Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 3.djvu/555

SNUFF-BOX, MUSICAL. the obtaining a constant movement for an hour and a half without requiring to wind up the spring during that time; the possibility of shifting the barrel in such a manner that an air 'noted' may be played without the necessity of going through all the others in rotation, and the important one of the interchange of barrels made to fit any box. [ A. J. H. ]

SOCIEDADE DE QUARTETOS DO PORTO (Quartet Society of Oporto). This society, the only one of the kind in Portugal, originated in private musical gatherings at the house of a banker of Oporto (Sr. Joaõ Miranda Guimarães). In 1875 the violoncellist J. Casella settled in Oporto, and it was resolved to give public concerts. The first subscription was for 12 concerts, and resulted in a net profit of about £32. Encouraged by these results, the same little body of musicians have continued to give two series of chamber concerts yearly, 12 in the autumn, and 6 in the spring. They take place on Sunday afternoons in a small concert-room at the S. Joaõ Theatre. The audience numbers usually about 100 persons. The programmes are entirely instrumental, and consist of movements from the chamber-music of the great masters, as well as from the works of Grieg, Dvorák, Saint-Saëns, Liszt, Grädener, Svendsen, Tchaikowsky, and Miguel Angelo. Short analytical remarks are written by Sr. B. V. Moreira de Sá, to whose energy and enthusiasm the society owes much of its success. [ W. B. S. ]

SOCIETA ARMONICA. Founded about 1827 for the purpose of giving subscription concerts in which symphonies, overtures, and occasionally instrumental chamber works were intermingled with vocal numbers usually drawn from the Italian operas. Mr. H. Forbes was the conductor, and Tolbecque and the younger Mori were the leaders of the band. Beethoven's Overture in C major, Berlioz's Overture to 'Les Francs Juges,' Reissiger's Overture in F minor, and the Overture to 'Les Huguenots' were among the works which gained a first hearing in England at the Society's concerts; and Weber's Mass in G was also produced at one of the performances. Among the vocalists who assisted in the concerts were Mmes. Grisi, Persiani, Albertazzi, Wyndham, Bishop, Alfred Shaw, Miss Clara Novello and Miss Birch, Messrs. Phillips, Rubini, Tamburini and Lablache, Mario and Ivanoff. The band included Spagnoletti, A. Griesbach, Willy, Wagstaff, Dando, Patey, Jay, Alsept, Lindley, Hatton, Brookes, Dragonetti, Howell, Card, Ribas, Barrett, Harper, etc. Henri Herz, the pianist and composer, and Hausmann the violinist, made their first appearance in this country at the Societa Arrnonica. The concerts were successively held at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand (now the Temple Club), Freemasons' Tavern, and the Opera Concert room in the Haymarket. They terminated in or about the year 1850. [ C. M. ]

SOCIÉTÉ DE MUSIQUE DE CHAMBRE,. This is a society for the performance of chamber-music for wind instruments in Paris. It was founded by Mons. Paul Taffanel, a distinguished flute-player, and the first concert took place on Feb. 6, 1879. Six concerts are given in the February, March, and April of each year at 4 p.m. on alternate Thursdays, at the Salle Pleyel; subscription, 20 francs per season. The executants are all artists from the Conservatoire concerts, or those of Pasdeloup—such as flute, Taffanel; oboe, Gillet and Boullard; clarinet, Grisez and Turban; bassoon, Espaignet and Bourdeau; horn, Garigue and Brémond; piano, Louis Diémer. The works performed are classical, and include those of Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, Weber, Schubert (op. 160), Mendelssohn (op. 114), Schumann (ops. 73, 94, 132), Spohr, Onslow, Raff, Brahms (ops. 16, 40), Liszt, Rubinstein, Saint Saens, Dvorak (op. 44), Gouvy, etc. etc. [ G. ]

SOCIÉTÉ DES CONCERTS DU CONSERVATOIRE, LA—the body which gives the famous concerts in Paris—was founded in 1828, by Habeneck and a group of eminent musicians, as already stated. [See vol. i. p. 385.] The positions of acting and honorary president are respectively filled by the chief conductor and the director of the Conservatoire. The management of the Society is in the hands of a committee elected by the members. The committee meets weekly on Tuesday mornings, and its chief duty is to settle the programmes of each season. The reading and selection of new works for performance during the winter concerts is done by the Society at large, meeting for that purpose from and after October. There are two full rehearsals for each concert.

The concerts themselves and their repetition in a second series have been already described [i. 386a]. The first series is for the 'new' subscribers, the second for the 'old' ones. Each series includes a 'Concert spirituel,' and since 1881 the second performance of this concert takes place, not on Easter Sunday, but on the Saturday before it. In the spring of 1882 M. Deldevez was re-elected conductor, and M. Heyberger chorus-master. M. Garcin—solo violin at the opera—is now sub-conductor.

The Société is entirely distinct from the 'Ecole normale de la musique française.' It has its own library, which however contains but few unpublished works. The most interesting is a small Symphony in C by Haydn, which is always received with applause. [App. p.794 "For corrections and additions see Altès and Garcin in Appendix."] [ G. C. ]

SOCIETY OF BRITISH MUSICIANS, founded in 1834 with the object of advancing native talent in composition and performance. In the original prospectus of the Society attention was called to the contrast between the encouragement offered to British painting, sculpture, and the tributary arts at the Royal Academy, and the comparative neglect of English music and English musicians, the overwhelming preponderance of foreign compositions in all musical performances being cited as 'calculated to impress the public with the idea that musical genius is