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SONNLEITHNER. several librettos, including Beethoven's 'Leonore' from the French of du Bouilly (the title of which was changed against the composer's wish to 'Fidelio'); 'Agnes Sorel' and others for Gyrowetz; 'Kaiser Hadrian,' and 'Die Weihe der Zukunft'—a pièce d'occasion for the visit of the Allies—for Weigl; 'Faniska' for Cherubini; an oratorio, 'Die vier letzten Dinge,' for Eybler, and numerous plays from various languages. He was the first editor of the favourite pocket-book 'Aglaia,' and he also edited the Viennese 'Theater-Almanach' for 1794, 95, and 96, which contains valuable biographies, and articles on the then condition of music in Vienna. For his services as founder (1811) and honorary secretary of the 'Gesellschaft adeliger Frauen zur Beförderung der Guten und Nützlichen' he was made a counsellor. With indefatigable energy he next applied himself to founding (1813) the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, and continued to act as its honorary secretary till his death, devoting himself unremittingly to the welfare of the society. Another institution in which he took equal interest was the Conservatorium, founded in 1817. The formation of the archives, and especially of the library, was almost entirely his work, through his acquisition of Gerber's literary remains in 1819, and his legacy of 41 MS. vols. in his own hand, full of valuable materials for the history of music. He lived in close friendship with Schubert and Grillparzer up to his death, which took place Dec. 26, 1835. He received the Danebrog Order, and honorary diplomas from several musical societies. His nephew,, son of Ignaz, advocate and eminent amateur, born Nov. 15, 1797, was a great friend of the sisters Fröhlich, Schubert, Schwind the painter, and Grillparzer. He took great care to preserve Schubert's songs, and to introduce the composer to the musical world, by publishing, with the help of other friends, his 'Erlkönig' and other early songs, for the first time. The 'Erlkönig' was sung by Gymnich at a soirée of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Jan. 25, 1821, and for the first time in public on the 7th of March following, at the old Kärnthnerthor theatre, by Vogl with immense success. As member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (from 1860 an honorary one), Sonnleithner took an unwearied interest in the concerns of the society, to whose archives he left, among other papers, his highly valuable notes on the operas produced, on concerts, and other musical events in Vienna. His numerous articles on music are scattered through various periodicals. He was an intimate friend of Otto Jahn's, and furnished him with much valuable material for the life of Mozart, as Jahn acknowledges in his preface. Leopold von Sonnleithner was Ritter of the Order of the Iron Crown, an honorary member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, and of the Musikvereine of Salzburg, Innsbruck, etc. He died March 3, 1873, and with him disappeared a most persevering investigator and collector of facts connected with the history of music in Vienna, a class which daily becomes rarer, though its labours were never of more value than in the present age of new appearances and general progress. [ C. F. P. ]

SONS OF THE CLERGY,. This venerable institution, which has founded in 1655 by sons of clergymen, has for its objects the assisting necessitous clergymen, pensioning and assisting their widows and aged single daughters, and educating, apprenticing, and providing outfits for their children. To aid in procuring funds for these purposes it holds an annual festival (at no fixed date), consisting of a choral service with a sermon, followed by a dinner. The first sermon was preached in the year of foundation at St. Paul's Cathedral by the Rev. George Hall, D.D., Minister of St. Botolph's, Aldersgate Street. That similar meetings took place in following years is most probable, but there are no means of proving it, owing to the unfortunate destruction of the early records of the institution by fire, in 1838. We find, however, that in 1674 and 1675 sermons were preached at St. Michael's, Cornhill; that from 1676 to 1696 they were delivered at Bow Church, Cheapside; and that from 1697 down to the present year (1883) they have been invariably given at St. Paul's Cathedral. The association was incorporated by charter of Charles II. in 1678. It was in 1698, according to the records, that 'music' (i.e. orchestral accompaniment to the service and anthems) was first introduced at the festivals. The compositions then performed were Purcell's Te Deum and Jubilate in D, composed for the celebration on St. Cecilia's day, 1694, and these were annually repeated until 1713, when Handel's Te Deum and Jubilate, composed on the Peace of Utrecht, were given, from which time the two compositions were alternately performed until 1743, when both were laid aside in favour of the Te Deum composed by Handel to celebrate the victory at Dettingen, which continued to be annually performed (with the exception of one or two years when Purcell's Te Deum was revived) until 1843, after which its performance was discontinued in consequence of the services of the instrumental band being dispensed with in deference to the wishes of the Bishop of London (Blomfield). Handel's overture to the oratorio 'Esther' was almost invariably played as a prelude to the service from near the time of its production in 1720 until 1843. Dr. W. Hayes was at one time conductor of the festivals, and added instrumental parts to the Old Hundredth Psalm tune for their use. Dr. Boyce also was for many years their conductor, and composed for them his two anthems, 'Lord, Thou hast been our refuge,' and 'Blessed is he that considereth the poor and needy,' besides adding accompaniments to Purcell's Te Deum and Jubilate, and expanding