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Article BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EMINENT (DECEAS... ← Page 9 of 11 →
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Biographical Sketches Of Eminent (Deceas...
deeply interesting to the classical musician and amateur , we come to the time of Mendelssohn ' s first visit to England , whose fame as an organ player had reached our Brother Wesley ' s ears . Leaning on the arm
of one of the members of his family , he wended his way to Christ Church , Newgate-street , on that memorable day in 1837 ; and as he went , he said , "Do you say this man plays more finely than Adams—I think Adams has the finest finger in Europe ! " and was answered , " He is considered to play more in your style than that of any other
organist ; and I hope you will play too . " To which he replied "I will do as well as I can ; I have thought of my subject . " Then , when Mendelssohn commenced , amidst his half-paralysed pains , and his usual groans and mutterings of " what a wicked sinner he was , " he turned to an eminent organist , and said , " This is transcendent playing
—do you think I dare venture after thisl" and every now and then he ejaculated , " Great , great ! " . " What mind ! " " How wonderful !" When Mendelssohn had finished , he was requested to take his place , and after he had with great difficulty reached the organ-loft , he commenced one of those extraordinary diapason pieces that have been the wonder of all that ever heard him , and as his mind became
absorbed in his performance , his bodily infirmities seemed to diminish , and he astonished even those to whom his wonderful genius was no novelty . At the conclusion , several of his admirers pressed round him to congratulate him , and Mendelssohn , among the rest , who said , the reports he had heard respecting the powers of the father of
English organ-playing were not half as warm as his admiration at so wonderful a performance , but Wesley only shook his head , and smilingly said ' Ah , sir ! you have not heard me play ; you should have heard me forty years ago . " And this may be said to have been the last great public performance of Samuel Wesley , for he died on the 11 th of October , in the same year .
The genius of Samuel Wesley has had a most extraordinary influence on art in this country ; but , to the shame of our countrymen , he is better appreciated , through his works , which are numerous in the extreme , and they are widely disseminated—in Germany . To his advocacy organists are indebted for their intimacy with the works of Sebastian
Bach , whose writings will prove the canons of the sublime theory and practice ofthe art as long as that king of instruments—the organ—shall endure . Wesley ' s style of composition was essentially English ; square , broad , and rythmical . His manner of playing is traditionally imitated by every organist of the present day .
We have previously spoken of his brother Charles , who was in after years the private organist to George III ., and he , too , was a musician of the most wonderful kind ; indeed , it said , he was more talented than his brother , but they were so dissimilar , in all else than their art , that they presented the most marked contrast . Charles was stored witb every good gift , but he was unable to say anything for himself ; while Sam ( we can't help it—all the world called him Sam . ) , ¦ was full of anecdote , fluent , pointed , and eloquent . Both , however ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Biographical Sketches Of Eminent (Deceas...
deeply interesting to the classical musician and amateur , we come to the time of Mendelssohn ' s first visit to England , whose fame as an organ player had reached our Brother Wesley ' s ears . Leaning on the arm
of one of the members of his family , he wended his way to Christ Church , Newgate-street , on that memorable day in 1837 ; and as he went , he said , "Do you say this man plays more finely than Adams—I think Adams has the finest finger in Europe ! " and was answered , " He is considered to play more in your style than that of any other
organist ; and I hope you will play too . " To which he replied "I will do as well as I can ; I have thought of my subject . " Then , when Mendelssohn commenced , amidst his half-paralysed pains , and his usual groans and mutterings of " what a wicked sinner he was , " he turned to an eminent organist , and said , " This is transcendent playing
—do you think I dare venture after thisl" and every now and then he ejaculated , " Great , great ! " . " What mind ! " " How wonderful !" When Mendelssohn had finished , he was requested to take his place , and after he had with great difficulty reached the organ-loft , he commenced one of those extraordinary diapason pieces that have been the wonder of all that ever heard him , and as his mind became
absorbed in his performance , his bodily infirmities seemed to diminish , and he astonished even those to whom his wonderful genius was no novelty . At the conclusion , several of his admirers pressed round him to congratulate him , and Mendelssohn , among the rest , who said , the reports he had heard respecting the powers of the father of
English organ-playing were not half as warm as his admiration at so wonderful a performance , but Wesley only shook his head , and smilingly said ' Ah , sir ! you have not heard me play ; you should have heard me forty years ago . " And this may be said to have been the last great public performance of Samuel Wesley , for he died on the 11 th of October , in the same year .
The genius of Samuel Wesley has had a most extraordinary influence on art in this country ; but , to the shame of our countrymen , he is better appreciated , through his works , which are numerous in the extreme , and they are widely disseminated—in Germany . To his advocacy organists are indebted for their intimacy with the works of Sebastian
Bach , whose writings will prove the canons of the sublime theory and practice ofthe art as long as that king of instruments—the organ—shall endure . Wesley ' s style of composition was essentially English ; square , broad , and rythmical . His manner of playing is traditionally imitated by every organist of the present day .
We have previously spoken of his brother Charles , who was in after years the private organist to George III ., and he , too , was a musician of the most wonderful kind ; indeed , it said , he was more talented than his brother , but they were so dissimilar , in all else than their art , that they presented the most marked contrast . Charles was stored witb every good gift , but he was unable to say anything for himself ; while Sam ( we can't help it—all the world called him Sam . ) , ¦ was full of anecdote , fluent , pointed , and eloquent . Both , however ,