Page:Rolland - A musical tour through the land of the past.djvu/203

191 of theorists and academicians. There dwelt the principal musical authority of eighteenth-century Italy, the authority recognised at once by the Italians and by the masters of all Europe; by Gluck, Johann Christian Bach and Mozart—Father Martini. This Franciscan monk, choirmaster of the church of his order in Bologna, was a pleasant and scholarly composer, whose work exhibited a certain rococo grace; a learned historian, a master of counterpoint and an impassioned collector, who gathered about him, in his library of seventeen thousand volumes, the musical knowledge of the period. This he generously shared with all those who applied to him, for he was full of kindliness; his was one of those pure and serene souls which are to be found among the old Italian artists. He was greatly beloved, and musicians were constantly appealing to his wisdom, whether in writing or by visiting him in Bologna. Burney speaks of him with affection:

Bologna boasted also of the principal musical academy in Italy; the Philharmonic Society, founded in 1666, into which Italian and foreign masters held it an honour to be received. The little Mozart was admitted to it after a competition, in which, so the legend records, he was secretly assisted by the worthy Father Martini. It was