Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 4.djvu/565

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BLAND.
BOITO.
549

benefit at Drury Lane, July 5, when a list of donations was printed in the play-bill. She was attacked by apoplexy at the house of a friend, and died Jan 15, 1838. Mrs. Bland had two sons, both singers. Charles, a tenor, appeared at Covent Garden as Oberon in Weber's opera of that name, on its production, April 12, 1826. His success however was but moderate and he was not engaged after that season. He subsequently appeared in the provinces, and in 1831 was singing at the Manchester Theatre. He then returned to London, and in 1831–2 appeared at the Olympic, and in 1833 and 1834 at Astley's. No traces of his subsequent career have been found. His brother James, a bass, born 1798, appeared in 1826 at the English Opera House (Lyceum) in Winter's 'Oracle.' He was afterwards engaged at Drury Lane. In 1831 he appeared at the Olympic as an actor and singer in burlesque with such success that he gradually abandoned serious singing and became the acknowledged representative of the kings and fathers in the extravaganzas of Planché and others. He died suddenly as he was about to enter upon the performance of his duties at the Strand Theatre, July 17, 1861.

BLAZE, F. H. J. (Castil-Blaze). Add day of death, Dec. 11.

BLEWITT, Jonas. Add that about 1795 he was organist of the united parishes of St. Margaret Pattens and St. Gabriel Fenchurch, also of St. Catherine Coleman, Fenchurch Street.

BLITHEMAN, William, was in 1564 a member of the choir and master of the choristers of Christ Church, Oxford, and also a gentleman and one of the organists of the Chapel Royal. He died on Whitsunday 1591, and was buried in the church of St. Nicholas Olave, Queenhithe, where a brass plate was placed with a metrical epitaph recording not only his skill as an organist and musician, but also that he was the instructor of John Bull. An organ piece by him is printed in the appendix to Hawkins's History, and MS. compositions of his are extant in the Mulliner MS., Queen Elizabeth's Virginal Book, etc.

BLOW, John. There is a strong probability that he was born in London. A MS. note of Anthony à Wood's, in his 'Athenae Oxon.' shows that Dr. Rogers told Wood that this was the case, and the registers of North Collingham in Nottinghamshire do not confirm the statement that Blow was born there. P. 250 a, l. 12, for Some read Two. The statement made ten lines lower, that Blow was not a graduate of either university, requires confirmation. In the Music School at Oxford there was formerly a MS. which seemed to show that his degree was conferred at Oxford. Line 19 from end of article, add 1695 to the dates when Blow composed odes for St. Cecilia's Day. For further discussion of the questions raised above, the reader is referred to the Dict. of Nat. Biog.

BOB. Last line of article, for Change-ringing read Change II.

BOCCHERINI. Correct date of birth to Feb. 19, 1743.

BOCHSA. Add day of birth, Aug. 9.

BOCKLET, C. M. von. Add date of death, July 15, 1881.

BOEHM, Joseph. Correct date of birth to 1795, and day of death to Mar. 28.

BOEHM, Theobald. For l. 3 of article read April 9, 1794, and add at the end references to articles Flute and Gordon. (Corrected in late editions.)

BÖHNER, Johann Ludwig, deserves mention as the original of Hoffmann's Capellmeister Kreisler, and thus of Schumann's Kreisleriana. He was born Jan. 8, 1787, at Töttelstedt, Gotha, and had an immense talent for music, which was developed by his father and by Kittl, J. S. Bach's pupil; but, like Friedemann Bach, his habits were so irregular that he could never retain any regular employment. He wandered about through Germany, and in 1808 lived at Jena, where he made the acquaintance of Goethe and Hoffmann, but returned in the end to his native village. At length, drink and privation carried him off on March 28, 1860. He gave a concert at Leipzig in Sept. 1834, in speaking of which Schumann[1] mentions that he 'looked so poverty-stricken as quite to depress me. He was like an old lion with a thorn in his foot.' He had at one time been celebrated for his improvisation, but at this date Schumann was disappointed by it—'it was so gloomy and dull.' This was in the early days of the 'Neue Zeitschrift für Musik,' and Schumann utters a half intention to write Böhneriana for the paper, founded on the old man's own confessions, 'both humorous and pathetic.' These were afterwards to be the basis of the PF. pieces, op. 16, called the 'Kreisleriana' (1838). Böhner's absurdities almost pass belief. He announced an organ concert at Oldenburg, the church was filled and every one full of expectation, when Böhner appeared in the organ-loft and said 'It is impossible for Ludwig Böhner to play to such an idiotic audience.'[2] Fétis gives a long list of his works, containing an opera, orchestral pieces, quartets, sonatas, motets, etc., ending with op. 120. See also vol. ii. 727 b.

[ G. ]

BOIELDIEU, Fr. Adrien. Add to the works mentioned, the following, completing the list:—

L'heureuse nouvelle,' 1797; 'Le Pari, ou Mombreuil et Merville,' 1797; 'Les Méprises espagnoles,' 1799; 'Emma, ou La Prisonnière' (with Cherubini), 1799; 'Le Baiser et la Quittance' (with Méhul, Kreutzer and Nicolo), 1803. Produced at St. Petersburg—'Amour et Mystére,' 'Abderkhan,' 'Un Tour de Soubrette,' 'La Dame invisible,' 1808. After his return to Paris—'Bayard a Mézières' (with Cherubini, Catel, and Nicolo). 1814; 'Les Béarnais, ou Henri IV en voyage' (with Kreutzer), 1814; 'Angéla, ou l'Atelier de Jean Cousin' (with Mme. Gail), 1814; 'La Fête du Village voisin,' 1816; 'Charles de France, ou Amour et Gloire' (with Hérold), 1816; 'Blanche de Provence, ou La Cour des Fées' (with Berton, Cherubini, Kreutzer, and Paër), 1821; La France et l'Espagne,' 1823; 'Les Trois Genres' (with Auber), 1824; 'Pharamond' (with Berton and Kreutzer), 1825; and 'La Marquise de Brinvilliers (with Auber, Batton, Berton, Blangini, Carafa, Cherubini, Hérold, and Paër), 1831. (Pougin's Supplement to Fétis's Dictionary.)

BOITO, Arrigo, an Italian poet and composer, born at Padua, Feb. 24, 1842. His father

  1. Jugend-briefe. Letter to von Frickem.
  2. Ibid.