Arts, Faculty of
Music, School of
DSpace
UBCV
Wiese, Helen Lloy
Master of Arts - MA
University of British Columbia
The English semi-opera, Psyche (1675), written by Thomas Shadwell, with music by Matthew Locke, was thought at the time of its performance to be a mere copy of Psyche (1671), a French tragedie-ballet by Moliere, Pierre Corneille, and Philippe Quinault, with music by Jean- Baptiste Lully. This view, accompanied by a certain attitude that the French version was far superior to the English, continued well into the twentieth century. This view is misleading; although the English play was adapted from the French, both were representative of two well-developed native theatrical traditions. Therefore, though there are certain parallels, both in plot and in the subject matter of some musical numbers, the differences in structure, both of the drama and of the music, are more significant. This thesis is a comparative study of the two plays, analyzing both their dramatic and musical structures, and examining them both from the context of the two theatrical traditions. It is concluded that the literary approach to tragedy of French theater resulted in the separation of drama and music, the latter relegated to the prologue, or to end-of-act diversions called intercedes. This allowed Lully to have great control over his music, and in Psyche (1671), he was concerned with the form of each intermede as a whole instead of striving for a variety of forms and ensembles within individual songs. Most of his songs and dances are solo airs in binary form; he makes little use of chorus and ensembles. On the contrary, the music in Psyche (1675) on many occasions was integrated with the plot, and was scattered randomly throughout the play. This prevented Locke from having artistic control over his compositions; Shadwell, the lyricist, determined where the music would occur, the ensembles to be used, and the moods of songs. Shadwell and Locke were concerned with the variety in each individual piece, rather than with unifying the overall form of musical scenes, and the overwhelming majority of songs have a combination of solo voice, ensembles, and chorus. Therefore, Psyche is not an unoriginal copy, but is a reinterpretation of the myth using the aesthetic of the Restoration tragic theater.
LULLY'S PSYCHE (1671) AND LOCKE'S PSYCHE (1675) CONTRASTING NATIONAL APPROACHES TO MUSICAL TRAGEDY IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ' • by HELEN LLOY WIESE B.A. (Special) The University of Alberta, 1980 B. Mus., The University of Calgary, 1989 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS • in.. . • THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES SCHOOL OF MUSIC We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October, 1991 © Helen H o y Wiese, 1991 In presenting this hesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. (Signature)Department of K o s ' i C The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date ~7 O c f I DE-6 (2/68) ABSTRACT The English semi-opera, Psyche (1675), written by Thomas Shadwell, with music by Matthew Locke, was thought at the time of its performance to be a mere copy of Psyche (1671), a French tragedie-ballet by Moli&re, Pierre Corneille, and Philippe Quinault, with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully. This view, accompanied by a certain attitude that the French version was far superior to the English, continued well into the twentieth century. This view is misleading; although the English play was adapted from the French, both were representative of two well-developed native theatrical traditions. Therefore, though there are certain parallels, both in plot and in the subject matter of some musical numbers, the differences in structure, both of the drama and of the music, are more significant. This thesis is a comparative study of the two plays, analyzing both their dramatic and musical structures, and examining them both from the context of the two theatrical traditions. It is concluded that the literary approach to tragedy of French theater resulted in the separation of drama and music, the latter relegated to the prologue, or to end-of-act diversions called intercedes. This allowed Lully to have great control over his music, and in Psyche (1671), he was concerned with the form of each intermede as a whole instead of striving for a variety of forms and ensembles• within individual songs. Most cf his songs and dances are ii solo airs in binary form; he makes little use of chorus and ensembles. On the contrary, the music in Psyche (1675) on many occasions was integrated with the plot, and was scattered randomly throughout the play. This prevented Locke from having artistic control over his compositions; Shadwell, the lyricist, determined where the music would occur, the ensembles to be used, and the moods of songs. Shadwell and Locke were concerned with the variety in each individual piece, rather than with unifying the overall form of musical scenes, and the overwhelming majority of songs have a combination of solo voice, ensembles, and chorus. Therefore, Psyche is not an unoriginal copy, but is a reinterpretation of the myth using the aesthetic of the Restoration tragic theater. iii sn. jtr.-.:„. ".In.','. 1 — . - -n-- •.' ...'' . V - . ' a TABLE OF CONTENTS ' ABSTRACT ... . .. . . .ii LIST OF TABLES ........... .v LIST OF EXAMPLES .vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. .. .. .vii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION .........1 11. NATIONAL APPROACHES TO MUSICAL TRAGEDY IN THE BALLET DE COUR AND RESTORATION PLAY WITH MUSIC 4 The Development of the Comedie-Ballet to Psyche (1671) ........4 The Developement of the English Play with Music to Psyche (1675) 10 III. THE STRUCTURE OF LULLY'S PSYCHE: THE INTEGRATION OF MUSIC WITH DRAMA.... .........17 IV. THE STRUCTURE OF LOCKE'S PSYCHE: THE INTEGRATION OF MUSIC WITH DRAMA............. 44 V. CONCLUSION. .. . ... ...... ............68 BIBLIOGRAPHY . .. . . . . 7 2 Appendix A. SYNOPSIS OF PSYCHE (1671).......................75 B. SY'iOPSIS OF PSYCHE (1675) .................... .82 C. SHADWELL'S PREFACE TO PSYCHE (1675).............90 D. LOCKE'S PREFACE TO PSYCHE (1675)................94 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Musical Forms in Lully's Psyche (1671).............,30 2. A Comparative Analysis of Psyche (1671) and Psyche (1675)......... 47 3. Musical Forms in Locke's Psyche (1675) ..54 v LIST OF EXAMPLES Example Pa 1. Flore, "Est-on Sage," prologue, mm. 1-16 2. "Air pour les Dryades," prologue, mm. 1-18 3. Mars, "Mes plus fiers," 5 m e intermede, mm. 1-18 4. "Prelude to Mars. Echo," 5 m e intermede, mm. 1-5. 5. "Les Furies et Lutins,11 4 m e intermede, mm. 1-11. ..... 6. Femme Desol6e, "Deh! piangete," 2 m e intermede, mm. 38-47................. 7. "Song and Chorus for Vulcan and Cyclops," Act III, mm. 1-25. . 8. "Song of the Furies and Devils," Act V, mm. 10-25 o.................... 9. "Song for Mars with Warlike Chorus," Act V, mm. 1-7 10. "Dialogue of the Despairing Lovers," Act II, mm. 1-14.................. 11. "Dialogue of the Despairing Lovers," Act II, mm. 47-52... 12. "Dialogue for Pluto and Proserpine with Chorus of Warlike Attendants," Act V, mm. 28-34......... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Professor John Sawyer for the support and encouragement he gave to me throughout all phases of this thesis. I am also grateful for the kind assistance rendered by Professor J. Evan Kreider during the final weeks, for the loan of his word processor, and for his expertise thereof. vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION In the early 1670's, two successful dramatiza±ipjas gf the Psyche myth were brought to the French and English stages. The first was s tragedi e-b a I let written in 167i by Moli&re. Pi errp rnr-n^i i.ie, philippe Quinault, and Jean-Baptiste Lully. The second was a semi-opera written in 1675 by the Englishmen Thomas Shadwe11 and Matthew Locke, and the Italian Battista Draghj., In his preface to the published play; Shadwell felt obliged to defend his work: Those who are too great Admirers of the French Wit,...(if they do not like this Play) will say, the French Psyche is much better; if they do, they will say, I have borrow'd it all from the French....! will onely [sic] say, Here is more Variety, and the Scenes of Passion are wrought up with more Art; and this is much more a Play than that.1 Shadwell was articulating fundamental differences ' between the French and English tragic theatrical traditions at that time. The "variety" to which h« referred was the result of the combining of spectacular masque scenes, music, machines, costumes, pantomime, and oven speech. His scenes of passion ("wrought up with more Art") were augmented by music. The addition of thrilling dramat..i.c incidents, both spoken and musical, made the English work "more a Play" than the earlier French version. See Appendix III. Tha different dramatic tastes of the two countries kept Shadwell's Psyche from being merely an Englished copy of its predecessor. The French preferred the separation of music and tragedy: in Psyche, music is put irto end-of-act divertissements having only a slight connection with the plot. Conversely., the English liked to have their emotions heightened by the inclusion of music into their tragedies and romances at critical points. In a general way, it could be said that the French appreciated refined expressions of emotion in their tragedies with music, while the English preferred an overflowing of intensity. The manner in which the music was either separated or integrated with tha drama affected musical forms. It will be seen that Lully was able to control his contributions, constructing large-scale musical scenes with chains of closed-form songs and dances; in contrast, Locke's music was dominated by the drama, and its farms largely dictated by Shadwell. The Psyche plays have such striking similarities and differences of form that they would seem to be natural choices for a comparative study, yet few scholars have chosen to write about them in detail. There are several possible reasons for this. There is no published score fm: Psyche, and no single manuscript that contains the complete music. Furthermore, to French scholars, the tragedie-aallet is of more interest as a transitional work to the tragedie-lyrique, than as the model for an obscure play of a little-known English genre. For their part, English scholars have traditionally had little respect for the semi-opera,: seeing it as a poor substitute fox a national apera..: In the last ten years, this attitude has begun to change, mainly as a resiulit of renewed interest in the works of Henry Purcell, but has vet to result in a detailed review of the theatrical works of Matthew Locke. The only comparative study available for this paper was a brief chapter in Edward J. Dent's Foundations of English Opera of 1928; though the book is deservedly a cornerstone of musicological study on English theater music of the seventeenth century, his negative opinion of Locke's score for Psyche has probably been influential in discouraging detailed research on Locke's theatrical compositions for the last half century.2 Unlike any previous published discussions, this thesis does not examine the two Psyche plays from the context of the history of English musical theater, or as an introduction to the works of Henry Purcell. Instead, the intention has been from the beginning to approach the works strictly on a comparative basis, as .unique products of two distinct, well-developed theatrical traditions. The plays, in fact, provide an excellent introduction to the French and English tragedy with music, each being the most finished examples of their respective genres to that time, and each influential in determining the divergent paths taken in tragic musical theater by the two countries in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. 2 Dent's invaluable study on English theater music is Foundations of English Opera: a Study of Musical Drama in England during the Seventeenth Cemtury, with an introduction by Michael M. Winesankeir (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1928/: jfejpr. New York: Da Capo Press, 1965). CHAPTER TWO NATIONAL APPROACHES TO MUSICAL TRAGEDY IN THE BALLET DE CCOR AND RESTORATION PLAY WITH MUSIC The tragedie-ballet Psyche (1671) and the English semi-opera Psyche (1675) had the same fundamental elements; both were plays with spectacular sets, machines, costumes, : dances, and music. Yet the synthesis of these elements differed greatly in each, mainly because of their distinct dramatic traditions. The comedie-ballet, of which Psyche was a tragic offshoot, was uniquely influenced by forms and concepts from French classical theater; the English Psyche, Cor its part, developed mainly out of the incident-oriented heroic tragedies popular in Commonwealth and early Restoraltion England* A detailed discussion of seventeenth-century dramatic aesthetics is impossible within the confines of this paper, but it is necessary to recognize that in the first half of the seventeenth century, France had enjoyed a renaissance of poetry both as literature and for the theater — a " renaissance for which there was no English counterpart. The very literary penchant of French theater, especially in the tragic arena, was unparalleled in Restoration England. The Development of the Comedie-ballet to Psyche (1671) The musical seeds of the comedie-ballet were found in the ballet de cour, a divertissement featuring dancesof the courtly repertory, performed by royalty and members of the nobility. The bases of all ballets were the groups of elaborate costumed dances called entrees, usually organized under an umbrella concept such as the Seasons, or Beauty. Before the beginning of the ballet (and some entrees) were sung recits (songs which preceded a dance), dialogues, choruses, and instrumental pieces. Decor was as lavish as budget allowed: machines were optional, used only in the most expensive productions.1 Ballets also had vera , declaimed poems praising the king and other aristocracy, often expressing familiar chivalric sentiments on the subject of love, or equally familiar comic sentiments about the importance of mirth/ revels., and drink.2 The French, always eager to categorize their entertainments meticulously, defined their ballets according to dramatic content, an element which alternately waxed and waned in importance as the century progressed.3 The first court ballet, Beaujoyeulx's Circe (1581),4 was designated a balet comique because of its dramatic unity.5 Though most subsequent ballets were more influenced by the Italian ' masquerie, with unconnected entrees of a burlesque or grotesque character, the second decade of the seventeenth century saw the rise of the ballet melodramatique.6 According to Pruniferes, this was a genre where "une action suivie, expos^e par la pantomime et par les recits chantes, sert de pr6texte k un certain nombre d'entrees, serieuses ou 1 Don Michael Randel, Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music (Cambridge,Mass.: Belknap Press, 1973), 36. ; 2 Many vers can be found in Paul Lacroix, Ballets et ' Mascarades de Cour de Henri III a Louis KIV. (1581-/ 1652), 6 vols. (Geneva: ;. Gay et fils, 1868-70; repr. Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1968). 3 A summary of the ballet-before Lully is found in James R. Anthony, French Baroque Music from Beaujoyeulx to . .. Rameau, rev. ed. (New York: W.W. I.'or: on, 1978>, 27-38. 4 Ibid., 27. 5 Ibid., 28. 6 Ibid., 33. 6 bouffonnes, et se termine par le Grand ballet traditionnel"^ ("a followed action [i.e., a plot], shown by pantomime and by sung recits, serves as a pretext for a certain number of entrees, serious or farcical, and ends with a traditional Grand ballet"). The Ballet de la Reyne, tire de la fable de Psyche of 1619 satisfied all the requirements of this definition, following the events of the myth by means of dance, pantomime, and a number of recits, dialogues, and choruses.8 Gradually, this dramatic genre of ballet was replaced by the ballet a entrees. The 1656 production of Psyche, with text by the poet Benserade and entrees by Lully and Boesset, was of this type. The ballet had twenty-seven separate entrees, with the myth used merely as a loose connecting idea; little of the story was told.9 Lully wrote many ballets, usually with Benserade. In these works, the composer's style matured and he produced his first French ouvertures and declamations. Since the Italian musical influence at court was still very strong, his ballets also included many Italian songs and . instrumental pieces. The Ballet de 1'Amourmalade (1657), on which he collaborated with Abb6 Buti, was a little Italian opera combined with a ballet. Not for the first time, Lully himself took the role of Scaramouche. In short, Lully's excursions into ballet gave him all the tools he needed for his theatrical collaborations with Moliere.10 7 Henry Pruniferes, Le Ballet de Cour en France avant Benserade et Lully (Paris: Henri Laurens, 1913), 119. 