Page:Anecdotes of Great Musicians.djvu/188

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Dr. Arne was once placed in a somewhat similar situation to that of Solomon when the two women each claimed the child. His disposition of the case was as fair as that of the king, only the distribution was more even, as even as Solomon threatened to make the division of the child in question.

Dr. Arne was a very prominent English composer who lived in the first half of the last century. He had been called upon to decide on the merits of two singers. Their merits, by the way, were based largely on their own appreciation of their powers, rather than on that of other people. After hearing them, Dr. Arne cried out to one of them,—

"You are the worst singer I ever heard in my life!"

"Then," exclaimed the other, "I win."

"No," answered the just judge, "you can't sing at all!"  

There are many instances of rapid work on the part of the great composers; and their facility and quickness of composition causes great wonder and admiration. But our admiration is often misdirected. When we hear of some of the speedy writing of great works by Mozart or Mendelssohn we are apt to think that this speed was of the composing powers as well as of pen, but, in fact, such was seldom the case. These great musicians generally did their composition mentally without reference to pen or piano, and simply deferred the unpleasant manual labor of committing their music to paper until it became absolutely necessary. Then they got credit for incredible rapidity of composition. But it is no light matter to quickly and correctly pen a lung and complicated composition. One has only to copy a piece of music or to try to put into notes some piece of music