adopted was the mean-tone system. The rule of this system is th a t its fifths are all a quarter of a comma flat. The major thirds are perfect, and are divided into two equal whole tones, each of which is a mean between the major and minor tones of the diatonic scale; hence the name Mean-tone system. The total error of the whole circle of twelve fifths, a t a quarter of a comma each, amounts to three commas. Since the circle of twelve perfect fifths fails to meet by about one comma, the circle of mean-tone fifths fails to meet by about two commas, or roughly, nearly half a semitone. In the mean-tone system on the ordinary key-board there is always one-fifth out of tune to this extent, usually the fifth G8 -Er>. There are also four false thirds, which are sharp to about the same extent, usually B-E->, Fjj-Bo, CS-F and Gjj-C. All chords into which any of these intervals enter are intolerable. (See T e m p e r am e n t ; T u n i n g ) . r . h . m. b . (2) In bowed instruments tho Wolf occurs, owing to defective vibration of one or more notes of the scale. When it occurs, it is often found more or less in every octave and on every string. Different instruments have it in different places : it is most common a t or near the fourth above the lowest note on the instrument, in the violin a t C, in the violoncello a t F. The more sonorous and brilliant the general tone, the more obtrusive it becomes ; if the tone be forced, a disagreeable jar is produced. Hence it is idle to a ttempt to play the wolf down : the player must humour the troublesome note. I t is commonly believed th a t there is a wolf somewhere in all fiddles, and it is certain th a t it exists in some of the finest. Probably, however, it is always due to some defect in the construction or adjustment. The cause of the wolf is obscure, and probably not uniform : i t may result from some excess or defect in the thicknesses, from unequal elasticity in the wood, from bad proportion or imperfect adjustment of the fittings, or from some defect in the proportions of the air chamber. I t has also been suggested with a still greater show of probability th a t the wolf occurs on the note to which the body of the instrument acts as a resonating box, and th a t the particles of wood, set in vibration by this note, are unable to maintain the stretched string quite evenly. I t may be palliated by reducing some of the thicknesses so as to diminish the general vibration, and by careful adjustment of the bar, bridge and soundpost ; but in the opinion of violin-makers where it is once established it cannot be radically cured. e . j . p.
WRECKERS, THE
(Les Naufrageurs; Strandrecht); opera in 3 acts ; libretto by H. B. Leforestier (H. B. Brewster); music by Ethel Smyth. Produced Leipzig, Nov. 11, 1906 ; in English, His Majesty's Theatre, June 22. 1909.