8 Lacroix, 199-211. 9 Charles I. Silin, Benserade and his Ballets de Cour, vol. 15, The Johns Hopkins Studies in Romance Literatures and Languages (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1940; repr. New York: AMS Press, 1978), 254-61. 10 Pr'uniferes points out that Lully had superior experience in producing spectacles at the time of his and Molifere's first collaboration, Les Facheux (3664). Preface to Oeuvres Completes de Jean-Baptiste Lully: - W U U U; 'J' U ' /, 0 l —(' . -a-J- . 7 In time, the comedie-ballet gained dominance over the ballet. This newer genre, created by Moliere and Lully and written by them almost exclusively, consisted of a play with entrees. Depending on subject matter, they could either be placed in end-of-act diversions called intermedes or spread throughout the play. There were no differences between the types of songs and dances used in the comedie-ballet, and those used in the ballet.11 The comedie-ballet was not associated with any particular type of play. The subject matter could be comic or serious, with stock or cultivated characters. The number of acts could vary from one to five, written in either prose or poetry. Music appeared at any point in a play, though in later works it tended to be consigned to intermedes; as will be seen, this was largely due to the influence of French tragedy. Machines were usually, though not necessarily, associated with music.12 Dances and songs were usually executed by the nobility, and the play proper was always acted by the professionals of Molifere's troupe. There were performances for both the court and public, though at different theaters. Virually all of the comedies-ballets were included in the king's Grands divertissements, festivals which lasted for days or weeks;13 but they were also given at other venues, including Molifere's own theater, the Petit-Bourbon.14 Les Comedies-Ballets (Paris: Editions de la Revue Musicale, 1931), vol. l, 7. 11 Anthony, 55-6. 12 Collected editions of the plays of Molifere routinely include the play text, song lyrics, and spectacle descriptions. I have relied on the edition by Ren6 Bray, Oeuvres Completes, 8 vols. (Paris: Soci6t6 1es Belles Lettres, 1950). 13 Anthony, 147-9. 14 John Palmer, Moliere (New York: Brewer & Warren, 1930), 130. Moli&re and his troupe shared the space with the Italian troupe of Scaramouche Tiberio Fiorelli. Moliere's later comedies-ballets showed the influence of the French tragic plays of Pierre Corneille. As opposed to comedy, a seventeenth-century tragedy dealt with persons of royal blood in danger of losing their lives, going into exile, or losing their fortunes.15 There were strict formal rules, dictating, among other things, that tragedies had to have five acts, divided into scenes according to the exits and entrances of characters, and adhere to the classical principle of unity of action. The poetry, always graceful and formal in tone, was arranged in consistent alexandrine couplets.16 Pierre Corneille, the first great master of French tragic drama, had a special love of symmetry.17 In Psyche, the treacherous sisters of myth are balanced by two new characters, Psyche's loyal suitors. The sisters have distinct personalities, Aglaure being clever and malicious while Cidippe is stupid and ill-willed, in contrast to the suitors, who are of one heart and mind. The poetry of French tragedy was of a high quality, taking precedence over the drama. Dialogue was often used to move the play forward, with crucial incidents occurring off stage. The dominance of drama by poetry had certain consequences for the comedie-ballet; in contrast to the way music was used in comedies, a serious work of this kind kept music and drama separate. ~ Two productions that fell within a year of each other, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (1670) and Psyche (1671), illustrate the difference between the comic and tragic comedie-ballet. The former, a comedy of manners with middle-class characters, had song and dance inextricably 15 P.J. Yarrow, Corneille (London: St. Martin's Press, 1963), 317. 16 Joyce Newman, Jean-Baptiste Lully and his Tra^edies-Lyriques, vol. 1, Studies in Musicology (Ann Arbor, Mich: UMI Press, 1979),, 2-3. 17 Yarrow discusses Corneille's use of symmetry, 271-85. 9 integrated into the plot. In the first act, M. Jourdain attempts to gain culture by hiring music and dance instructors who perform for him, but in vain; he is incapable of developing cultured tastes. In Act IV, he takes part in a mock-Turkish entree. In contrast, the music for Psyche was confined to the ends of acts; the play could easily be performed as a purely spoken drama. Productions of this kind were rare, mainly using characters of a royal/pastoral nature, with La Princesse d'Elide (1664) and Les Amants magnifiques (1670) being the most striking examples prior to Psyche.18 Molifere and Lully probably worked separately on their portions of the play. As with most of these divertissements, the collaborators were forced to complete the work in an alarming brief time. Since Moli&re was unable to both finish the play and attend to important production details, in an unprecedented move he asked Corneille to complete his work. Likewise, it is almost inconceivable that Lully could have composed the entire score in the time available; it is likely that he had a stockpile of music which he could draw upon with very little notice.19 In Psyche, most of Quinault's lyrics have little to do with the plot, and there is no reason why a significant portion of the music could not have beev composed well ahead of time, and adapted for the occasion. 18 These two plays are pastorales, not tragedies, though the latter especially is more serious than other comedies-ballets. Furthermore, it should be noted that the comedies Georges Dandin (1668) and Le Malade imaginaire (1673) also confine music to the ends of acts. In the first case, the play was attached to a pastorale which had already been.composed (Prunieres, preface, 13); in the second, the music was by. Charpentier, heavily censored by Lully, and mostly independent of the play. 19 Ibid., 9. n nup n T n O'Q U U Ui(J. u !,< u it 0 •l 10 The Development of the English Play with Music to Psyche (1675) In England, the origins of the semi-opera lay in the court masque and the play with music. The masque, like the ballet, consisted of a loose collection of courtly dances, often on a subject such as Love or Honor, danced by the costumed nobility, before spectacular sets and machines. It differed from the ballet in two fundamental respects: by the addition of an antimasque, a pantomime or short spoken dialogue using popular songs and dances, acted by professionals; and by the revels, a series of courtly dances performed by the masquers with partners chosen from the audience, after which there was a short conclusion.20 The masque reached its zenith inthe Jacobean period with the collaborations of Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones. They produced several works with a significant dramatic element; Lovers made men (1617) was in fact the first native opera, albeit a very short one. This unique work was evidently completely set to recitative by Nicholas Lanier.21 Unfortunately, their partenership dissolved owing to artistic differences, and consequently the dramatic element of the court masque all but disappeared.22 Jones's later masques, produced with more cooperative librettists such as William Davenant and James Shirley,-— began to show an overall sense of musical direction, owing almost entirely to William Lawes, whose music- for the Shirley's Triumph of Peace (1634), and Davenant's Triumphs of the Prince d'Amour (1636) and Britannia Triumphans (1638), showed an increasing mastery of large-scale organization. In the two earlier works, Lawes tended to 20 Murray Lefkowitz, "Masque," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 6th ed., 20 vols., ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan,:1980), vol. 11, 761. 21 Ibid., 760. 22 Ibid., 763. 11 arrange his music in complexes which began and ended in the same key, though with some modulations. They were divided into discrete numbers, usually in a fairly consistent pattern of symphony/song/chorus.23 Although in the first two works his music was all declaimed; his complex in Britannia Triumphans had a mixture of declamatory songs, airs, and choruses.24 Masques were not just produced for the king and his court; some were created for private entertainments and did not use the usual forms. Milton's Comus, for example, written for performance at Ludlow castle, Shropshire, in 1634, was more a play with music than a traditional masque. Its five songs, written by Henry Lawes, were integrated with the plot to varying degrees.2^ During the Civil War (1642-9) and Commonwealth (1649-60), these private masques wore still tolerated, though spoken plays were not. Shirley's comic Cupid and Death of 1653, with music by Matthew Locke and Christopher Gibbons, had a unified plot. Most of the music consisted of dances divided into small groups called "entries," and, as in Comus, was integrated with the plot.26 Similar to the development of the ballet, the music of the masque found its way into dramatic theater. Shakespeare, for example, used masque scenes in many plays, including Henry VIII and The Tempest. He was by no means the only Jacobean or Caroline playwright to do this, but his 23 Ibid., 764. 24 Murray Lefkowitz, intro., comment., and transc., Trois Masques a la Courde Charles Ier d'Angleterre (Paris: Editions du Centre National de la recherche Scientifique, 1970). 25 Harris Francis Fletcher, John Milton's Complete Poetical Works in Photographic Facsimile with Critical Apparatus (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1943), vol. 1, 262-99. 26 Edward J. Dent, Cupid and Death: Matthew Locke and Christopher Gibbons, vol. 2, Musica Britannica (London: Stainer & Bell, 1951). 12 plays were adapted into "operatic" productions during the Restoration. The most reliable source for descriptions of the English "operas" is John Downes's book, the Roscius Anglicanus of 1708, the first historical review of drama in England.27 Though Downes's production dates are notoriously inaccurate, his positions as bookkeeper and prompter for Davenant's company, the Duke's Men, gave him the opportunity to attend virtually all plays. One of the few facts we know of Downes is that he took part in the premiere of Davenant's Siege of Rhodes (1656) and was hissed of the stage.28 Macbeth (adapted before Davenant's death in 1668, but only acted in 1673)29 demonstrated the characteristics of these "operas": they were not throughsung, but had romantic or fantastic subject matter, machines, and singing and dancing. Downes described the production as follows: The Tragedy of Macbeth, alter'd by Sir William Davenant; being drest in all it's [sic] Finery, as new Cloath's, new Scenes, Machines, as flyings for the Witches; with all the Singing and Dancing in it: The first Compos'd by Mr. Lock, the other by Mr. Channell and Mr. Joseph Preist; it being in the nature of an Opera, it Recompenc'd double the Expence; it proves still a lasting Play.30 Of more importance were the adaptations of The Tempest — the first by Davenant and John Dryden in 1667, and the further adaptation of this later work by Thomas. Shadwell in 1674 — because of the evolution and increase of musical sections in each production. Shakespeare's play originally had individual air, dances, instrumental music, and a masque 27 28 29 30 Judith Milhous and Robert D. Hume, eds., introduction to Roscius Anglicanus (1708) by John Downes (London: Society for Theater Research, 1987),9. Ibid., 10. Eric Walter White, A History of English Opera (London: Faber & Faber, 1983), 86. Downes, 71-2. 13 of Iris in Act IV, i. In two instances, the music was integrated in some way with the play; Ariel's song (Act II, i) led Fredinando to Miranda, while "solemn musick" (v, i) was an enchantment used to resolve the plot's seemingly insoluble complications. Dryden and Davenant kept all of Shakespeare's songs, adding a grotesque masque of demons. Downes described Shadwell's adaptation as "having all New in it; as Scenes, Machines.. .all things perform'd in it so admirably well, that not any succeeding Opera got more Money.1,31 Shadwell kept all previous songs, but lengthened the masque of devils and replaced the original masque of Iris with one of Neptune. The masques, both composed by Pelham Humfrey, consisted of short, mainly throughcomposed sections with alternating air-like and declamatory sections, solos and ensembles, and dances. The masque of Neptune had the greater variety, with machines, choruses, and character groups of Wings and Trytons. It was a little quasi-drama, self-contained but relating to the plot, with a storm rising and falling through the efforts of the gods. Though these operas were important predecessors of Psyche, they were not the earliest English operas. In the Commonwealth, after plays were banned, Davenant staged a series of throughsung operas, the most important being The Siege of Rhodes.32 He collaborated with five composers on this work: Henry Lawes, Henry Cook, and Matthew Locke composed the five acts, or "entries," while Charles Coleman and George Hudson composed the additional music.33 Siege was a landmark work for several reasons: it was the first 31 Ibid., 73-4. Vocal music was by Pelham Humfrey, John Bannister, and Pietro Reggio; instrumental music was by Locke and Draghi. Draghi's music has not survived. : 32 His other throughsung operas were The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru (1658) and The History of Sir:Francis Drake (1659). Probably the same composers were used as in Siege. Some numbers by Lockefor Drake survive. 33 White, 71, Henry Cook and Matthew Locke also had singing roles. 14 English play featuring the new Italian movable -s-eeneiiy,, -designed by John Webb: the first to use an actress; and the first throughsung native op^.ra to contoirae recitative with' songs, choruses, and instrumental music.34 ' •/• • As well, it was England's first heroic tragedy, a play in rhymed iambic pentameter couplets.35 As with French tragedy, it did not have to end tragically, but its royal or noble characters had to undergo trials and be in fear of their lives. It will be seen that Psycho conforms to the requirements of this genre, though there are distinct pastoral elements as well. Other Restoration productions can be referred to simply as plays with music. Though almost all Restoration plays had at least one song, a handful had at least one masque complex which could, on occasion, be integrated with the plot. Besides the Restoration "operas," these included two plays by Robert Stapylton, The Slighted Maid and The Step-mother (both 1663), with music, by John Bannister and Matthew Locke respectively. Each had multiple masque complexes; those of Locke were integrated with the plot.36 The only other such play prior to Psyche was Elkannah Settle's The Empress of Morocco (1673), which had a masque of Orpheus composed by Matthew Locke, that not only provided the catalyst for the play's climax, a typically gruesome and horrible murder, but was also a little self-contained opera.37' 34 Ibid,, 74. 35 White, 70. Davenant wrote that "frequent Alternations of measure...are necessary to Recitative Musick for variation of Ayres." 36 The Step-mother was a tragedy in heroic couplets, The Slighted Maid a tragi-comedy in prose. The music to both is lost. 37 The music is extant; a modern edition by Michael : Tilmouth was published in Matthew Locke: Dramatic Music with the Music by Humfrey,.Reggio and Hart for, "The Tempest", vol. 51, Musica.Britanni.ca (London: Stainer & Bell, 1986), 5-16. 