MUSIC.
Songs of the Seasons. Composed by the Author of the "Musical Illustrations of the Waverley Novels."
Miss FLOWER, the author of this set of songs, has considerable claims to originality as a composer. There is very little stealing to be de- tected here. We should guess that her taste has not been lowered by a too familiar acquaintance with the commonplace vocal music of the day, but that she has studied that of men (no matter for their being old- fashioned) to whom genius and fancy really lent their inspiration, and who wrote because they felt that they had something to impart to the world. Her music is evidently suggested by the poetry, not fitted to it; and it requires study and good singing to render it effective. She has a duet for Spring, and a song for each other season. The duet is very cleverly arranged, but too short; and this is the case with most of her melodies. She begins a phrase, and ere we are able to feel the measure, she darts off to another. Hence her songs have a kind of impromptu effect ; and you would, at first, anticipate some violation of the techni- cal rules of composition : but nothing of this kind occurs—if her notes are originally "wild," they are subjected to the strictest harmonic control. Her transitions, if sometimes unexpected, are secundum arrest, and her accompaniments are skilful. Altogether, we like these Songs of tire Seasons. Perhaps there are parts not quite to our taste—but no matter : there is a freshness about them which bespeaks mind—which tells us that the writer knows something more of the beauties and en- joyments of the Seasons than is to be learned by living in the parish of Marylebone and reading Tirosisors.
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