ALL'S WELL THAT THAT ENDS WELL. Act I. Scene 3. Rousillon. A room in the Countess's palace. Enter COUNTESS, STEWARD, and CLOWN. COUNTESS [to the CLOWN]. Get you gone, sir; I'll talk with you more anon. STEWARD. May it please you, madam, that he bid Helen come to you; of her I am to speak. COUNTESS. Sirrah, tell my gentlewoman, I would speak with her; Helen, I mean. Was this fair face the cause, quoth she, Why the Grecians sacked Troy? Fond done, done fond, Was this king Priam's joy? With that she sighed as she stood, Of this, the one song in "All's Well that Ends Well," Mr. Linley observes that "It is probable that there was an original setting of the Clown's song in this play, as the words would lose much of their point without the aid of music." However this may be, I have not, any more than Mr. Linley himself, met with any such setting. He has accordingly set the words himself. Of the original setting, Mr. Linley suggests that it might have been "Something in the tripping style that the author has ventured to express them in." N.B.-Immediately before the above quoted dialogue we find these lines for the Clown : "For I the ballad will repeat, Which men full true shall find; Your cuckoo sings by kind." cannot tell absolutely To these lines I find no notes, and we whether they were intended to be said or sung. They are not noticed by Mr. Linley, who doubtless considered them as being only spoken. ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. Act II. Scene 7. On board POMPEY'S Galley lying near MISENUM. A Banquet. A Senet Sounded. Enter CESAR, ANTONY, POMPEY, LEPIDUS, AGRIPPA, MECENAS, ENOBARBUS, MENAS, with other Captains. SONG. "Come, thou monarch of the vine, Cup us, till the world go round.” In noting down whatever I have been able to collect as to settings of the splendid Bacchanalian song, "Come, thou monarch of the vine," I shall begin with Mr. Linley's prefatory notice respecting it. "The author has a faint recollection of having seen the words, 'Come, thou monarch of the vine,' set as a glee; but after the most diligent inquiry, he has not been able to trace it in "Warren," or in any of the old collections. Agreeably to Enobarbus's instructions, it is introduced in the present volume as a solo and chorus. The words are written in the Bacchanalian style, and with a spirit which demands a corresponding energy from the music not very easy to supply.” Concerning the particular composition to which Mr. Linley alludes, as having a "faint recollection" of seeing it, I am not able to furnish even the presumptive evidence of any setting in the glee form prior to his time; but it is quite certain that "Come, thou monarch "has had at least two settings before Mr. Linley's time, of which fact he apparently could not have been aware. One of these settings was the composition of Mr. Thomas Chilcot, of Bath, and its date may be supposed to be about 1750. It is a solo, and would seem to be intended for a tenor voice. Strangely enough, as it must seem to everyone, of the five lines of poetry which constitute Shakespeare's song, Mr. Chilcot has thought fit to set only four, omitting the last one, Cup us till the world goes round." Curious pranks certainly has Shakespeare had played with his works! The next composition to be noticed furnishes us with an instance of what may be termed a prank antithetical to the above. However, before finally quitting Mr. Chilcot's strange whim, it may be noted that his song has been reprinted in Mr. Caulfield's "Collection" with the composer's name omitted! But completeness in anything is not to be looked for. The composer had dropped out (designedly) Shakespeare's line-one incompleteness; and the collector has (undesignedly) dropped out the composer's name—another incompleteness! "and thereby hangs a tale." And now for the prank antithetical just alluded to. From the prefatory advertisement to an edition of the play, described as Antony and Cleopatra, fitted for the stage by abridging only," and published in 1759, it appears that "Come, thou monarch" must have been then set, and sung upon the stage, for in this advertisement we are gravely told that "the song at p. 39 being thought too short, an addition was made to it in rehearsal." Accordingly, Shakespeare's C five lines are now increased to ten, and thus the great poet is again set to rights. I have not been able to find out whether the setting in question was ever published, or by whom it was composed. As to the increase of the five lines into ten, thus has it been managed. The whole seems to be a compound of Shakespeare and Garrick, perhaps with a little dash of Milton. I. "Come, thou monarch of the vine, Time it is to cheer the soul Made by thy enlarging bowl Free from wisdom's fond control, Burthen. Free from wisdom's fond control. II. "Monarch come, and with thee bring In thy vats our cares be drown'd, Burthen. Cup us till the world goes round.” The instructions of Enobarbus, to which we have seen Mr. Linley allude, are as following: "All take hands. Make battery to our ears with the loud music; The while, I'll place you. Then the boy shall sing. The holding every man shall bear as loud As his strong sides can volley." [Music plays. Enobarbus places them hand in hand. The instructions of Enobarbus Mr. Linley has placed as the heading to his own very agreeable and spirited composition, which is perhaps the only one representing, musically, Shakespeare's poetry and stage directions—that is, the only one treated as a soprano solo with a chorus of male voices. In our own time Sir Henry Bishop has set "Come, thou monarch of the vine" for the stage; that is, for introduction, I believe, into the operatised performance of "The Comedy of Errors." This composition (at least as printed) appears as a chorus in three parts, for male voices only, with an intimation to the effect, that when sung. with an accompaniment the first twelve bars may be performed as a solo by a tenor voice. This chorus is a very bold and inspiriting composition. In the "Shakespeare Album" (1862), Sir Henry's work reappears in a new form. Instead of being for male voices only, and in three parts, it is removed from the original key of D into that of C, and now becomes arranged for soprano, contralto, tenor, and bass-soli and chorus. This arrangement is stated to have been " expressly made" for the "Shakespeare Album," and certainly answers a want. In this "Shakespeare Album" we also find a setting of the song for a baritone voice, and with the name of Schubert attached to it. It is not without merit, but surely, as far as Shakespeare is concerned, much too short, and accordingly it is eked out, both in the German and the English (for the words in both languages are given) with a second verse! It is very strange that composers cannot bring themselves to elaborate their own music to the splendid words of the original, and thereby gain the requisite length for their composition, instead of resorting to this expedient of an additional verse! In the year 1863, "Come, thou monarch of the vine" was announced as having been both set and sung by Mr. Weiss, the bass singer. |