15 All of these plays shared the common characteristics of five acts (sometimes divided into scenes); exciting, melodramatic events; and thrilling revelations. Unlike their French counterparts, English tragedies tried to show all possible dramatic incidents on stage. Drama took precedence over text, with the result that the poetry was often of a poor quality. Music was used at times to heighten the effect of an emotionally-charged climax. The composer in the English theater had very little control over either the amount or the placement of music in a play, for the tradition of using several composers for a masque or a play with music gave virtually all artistic control to the librettist. In his later works for the stage, Locke increased his artistic control, supplying all music for The Step-mother and Empress, all the incidental music for The Tempest, and the entire vocal score for Psyche. Nonetheless, in his introduction to the published version of Psyche (1675), Shadwell clearly states: I chalked out the way to the Composer (in all but the Song of Furies and Devils, in the Fifth Act) having design'd which Line I would have sung by One, which by Two, which by Three, which by four Voices, & c. and what manner of Humour I would have in all the Vocal Music.38 Thus, the control of the playwright continued even if a single composer was commissioned for a work. The plays of the Restoration are rather infamous for their low literary quality. The addition of music and spectacle gave the playwright even less incentive to strive for quality. Shadwell said of Psyche, his only tragedy all in rhyme: 38 See Appendix III. 16 In a thing written in five weeks, as this was, there must needs by [sic] many Errours,...but having much bus'ness, and indulging my self with some pleasure too, I have not had leisure to mend them, nor would it indeed be worth the pains, since there are so many splendid Objects in the Play, and such variety of' Diversion, as will not give the Audience leave to mind the Writing.39 In France, Lully and Molifere each seemed to be allowed to exercise artistic control over their own contributions.40 In Psyche, a play where the elements of music and drama were essentially separate, individual management of drama and music would have been relatively simple; in a play like ie Eourgeois gentilhomme, where the music was integrated with the plot, this would not have been possible. Yet there is no evidence of Holifere's dominance over Lully; Gentilhomme was considered to be a ballet accompanied by a comedy, rather than the reverse, and Lully still would have had a great amount of artistic control.41 Thus, though the similarities between the two Psyche productions are numerous and inevitable, they are nonetheless the fruits of two very different theatrical traditions, with highly divergent approaches to the tragedy with music. In the following chapters, an examination of the two plays will clarify the differences between the two traditions in terms of both dramatic and musical structures.. 39 Ibid. 40 Pruniferes, preface, 10. 41 Anthony, 54. 17 CHAPTER THREE THE STRUCTURE OF LULLY'S PSYCHE: THE INTEGRATION OF MUSIC WITH DRAMA The myth of Cupid and Psyche was familiar to the educated public of the seventeenth century, and well-beloved. It worked on many levels: as a romantic folk-tale, an intricate and graceful allegory of Love and the Soul, and as a metaphor for the Christian Soul rising to Heaven after many trials.1 It was frequently adapted for the stage, virtually always as a musical spectacle with costly sets and machinery.2 The source for the myth is one of the three great prose works of the ancient world, Apuleius' The Golden Ass.3 This book, written in the second century A.D., is a collection of Milesian folk-tales4 interwoven with a framing story of one Lucius, who, owing to his curiosity, is turned into an ass. He becomes a wanderer, undergoing a series of trials before regaining his human form. On his travels, he hears tales, which he passes on to the reader along with his own miserable story.5 ' 1 Michael Alssid, Thomas Shadwell (New York: Twayne, 1967), 104. 2 A precedent may have been set by Alessandro Striggio, who wrote intermedii based on the Psyche myth for d'Ambra's comedy La Cofanaria (1565). 3 The other two are Petronius' Satyricon and Longus'-Daphnis and Chloe. 4 The edition used for this thesis is The Golden Ass, trans. Jack Lindsay (Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, i960). 5 Lindsay suggests that Apuleius may have based his work on two earlier ones: a version by Lucius of Patrae, now lost, and one called Lucius or the Ass, attributed to 18 In his fable, Psyche was a princess of such divine beauty that she was worshipped as the living incarnation of Venus. As a result, the goddess's temples were neglected, falling into disrepair. Venus, enraged, sent her son Cupid to shoot an arrow at Psyche and make her fall in love with the basest of mankind. Venus waited, but Psyche's affections remained free. Curiously, men also stopped wooing her, taking other wives instead. Psyche's two beautiful sisters soon were married to kings of good standing. In desperation, the girl consulted Apollo's oracle, but the news was horrible: Psyche must go to a mountain-top dressed in deepest mourning, to wed a raging serpent. The girl followed instructions exactly, but instead of being devoured by a monster, she was gently scooped up by Zephirus, the West Wind, and taken to a great palace. Her needs were tended to by invisible servants, and that night, an invisible lover came to her bed and made her his wife. Psyche grew to love her mysterious bridegroom dearly, though he remained unseen by her. Soon, she became pregnant. She believed herself to be the most fortunate of women, but her happiness was short-lived. Her husband warned that the two sisters were searching for her, and would soon discover the palace; in this event, she was to pretend not to see them. Psyche, for her part, was eager to ease her family's distress. She obtained her husband's permission for their visit, though he warned that Psyche must never be lured into enquiring about his .identity. Instead of comforting them, Psyche's obvious wealth and happiness stirred the sisters' jealousy. Discovering her ignorance of her spouse's identity, they instilled base suspicions in Psyche's mind. They suggested that he was quality to that of Lucius, and closer to the spiritupf the original folk-tales. 19 indeed the serpent foreseen by the Oracle, and urged her to murder. Distracted, Psyche armed herself with a knife, determined to slay her husband as he slept; however, her lamplight fell, not on a serpent, but on Cupid, the sweetest of all the gods. In delight, she began to kiss him, but since she had neglected to first set down the lamp, a drop of wax fell on him, burning him. Cupid awoke, immediately saw Psyche's betrayal, and flew away. Psyche grasped his leg and was dragged for some way, but eventually fell by a brook. In despair, Psyche attempted to drown herself, but, fearing Cupid, the brook gently laid her back on shore. The country-god Pan and his consort Echo offered what comfort they could, advising her to woo Cupid with adoring prayers. Instead, Psyche visited her sisters one at .a time. To each, she revealed that her husband was the God of Love himself. However (she continued), he was so angered at her betrayal that he wanted nothing more to do with her, but swore to marry her sister instead. The sisters were overjoyed; racing to the cliff, they threw themselves off, expecting to be picked up by Zephirus. Instead, they fell on the rocks below and perished. Psyche began a long and weary journey, searching for her lost husband. At length she came to Venus' abode, where the goddess was tending to her son's wound. Venus " discovered her daughter-in-law and, still unrelenting, subjected Psyche to several trials. She mixed"assorted seeds together into a hill and ordered Psyche to sort them; luckily, the kindly ants took pity on her and quickly separated the grain. Psyche was then to gather golden wool from the fleeces of savage sheep; a compassionate rivar reed told her to gather the wool from the trees and shrubs the animals rubbed against. Venus next sent her to climb a precipitous mountain and fill a vial with water from a 20 gushing black springhead; this time, an eagle came to the poor girl's rescue. Finally, she journeyed to Hell to obtain a scrap of Proserpine's beauty. Overcome with the desiroj. to use some for herself, she opened the box, which contained no Recipe of Beauty, but instead the Sleep of the Innermost Darkness. She fell to the ground, a sleeping corpse. Fortunately, Cupid was by this time healed of his wound. ,He soon found his unwise spouse and woke her with a prick from one of his arrows. . Cupid then visited Jove, advising him in the strongest terms to force Venus into acceptance of the marriage.; Jupiter, knowing from unhappy experience what mischief Love could wreak, agreed. Psyche was made a goddess to appease her mother-in-law, and a great feast followed. Vulcan cooked the dinner, the Hours decorated everything with flowers, the Graces scattered balsam. Music was provided; the Muses; sang, Apollo chanted to his lyre, and Venus danced. The arrangement of the concert was as follows: a choir of Muses, the flautist Satyrus, and the piper Paniscus.6 In due course, Psyche bore Cupid a daughter, called Joy.7 This story, with its royal and godly characters, frequent changes of rich and exotic locales, exciting rescues, and romantic couple, was 'attractive to devoteei"~of the spectacular and the heroic. In seventeenth-century France and England, it spawned diverse adaptations, including two ballets, a roman, a comedy, and three tragedies. The English versions will be considered in the next chapter; here, only the following French works will be discussed: the 1619 ballet melodramatique, the 1656 ballet 6 Not to be confused with the; country-god Pan. 7 Condensed from Ibid., 105-42. 21 des entrees, La Fontaine's gal ant novel of 1670, the 1671 tragedie-ballet, and the 1678 tragedie-lyrique. The ballet melodramatique (1619) was the first French adaptation of the myth. It was an unusually expensive production with moving scenery and machines. Rich decorations included: a garden "avec des berceaux, parterres, grottes, fontaines, canaux, basquets, labyrinthes, et autres jolivetsz"8 ("with arbors, flowerbeds, grottos, fountains, canals, wooden basins, labyrinths, and other pretty things"); a palace; a sea with "mouvement artificiel...representoit si bien les flots esmeus et des ondes bleues"9 ("artificial movement...representing very well riotous billows and blue waters"); and the clouds of Heaven. Machines were used to lower goddesses (one of whom was the queen) from the clouds in the final scene.10 The ballet outlined the main points of the myth in pantomime and dance.Scenes were indistinctly:defined by set changes and by large ensemble dances of Hyperboreans, Winds, the Geniuses of Love, and Nereids. There were other dances as well, including one by Psyche herself. It is not known how many composers collaborated on the music, though the discours says that violin airs were by De la Barre.11 The ballet ended, typically, with vers for the members of : the court. In contrast, the 1656 ballet des entrees was not at all dramatic. It was divided into two parts, of thirteen and fourteen entrees respectively, for the entertainment and diversion of the happy.,couple. Some entrees use characters; who also appear in the tragedie-ballet: I, iii features Bacchus, Pomone and Vertumne; II, i, Jupiter and Apollon; 8 Lacroix, 202. 9 Ibid., 205. 10 Ibid., 206. 11 Ibid., 207. and II, ii, Mars and Mome. Some are related to the myth, though not to the 1671 production, such as the dances of Cupidon with Games, Laughter, Youth, and Joy; and Psyche with Beauty and the three Graces. Yet many entrees are entirely independent of any logical connection with either, such as the dances by Painters, Parfumeurs, and the ladies of myth, Med6e, Circ6, Alcine, and Armide.12 There are some musical parallels between the 1656 and 1671 productions. The "Dialogue de Zephir et de Flore" (I, ii) and the "Concert Italien" (II, xii) in the ballet roughly correspond to the play's dialogue of a Z6phir and two Amours, and the Italian plainte. The Dialogue and Concert are both probably by Lully; unfortunately, all music for the ballet is lost, and no comparisons can be made. Boesset composed the music for the "RScit de la Constance" and the "Recit de la Gloire," neither of which have counterparts in the tragedie-ballet. The ballet was expensive for its time.13 One commentator refers to "Tant d'6c.lat, de pompe, d'appas,/ Tant de beautez, tant; de miracles,/ ,Et tant de diff^rens spectacles"14 ("So much glamor, pomp, charm,/ So much beauty, so many miracles,/ And so many different spectacles"). In II,, xii, a cavern opened, revealing Pluto with his Demons.15 The next adaptation is Les Amours de Psyche et de Cupidon of 1670. La Fontaine's audacious work expands Apuleius' tale to almost two hundred and fifty pages. Like the classical work, La Fontaine writes in prose; unlike Apuleius, he abandons a folk-like tone and adopts the sophisticated galant style of French literature. When 12 Silin, 254-61. 13 Ibid., 185. Benserade's early ballets (1651-58) were "practically devoid of any noteworthy decorations and machines" because of the costs of the Fronde. 14 Quoted in ibid., 256. 15 Ibid., 185. 23 extremely moved, he lapses into poetry. For example, he uses vers irreguliers at the appearance of Venus and her court because "je ne pense pas qu'on put exprimer avec le langage ordinaire ce que la deesse parut alors"15 ("I do not think that one can explain with ordinary language how the goddess then appeared"). La Fontaine almost certainly had some influence on Corneille and Molifere; the playwrights adopted both his galant style and vers irreguliers.17 Yet they could not bring his sensuality to th* stage, which still insisted on high standards of moral decency, and instead affected a refined and spiritual approach to love.18 Both approaches are very French, and contrast with the earthy, freely sensual humor of the original. The 1671 tragedie-ballet combined the spectacle and music of the ballets with the literary approach of La Fontaine. The first component was the more important; the entire production was the result of Louis's desire to see the expensive sets for Hercole amoureux again.19 Moliere was the one who suggested a retelling of the Psyche myth, still very much a la mode because of La Fontaine's recent success. Since, as usual, he was given only limited time to assemble a lavish entertainment, he enlisted the help of Corneille, himself only providing the Prologue, the second scene of Act II, and the first scene of Act III. Quinauli: provided all French lyrics for Lully, who wrote the words for the Italian plainte. Lully provided all of the music.20 16 La Fontaine, Les Amours de Psyche et de Cupidon (1670) (Paris: Enseigne du Pot Cass6, 1939), 30. 17 Ren<§ Bray, Moliere: Theatre de l'Annee 1671, vol. 7, . Oeuvres Completes (Paris: Society les Belles Lettres, 1950), 228. 18 Ibid., 228. 19 Ibid., 227. The;opera was written by Cavalli and presented to the court in 1662 with added ballets by Lully. 20 Ibid., 227. 24 Like other serious French plays, Psyche has five acts, unity of action, and poetry (though not in alexandrine couplets). It is clearly a tragedy, as Psyche, a princess, loses the protection of her royal family, is deserted by Amour, loses the riches bestowed upon her by her husband, and undergoes the torments of Hell. The play proper is self-contained, consisting of poetic dialogue, and monologues. Music is confined to the beginning of the Prologue, and the ends of acts. The musical part of the prologue, and the intermedes, are all diversions, not integrated with the plot, though providing emotional foreshadowing. With few exceptions, most machines, and almost all set changes, occur in the musical sections. Prunieres said of Psyche, "On peut observer que cette piece est presqueun opera" since "le prologue et l'important finale ainsi qsie les grands intermfedes qui se placent entre les actes sont entiferement chant6s"21 ("One can observe that this piece is already almost an opera" since "the prologue and the important finale, as well as the great intermedes which are placed between the acts, are entirely sung"). In 1678, with the aid of Thomas Corneille, Lully turned Psyche into a tragedie-lyrique. The intermedes were transferred virtually intact, the.acts highly condensed and set to recitative. Although it was not counted as one of Lully's more successful tragedies-lyriques,22 it does graphically show the close relationship of the comedie-ballet to French opera. Each of Lully's musical scenes in Psyche (1671) is connected in terms of both key and musical forms, yet all show an elegant variety of styles. Though not directly. 