Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 3.djvu/75

RAAFF. Jomelli's 'Didone' (1749), to Metastasio's great satisfaction. In 1752 he passed through Italy to Lisbon, where he was engaged for three years on highly advantageous terms. In 1755 he accepted a summons to Madrid, where he remained under Farinelli's direction, enjoying every possible mark of favour from the court and public. In 1759 he accompanied Farinelli to Naples, where he afterwards met with Naumann, and where his tine singing cured the Princess Belmonte Pignatelli of a profound melancholy into which she had fallen on the death of her husband. In 1770 he returned to Germany and entered the service of the elector, Karl Theodor, at Mannheim. In 1778 he was in Paris with Mozart, and in 1779 he followed the court to Munich, where Mozart composed the part of Idomeneo for him. Soon afterwards he quitted the stage, and took to teaching singing, but his pupils left him on account of his extreme strictness. Towards the close of his life he gave up music entirely, giving away his piano and his music, and abandoning himself to contemplation. He died in Munich, May 27, 1797. 'Raaff's voice was the finest possible tenor, full, pure in tone, and even throughout the register, from deep bass to extreme high notes. He was moreover a complete master of the art of singing, as is shown by his extraordinary power of reading at sight, by the skill with which he introduced variations and cadenzas, and by his wonderful expression, which made his singing seem an accurate reflection of his mind and heart. Another admirable quality was his pure and distinct pronunciation of the words, every syllable being audible in the largest space.' Mozart in his letters speaks of him as his 'best and dearest friend,' especially in one from Paris, dated June 12, 1778. He composed for him in Mannheim the air, 'Se al labro mio non credi' (Köchel 295). [ C. F. P. ]

RACCOLTA GENERALE. A collection of pieces of which the full title is as follows:—'Collection générale des ouvrages classiques de musique, ou Choix de chefs d'œuvres, en tout genre, des plus grands compositeurs de toutes les Ecoles, recueillis, mis en ordre et enrichis de Notices historiques, par Alex. E. Choron, pour servir de suite aux Principes de Composition des écoles d'Italie.' A notice on the wrapper further says that the price of the work to subscribers is calculated at the rate of 5 sous per page, thus curiously anticipating Mr. Novello's famous reduction of his publications to 2½d. [App. p766 "1½d."] per page. The numbers were not to be issued periodically, but the annual cost to subscribers was fixed at from 36 to 40 francs. The work was in folio, engraved by Gillé fils, and published by Leduc & Co., Paris, Rue de Richelieu, 78, with agents at Bordeaux, Marseilles, Leipzig, Munich, Vienna, Lyon, Turin, Milan, Rome and Naples. It was got up with great care and taste. The parts are in blue-gray wrappers, with an ornamental title. The only numbers which the writer has been able to discover are as follows:—No. 1, Miserere a 2 core, Leo; No. 2, Missa ad fugam, Palestrina (à 4); No. 3, Stabat, Palestrina (8 voices); No. 4, Stabat, Josquin (à 5); No. 5, Miserere a cinque voci, Jomelli; No. 6, Missa pro defunctis, Jomelli. It is probable that the issue of the work did not continue beyond these six pieces.

For 'Raccolta di musica sacra' see Appendix. [ G. ]

RADICAL CADENCE. A term applied, in modern Music, to a Close, either partial or complete, formed of two Fundamental Chords. [See .] [ W. S. R. ]

RADZIWIL,, Prince of, Royal Prussian 'Statthalter' of the Grand Duchy of Posen, born at Wilna, June 13, 1775, married in 1796 the Princess Luise, sister of that distinguished amateur Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. [See vol. ii. p. 168b.] Radziwil was known in Berlin not only as an ardent admirer of good music, but as a fine violoncello player, and 'a singer of such taste and ability as is very rarely met with amongst amateurs.' Beethoven was the great object of his admiration. He played his quartets with devotion, made a long journey to Prince Galitzin's on purpose to hear the Mass in D, was invited by Beethoven to subscribe to the publication of that work, and indeed was one of the seven who sent in their names in answer to that appeal. To him Beethoven dedicated the Overture in C, op. 115 (known as 'Namensfeier'), which was published as 'Grosses Ouverture in C dur gedichtet' etc., by Steiner of Vienna in 1825.

Further relations between the Prince and the composer there must have been, but at present we know nothing of them. No letters from Beethoven to him are included in those hitherto published, nor has Mr. Thayer yet thrown any light on the matter in his biography of the composer.

Radziwil was not only a player, a singer, and a passionate lover of music, he was also a composer of no mean order. Whistling's 'Handbuch' (1828) names 3 Romances for voice and PF. (Peters), and songs with guitar and cello (B. & H.), and Mendel mentions duets with PF. accompaniment, a Complaint of Maria Stuart, with PF. and cello, and many part-songs composed for Zelter's Liedertafel, of which he was an enthusiastic supporter, and which are still in MS. But these were only preparations for his great work, entitled 'Compositions to Goethe's dramatic poem of Faust.' This, which was published in score and arrangement by Trautwein of Berlin in Nov. 1835, contains 25 numbers, occupying 589 pages. A portion was sung by the Singakademie as early as May 1, 1810; the choruses were performed in May 1816, three new scenes as late as Nov. 21, 1830, and the whole work was brought out by that institution after the death of the composer, which took place April 8, 1833. The work was repeatedly performed during several years in Berlin, Dantzig, Hanover, Leipzig, Prague, and many other places, as maybe seen from the index to the A. M. Zeitung.