The Spirit of the Shell; a Serenata. Composed by Thomas
Henry Severn.
This composition, in the German style, belongs to a class familiar to us in translations and arrangements, of which Schiller's song of "The Bell," with music by Romberg, may serve as the model. It would have been better, perhaps, had the poet, Mr. Wyman, not mixed the dramatic and descriptive in his design, but made the shell suggest the text and the situations for music throughout. Now, however, the young couple, who are on the sea-beach by moonlight, have only time to throw the shell away and scramble up the rocks, assisted by a crowd of people, to escape the tide. The famous scene in The Antiquary, with Ochiltree' Level, and Miss War- dour, at once occurs to the recollection; and well a situation, with the angry surge at night, the screaming of the tempest, the glare of torches, the crowds on the rocks, and the agonies and ecstasies of the principal characters, would probably make a good fracas for the boards of any opera. It forms the climax of the interest in the present work; which should be heightened by accompiniments of costume and scenery. How far a private company can do justice to the dramatic force of such expressions as "He has caught it," or cries of " Father! " "Mother!" &c., independently of any drama, is ques- tionable. The stage is the place to lead us by true degrees to the neces- sary pitch of excitement; and even there, happy is the distress which escapes a laugh. Mr. T. H. Severn exhibits melodious talent, and a love for good music: Weber, in particular, exerts a manifest influence upon him. It is, however, in songs and short pieces that he chiefly excels; his pen being scarcely various enough to carry us with interest through a long pro- duction. The song "In the pearly cells," and the chorus, unaccompanied, "The love the parent's heart that warms," are tasteful examples of me- lody. The dramatic portions of the work are, however, somewhat conven- tional in design and style; and the language is declaimed in a manner little calculated to create serious impression.
Previous page
