Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/238

Rh 218 S A L S A L SALIERI, ANTONIO (1750-1825), dramatic composer, was born at Legnano, Italy, August 19, 1750. In 1766 he was taken to Vienna by a former " Kapellmeister " named Gassraann, who introduced him to the emperor Joseph, and fairly prepared the way for his subsequent success. His first opera, Le Donne Letterate, was produced at the Burg-Theater in 1770. On Gassmann's death in 1774, he received the appointment of Kapellmeister and com- poser to the court; and on the death of Bonno in 1788 he was advanced to the dignity of " Hof kapellmeister." He held his offices with honour for fifty years, though he made frequent visits to Italy and Paris, and composed for many important European theatres. His chef d'asuvre was Tarare (afterwards called Axur, He cFOrmus), a work which was preferred by the public of Vienna to Mozart's Don Giovanni, though it is, in reality, quite unworthy of comparison with that marvellous inspiration. It was first produced at Vienna, June 8, 1787, and strangely enough, considering the poverty of its style, it was revived at Leipsic in 1846, though only for a single representation. His last opera was Die Neger, produced in 1804. After this he devoted himself to the composi- tion of church music, for which he had a very decided talent. Salieri lived on friendly terms with Haydn, but was 'a bitter enemy to Mozart, whose death he was sus- pected of having produced by poison ; but no particle of evidence was ever forthcoming to give colour to the odious accusation. He retired from office, on his full salary, in 1824, and died at Vienna May 7, 1825. None of Salieri's works have survived the change of fashion. He gave lessons in composition both to Cherubini and Beethoven ; the latter dedicated to him his Three Sonatas for Piano- forte and Violin, Op. 12. SALII. See MAES. SALISBURY, or NEW SARUM, a city and municipal and parliamentary borough, the county town of Wiltshire, Eng- land, is situated in a valley at the confluence of the Upper Avon, the Wily, the Bourne, and the Nadder, on the Great Western and South Western Railways, 80 miles west-south- west of London. The city at the beginning was regularly laid out by Bishop Poore and still retains substantially its original plan. In the centre is the market-place, a large and handsome square, from which the streets branch off at right angles, forming a series of quadrangles facing- a thoroughfare on each side, and enclosing in the interior a space for courts and gardens. The streams flowed un- covered through the streets till the visitation of cholera in 1849 led to their being arched over. The cathedral of St Mary was originally founded on the hill fortress of Old Sarum by Bishop Herman, when he removed the see from Sherborne between 1075 and 1078. The severe drought in 1834 caused the old foundations to be dis- covered. Its total length was 270 feet ; the nave was 150 feet by 72, the transept 150 feet by 70 ; and the choir was 60 feet in length. In 1218 Bishop Poore procured a papal bull for the removal of the cathedral to New Sarum. For this various reasons have been given, the despotism of the governor, the exposure to high winds which drowned the voice of the officiating priest, the narrow space for houses, and the difficulty of procuring water. Until the Reforma- tion service still continued to be performed in the old church. A wooden chapel of St Mary was commenced at New Sarum in the Easter-tide of 1219, and the founda- tions of the new cathedral were laid by Bishop Poore, 28th April 1220. It was dedicated at Michaelmas 1258, the whole cost having amounted to 40,000 marks, or 26,666. The cloisters, of great beauty, and the late Early English chapter-house were added by Bishop Walter de la Wyle ( 1 263-74). The tower from near the ridge was built in the Decorated style by Bishop Wyville about 1331, and the spire was added between 1335 and 1375. It is the highest in England (404 feet), and is remarkable both for its beauty of proportion and the impression it conveys of lightness and slenderness. The chapel built by Bishop Beauchamp (1450-82), that built by Lord Hungerford in 1476, and the fine campanile were all ruthlessly demolished by the architect James Wyatt, 1782-1791. The cathedral as a whole is a unique specimen of Early English, having the advantage of being practically completed as it now stands within a remarkably short period. For lightness, simplicity, grace, and unity of design it is not surpassed in England. It is in the form of a Greek or double cross, and comprises a nave of ten bays with aisles and a lofty northern porch ; two transepts, one of three and the other of two bays, while both have eastern aisles for chapels ; a choir of three bays with aisles ; a presbytery of three bays with aisles ; and a lady-chapel of two bays. The total length of the building is 449 feet, the length of the nave being 229 feet 6 inches, of the choir 151 feet, and of the lady-chapel 68 feet 6 inches, while the principal transept has a length of 203 feet 10 inches, and the eastern transept of 143 feet. The width of the nave is 34 feet 4 inches, and of the principal transept 50 feet 4 inches. The library, built by Bishop Jewel (1560-71), contains about 5000 volumes and several MOBS, of great interest. In the close, occupying an area of half a square mile, and possessing a finely-shaded mall, are the episcopal palace, an irregular structure begun by Bishop Poore but of various dates, the deanery house, and other buildings. The three parish churches are St Martin's, with square tower and spire, and possessing a Norman font and portions of Early English in the choir ; St Thomas's (of Canterbury), founded in 1240 as a chapel to the cathedral, and rebuilt in the 15th century, a handsome building in the Perpendicular style ; and St Edmund's, founded as the collegiate church of secular canons in 1268, but subse- quently rebuilt in the Perpendicular style and lately restored at a cost of 6000. The residence of the college of secular priests is now occupied by the modern ecclesiastical college of St Edmund's, founded in 1873. St John's chapel, founded by Bishop Bingham (1228-46), is now occupied by a dwelling-house. There is a beauti- ful chapel attached to the St Nicholas hospital, founded in the reign of Richard II. The poultry cross, or high cross, an open hexagon with six arches and a central pillar, was erected by Lord Montacute before 1335. In the market-place is Marochetti's statue to Lord Herbert of Lea. The principal secular buildings are the court- house, the market^house, the Hamilton Hall, the county jail, and the theatre. Among the specimens of ancient domestic architecture still remaining may be mentioned the banqueting hall of J. Halle, wool merchant, built in 1470, and Audley House, belonging also to the 15th cen- tury, and repaired in 1881 as a diocesan church house. There are a large number of educational and other charities, including the bishop's grammar school, Queen Elizabeth's grammar school, Talman's girls' school, the St Nicholas hospital, founded in the reign of Richard II., and Trinity hospital, founded by Agnes Bottenham in 1379. At one time the city possessed woollen and cutlery manufactures, but these have now declined ; and, although the manufac- ture of hardware and of boots and shoes is still carried on, it is on its shops for the supply of the neighbouring villages and its agricultural trade that it now principally depends. The population of the city and municipal borough (area 616 acres) in 1871 was 12,903, and that of the parliamentary borough (area 676 acres) 13,839 ; in 1881 the numbers were 14,792 and 15,680. Salisbury and its neighbourhood are remarkably rich in relics of antiquity. To say nothing of Old Sarum and the scanty ruins of