21 Henry Prunieres, La Vie lllustre etLibertine.de Jean-, Baptiste Lully (Paris: Librairie Plon,'1929), 106-7. 22 Michael Turnbull, "The Metamorphosis of Psyche," Music , & Letters 64, nos. 1-2 (1983):24. 25 related to the plot, they do help to establish atmosphere. The remainder of this chapter will summarize the play, both in terms of drama and placement of music; analyze musical styles; and examine the construction of musical scenes. However, there must first be a brief survey of contemporary and modern sources for both the play and the music. Fortunately, Molifere published the play's livret (the libretto, with all lyrics and a synopsis of the play) and the entire play, both within a year of the first performances. The former bore the title, "Psiche/ Tragi-Comedie,/ et Ballet/ Dans6 devant sa Majesty au mois/ de Janvier 1671./ Paris, Robert Ballard, 1671." The latter was published as "Psichd,/ Trag<§die-Ballet./ Par J.B.P. Molifere./ Paris, Pierre Honnier, 1671." The order of songs in the fifth intercede is different in the two versions; there are also differences in the numbers of dancers and musicians. The play has appeared in many modern editions, including the one consulted for this paper, edited and published in 1950 by Ren6 Bray.23 Unfortunately, there is only one contemporary published score of Psyche, and it is incomplete. A collection of the songs was entitled "Airs/ du Ballet Royal/ de Psych6, avec la Basse-continue/ A Paris/ Chez Robert Ballard, seul Imprimeur du Roy/ pour la Musique, rue S. Jean de Beauvais,/ au Mont Parnasse./ M.DC.LXX./ Avec Privilege de sa I -" MajestS."24 The manuscript sources for the music of'Psyche are both numerous and scattered. Most valuable are those containing the instrumental music unaccounted for in the book of airs. The British Library, Add. 10445, has seventeen of the nineteen instrumental pieces, the first being entitled "Ouverture du Ballet du Roy. 1671." In the same manuscript 23 See fn. 17 for full citation. 24 This date was misprinted; it was actually published in 1671. 26 are similar extracts from Les Amants magnifiques. This manuscript, which may once have been owned by Locke himself,25 almost certainly predates the 1678 version.26 The only modern version is the nineteenth-century piano-vocal reduction of the tragedie-lvrique, edited by Theodore de Lajarte.27 There are, for the most part, only minor differences between it and Add. 10445, though the manuscript has dances not included in the printed score. Lacking in both are sections of the Italian Plainte, Mars' "Laissons en paix toute la terre," and the dance of Mome and Polchinel.28 The play follows the original myth quite closely, though condensing it for greater unity and ease of staging.29 Antecedent events are revealed in the prologue, as V6nus embarks on a long tirade against Psyche and sends Amour to wreak her revenge. Act I establishes the jealousy of the two evil sisters, the loyalty of the two swains, and the dignified and generous nature of Psyche. At the end of the act, a minor character, Lycas, describes Psyche's fate as proclaimed by the Oracle. The first intermede has a 25 Murray Lefkowitz, "Shadwell and Locke's Psyche: the French Connection," Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association 106 (1980), 45. 26 Michael Turnbull, "The Sources for the Two Versions of Psyche (1671 & 1678)," Jean-Baptiste Lully: Actes du Colloque Saint-Germaine-en-Laye •— Heidelberg 1987, ~— coll. Jerome de La Gorce and Herbert Schneider, vol. 18, Neue Heidelberger Studien zur Musikwissenschaft, eds. Ludwig Finscher and Reinhold Hammerstein (Laaber: Laaber-Verlag, 1990), 353-4. 27 Jean-Baptiste Lully, Psyche, reconstr. and reduc. for piano and voice, Theodore de Lajarte (Paris, 1890), vol. 25, Chefs-d'Oeuvre Classiques de 1'Opera Francais (New York: Broude Bros., 1971). " . 28 The Lajarte and Add. 10445 have been checked against the 1671 livret, and against Herbert Schneider, Chronologisch-Thematisches Verzeichnis Samtlicher Werke von Jean-Baptiste Lully (LWV), vol. 14, Maimer- studien zur Musikwissenschaft, ed. Hellmut Federhofer (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1981). 29 See Appendix I for synopsis of play and intermedes. 27 scene change to some terrible rocks, and the Italian plainte. Act II is almost completely taken up by mournful outbursts at Psyche's fate. In the last scene, Amour descends and orders Vulcain to build a palace for his bride. In the second intermede, the awful rocks give way to a magnificent garden courtyard. A comic recit and entree are performed by Vulcain and his Cyclopes and F£es. Act III continues the lighthearted mood established by the second intermede as the two lovers meet. In a departure from the myth, Psyche is allowed to see her beautiful husband, and immediately falls in love with him. Mindful of her family's grief, she asks to see her sisters, so that they might cease their mourning upon learning of her good fortune. Amour reluctantly agrees. A dialogue by a little Amour and Zephir warns that "On est pay6 de mille maux/ Par un heureux moment" ("One is payed by a thousand ills/ For one happy moment"). The scene changes to a magnificent palace. In Act IV, Aglaure and Cidippe are jealous of Psyche's lovely palace and perfect husband. They warn their sister that Amour is so beautiful he could have any lover, and may leave her for someone else, taking his palace and servant with him. After they leave, Psyche confronts Amour, learns that he is the God of Love, and is deserted by him. T She is left in a wild country by a great river, and is prevented from committing suicide by the god of the river. V6nus appears and the two women argue, V6nus swearing that Psych<§ will be punished. Thefourth intermede is a scene of Hell. Furies gloat, for they have succeeded in making the Goddess of Love mad with anger. Psych6 rides on the boat of Charon, carrying the box of Proserpine's beauty. 28 In Act V, Psych6 ponders her sufferings. She meets the swains again, who are now dead and reside in a beautiful wood, where all those go who die for love. Knowing that her sufferings have taken their toll on her beauty, Psych6 opens the box, and swoons. Amour discovers her plight, but only V6nus can awaken her. Mother and son quarrel, but to no avail. Amour calls upon Jupiter to intervene, threatening him with embarrassing love entanglements if he does not. Jupiter agrees to make Psyche immortal, thus appeasing V6nus, who then wakes Psyche. The fifth intermede is a celebration of the gods. The play, in general, lacks dramatic incident. Important events, such as the cause of V6nus' anger, the prophesy of the Oracle, and Proserpine's donation of beauty, all occur offstage. Moreover, the first three acts each confine themselves to a single plot development: in Act I, there is the speech of Lycas; in Act II, the entrance of Amour; and in Act III, the meeting of Psych6 and Amour. Acts IV and V each have two plot developments: the.former, Amour's desertion and Venus' punishment (the women's argument does not further the plot, but reestablishes it); the latter, Psyche's arrival in Hell (which actually occurs after the fourth act, but prior to the fourth intermede) and the affair of the box. • Instead of dramatic incident/ the play proper is ^ ^ dominated by poetry. Plot momentum is created by discussion, while emotional reactions to situations are revealed in monologues, self-contained poems usually around forty lines in length. Psyche's monologue in V, i is one of the loveliest of the play. In it, she briefly describes Hell, but dwells for a longer time on V6nus' anger: Elle n'en peut estre assouvie, Et depuis qu'ci ses loix je me trouve asservie, 29 Depuis qu'elle me livre a ses ressentimens, II m'a falu dans ces cruels momens Plus d'un ame, et plus d'une vie, Pour remplir ses commandemens. (She cannot be assuaged,/ And since it is to her laws I find myself subjected/ Since she delivers me to her resentments,/ It is necessary that in these cruel times/ I have more of a soul, and more of a life,/ To fulfill her commandments.) Yet she avers that she will suffer with joy, if only Amour still loves her: S.i son couroux duroit encore, Jamais aucun malheur n'aprocheroit du mien: Mais s'il avoit pitie d'une ame qui l'adore, Quoy qu'il fallust souffrir, je ne souffrirois rien. Ouy, Destins, s'il calmoit cette juste colore, Tous mes malheurs seroient finis: Pour me rendre insensible aux fureurs de la Mdre, II ne fautqu'un regard du Fils. (If his angerstill endure,/ No other misfortune could approach mine:/ But if he would have pity on a soul who adores him,/ Although there be suffering, I would not suffer./ Yes, Destiny, if he would calm this just anger,/ All my misfortunes would be finished:/ To ; render me insensible to the rages of the Mother,/ There need only be a glance from the Son.) She believes that he does indeed love her: - — C'est luy qui me soutient, c'est luy. qui me • •,••••• ranime, Au milieu des perils oil l'on me.fait courir: 1.1 garde la tendresse ou son feu le convie, Et prend soin de me rendre une nouvelle vie, Chaque fois qu'il me faut mourir.30 (It is he who sustains me, it is he who revives me,/ In the midst of the perils with which I am pursued:/ He keeps the tenderness that his ardor invited,/ And takes care to give me a new life,/ Each time I must die.) 30 Molifere, 83-4. 30 The excerpts given above are;part of a long argument that speaks of Love as having the power of resurrection. The quality of poetry is far different than that which shall be seen in the lyrics; it will be seen that Quinault's lyrics are simpler in both form and subject matter, diverting little or no attention from Lully's music. The music of Psyche is fairly typical of the ballet and comedie-ballet. The majority of pieces are airs, tunes which are organized as closed forms, beginning and ending in the same key.31 Both songs and dances are often marked as "airs," and there is a strong formal relationship between the two. Both are usually short and homophonic, with clear-cut phrases and cadences. Typically, binary forms dominate, with a small number of ternary, rondeau, and throughcomposed pieces. Table I shows the distribution of pieces:32 TABLE 1 MUSICAL FORMS IN LULLY'S PSYCHE (1671) Solo Dance Chorus Duo Trio Inst AB 3 AAB 3 ABB . 1 ABC 2 ABA Rondeau Thrucomposed 3 4 6 1 1 ' 1 - 1 Subtotals 12 Total 33 13 31 James R. Anthony, "The Musical Structure of Lully's Operatic Airs," Jean-Baptiste Lully: Actes, 65. 32 The breakdown adapts categories developed by Anthony in ibid., 74. 31 The table does not include the Plainte, with its Italianate style and form; only French.pieces are dealt with. Nor does it include the preludes to songs, since they are not independent pieces; the sole self-contained instrumental number in the table is the ouverture. Finally, there is no distinction made between exact and varied section repetitions. Table I shows a clear dominance of dance.and solo airs over those for chorus and ensemble. This is characteristic of the ballet and comedie-ballet, though later, the tr&gedie-lyrique made more use of the chorus. Since all pieces are diversionary, there is no recitative. James Anthony33 divides Lully's arias into four broad groups: monologue airs, dialogue airs, dance songs and maxim airs. The first is sung by major characters, are closely linked to the plot, and usually take up an entire scene. The second consists of chains of airs, frequently interspersed with recitatives, which advance the action. Dance songs are associated with divertissements, and either generate an instrumental dance or are based on a preceding dance; they are mostly sung by secondary characters and have no direct relationship with the plot. Maxim airs are also usually sung by secondary characters expressing galant sentiments, usually about love. Any of these four groups can additionally be subdivided as either formal or character airs. Formal airs, in general, were virtually the same as the ordinary music of the court, performed by characters either of noble blood/ or with a vague but exalted nature. Psyche has no noble mortals who perform musical numbers, but several minor gods and goddesses of indistinct: personality who do. Character airs are performed by minor gods and creatures of myth with 33 Ibid., 67-9. 32 clear-cut personalities, such as Vulcain, the lame god of the forge, and Bacchus, the jolly god of drunkenness. Differences between these two subdivisions will be discussed in some detail later. Psyche has no monologue airs, and only one dialogue air: a series of three songs in the fifth intercede by Bacchus, Mome, and Mars, ending with the chorus "Chantons les plaisirs." This enchainement is part of a lengthy introductory section. There are two types of dance airs. The first has flexible alternations of song and dance, and occurs • ;>nly in the second and third intermedes. The entree of Cyclopes and F6es is "entrecoup6e par ce RScit34 de Vulcain, qu'il fait k deux reprises"35 ("interrupted by this recit of Vulcain, which has two reprises"). The entree of Amours and 7.6phirs is "interrompue deux fois par un Dialogue"36 ("interrupted two times by a dialogue"). In neither intermede are themes shared by the vocal and instrumental music. The other type of dance air is found only in the fifth intermede, where no fewer than eight pieces are arranged in entree/ solo pairs. These include Apollon's "Le Dieu qui nous engage," Bacchus' "Admirons le jus," Mome's "Folastrons, divertissons-nous," and Mars' "Laissons en paix," and their respective dances (Nos. 4, 6, 8, and 9 in Appendix I). • There are four maxim airs:. Flore/s solo "Est-on sage" (prologue), and the dialogues "Rendez-vous" (prologue), "Aimable Jeunesse" (2me intermede) and "Gardez-vous" (5me intermede). An excerpt of "Est-on sage" provides an excellent example of the sentiments found in these poems: . 34 irR6cit" in this case means a song associated with a dance, and not a recitative. 35 Molifere, 50. 36 Ibid., 63. 33 Est-on sage Dans le bel age, Est-on sage . De n'aimer pas? Que sans cesse L'on se presse De gouster les plaisirs icy bas: La sagesse De la Jeunesse, C'est de savoir jouir de ses appas.37 (Is one wise/ In the beautiful age,/ Is one wise/ Not to love?/ That without ceasing/ One presses onward/ To relish the pleasures here below:/ The wisdom/ Of Youth,/ Is to know how to play their charms.) The stately minuet,"Est-on sage," is an excellent example of the maxim air (see Example 1). Its simple, tuneful melody is supported homophonically. by the bass. A regular rhythmic pace is varied with a hemiola in mm. 14-16. Harmonic progressions are uncomplicated; the cadences in Example 1 end on V or I. Phrases are short and regular j (though in other formal pieces, they are just as likely to be irregular). 37 Ibid., 13. EXAMPLE 1: Flore, "Est-on sage," prologue, mm. 1-16. There is little difference between formal songs and dances, the latter being performed by dancers with exotic costumes but undefined character. The "Air pour les Dryades, Sylvains, Fleuves, and Nayades" (Example 2) hal~~ most of the same traits as "Est-on sage," with a well-defined melody, a steady bass, and homophonic lines. It shows Lully's penchant for switching briefly to the minor mode; a short passage in D minor in mm. 5-8 is followed by a move to the dominant. A gay impulsive manner, befitting nature spirits, is created both by the cadences, which are elided and fall at the beginnings of bars, and the meter, a quick jbouree. By this time, Lully was.routinely using five-35 part strings, and the piece would almost certainly have been performed in this manner.38 EXAMPLE 2: "Air pour les Dryades," prologue, mm. 1-10, $ g ' ..A-m •A i A i ^ J f m i j a . ia tp--fe-l l - J — — f - J r -Besides the formal airs, there are numerous character songs and dances, performed by gods and creatures with clearly-defined temperaments. The air of Mars, "Mes plus fiers ennemis" (5me intermede), belongs to this group of pieces. The poem proclaims his warlike spirit, which can only be overcome by Love: 38 The livret of 1671 cites instruments and the names of musicians, but of mixed ensembles only. 36 Mes plus fiers ennemis vaincus ou pleins d'effroi, Ont toujours vu ma valeur trioriphante; L'amour est le seul qui se vante D'avoir pu triompher de moy.jy (My most haughty enemies, vanquished or full of fear,/ Have always seen my triumphant valor;/ Love is the only one who boasts/ Of having been able to triumph over me.) Example 3 shows the repetition of the song's A section and a portion of the B section. In mm. 6-10, Mars expresses his warlike temperament. The.bass of this section is irregular, the extremely slow harmonic movement of mm. 6-8 being followed by an eighth-note run to the cadence in m. 9, and is also quite static, m e r e l y providing harmonic support for the treble. In mm. 10-18, when Mars reveals the power of love over war, the bass becomes-more lyrical and regular, and the style o f m e l o d y also changes; Mars' opening trumpet-like leap of a fifth (m. 6) is contrasted with the sensuovs chromatic line of the B section (mm. 12-15). 