ing fome information, concerning the ftate and the refpective claims of the Italian and the French mufic, in that letter of Petrarch's, where he lays before Urban V. the feveral reafons, which in his opinion entitled Italy and the Italians to that pontiff's preference above France and the French: whereas in this, and all the articles of mere pleafure, he feems to give the fuperio rity to the French, but referves the folid and effential qualities for his own countrymen: De moribus vulgaribus, fays he, fateor Gallos et facetos homines, et guftuum verborumque levium, qui libenter ludunt, lautè cœnant crebrò bibunt, avidè convivantur: vera autem gravitas et realis moralitas apud Italos femper fuit. Epift. Genil. lib. ix. ep. i.

As to the remaining monuments of French mufic under the fame epochs, they have all paffed through abbé Lebeuff's hands the moft ancient are of the eleventh century. He has feen fome of the two following centuries: he has perufed the old French ballad-makers: he has examined the count de Champaign's famous ballads, with Danz Gauthier's fongs and lamentations and in all these compofitions, even thofe of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, he could fee only tunes with little or no "melody; tunes, in which many graces were left to be fupplied "by the fingers; tunes, which "were mere Gregorian finging, "and that of the feventh mood, of "all others the most dull and dif

agreeable, and at the fame time "the most difficult: but," adds the judicious cenfor," the ears of "that time probably were accuf"tomed to them, fo that thofe "tunes feemed fine, and affected "them accordingly."

It must be added, that Italy, in the com, ofition of mufical dramas, was fome centuries before-hand with France; and that thofe aukaward groupes of pilgrims, who opened the firft theatre in Paris with reprefentations of the paffions, brought the firft notion of them from Italy.

Indeed, we find from the ancient Italian chronicles, that fuch reprefentations of the Paffion and other myfteries, prevailed in Italy, fo early as the thirteenth century. The grand jubilee in the following century, drawing numberlefs crowds of pilgrims from all parts of Europe to Rome, this put them on the defign of introducing into their feveral countries the imitations of fhows, which from their novelty, and their agreement with the taste of the times, could not fail of having a great run.

As to dramatic compofitions in mufic, on fubjects either taken from pagan mythology, or purely allegorical, the mufical improvements of the Italians qualified them to fhine in this kind, long before other nations were in any wife capable of fuch performances. The era of them was from the year-1480. The firft effay was exhibited by cardinal Riari, to the pope his uncle, and the whole Roman court, in an opera entitled Pomponiano. The Medicean family foon gave into this fplendid kind, and difplayed that taste and munificence, for which every branch of the fine arts was fo highly indebted to it.

From Florence thefe reprefentations quickly fpread into all the Italian tates that were able to fupport the great expences of decora tions, dreffes, and machines, which even then were a part of thefe performances.

John Antony Baïf, who had been brought up among thefe fhows, during the embaffy of his father (the celebrated Lazarus Baïf) at Venice, was the first who introduced the tafte for them into France. He turned his house into an academy of mufic, which was frequented with applaufe both by the court and city; but this academy died with its founder.

Amidst all the fondness of Catharine de Medicis, and the Italians in her fuite, for their country exhibitions, all that the annals of French mufic mention of this fpecies, is only a kind of opera, acted in 1582, at the rejoicings of the famous nuptials of the duke de Joyeufe and the princess of Vaude

mont.

I had hopes of finding fome infight into the ftate and the refpective claims of both mufics, towards the close of the fifteenth century, in the poem by Jean le Maire de Belges, called the reconciliation of the two languages. The poet's fcope in it was, to bring about a thorough peace and agreement between two nations feparated by the Alps, and ftill more by the difference of the climate, of manners and customs, as to action; and by accents, geftures, and pronunciation, as to fpeech.

The author of this poem, which for the most part confifts of triplets, after the Italian manner, places about Venus a music loofe and wanton like herself; and the inftrumental part of which was quite in a new tafte; the old pfalterions, dulcimers, and pipes, being thrown afide for harps and monochords.

Whether the poet meant to indicate the Italian improvements in inftrumental mufic, or had his eye

on fome efforts of the French in that kind, fcarcely could the latter fupport them, even under the reign of Francis I. though that prince was eminent for munificence to the fine arts, and his wars laid open a communication between France and Italy.

The Louvre collection of ordinances has one of Charles VI. dated the 24th of April, 1407, in favour of the fcience of Minstrelifm, and its practitioners, the chief of whom was ftiled King. In the fame collection there is even a memoir concerning a like ordinance, iffued by king John, in favour of the Paris minstrels. However eminent we may fuppofe these hands to have been, Francis I. thought fit to bring back, and to procure from Italy, feveral virtuofi in this kind. One of the most diftinguished was Mercer Albert. Aretin, in a letter of the 16th of June, 1538, compli ments him on his excelling in an art, di che, fays he to him, fiete lume, e vi ha fatto si caro a sua maestá e al mondo, i. e. "of which you are "the luminary, and which has fo "endeared you to his majesty, and "to the world." He concludes with defiring him to deliver to the king a letter which he had written to him.

Whether thefe muficians had gone retrograde; whether (which is little probable) Henry II. and Catharine de Medicis had, on the deceafe of Francis I. fent them back to their own country; or whether, during their ftay in France, the art had been prodigiously im proved in Italy; Brantome, in his Life of Marthal Briffac, tells us,, "that this nobleman, who was "for a long time Henry the Ild's "general in Piedmont, had the " beft

out lengthening or fetting it off with futile trills, even in thofe pieces where it is left to its own liberty. They who have heard, at Rome and Naples, fome of the pieces which the organ plays at the Elevation, mention them as pieces compofed and executed in that noble fimplicity, which characterifes and ever accompanies the fublime.

