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Musical Works - Op. 3.
MUSICAL REVIEW. — …Twenty-four Studies for the Pianoforte. Lindsay Sloper, Op. 3. —Wessel and Co. A suite of short pieces written for the purpose of developing various difficulties connected with the practice of the instrument for which they are adapted. But in addition to their mechanical purpose, for which they are admirably suited, these studies present musical attractions of a very unusual order—they are the emanations of genius no less than of theoretical and practical knowledge; their compactness of form and romantic diversity of colouring appeal irresistibly to the deeper feelings of the musical student, and conjure up whatever is poetical in his temperament. The style, though now and then they trench upon Stephen Heller (to whom they are dedicated) and occasionally provoke a comparison with Mendelssohn, is singularly original and agreeable. We have only to complain that one who has the faculty of inventing melodial subjects, new forms of passage, and curious progressions of harmony, with such happy fecundity as Mr. Lindsay Sloper, should have turned it to so little purpose. Almost every one of the motivi of these small pieces is sufficiently interesting to constitute the basis upon which a composition of important dimensions might have been constructed. At the same time Mr. Sloper's effusions, though brief and evanescent, are neatly proportioned and well balanced—the outline is pure and intelligible, and the detail thoroughly musician-like; we only can regret that they are not sketched with a view to a larger plan. In other respects they are perfect. As studies for the pianoforte, they are eminently useful in preparing the way for the more elaborate works of the great modern masters, and as pieces of music they are charming, disappointing only on the score of their extreme brevity—an offence easily pardoned. The only one which travels out of the confined limits drawn out for the major part of them by Mr. Sloper is the No. 21, a presto scherzando in E minor, modelled after the tarantella fashion. This is exquisitely fanciful, and sparkles with points of artistic accomplishment. It would be a loss of time to enter into details of the twenty-four studies of which the work is composed ; we could, in our limited space, but offer a catalogue raisonnee, which would be of small utility to the reader, whom we would rather recommend, and that most zealously, to refer to the work himself; he cannot but derive benefit as a student, and pleasure as an artist, from their attentive perusal. Mr. Lindsay Sloper is well known as one of our most able and brilliant pianists : but he is not so well recognised in his higher character, that of one of the healthiest, most original, and profoundest musical thinkers in the country. These studies, however, will go far to make him appreciated by artists, and public approval will then follow as a matter of course. (Morning Post, Tuesday, 7 July 1846) |
Saturday, 6 February, 2021