39 Lully, 205-6. 37 EXAMPLE 3: Mars, "Mes plus fiers," 5me intermede, mm. 6-18. There is no special instrumentation listed in the livret for this song, which is part of the introductory chain of airs mentioned on page . However, the other entree of Mars, which includes the "Prelude to Mars. Echo" found in Add. 10445, is listed in the livret as having twelve "concertants," eighteen "violons," one "basson," three "flutes," one "tymbalier," one "sacq de bout," and 38 nine "trompettes.1,40 This would have added much-needed color to this very plain piece (see Example 4a). As in the Example 3 (see especially mm. 6-10), the bass merely provides harmonic support, while the treble moves in swift eighth- and sixteenth-note figurations. The rapid melody, the slow harmonic movement, the rhythmic bass, the use of dynamics (unusual for Lully), and the bright orchestration, all establish the martial character of the piece. • . EXAMPLE 4: "Prelude to Mars. Echo," 5 m e intercede, • mm. 1—5. 40 Molifere, Psiche: Tragi-Comedie, et Ballet Dansedevant sa Majeste au mois de Janvier 1671 (Paris: Robert Ballard, 1671), 46, microfilm. 39 The dance of the "Furies et Lutins," (Example 4b) also found in Add. 10445, shows Lully's grotesque style. The bass is quite active, with some independence from the treble; its erratic rhythms portray the abnormal character of the Hellish dancers. The treble is also uneven, with longer, more regular note patterns being.broken by short sixteenth-note bursts. There is some imitation between the voices; the treble's minor third descent and minor sixth upward leap in mm. 1-2 is mimicked by the bass in mm. 3-4. EXAMPLE 5: "Les Furies et Lutins," 4Ine intermede, • mm. 1-11. * 3 m r~ T r t\T . hi ffi* 1 i w 4 r U / o —33*3=+-~Ue ' <? it 10 r * rfrtf - e ^ i r r f ^ F=Sh=t= J ? - U U — • # ' « r — — a » r r i " ' f ,, i . k i < " r - . t r f 1 T = 1 t V The Plainte Italien has little in common with the other songs in Psyche. It is far more declamatory than the French ••.. 40 airs, with text assuming a new importance. Lully here is at his most expressive, using descending vocal lines, and affective intervals such as the minor second and diminished . fifth, to depict the melancholy words. An Italianate style is seen in the many repeated poetic phrases and elided syllables.41 The bass is slow and quite regular. Though not an ostinato, its long, slow, mainly descending patterns resemble those found in ground bass laments. Example 5, below, is the A section of a da capo solo. 41 Denise Launay, "Les Airs Italians et Frangais dans les Ballets et les Com^die-Ballcts," Jean-Baptiste Lully: Actes, 35. i n,n / t t n \ t c u LI,-/ '» u \l J-41 EXAMPLE 6: Femme Desolde, "Deh! piangete," 2 m e intermede, mm. 38-47. In Psyche, the prologue and each intermede has a unique structure. The prologue gives primary emphasis to song? there are only two dances , while vocal music includes : two solo airs, a duet, and a chorus which is sung twice. The first intermede is an enchainement of dances, instrumental music ("concerts"), ensembles, and solo song. The second and third both seem to place emphasis on dance, since the former' is an entree by Cyclopes and F6es "entrecoup^e" with a recit, and the latter an entree "enterrompue" by a dialogue, though each has a large amount of sung material as 42 well. The fourth intermede is unique; it is entirely danced. The fifth intermede is almost equally divided between song and dance, but is distinguished from the other musical scenes by its extraordinary size and careful large-scale construction. It is divided into three parts, each subdivided into smaller segments (see Appendix I). In the introductory segment, Apollon's "Unissons-nous" and the Chorus of all the Divinities is followed by a chain of airs by Bacchus, Mome, and Mars, The middle part has entree/ solo pairs by the four gods and their troupes along with songs by associated characters. The concluding part has an entree of all four troupes, a final chorus, and a concluding air. • • The prologue and most of the intercedes are tonally related, Lully staying mainly in C major and closely related keys. The prologue and second intercede is in C minor, with a brief modulation to the tonic major for one dance. The third is in the relative minor. There is only one extant dance from the fourth, in the dominant minor. Tonally, the fifth intermede is an anomaly, beginning in D minor and ending in D major. Songs and dances for Apollon, Mome, and all of their related characters and troupes are in D minor.42 Those for Bacchus, his drunken follower Sil6ne, and his troupe are in F major. The music" of Mars is in D major; the concluding dances of all the troupes are also in D major. The other musical scenes are in C major, or are tonally related to that key, and why this intermede is treated differently is unclear; perhaps it:has a brighter key because it is the music of the gods. Evidently, Lully was more concerned with emphasizing this 42 Where scores were unavailable, information was taken from incipits found in Schneider. 43 intermede than with tonally unifying the entire work; Psyche begins in C major, but ends a major second higher. Lully arranges his close-formed airs and dances to achieve a wide variety of musical- scenes. The distribution of airs into formal and character pieces, the shifting emphasis on song or dance in each musical section, and the changes of instrumental timbre, combined with the different roles .played by the prologue and intermedes in laying the emotional groundwork of each act, ensures that the uncomplicated charm of the airs does not grow stale, but is maintained throughout the play. 44 CHAPTER FOUR THE STRUCTURE OF LOCKE'S PSYCHE: THE INTEGRATION OF MUSIC WITH DRAMA In the early 1670's, the actor/entrepreneur Thomas Betterton went to Paris at the behest of Charles II, to study French methods of production and the mise-en-scene of their spectacles.1 While there, he almost certainly saw Moliere's Psyche. After the success of other "operatic" productions such as Macbeth and The Tempest, Betterton conceived of staging an English Psyche. He commissioned Thomas Shadwell to write the play; music was supplied by Katthew Locke, who composed all the vocal music and a small amount of the instrumental music, and Battista Draghi, who wrote all the remaining music, including the dances. St. AndrSe furnished the choreography, Mr. Stephenson the scenery, and Betterton "those things that concern the Ornament or Decoration of the Play."2 In this chapter, the success of Psyche as drama will be evaluated, along with the structure of Locke's musico-dramatic scenes. Psyche, like most other Restoration operas, was a success. Downes's comments run as follows: In February 1673. The long expected opera of Psyche, came forth in all her Ornaments; new Scenes, new machines, new Cloatns, new French Dances: This Opera was splendidly set out, especially in Scenes; the Charge of which amounted to above 8001 [sic]. It had a Continuance of 1 Montague Summers, ed., introduction to The Complete Works of Thomas.Shadwell (London: Fortune Press, 1927), 110. 2 Ibid. 45 Performance about 8 Days together, it prov'd very Beneficial to the Company; yet the Tempest got them more Money.3 Downes's dating here, as in many other places, is incorrect; r.Jsyche was actually performed iri: 1674/5 (1675, new style).4 Both the score and text of Psyche were published soon after its performance. The play was entitled "PSYCHE:/ A/ TRAGEDY,/ Acted at the Duke's Theatre./ Written by/ THO. SHADWELL./ London,/ Printed by T. N. for Henry Herringmen, at the Anchor/ in the lower Walk of the New Exchange. 1675." It is especially valuable for its detailed descriptions of scenery and lists of musical instruments used. Locke published his music as "THE/ ENGLISH OPERA/ OR/ The Vocal Musick/ in/ PSYCHE/ WITH THE/ INSTRUMENTAL/ Therein intermix'd. To which is Adjoyned/ The INSTRUMENTAL MUSICK in the/ TEMPEST./ By Matthew Lock, Composer in Ordinary/ to His MAJESTY, and Organist to the QUEEN./ Licensed 1675. ROGER L'ESTRANGE." Both the Shadwell arid Locke versions have been combiner! in a modern edition by Michael Tilmouth.5 Adaptations of the Psyche myth were far less frequent in England than France, other than Shadwell's play, the only seventeenth-century entertainment was Thomas Heywood's masque, Loves mistresse (1634). Although it will be seen that there are certain parallels between it and Psyche v (1675), Shadwell's play has far more similarities to the tragedie-ballet than to its English predecessor. Loves mistresse was actually a play with interpolated antimasques, called a masque because it was performed at the birthday celebrations of Charles I.6 Popular with 3 Downes, 75. 4 Ibid., 75, fn. 224. 5 Locke, Dramatic Music. For full citation, see Chapter I, fn. 37. 6 White, 94-5. 46 audiences, it was successfully revived several times, the last in 1669.7 In Mistresse, the plot and antimasques are kept separate. Machines are associated with the play proper, not the scenes in music. In Act I, Zephirus takes Psyche from her dismal rock and brings her to a palace, where she is served a banquet by invisible servants. Psyche is mocked by Echo, who mimics her words. She falls in love with Cupid, though he is also invisible. In the three middle acts, the sisters tempt her, Cupid deserts her, and she falls under the power of Venus. Act if takes place in Hell, where there is a long scene with Hadas and Proserpine. Psyche .is awakened from her death-like sleep by Cupid. Each antimasque alternates between humorous banter by Apuleius and Midas, and comic songs and dances. A set of dances by Asses of different humors (proud, prodigal, drunken) acknowledges both the author of the Golden Ass and Midas, who, according to myth, was given a pair of ass' s ears for his foolishness. There is also a musical competition between the Champion of Apollo and the country god Pan, and a dance of Vulcan and his Cyclops. There are some resemblances between this production and Shadwell's. The inclusion of Pan and Echo is common to both, as is the dance of Vulcan and his Cyclops. The long scene with the King and Queen of Hell is unique to both productions, appearing neither in the myth, nor in any of the French adaptations. Shadwell almost certainly saw one of the later revivals of this play. It is just as likely that Shadwell had access to a copy of Molifere's play when writing his version. The structural resemblances between Psyche and the French Psyche are unmistakable, and can most clearly be seen in a, comparative 7 Ibid., 95. 47 analysis. Table II, below, shows plot intersections and departures. TABLE 2 A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PSYCHE (1671) AND PSYCHE (1675) Psyche Psyche Prologue: *A rocky crag* - Flore, Vertumne, Palaemon, et. al. 8 - Venus tells of her humiliation, enlists Amour, Act I: *City, with palace* ii Sisters (Aglaure and Cidippe) are jealous Sisters attempt to seduce swains iii- Psych6 refuses swains iv - Psych6 is summoned to king v - Lycas tells Psyche's fate vi - The sisters are glad *A mighty wood* - Psyche loves her pastoral life - Masque of Pan - Psyche is accosted by Ambition, Power, Plenty, and Peace - Psyche is accosted by Envy and Furies - Swains (Nicander and Polynices) woo her unsuccessfully - sisters (Aglaure and Cidippe) are jealotts-- Sisters call upon Venus to punish Psyche - Venus descends and agrees to do so King Theander and Psyche go to consult the Oracle 8 Musical numbers are printed in bold type. 48 Premier Intermfede of Desolate Woman and Afflicted Men Act II: *A rocky crag* i - Psyche comforts King ii - Hypocrite sisters mourn iii- Psych6 bemoans her fate iv - Swains wish to fight serpent; Psychd carried off by ZSphirs v - Amour orders Vulcan to build palace; predicts suitors' deaths Second Intemi&de of Vulcain and Cyclopes Act III: *Palace Garden*. i - ZSphire is surprised that Amour is an adult ii - Psyche expresses amazement iii- Psych6 and Amour meet and fall in love; Psych6 wishes to see her sisters *Temple of Apollo* - Masque of the Pri ests of Apollo - Swains vs. Priest and K i n g — priestly rites vs. natural r e l i g i o n — anti-papal ii-*A rocky crag* - Dialogue of Despairing Lovers - Psyche comforts King Troisifeme Intermede of Amours and Z6phirs Act IV: *Palace of Amour* i - Sisters plot Psyche's downfall Swains wish to fight serpent; Psyche carried off by Zephirs *Palace of Cupid* - Song and dance of Vulcan and Cyclops - Psyche and Amour meet and fall in love - Song at the Treat of Cupid and Psyche - Psyche wishes to see her sisters ii-*A City Street* - Triumph of Priests of Mars; Treat of Venus and Hars - Swains wish to find Psyche; sisters plan to have them killed *Palace Gardens* Sisters plot Psyche's downfall Sisters plot.to steal Cupid from Psyche Song with-Chorus and Statue dance rr.n n n,> < tf.D D J u y u L)\> • IWQ 3 49 ii - Sisters poison Psyche's mind iii- Psych6 confronts Amour - Amour deserts her iv *A wild country, by a river* - Psyche bemoans her fate River god prevents Psyche from drowning herself V6nus berates Psych6 and swears to send her to Hell Quatrifeme Intermfede of Hell Act V: *Hell* i - Psych6 expresses her despair ii - Swains are in a beautiful wood iii- Psyche opens the box and swoons iv - Amour forgives I <ych6 and threatens mother v - V6nus and Amour argue vi - Jupiter descends and agrees to make Psych6 immortal Dernifere Intermfede of Gods at Wedding Celebrations ; - Sisters poison Psyche's mind - Sisters try to kill Psyche, are prevented by Zephirus - Psyche confronts Cupid - Cupid deserts her ii *A vast desert, by a • river • - Psyche bemoans her .fate \ .. . - Sisters gloat; plan swains' deaths - River god prevents Psyche.from drowning herself - Venus berates Psyche and swears to send her to Hell - Swains are attacked by sisters' soldiers, vow to commit suicide to prevent being assassinated - Cupid descends and sends sisters to Hell *Hell* - Furies and Devils - Sisters says they will be happy in Hell if Psyche suffers - Psyche expresses her despair - Pluto and Proserpine give Psyche the bcsr of beauty - Swains are in a beatuiflil field ii-Psyche opens the box ; and swoons - Cupid forgives Psyche and threatens mother . - Venus and Cupid.argue - Jupiter descends and agrees to make Psyche immortal - Masque of Gods at Wedding Celebrations 50 The above table shows that the two plays have parallel structures which become remarkably consistent after the Dialogue of the Despairing Lovers in Act II. Differences mainly result from the varying technical approaches to drama by the playwrights: the emphasis on poetry in the French work gives way to Shadwell's English bent for dramatic incident.. Shadwell shows pivotal plot developments only spoken of by Moliere and Corneille: the reasons for Venus' anger with Psyche, the scene of the Oracle at the Temple of Apollo, and the presentation of the box of beauty by Proserpine to Psyche. As will be seen, music plays a vital role in these additions; perhaps Shadwell wished to draw attention to these new scenes. Only Shadwell makes the plot catalyst truly dramatic, showing Psyche's initial happiness and placing special stress on the evil sisters as the cause of all her misfortunes. Apuleius adheres to the classical idea that the gods punish men for failing to worship them, sometimes unjustly wreaking vengeance on the innocent; Molifere and Corneille merely repeat this view. Shadwell's concern with motivation seems modern compared to the other approaches. Shadwell's play, like all Restoration dramas, has numerous subplots. Though related to the plot, their only function is to provide additional excitement for the audience, and they could easily be omitted without damaging continuity. The evil sisters contribute the most complex subplot with their efforts to have the swains assassinated, and also provide a brief but exciting diversion with their attempts in Act II to seduce Cupid and murder Psyche. The masque scene at the Temple of Mars can also be counted as a subplot. It is actually a little operatic scena, complete with spectacle and machines, which begins 51 with the people of the city joyously celebrating the death of the Oracle's monster with sacrifices to Mars. A conflict arises as Venus and Mars descend, the Goddess of Love imploring that the sacrifice be rejected. Mars agrees, and summons furies who descend and destroy the altar. The people flee in terror. Shadwell's writing style shows no influece of Corneille or French tragedy. Famed both for his comedies and for his protests against rhymed drama,9 he pays little attention to the quality of his poetry. Psyche is the only one of his plays written entirely in verse, but he does not write solely in the heroic couplets of rhymed tragedy. Instead, his poetic dialogue frequently lapses from iambic pentameter into tetrameters and.even trimeters with great frequency. He also likes to vary his couplets with abab end abba rhymes, and many triplets. Shadwell rarely uses poetic arguments and conceits, and shuns the monologues of French drama. Psyche's one monologue in Act V, paralleling the one by Psych<§ described in Chapter II, does not follow an argument; instead, she relates the torments of Hell in exhaustive detail, blaming both Venus and Cupid for her suffering. Only in the last two lines does she rather limply protest that "I could endure the horrours of this place,/ Could I again behold his much-lov'd face."10 " Shadwell's characters are types, rather than well-rounded personalities, written with various "humors" that determine their behavior.11 Perhaps this is why his characters in Psyche lack the nuances of their French counterparts. The sist^irs air® uniformly ev.il, the swains 9 See Appendix III. 10 Locke, Dramatic Music, 201. 