In all other compofitions, the prefent Italian mufic is a continual ftruggle againft difficulties arifing one from the other. When no more difficulties fhall remain to overcome, when the glory of getting the better of them fhall cease, when they fhall be fmoothed to all fymphonifts, the love of change will neceffarily bring back mufic to fimplicity; and a melody, difincumbered from the noife which drowns it, will be felt by every ear.

This revolution perhaps is not far off; all inftruments are carried in Italy to a point, which feems a ne plus ultra: but the most brilliant execution there cannot deceive the ears of eminent connoiffeurs; with them, the noife which aftonifhes the

fenfitive organs, is very different from the melody which fhould fpeak

to the foul.

Naples has, for a long time, been the fchool and feminary of the beft. violins; yet they queftion their fkill till they have been tried by the renowned Tartini, fo that they flock to Padua purely to court his approbation. Tartini coolly hears them; and, after very attentively liftening to what they propofe to execute, "That's fine," fays he, "that is very difficult; that is brilliantly executed; but," adds he, putting his finger to his breaft,

or

it did not reach hither." Father Martini Valotti of Padua,

F

an intimate friend of Tartini, and of the fame taste in mufic, has formed a scheme for bringing the art and artifts to true principles; and it is carried on by himself, Tartini, monfignori Giuftiniani, and Marcello, Venetian nobles. This fcheme comprehends the book of Pfalms tranflated into Italian verse, as literally as could be, without injuring the poetry, and fet to a mufic as fimple as Lully's plainest compofition. I have feen the firft production of this fcheme, in two volumes, excellently engraved. This mufic, at firft fight, appears to be common church mufic.

Whilft the Italians are clofely furling the fails of mufic, France fpreads them all, and improves every wind to forward its courfe through the rocks, fands, and dan gers, of a fea noted for wrecks. That which it seems to defy, would perhaps be rather advantageous than hurtful to it; as thereby it would only lofe the refufe of the Italian warehoufes, of which it has hastily made up its cargo.

To fpeak plainly, when the revolution in Italy, of which the endeavours above-mentioned feem a commencement, fhall be accomplifted; when Italy, excluding from mufic thofe concetti, which its prefent poets and orators are no lefs careful to avoid than thofe of the last century were ftudious to affect; the French, notwithstanding their language, will be found hampered in all the bellowings of which the Italians have rid themfelves, and which France will likewife lay afide in time, either from reflection or fatiety.

Of this the confequence will be, that two nations, fo like one another in fo many amiable qualities,

will for a long time greatly differ with regard to mufic; that the endeavours of the French to clofe with the Italians may only widen the difference; and lastly, that thofe two nations, though running the fame race, may perhaps never meet at the goal.

An Account of the Fair of Sinigaglia; from Grofley's Obfervations on Italy.

SINIGAGLIA has retained

the name of the Senonefe, fettled in this part of ancient Umbria. Senonum de nomine Senon, fays Silius Italicus. It belonged to the dukes of Urbino, who had fheltered it from the infults of Turks and pirates by fome forti fications ftill fubfifting. In 1758 its circuit was enlarging, in order to which its works on the weft fide were raised, and new ramparts built like the former, which the labour of pulling them down fhewed to be of a very ftrong construction.

The enlargement of this city, on account of the vaft concourfe of people at the fair time, and the foreigners, whom the great bufinefs done at this fair might induce to fettle here, had long been neceffary, fo that we must fuppofe there were fome political reafons against it. The difference between pope Benedict and Venice having diminished the weight of thefe reafons, the apoftolic chamber made choice of that juncture to take the works in hand, and very brifkly were they carrying on under Monfignor Merlini, prefident of Urbino, who had fignalized himself by an expedition against the fmugglers; an expedition which had determined Pope Benedict to

fupprefs the farming of tobacco in his dominions, and bring this ar ticle again into the common courfe of trade.

The air of this city, however, cannot boast of more falubrity than, that of all this coaft of the Adriatic. Boccace, fpeaking of a young wonan, che non mai era fenza mal d'occhi, con un color verde e giallo, adds, che pareva che non à Fiefole ma à Sinigaglia haveffe fatta la ftate, "Who Nov. 4. giorn. 8. i, e. "was continually troubled with

«fore eyes, and her complexion. "green and yellow," adds," that "The looked as if the had fpent: "the fummer at Sinigaglia, and not "at Fiefole."

ex

Sinigaglia affords nothing remark-; able either in its public or private, edifices. We indeed faw fome paintings by Barocci, and, in a fmall church in the high ftreet, a picture quite new, which ftruck us tremely, by the exact resemblance of St. Charles, the perfon it repre fented, to a French prelate, whom we had heard preach at Paris before the affembly of the clergy.

We reached Sinigaglia time enough for the opening of the fair, which holds the eight laft days of July. The fhore, along which we had come from Fano, was lined with culverines, cannon, loop-holes, old arquebufes, all pointed towards the fea; likewife with parties of foldiers in barracks at regular distances, befides fome fhips of the pope, lying in the offing. In fhort, nothing had the apoftolic chamber omitted for the fafety of the fair.

Mr. Merlini was there in perfon, and kept o, en houfe for the neighbouring nobility. All this nobility, men, women, and chil

M 4

dren,