taking the part of Hawthorn, with Mrs. Wood (Miss Paton) as Rosetta. After performing for a few months in stock pieces, he created the part of Reimbaut in Meyerbeer's 'Robert le Diable' on its first performance in this country, Feb. 20, 1832. He appeared as Lopez in Spohr's 'Der Alchymist' when first produced (March 20, 1832), Bishop's 'Tyrolese Peasant' (May 8, 1832), and John Barnett's 'Win her and wear her' (Dec. 18, 1832); but the first production of 'Don Juan' at Drury Lane, Feb. 5, 1833, afforded Templeton a great opportunity. Signor Begrez, after studying the part of Don Ottavio for eight weeks, threw it up a week before the date announced for production. Templeton undertook the character, and a brilliant success followed. Braham, who played Don Juan, highly complimented Templeton on his execution of 'Il mio tesoro,' and Tom Cooke called him 'the tenor with the additional keys.'
Madame Malibran, in 1833, chose him as her tenor, and 'Malibran's tenor' he remained throughout her brief but brilliant career. On the production of 'La Sonnambula,' at Drury Lane, May 1, 1833, Templeton's Elvino was no less successful than Malibran's Amina. After the performance Bellini embraced him, and, with many compliments, promised to write a part that would immortalise him. 'The Devil's Bridge,' 'The Students of Jena' (first time June 4, 1833), 'The Marriage of Figaro,' 'John of Paris,' etc., gave fresh opportunities for Templeton to appear with Malibran, and with marked success. In Auber's 'Gustavus the Third,' produced at Covent Garden, Nov. 13, 1833, he made another great success as Colonel Lillienhorn. During the season the opera was repeated one hundred times. Alfred Bunn, then manager of both theatres, so arranged that Templeton, after playing in 'La Sonnambula' or 'Gustavus the Third' at Covent Garden, had to make his way to Drury Lane to fill the rôle of 'Masaniello'—meeting with equal success at both houses.
On the return of Madame Malibran to England in 1835, the production of 'Fidelio' and of Balfe's 'Maid of Artois' (May 27, 1836) brought her and Templeton again together. July 16, 1836, was fated to be their last appearance together. At the end of the performance Malibran removed the jewelled betrothal ring from her finger which she had so often worn as Amina, and presented it to Templeton as a memento of respect for his talents; and it is still cherished by the veteran tenor as a sacred treasure. Templeton sustained the leading tenor parts in Auber's 'Bronze Horse' (1836), in Herold's 'Corsair' (1836), Rossini's 'Siege of Corinth' (1836), in Balfe's 'Joan of Arc' (1837) and 'Diadeste' (1838), in Mozart's 'Magic Flute' (1838), Benedict's 'Gipsy's Warning' (1838), H. Phillips' 'Harvest Queen' (1838), in Donizetti's 'Love Spell' (1839), and in 'La Favorita' (1843) on their first performance or introduction as English operas; altogether playing not less than eighty different leading tenor characters.
In 1836–37 Templeton made his first professional tour in Scotland and Ireland with great success. Returning to London, he retained his position for several years. In 1842 he visited Paris with Balfe, and received marked attention from Auber and other musical celebrities. The last twelve years of his professional career were chiefly devoted to the concert-room. In 1846 he starred the principal cities of America with his 'Templeton Entertainments,' in which were given songs illustrative of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and as a Scottish vocalist he sang himself into the hearts of his countrymen. With splendid voice, graceful execution, and exquisite taste, he excelled alike in the pathetic, the humorous, and the heroic; his rendering of 'My Nannie O,' 'Had I a cave,' 'Gloomy winter,' 'Jessie, the Flower o' Dunblane,' 'Corn Rigs,' 'The Jolly Beggar,' and 'A man's a man for a' that,' etc., left an impression not easily effaced. Mr. Templeton retired in 1852, and now enjoys a well-earned repose at New Hampton.
TEMPO (Ital., also Movimento; Fr. Mouvement). This word is used in both English and German to express the rate of speed at which a musical composition is executed. The relative length of the notes depends upon their species, as shown in the notation, and the arrangement of longer and shorter notes in bars must be in accordance with the laws of Time, but the actual length of any given species of note depends upon whether the Tempo of the whole movement be rapid or the reverse. The question of Tempo is a very important one, since no composition could suffer more than a very slight alteration of speed without injury, while any considerable change would entirely destroy its character and render it unrecognisable. The power of rightly judging the tempo required by a piece of music, and of preserving an accurate recollection of it under the excitement caused by a public performance, is therefore not the least among the qualifications of a conductor or soloist.
Until about the middle of the 17th century, composers left the tempi of their compositions (as indeed they did the nuances to a great extent) entirely to the judgment of performers, a correct rendering being no doubt in most cases assured by the fact that the performers were the composer's own pupils; so soon however as the number of executants increased, and tradition became weakened, some definite indication of the speed desired by the composer was felt to be necessary, and accordingly we find all music from the time of Bach[1] and Handel (who used tempo-indications but sparingly) marked with explicit directions as to speed, either in words, or by a reference to the Metronome, the latter being of course by far the most accurate method. [See vol. ii. p. 318.]
Verbal directions as to tempo are generally written in Italian, the great advantage of this practice being that performers of other nationalities, understanding that this is the custom,
- ↑ In the 48 Preludes and Fugues there is but one tempo-indication. Fugue 24, vol. i. is marked 'Largo,' and even this is rather an indication of style than of actual speed.
