18 NOVEMBER 1848, Page 19

Six German Songs, by .I. Rosenhain. With an English Version,

by Leopold Wray, Esq.

M. Rosenhain, though he has visited this country, is less known in Eng- land than in Germany and France, where he has a high reputation as a pianist and composer for his instrument These six songs are the only spe- cimens that we have met with of his talents as a vocal composer. They have great merit, but are not free from the faults of the modern German music, especially when it happens to be vocal music written by a piano- forte-player. The melodies contain hard, unvocal intervals, seemingly suggested by the fingers on the keys; the modulations are too frequent and abrupt; and the accompaniments are often unnecessarily complex, and ex- cessively difficult. In every one of them, however, we find novel effects, and passages of great beauty and expression; some are but slightly marked with the faults we have indicated; and one, "The wanderer nought of sor- row knows," is quite a gem, perfectly simple, and full of grace and elegance. Those who are accustomed to deal with the difficulties of the German school will take pleasure in these songs; but they will prove "caviare to the general."