11 Shadwell clearly states his admiration'for Ben Jonson, who originated the comedy of humors, in his; first play, The Sullen I,overs (1668). Complete (forks, vol. 1, 11. 52 indistinguishable in their loyalty and heroism. Psyche is a royal shepherdess, but with the emphasis on the latter, and often seems simpleminded and awkward, without the noble dignity of her French counterpart. In keeping with English theatrical tradition, Shadwell had control of both the play and music. As lyricist, he determined both the amount and types of music used, and , seemed to prefer infusing variety into each song rather than each musical scene. Locke's music is integrated with the drama, and dominated by it.12 Classifying Locke's music in terms of vocal scoring;, as in Table I, has only limited value, yet is a worthwhile exercise, clearly highlighting the contrasts between the French and English styles of theater music. In Psyche,, Locke wrote declamatory, duple-time and air-like, triple-time music. Sections are defined either by the alternation of triple, and duple meters, or by changes in vocal groupings, only rarely do theme and phrasing determine: form, as in Lully's airs. Because of Locke's frequent changes in vocal texture, song classification is not as - simple as with Lully's score. For this thesis, three broad categories have been defined., The first is the "choral ensemble," where two or moreivoices sing simultaneously/though also singing successively at times? there is either a concluding chorus,, usually i repeating the words immediately preceding it, or a refrain chorus. Second is the "dialogue-ensemble," which:has' two or more voices singing only successively, with a concluding or refrain chorus. The final category is the "solo song with chorus," which is self-explanatory. There is some overlapping between categories. Under these guidelines, there are three dialogue-enserables and seven choral ensembles. The former include 12 Appendix III. "Envy and Furies," with three soloists and a concluding chorus; "Song and Chorus for Vulcan and Cyclops," with five soloists; and "Song with Chorus," with a quartet. The latter are: the duet of Venus and Mars; the trios of the God of the River arid the Elizian [sic] Lovers; the quartets of the Despairing Lovers and the Song at the Treat of Cupid and Psyche; the song of Furies and Devils, with duets and trios; and the dialogue of Pluto and Proserpine, which has a duet as well as three long solos. The solo song with chorus presents special problems, since few of the songs are straightforward in form. The song of Pan, for example, not only has a solo and chorus, but also an ensemble singing in unison. The two temple scenes are included in this category, though the chorus dominates the solos, and the extravagant scenery, costumes, and machines tend to overshadow the vocal music. Two songs do not fall into any of these categories: the song of Venus in Act I is the work's only completely solo piece, and the final chorus in Act V is the only chorus. Both are listed separately in Table III, below. In Locke's published score, there are twenty-six separate pieces, but only twenty are listed .in Table III. This is partly because Locke's organization of pieces is not always logical: his twelfth is only four bars long, separated from the previous section by an intervening dance; his.twenty-sixth has a closed-form song followed by a declamation; and the sixteenth is merely a rescoring of the fifteenth. As well, Locke wrote four instrumental pieces to accompany machines, and the table deals only with vocal pieces. Table III categorizes forms as binary, ternary, "4+" (four or more sections), and throughcomposed. The latter two categories require some explanation. Two pieces are listed as "4+": the songs of Pan, and Venus and Mars. Both 54 have declamatory and air sections, with the latter so formally clear that they could not be placed in the throughcomposed category. Throughcomposed pieces include short declamatory songs such as Venus' solo, ensembles such as the dialogue of Pluto and Proserpine which have both declamatory and air sections, and the two large-scale temple scenes. TABLE 3. MUSICAL FORMS IN LOCKE'S PSYCHE (1675) Solo w/chor Dia/ensem Chor/ensem Solo Chor AB ABB Ternary 4 + \ Thrcomp Subtotal Total Locke's key scheme is far more complex than Lully's, even though Psyche, unlike Psyche, begins and ends in the same key. The extant music for Act I stays around D ;r major/minor, except for Venus' declamation in A minor. The music for Act II is entirely in G major/minor.13 The song" of Vulcan and Cyclops in Act III takes place in C major, the "Song-at the Treat of Cupid and. Psyche" in D minor, and the 13 The frequent major/minor alternations are typical of Locke. 55 masque of the Salij in G me.jor. Act IV is in A minor and C »3or. The Hell portion of Act V is in A minor and E minor the final celebrations are in D major/minor. While songs ate confined to either duple-time declamatory or triple-time air sections, it would be misleading to attempt to define pieces on this basis 14 I t makes more sense to consider his pieces as closed airs declamations with optional air-like sections, and temple masque scenes. ' As mentioned before, Shadwell's lyrics tended to determine the musical structures used. Lyrics fall into three categories: rousing dactyls and regular lines for triple-time airs, iambic poetry clearly in a song form, and iambic poetry indistinguishable from the spoken portions of the.play.• The extroverted drinking song for Vulcan and Cyclops was clearly meant to be set in triple time: Ye bold sons of Earth, that attend upon fire You must not^bp 1 S S t ^ " s h o u l d stay; f i i p a i K delayf6' The melody to this song is tuneful, with words set syllabically. Phrases are regular, cadences falling onThe first beats of bars. The bass is active and harmonies tend to be simple, but with frequent modulations. Example i moves to G major (mm. 10-13), and from thence, to A minor (mm. 14-17), F major (mm. i8-2l), and back to c major through the dominant (mm. 2 2 - 2 5 ) . 14 Dent, 119-20. 15 Locke, Dramatic Music, 140-1. 56 EXAMPLE 7: "Song and Chorus for Vulcan and Cyclops," Act III, mm. 1-25. Even when Locke is at his most .intense, his airs seldom deviate from their regular phrases and cadences. In the song of Furies and Devils (Example 2), Locke uses clashing dissonances to achieve a grotesque effect, yet the melody is still as tuneful and energetic as that of Vulcan: 57 EXAMPLE 8: "Song of the Furies and Devils," Act V, . mm. 10-25. . ' Jr • v'f; 58 This song is unique in Psyche. Each of its three strophes is built in exactly the same manner: an opening solo is followed by a duet, a trio, and a chorus of ten Furies and Devils. Tho plan was Locke's, Shadwell clearly stating in his introduction that the piece was not chalked out by him.16 There are far fewer pieces in the second category, where iambic poetry is clearly in a song form. These pieces have irregular feet and rhyme schemes, as does much of Shadwell's spoken poetry. The song for Mars with warlike chorus (Act V) has such a lyric: Behold the God, whose mighty power We all have felt, and all adore; To him I all my Triumphs owe, To him my Trophies I must yield. He makes victorious monarchs bow, And from the Conqueror gains the Field.17 Locke's duple-time declamations are more freely constructed than his airs. Example 3, an excerpt of the song of Mars, is typical of this sort of piece. The melodic range is quite restricted at the beginning/ with many repeated notes and stepwise motion, gradually building to more leaps and a greater range. The basso continuo begins at a slower pace, but builds up speed on its approach to important cadences. The slower bass means that modulations, though still frequent, are fewer than in Locke's triple-time airs. The increase in ornaments is also noticable. 16 See Appendix III. 17 Locke, Dramatic Music, 221. 59 EXftMPLE 9: "Song for Mars with Warlike Chorus," Act V, mm. 1-7. The Dialogue of the Despairing Lovers shows a more passionate, melodic style of declamation. The music is dominated by the text, a self-contained poem in consistent iambic pentameter couplets. The opening words are set-with a rest "breaking" the first two words, followed by an irregular dotted rhythm on the word "distracted." Other word-painting includes the downward leap on "raging" (m. 5) ji the descending line on "Sighs which in other passions vent" (mm. 7-8), the contrasting ascending line on "give them ease, when they lament" (mm. 9-10), and the descending' minor seventh on "not quench" (m. 13). • 60 EXAMPLE 10: "Dialogue of the Despairing Lovers," Act II, mm. 1-14. , FiftsT n*^ d: h r •> r Bra*, bosk, Jl-tfjudr-v} hon+j no cure Fbr f x H H ^ P -m UM, . "3- •'-8 7 6 7 ft«5T WOMAM Gv - ten- tv«e-# i wliiU* in TT o- p&s-vbrts rfenfr^ s /ire. fau+ttie. W z r t i r C r r c j a SECCjJti VJOMAN ,3 TBTT bci-loJs -te # £ s-Ve. ArJ i'n £ =#3 nit quench,— ~ £ . •.•••: .••• i' • m liiti mMwm wmMmmM mmmm 61 The Dialogue also has an example of Locke's contrapuntal vocal style, rare in this work. Typically, 62 EXAMPLE 11: "Dialogue of the Despairing Lovers," Act II, mm. 47-52. «T7 I. wftrt^ W U,, r.~ Vcr yi't 63 " • j The third group of songs has poetry in iambic j pentameter indistinguishable from the spoken portions of the i play. Unlike the othe.'r two categories, these are not self-contained poems, and 'the words are often a part of the plot. Sometimes in these cases, Locke feels free to manipulate meter; for example, Proserpine's dialogue section in Act V is in triple time, though the text is in an erratic iambic pentameter: Psyche draw near: with thee this Present take, Which giv'n to Venus, soon thy peace will make: Of Beauty, 'tis a Treasury Divine, And you're the messenger shs did design. Lost beauty this will s-aon restore, And all defects repair: Mortals will now afresh her Beams adore, And ease her mind of: jealousie and care. No Beauty that has; this can e'r despair.18 | . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Ibid., 203-4. 64 EXAMPLE 12: "'Dialogue for Pluto and Proserpine with Chorus of Attendants," Act V, mm. 20-34. ^ K> flvfl-ieepnyg >i £ S3 f i T T T :r w i H fee -Hi,S Pre-3 E V. . n W maS) scon 3 pdace va(I no-te; Of IS-mz I F $ 3 3 m m $ ttes-Sen- ^ dJ it.. s^ v. w # fa This air is slightly different from those written in dactyls. Though there are still regular four-bar phrases, cadences do not fall so relentlessly on the strong beats of bars, and long notes are not saved for cadences; the first-phrase has a dotted half note on the cesura (m. 21), but the cadence ends on a quarter note. Individual songs in Psyche are either independent of the main drama, or integrated with it. The former group have counterparts in Lully's work, and include the Dialogue of the Despairing Lovers, the Song of Vulcan and Cyclops, the Song at the Treat of Psyche and Cupid, the Song with 65 Chorus,19 and the Song of Devils and Furies. All have undoubted song texts, with four out of five being triple-time airs, the exception being th e Despairing Lovers dialogue which corresponds to Lully's declamatory Italian Plainte. The lyrics leave no doubt that all were conceived as songs. Conversely, the songs integrated with the drama — the songs for Envy and Furies, Venus, the God of the River, and the dialogue of Pluto and Proserpine — have poetry which is indistinguishable in form and subject matter from that, found in the spoken portions of the play. It seems likely, then, that all of these songs were originally written as spoken poetic dialogue, with the music added only as an afterthought. All are entirely in duple time except the dialogue of Pluto and Proserpine, which is in duple and triple time. Prior to Psyche, there were instances of play songs which affected plot, as in The Tempest, though this happened with extreme rarity. Yet Psyche has no less than four songs closely integrated with tiie plot. We can never be certain why these four were included, but probably, each for his own reasons, Shadwell and Locke both wished to create a number of musical scenes having no connection with the French play. There are four masque complexes in the play; two of these are entertainments, the English equivalents to the French intermedes. The masques of Pan, and of Jupiter and the Gods, divert both the audience and the play characters. Like the intermedes, they consist of closed numbers that could ~-»sily be performed independently. The othe^ : -: temple scenes of Apollo and the Salij, are of the type used by Shadwell in The Tempest. The scene at the temple of Apollo is made up of a swift 19 Both the Song at the Treat of Cupid and Psyche and the Song with Chorus have some poetic ideas in common with the third intermede of Lully. 66 succession of sections, some of which are musical, and soma which parody the rituals of the Catholic church. There are many songs and dances, but also several descriptions of choreographed movements around the altar for which there may not have been any accompanying music. Unlike Lully, who never repeated himself in Psyche, Shadwell follows his temple scene in Act II with another in Act III, He begins the masque of the Salij with the same sectional structure as in that of Apollo,- but then interrupts it with the song of Venus and Mars, one of the songs which may have been set to music as an afterthought. The celebration and sacrifice, its, rejection by Mars for the sake of Venus, and the descent of furies who wreck the altar, are all set to song, and in dramatic: terms are entirely separate from the play. This little operatic scene may be an anti-papal statement by Shadwell, as he ruins the temple of a religious system .merely criticized in Act II. The final masque deserves sona further comment, since it is quite closely modelled on its French counterpart. It will be remembered that Lully's celebration of the Gods had an introductory section by Apollo a M his chorus, followed by three little airs by Bacchus, Moma, and Mars. Locke counters this with his Song with Symphonies for Apollo, where the characters are introduced by means of three little dances, each performed to retornelli, with different ~ instruments each time to establish characterization: the Elizian Lovers dance to pipes, Bacchus and his. Maenades and Aegipanes to hoboys, and Cupid, Spirits, and the. other Gods and Goddesses to recorders. This is followed with airs by Bacchus and Mars, and a brief concluding declamation by Apollo before the final chorus.20 Locke's organization of numbers is not as careful as Lully's, and the masque is far shorter than its counterpart, 20 See Appendix II. 67 yet French influence is greater on Locke here than any other part of the work. All three self-contained airs and the final chorus are in ABB form, whereas the only other use of this form is the declamatory song for Envy and Furies in Act I.' 68 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION In the introduction to this paper, Shadwell's remarks on the relationship between the French and English Psyche plays, of 1671 and 1.675 respectively, were briefly discussed. In the play preface, he felt obliged to defend his version against accusations that it was not as good as the French Psyche, and that it was all borrowed from the French. After examining both plays in the context of their contrasting national styles, it is now possible to make a more detailed analysis of his remarks. Shadwell's assertion that his play had "more Variety" ,•, is justifiable in several ways. First, his temple masque scenes are crammed with activity, with processions, choruses, dances, choreographed ritualistic gestures, declamations, machines, and even prose recitations swiftly succeeding each other. There is no form to these scenes as; there is to Lully's intermedes, Shadwell's purpose being to keep the audience diverted with a sequence of brief, ___ visually exciting events. Second, there is variety in individual songs, Locke not only using more ensemble groupings than Lully, but also more alternating combinations of voices within st>ngs; the overwhelming majority have some blend of solo voice, with ensemble or chorus. Third, Locke changes frequently from airs to declamations, while Lully's songs and dancer are tooth air-dominated. At the sat.:' f^rne, unlike Locke and Shadwell, Lully took care to make each nil'his musical scenes unique. Every one 69 has a different mood, ranging from the comedie antics of Vulcain and his Cyclopes, to the lachrymose Italian plainte. As well, each has a distinct form, dominated either by dance, song, or a mixture of both. Although Psyche is dominated by binary forms .