Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 1.djvu/612

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
600
GLINKA.
GLUCK.

of his life, also in Russian, have been published by Stanoff and Solovieff. [App. p.648 "'La Vie pour le Czar' was produced at Covent Garden in Italian, July 12, 1887."]

[ E. D. ]

GLORIA is the name which is generally applied in England to the short hymn Gloria Patri, and in the Roman Church to the longer hymn Gloria in Excelsis, which is also called the 'Great Doxology,' or 'Angelical Hymn,' because its first words are those of the angels who appeared to the shepherds. The former is of unknown origin, and was in use in the Anglo-Saxon offices. The custom of singing it after each psalm is peculiar to the Western Church.

The Gloria in Excelsis is probably of Eastern origin. In the Western Church it was formerly used at the beginning of the Liturgy when the Te Deum was used at the end. In the Mass it follows the Kyrie. It now comes at the conclusion of the Communion Service in the English Church, immediately before the blessing. It appears in the Common Prayer Noted of 1550 with an adaptation of the old church melodies by Marbeck, but it does not appear to have been sung in the early days after the Reformation in England, and received little attention from English composers. At the present day it is set equally with the other portions of the Communion Service.

GLOVER, Charles W., born February 1806, was a pupil of T. Cooke. He became a violin player in the orchestras of Drury Lane and Covent Garden Theatres. In 1832 he was appointed musical director at the Queen's Theatre, Tottenham Street, and continued so for some years. He was the composer of numerous songs and duets, some of which were very popular, as 'Jeannette and Jeannot,' 'Sing not that song to me, sweet bird,' 'Of love, pretty maidens, beware.' He died in London, March 22, 1863.

GLOVER, William, was born in London in 1822. In 1829 he became a chorister of Trinity College, Cambridge, where he remained until 1838. He then became a pupil of Professor Walmisley, and in 1841 obtained the organistship of the newly erected Christ Church, Cambridge. This post he vacated in the next year on being appointed organist of St. Matthew's, Manchester. In 1846 he was chosen organist of St. Luke's, Cheetham, which appointment he still holds in conjunction with that at St. Matthew's. Glover attained to much distinction in the higher style of organ playing, and in April 1847, when Mendelssohn went to Manchester for the purpose of conducting a performance of his 'Elijah' there, he received a visit from the great composer (with whom he had formerly corresponded), who performed before a select audience on the organ at St. Luke's—a fine instrument by Hill on the German CC scale—being, in all probability, the last time he touched an organ in England. In 1847 Glover composed an oratorio entitled 'Jerusalem,' which was produced at the Manchester Mechanics Institution on Feb. 12, 1848. In 1850 he composed another called 'Emmanuel,' which was performed at the Free Trade Hall in 1851. He is also the composer of 'The Corsair,' a cantata, written in 1849 and published in 1856 but never performed, and of a third oratorio, quartets and quintets for stringed instruments, pianoforte trios, etc., all still in MS. In 1847 he published a collection of 'Psalm Tunes and Chants,' and 'The Complete Daily Service of the Church, as chanted at St. Matthew's, Manchester.' Glover established at St. Matthew's the first surpliced choir seen in Manchester except that of the cathedral. He has lately devoted much of his attention to mechanical inventions connected with weaving.

GLOVER, William Howard, born at Kilburn June 6, 1819, was a son of Mrs. Glover, the celebrated actress. He learned the violin under Wagstaff, leader of the Lyceum band, and began life by a long tour on the continent, after which he returned to England and led a desultory career for some years in London and the provinces—teaching, playing, conducting, composing, and even appearing on the stage in opera. He was for many years musical critic to the Morning Post. His chief works were 'Tam O'Shanter,' a cantata produced by the New Philharmonic Society, July 4, 1855, and performed at the Birmingham Festival of the same year, the operas of 'Ruy Blas,' produced at Covent Garden, Oct. 31, 1861, and 'Aminta,' at the Haymarket Theatre; 'Once too often,' operetta at Drury Lane; 'The Coquette'; Overture to 'Manfred'; numerous songs, romances, etc. In 1868 Glover quitted England for the United States, and died at New York, Oct. 28, 1875.

GLUCK, Christoph Willibald, Ritter[1] von, born July 2, 1714, baptised July 4, at Weidenwang, near Neumarkt, in the Upper Palatinate. His father, Alexander, and his mother, Walburga, belonged to the household of Prince Lobkowitz, and it was at his castle of Eisenberg that the future reformer of the lyric drama passed his early days. At 12 he was sent for six years to the Jesuit school at Komotow or Chamutow in Bohemia, where he studied classics, and had his first lessons in singing, the violin, clavecin, and organ. In 1732 he went to Prague, where he continued his musical education under Czernhorsky, and also learned the cello; maintaining himself in the meanwhile by singing in church, playing the violin at the peasants' dances in the neighbouring villages, and giving concerts in the larger towns near Prague. In 1736 he went to Vienna, and at the house of Prince Lobkowitz was fortunate enough to meet Prince Melzi, a distinguished amateur, who engaged him for his private band, took him to Milan, and placed him with G. B. Sammartini to complete his studies in harmony. Gluck soon began to write operas—'Artaserse' (Milan) 1741; 'Demofoonte' (Milan), 'Cleonice' or 'Demetrio,' and 'Ipermnestra' (Venice) in 1742; 'Artamene' (Cremona) and 'Siface' (Milan) in 1743; 'Fedra' (Milan) in 1744;

  1. The date of his knighthood is unknown, but it was before he went to Paris.