(twenty-five pieces out of thirty-three), Lully strings his songs and dances together in different ways: they may be entirely, self-contained, or "interrupt" each other, or succeed each other in brief enchainements. In short, it may be said that Locke and Shadwell were iritant on putting a great deal of variety into every individual piece, whereas Lully was concerned with the variety in each musical scene. There is little doubt that Shadwell's "Scenes of Passion axe wrought up with more Art" than the .French version. Not only does he include more climactic scenes, but: these are frequently set to music., No less than six songs are integrated with the drama: three individual numbers — the songs of Envy and Furies, Venus, and the God of the River — which may have been set to music as an afterthought? the masque scene of Apollo; the song of Devils and Furies; and the dialogue of Pluto and Proserpine. To have such a large number of songs relating directly to the plot is uncommon in English Restoration drama, though the heroic tragedies of the Commonwealth provided a precedent^ being, as they were, entirely set to music? but such integration was unthinkable in French tragic theater, where poetry dominated all other elements, and where music was considered to be a diversion from the drama. Finally, Shadwell's comment that his "is much more a Play than that" is probably true from the English point of view,, which placed; emphasis on an incident-laden, complex, emotional roller-coaster of a plot. Not only does Psyche show incidents only described in the French play (the most 70 important being the initial cause of Venus' displeasure, the scene at the temple of Apollo, and the donation of beauty by Proserpine) , but he also invents complicated subplots which require wrenching and often ridiculous plot resolutions. This English approach to drama vas deeply at odds with that of French tragedy, where the principal of unity of action discouraged any event unessential to the main plot. The two Psyche plays provide an excellent vantage point for an examination of the early tragedy with music in France and England. To look only at the similarities between the two is to ignore the different approaches to tragedy, the English bent for incident being directly at odds with the literary orientation of the French. The different national attitudes toward music with traqedy compliments their basic dramatic approaches, the English enhancing the emotional power of their scenes with music, with the French unwilling to let music interfere with the purity of the poetry. The separation of drama and music gave Lully almost total control over his music, while the concentration of music at the ends of acts gave him the opportunity of unifying his musical scenes. Locke, for his part, had to pay close attention to Shadwell's wishes, and his music is scattered at random points throughout the play and is dominated by the drama. However, he evidently enjoyed this sort of writing-, since he was a collaborator on virtually every every English "operatic" production in the Commonwealth and Restoration, up to and including Psyche. The Psyche plays represented different points in the two composers' work. For Lully, Psyche was a stepping-stone to opera; he wrote his first tragedie-lyrigue, Cadmus et Hermione, in 1673. For Locke, Psyche was the apex of his work for the theater. He took enormous pride in the score, publishing it in 1675 with a lengthy preface, which explains 71 his titling of Psyche as "The English Opera."1 Locke died shortly after, in 1677, without writing any more music for the theater; however, the semi-opera, of which Psyche was the first full-blown example, enjoyed great popularity in England throughout the rest of the century, thanks mainly to the work of Henry Purcell. Thus, both the Psyche plays, unique in and of themselves, changed the direction of musical theater in their respective nations. 1 See Appendix D. 72 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY Alssid, Michael W. Thomas Shadwell. New York: Twayne, 1967. • • Anthony, James R. French Baroque Music from Beaujoyeulx to Rameau, rev. ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1978. Apuleius. The Golden Ass, trans. Jac*. Lindsay. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1960. Bray, Rene. Moliere: Oeuvres Completes, 8 vols. Paris: Societe les Belles Lettres, 1946-52. Dent, Edward J., ed. Cupid and Death: Matthew Locke and Christopher Gibbons. Vol. 2, Musica Britannica. London: Stainer & Bell, 1951. . Foundations of English Opera: A Study of Musical Drama in England during the Seventeenth Century. With an Introduction by Michael M.Winesanker. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1928; repr. New York: Da Capo Press, 1965. Fletcher, Harris Francis, comp. and ed. John Milton's Complete Poetical Works in Photographic Facsimile with critical Apparatus. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1943, vol. 1. Lacroix, Paul Ballets et Mascarades de Cour de Henri III a Louis XIV (1581-1652), 6 vols. Geneva: J. Gay et — fils,, 1868-70; repr. Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1968. La Fontaine. Les Amours de Psyche et de Cupidon (1670). Paris: Enseigne du Pot Cass6, 1939. La Gorce, J6rome de and Herbert Schneider, colls. Jean-Baptiste Lully: Actes du Colloque Saint-Germaine-en- • Laye—Heidelberg 1987. Vol. 18, Neue Heidelberger Studien zur Musikwissenschaft, eds. Ludwig Finscher and Reinhold Hammerstein. Laaber: Laaber-Verlag, 1990. Lefkowitz, Murray. "Masque," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 6th ed., 20 vols., ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan, vol. 11, 1980. 73 . "Shadwell and Locke's Psyche: the French Connection,11 Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association 106 (1980): 42-55. , intro., comment., transc. Trois Masques a la Cour de Charles I e r d'Angleterre. Paris: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1970. Locke, Matthew. The English Opera, or, The Vocal Musick in "Psyche" with the Instrumental Therein intermix'd. To which is Adjoyned The Instrumental Musick in the Tempest. London: Roger L'Estrange, 1675. Lully, Jean-Baptiste. Psyche, reconstr. and reduc. for piano and voice, Theodore de Lajarte (Paris, 1890). Vol. 25, Chefs-d'Oeuvre Classiques del'Opera Frangais. New York: Broude Bros., 1971. Milhous, Judith and Robert D. Hume, eds. Roscius Anglicanus (1708) by John Downes. London: The Society of Theater Research, 1987. Moliere. Psiche: Tragi-Comedie, et Ballet danse devant sa Majeste au mois de Janvier 16,71. Paris: Robert Ballard, 1671, microfilm. Newman, Joyce. Jean-Baptiste Lully and his Tragedies-Lyriques. Vol. 1, Studies in Musicology. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Press, 1979. Palmer, John. Moliere. New York; Brewer & Warren, 1930. Pruniferes, Henry. Le Ballet de Cour en France avant Benserade et Lully. Paris: iHenri Laurens, 191?. La Vie Illustre et Libertine de Jean-Baptiste Lully. Paris: Librairie Plon, 1929. — -_ _ _ _ . Oeuvres Completes de Jean-Baptiste Lully, 11 vols. P a r i s E d i t i o n s de la Revue Musicale, 1931. Randel, Don Michael. Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 1978. Schneider, Herbert. Chronologisch-Thematisches Verzeichnis Samtlicher Werke von Jean-Baptiste JMlly (LWJ). Vol;" 14, Mainzer Studien zurMusikwissenschaft, ed.Hellmut Federhofer. Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1981. Shadwell, Thomas. Psyche: a Tragedy. London: Printed by T.N. for Henry Herrington, 1675. 7 4 Silin, Charles I. Benserade and hir Ballets deCour. Vol. 15, The Johns Hopkins Studies in Romance Literatures and Languages. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1940; repr. New York: AMS Press, 1978. Summers, Montague, ed. The Complete Works of Thomas Shadwell, 5 vols. London: Fortune Press, 1927. Tilmouth, Michael. Matthew Locke: Dramatic Music with the Music by Humfrey, Reggio and Hart for "The Tempest." Vol. 51, Musica Britannica. London: Stainer & Bell, •'.1986. Turnbull, Michael. "The Metamorphosis of Psyche," Music & Letters 64, nos. 1-2 (1983): 12-24. White, Eric Walter. A History of English Opera. London: Faber & Faber, 1983. Yarrow, P.J. Corneille. London: St. Martin's Press, 1963. APPENDIX A SYNOPSIS OF PSYCHE (1671) 76 APPENDIX A Synopsis of Psyche (1671) (1) Overture. AA B. French ouverture form. - All prologue pieces are in C major. A place in the country, with a rocky crag, and a e sea in the background. (2) Solo air, Flore. "Ce n'est plus le temps." AA BB, with A in C time and B in 3. Irregular phrases. - Flore praises king and invites V6nus to descend. ( 3 ) Choeur de toutes les Divinites. "Nous goutons une paix profonde." A BB CC, with A in 2 time, and B and C in 3. Irregular phrases. • - Praise of peace achieved by king; echoes Flore's last two lines inviting V6nus to • • descend. • (4) Entree. "Air pour les Dryades, les Sylvains, les Dieux des Fleuves et les Naiades." AA BB, all in 2. Irregular phrases. (5) Duet, Vertume and Pal^mon. "Rendez-vous, beaut^s cruelles." . AB, with B a refrainr-all in 2. strophic. 4 & 5 bar phrases. - Praise of V6nus (and through her, the Queen). Expresses familiar sentiment asking for kindness in women. (5) Dance. AA BB. A, 4+4; B, 6+6 phrases. Introduces: (6) Solo vocal, Flore. "Est-on sage." AA B. Strophic. A, 4+4; B> irregular phrasing. - Familiar sentiment extolling the pleasures of Love's prison. Leads into (8) Repetition of (6). 77 (9) Machine scene, vdnus descends with Amour and two little Graces. Occurs with full repetition of (2). V6nus expresses her humiliation. Her followers have deserted her and now worship Psyche. She now only has her two smallest devotees left. She exhorts Amour to shoot Psyche with a dart guaranteed to make her fall in violent unrequited love with some horrible being. Amour agrees and leaves to do her bidding. The set changes to a great city. Act I, Scene i. Aglaure and Cidippe, Psych6's two evil sisters, complain bitterly that Psyche gets all the suitors, while they only get older. Scene ii. The sisters meet two of Psyche's suitors, Agenor and Cleomene. The princes have been friends from birth, and wish to court Psyche. Scene iii. The suitors woo Psyche, who refuses both with noble grace. She suggests they marry her sisters. The swains refuse. The sisters feel no gratitude for their sister's gesture. Scene iv. Lycas summons Psych6 to her father, the king's, side. Scene v. Lycas reveals that the Oracle of Apollo has decreed Psyche must go to the summit of a mountain, dressed for a funeral, and wed a serpent monster. Scene vi. The sisters decide they're not too sad about this. Premier intermede. The :-et.changes to some forbidding rocks, with a grotto xn the distance. A troupe of afflicted people enter to deplore Psyche's misfortune. One part of the troupe performs touching plaintes and-lugubrious concerts (instrumental pieces); the other expresses its desolation by a dance full of the most violent despair. All in c minor, except for (7) in c major. (1) Tragic air by a desolate woman, "Deh, ~r*" piangete." A B A. Strophic. (2) "Symphonie & trois," introducing: (3) Trio of afflicted men, "Ahi, dolore!11 leads into: (4) Double of (1), by Lambert, going into: (5) Repetition of (3), followed by: (6) Duo of afflicted men, "Com'esserfra vol," going into: . .. (7) Entr6e by six afflicted men and six desolate women. During which, the desolate woman sings "Ahi, ch'indairne si tarde!" ' (8) Last reprise of (l), followed for the third and final time by: 78 (9) Repetition of (3).1 Act II, Scene i. The king despairs; Psyche comforts him. Scene ii. The hypocritical sisters and Psyche mourn together. Scene iii. PsychS mourns her fate. Scene iv. The suitors attempt to save Psyche, but she is carried off by two ZSphires. They swear to follow. Scene v. Amour vows that his rivals shall die, and directs Vulcain to decorate a palace for PsychS. Second intermede. The scene changes to a magnificent garden court. Six Cyclopes and four fairies dance, the former striking four great vases of silver. Their entree is "entrecoupee" by the recit of Vulcain, which has two reprises. All in C major. (1) Entree, Cyclopes and F6es. AA B, all in 2. Irregular phrases. (2) Entr6e, les Forgerons. A BB, all in 3. Irregular phrases. (3) Solo air, Vulcain. "DSpechez, pr6parez ces lieux." Throughcomposed. Begins in 4 time, goes to 3. Irregular phrases. - Vulcain urges Cyclopes and Forgerons to work hard for Amour. (4) Solo air, Vulcain. "L'Amour ne veut point." Throughcomposed, all in 3. Irregular phrases. Forgerons strike silver vases. - Subject matter same as (3). Act III, Scene i. ZSphire is surprised to see that Amour has grown up. They agree that Vdnus will not be pleased with Amour's choice of bride. Scene ii. Psych6 is amazed to find herself in a palace. She demands that the monster eat her immediately and end her suspense. Scene iii. Amour and Psyche meet. She promptly— falls in love, yet, mindful of her family's grief, she requests a visit by her sisters. Amour reluctantly agrees. Troisieme intermede.An entree of four Amours and four Z6phirs [sic], interrupted twice by a dialogue of an Amour and Z6phir. All in A minor. (1) Entree. "Air pour les petits Amours et les Z6phirs." AA B, all in 3. Regular 5 & 6 bar • • phrases. . (2) Duet, Nymphes. Rondeau, AA B CC D CC E cc, all in 3. Strophic. Irregular phrases. 1 This formal description is found in Denise Launay, "Les Airs Italiens et.Franqais dans les Ballets et les Comedies-Ballets," Jean-Baptiste Lully: Actes,. 79 - Expresses conventional poetic idea that love is painful, but without it there is. no life. The garden becomes a magnificent palace. Act IV, Scene i. When the sisters see Psyche's happiness, and her beautiful, perfect husband, they plot vengeance. Scene ii. The sisters find that Psych6 does not know her husband's identity. They suggest that he is so ber/riitiful he might have any lover, and may leave her for another woman, taking the palace with him. Z6phire takes the sisters away on a cloud. Scene iii. Psych6 confronts Amour, forcing him to reveal that he is the God of Love. Unfortunately, love canhot live where there is no trust. He leaves, taking the palace with him. Psyche is left alone in the midst of a vast countryside, by the bank of a savage river. The God of the River appears, draped over a great urn, froin which water flows. Scene iv. Psych6 bemoans her fate. The God of the River forbids her to drown herself, saying that V6nus is on her way to punish Psyche. Scene v. Venus appears, and the two women have a lengthy argument. V6nus vows to punish her. Quatriesme intermede. A scene of Hell. The Infernal Palace of Pluton sits on a sea of fire. Eight Furies dance an entree, rejoicing in the rage they have kindled in the soul of V6nus, the sweetest of divinities. A sprite performs somersaults to their dances, while Psych6 rides in the boat of Charon with the box that she has received from Proserpine for V6nus. Only one dance survives. The dance of "Furies et Lutins" is in A B form, is all in 2, and has irregular phrases. It is in G minor. — • Act V, Scene i. Psych6 ponders her torments in Hell. Scene ii. Psych6 meets her two suitors, who have thrown themselves off a cliff for love of her. Now they live in a beautiful wood, where all those go who die for love. They add that her sisters have been thrown from a precipice for their lies, and are also in Hell. Scene iii. Psych6, disfigured from her sufferings, opens the box of beauty meant for V6nus. She falls into a death-like swoon. . Scene iv. Psyche's peril has melted Amour's anger. He calls upon V6nus to wake her. If she should refuse, he will spread hatred of V6nus among mortals. 80 Scene v. Venus and Amour have a bitter argument. Finally, V6nus restores Psyche's beauty, but refuses to wake her. Jupiter descends on an eagle. Scene vi. Amour begs for Jupiter's aid, threatening to make the gods fall in love with unworthy mortals. Jupiter asks V6nus to reconsider, swearing to make PsychS immortal. V6nus relents and wakes her daughter-in-law. All celebrate. Dernier intermede., All the gods rise to heaven. Apollo, the God of Harmony, invites the other gods to rejoice. (1) Prelude and solo air, Apollon. "Unissons-nous. D minor. A BB, with A in C and 3 time, and B in c. Irregular phrases. (2) Choeur des Divinit6s celestes. D minor. Throughcomposed, half in C time, and half in 3. Irregular phrases. - Call to celebrate. (3) Prelude to airs for Bacchus, Mome, and Mars, and airs, all in 3. Irregular phrases. a) Solo air, Bacchus. Throughcomposed, flexibly in 3 and 2 time. Irregular phrases. - Conventional sentiment that drink is not as dangerous as love. b) Solo air, Mome. "Je cherche a mfedire." D minor. Throughcomposed, in 3 and 2 time. Regular 4-bar phrases. - The God of Satire proclaims that Amour is the only person he will not • 'satirize. ••• c) Solo air, Mars. "Mes plus fiers ennemis." D major. AA B, with A in c and 2 time, and B in 3. Irregular ••••••••• phrases. - Conventional sentiment that war can— only be vanquished by love. d) Chorus, "Chantons les plaisirs." D major. A B C , with A and C in 3 time, and B in C. Irregular phrases. - Celebrates the happy lovers. - Mentions "trompettes," "tymbales," "tambours," and "musettes." (4) a) Entree. Apollon's troupe of "Bergers Galants." D minor. 4-bar phrases, b) Solo air, Apollon. engage." D minor. Irregular phrases. - Welcomes the Revels of the Night. (5) Duet, Muses. "Gardez-vous beaut6z s6v6res.!' AA B. Regular "Le Dieu qui nous AA B, all in 4 time. 81 D minor. AA B, all in 3 time. Regular 4-bar phrases.. - Conventional sentiment warning severe .ladies about the pain of love. (6) a) Entree, Bacchus' troupe of Maenades and AEgypans. F major. A BB, all in 6/4 time.; Irregular phrases. - with 8 "Concertants." b) Solo air, Bacchus. "Admirons le jus de la Treille." F major. AA BB, all in 4 time. Irregular phrases. - Familiar sentiment expressing love of 1 • : • wine.';:. (7) a) Solo air, Silfene. "Bacchus veut qu'on boive." F major. A BB, with A in 2 and B in 3 time. A, regular 4-bar phrases; B, '5+5+3. -- Praise of Bacchus. b) Trio, silSne and Satyres. "Voulez-vous des douceurs parfaits." F major. Rondeau. A B C A B D A B, all in 3 time. Irregular phrases. (8) a) Entree, Mome's troupe of Polichinelles and Matassins. D minor. AA B, with A in 3 time and B in 3. A, 2+4; B; irregulat- -. phrases. - Libretto lists "concertants," "violins," "bassons" and "haut-bois." b) Solo air, Mome. "Folastrons, divertissons-nous." D minor. Unavailable. - A call to pleasure. (9) a) Entree, Mars' troupe of Enseignes. "Prelude to Mars. Echo." D major. Rondeau, all in 2 time. Irregular phrases. Dynamic markings ("so." and "lo.»). — -Libretto lists "concertants," "violins," "basson," "flutes," "tymbalier," "saq de bout;" and "trompettes." b) Solo air, Mars. "Laissons en paix toute la terre." D major. Unavailable. - Call to amusements. (10) Dernifere entree, all four troupes;: "Rondeau pour les Trompettes." D major. Rondeau, all in 2 time. Regular.4-bar phrases. . (11) a) Dernier Choeur. "Chantons les plaisirs charmans." See above, 3d), b) Dance or concert. "Air. Fin du Ballet. 1671."; D major. AA B, all in 3 time. Regular 4-bar phrases. APPENDIX B SYNOPSIS OF PSYCHE (1675) APPENDIX B Synopsis of Psyche (1675) Prologue. An explanatory poem in iambic pentamenter couplets with no relationship with the plot. Act I. A deep walk in the midst of a mighty wood, with a view of a pleasant country in the background. Psyche, with her two ladies, praises the peace of the countryside. She refuses to choose between her many suitors, preferring her life in the grove. (1) A Symphony of Recorders and soft Musick.1 LI (2) Song and Chorus for Pan and his Followers. D major. A B CC, in 2 and 3 time. C is repeated by the chorus. A, irregular; B, regular 4-bar phrases. - Pan and Nymphs praise Psyche. - Chorus accompanied by "violins." (3) Symphony of Rustick Musick, representing thia Cries and Notes of Birds. (4) Entry by four Sylvans and four Dryads to Rustick Musick. (5) Symphony of Rustick Musick, representing an Eccho. L2 (6) Song of Eccho's planted at Distances within the Scenes. D Dorian. A B, all in 3 time, strophic, with B a chorus. A, regular 7-bar; B, irregular phrases. - Song praises Psyche's pastoral life. Psyche and her ladies are accosted by Ambition, Power, Plenty, and Peace, who tempt her to give up the pastoral life. Psyche successfully resists them. Envy and six Furies enter, chasing the four allegorical ladies away. L3 (1) Song for Envy and Furies. D major. A BB, all in 2 time. B is a chorus. Irregular phrases. . - Integration with plot; part of preceding scene with the four temptresses. Locke's pieces are marked in bold-face type with either an L in bold-face type, or L + number. All other pieces are Draghi's. •••• 84'. - Foreshadows future miseries, including Psyche's sojourn in Hell.. Psyche's ladies are upset, but Psyche declares that her innocence will prevail. Two swains, Nicander and Polynices, have an anti-papal discussion. They woo Psyche, to no avail. Psyche's two sisters, Aglaura and Cidippe, are frightened. They cannot wed before Psyche, and may be too old to attract any suitors by the time their reluctant sister chooses a husband. They call upon Venus, threatening that the beautiful girl will take the goddess's worshippers and ensnare her son. L4 (1) Symphony at the descending of Venus. A minor. Throughcomposed, all in 2 time. Irregular , •'•••• phrases^" L5 (2) Song of Venus. A minor. Throughcomposed, all in 2 time. Irregular phrases. - Integration with plot. Venus agrees to punish Psyche, who will go with her father, the King, to Apollo's Oracle and get her future read. L4 (3) Venus ascends to (1) above. King Theander, Psyche, and their followers go to the temple of Apollc. Act II, Scene i. The Temple of Apollo Delphicus. L6 (1) Song of Procession at the Temple of Apollo, Accompanied with Wind and String Instruments. G minor/major, throughcomposed but heavily sectionalized, alternating 2 and 3 time. This masque complex is integrated with the plot. - C a l l to ritual, to divine Psyche's fortune (2) Dance of Priests with cymbals and bells. (3) A brief prose section, resembling a Catholic ritual. (4) Chief priest runs or dances, Priest and Boys follow, all instruments play. They sing: L7 (5) Chorus of priests. G major. A BB, in 3 and 2 time. Irregular phrases. (6) Continuation of prose ritual, in English, Latin, and Greek. (7) Sacrificial fire lit; offering made to Apollo. (8) Apollo speaks as the oracle; there is thunder and lightning; his image trembles. Apollo decrees that. Psyche shall be given in marriage to a serpent. ^ m m m m m ^ m m m m m w m m m m 85 A long anti-papal argument ensues; Nicander and Polynices dispute with the Priest and Theander on the value of priestly rites versus natural religion, and on the existence and importance of miracles. iPsyche agrees to sacrifice herself. Polynices mourns the atrocities carried out in the name of religion. Scene ii. The scene changes to a rocky.desert, full of dreadful caves, and cliffs. Two pairs of despairing men and; women sing. . L8 (l) Dialogue of the Despairing Lovers. G minor. A B, all in 2 time. Irregular phrases. - Lovers despair, then kill themselves. Psyche awaits her monster husband. 7t'he swains attempt to rescue her, but two infernal spirits rise and take them away. Psyche is picked up by Zephirss and flown into the clouds. •. • Cupid orders Vulcan to prepare a palace for Psyche. The swains declare they will resuce her or die. Act III, Scene i. The scene is the Palace of Cupid. Her the Cyclops forge great Vases of Silver. The music strikes up and they dance, hammering the vases upon anvils. (1) Dance of Cyclops. L9 (2) Song and Chorus for Vulcan and Cyclops. C major. AA B C B C IB C B 'C, all in 3 time, strophic, with c a refrain chorus. Irregular phrases. - Comic drinking song. (3) Cyclops dance again to (.1). Cupid and Psyche meet; she immediately falls in love. She asks who he is, but he says that, she must never ask. L10 (l) Song at the Treat of Cupid:and Psyche. D minor. A B, all in 3. Strophic, with B a refrain chorus. Regular 4-bar phrases. - Song celebrating youthful love. Psyche is happy, but wishes to see her sisters. Cupid agrees. Scene ii. A principal street of the city. There is a. celebration for the two swains, who have slain the: Oracle/s serpent. Lll (1) Song and Dance of the SALIJ sung in the principal Street of the City, near a Triumphal Arch, and Accompanied in the Chorus with Kettle Drums, Wind Instruments, Violins, 86 S c . G major. A B c B D E FF 6, in 3 and 2 time. B is a choruss refrain. A, & C regular 4-bar; others, irregular phrases. - A sacrifice to Mars, in gratitude for the ;'"N': death of the monster. 1 Dance of Priests, with kettle drums and trumpets.'' ' ' ;^ Meanwhile, Praesul ancf other priests prepare the altar and kindle the sacrificial fire. Four-bar declamation by the priest Praesul. G major. Throughcomposed, all in 2. One phrase. • Symphony at the Parley of Mars and Venus. G major. Throughcomposed, in 3 and 2 time. Irregular phrases. Song of Venus and Mars. G minor/major. Venus, A BB in 2; Mars. CDE, in 3 time. E is a duet. Irregular phrases. - Venus begs Mars to reject the sacrifice, since her altars are being ignored. Mars swears to send Furies to interrupt the ./"•.sacrifice. (7) Machine scene. Furies descend and break the altar, then fly away. The sisters reveal that the King is dying, and has willed that they marry the two swains. Polynices and Nicander decline, rushing off to renew their quest for Psyche. Humiliated, the sisters decide to have them killed. Act IV, Scene i. A stately Garden at the magnificent palace. The sisters visit,Psyche. When they see Cupid; they fall in love with him and resolve to win him for themselves. LI5 (l) Song with Chorus. A minor. A B, all in 3 time. Strophic, with B a chorus. Regular four-bar phrases. - Common sentiment that one should love while one is young. - 16 is an arrangement for two voices. (2) Dance and machine scene. Ten Statues leap from their Pedestals and dance; ten Cupids rise from the Pedestals, strew, flowers, and fly in several ways. - Probable influence Les Amants magnifiques, which has a statue dance. The sisters decide to destroy Psyche's happiness. They suggest that her mysterious husband might be the serpent in disguise, or some demon who commands the winds. . Zephirus wishes to take them home,; but they swear they will not leave ( 2 ) (3) L12 (4) L13 (5) LI 4 (6) 87 as long as Psyche remains. They attempt to stab her, but are snatched away by Zephirus. psyche questions Cupid, forcing him to reveal his identity. He then flies away, taking the palace and gardens with him. Scene ii. A vast desert by a River. Psyche mourns the loss of her husband. Cidippe and Aglaura appear with a soldier, who is to kill the swains. They see Psyche and gloat. The king has died, leaving the kingdom to them, and now Psyche is in their power. Psyche wants to throw herself into the river, but is prevented by the God of the River. LI7 (1) Song of the God of the River, and two Nymphs, to PSYCHE, when she's going to cast herself into the River. C major. A B, all in 2 time. Strophic. Irregular phrases. - Integrated with plot. The god forbids her to defile the waters by killing herself, and predicts her eventual happiness. The ensuing events happen in approximately two pages of dialogue: Venus descends; she and Psyche argue. Venus, enraged, vows that Psyche will go to Hell. The swains are overjoyed to see Psyche, who is immediately taken to Hell. They are then attacked by soldiers., Fighting free, they realize that the sisters will not stop with this one attempt. Deciding to kill themselves rather than be assassinated, they throw themselves into the unprotesting r i v e r — evidently they are non-pollutants. Aglaure and Cidippe threaten to kill the soldier for not killing the swains; the soldier flees. Cupid blames the sisters for provoking Venus' rage and has furies take them to dwell forever in Hell. Act V, Scene i. A scene of Hell, consisting of many burning ruins of buildings. L18 (1) Song of Devils and Furies. A minor. A B C B C , all in 3 time. Strophic. Regular • • • 4-bar phrases;: ' • - Integrated with plot. The demons gloat at the success of their scheme. (2) A dance of Furies. . .. The sisters agree that they can bear the torments of Hell quite nicely if only Psyche shares them. Psyche expresses her despair in a rare monologue. LI9 (1) Dialogue for Pluto and Proseipine, with chorus of attendants. E minor. • 8 8 . Throughcomposed, in 2 and 3 time. Irregular . phrasea.". • - Integrated with plot. Pluto assures Psyche of her eventual deliverance, while Proserpine assures further disasters by giving psyche a box of her beauty to take to Venus. Aglaura and Cidippe are sentenced to undergo eternal labors with the Belides, drawing water in a sieve. They sink through the floor, along with the devils and furies, and the throne of Pluto. Psyche meets Nicander and Polynices, who now reside in a beautiful field where kings and queens celebrate their everlasting loves. Scene ii. The scene if IV, ii reappears. Psyche opens Proserpine's box of beauty and falls into a death-like swoon. Cupid and Venus discover Psyche. Venus agrees to wake Psyche only if Cupid will leave her. Jupiter descends and agrees to make Psyche immortal. Venus withdraws her objections. Cupid and Psyche are reunite'?. Scene iii. Heaven, the palace of Jupiter. L20 (l) Symphony at the Descending of APOLLO and the Gods. D major. Throughcomposed, all in 2 time. Irregular phrases. L21 (2) Song with symphonies for Apollo. D major. A BB C D C D C D E FF, all in 2 time. Irregular phrases. - Symphony of pipes introduces Princes of Elizium. - Same symphony wiht hoboys introduces Bacchus. - Same symphony with recorders introduces other deities. L22 (3) Song of the Three Elizian Lovers. D major/minor. A B, all in 3 time. B is-H-trio. Irregular phrases. - Conventional sentiment that a lover loses his liberty for a few moments' pleasure. L23 (4) Symphony at the Descending of JUPITER, CUPID and PSYCHE. D major. Throughcomposed, all in 3 time. Irregular phrases. (5) Dance of the Elizian Princes. L24 (6) Song for Mars with Warlike Chorus. D major. A B B , in 2 and 3 time, strophic, B i s chorus. A, regular 3-bar; B, regular 4-bar phrases. - The god of Love is more powerful than the god of War. - Chorus is to. "trumpets," "kettle-drums," "flutes," and "warlike musick." n n n n ~ i n i_ v u u u j' ' i u a j , amiitfiiiiiaiiMSWB™ 89 L25 (7) Song for Bacchus with Chorus of Maenades and AEgipanes. D major. A BB, all in 3 time. Strophic. B is a refrain chorus. Regular ' 4-bar phrases. -Conventional sentiments celebrate drinking, but acknowledge that Love's power is greater than that of drink. - Chorus to hoboys and "rustick musick." L (8). Declamation by Apollo. Throughcomposed, all in 2 time.' Regular 4-bar phrases. Attached to the Bacchus number above. - Acknowledges the supremacy of Love, leading into: L26 (9) General Chorus of all the Voices and Instruments. D major. A BB, all in 2 time. Regular 4-bar phrases. - Celebrates the happy couple. (10) Dance by the Princes, as Attendants adorn the stage with garlands and festoons. n n ri n > < n i u u u u u 'i i u 0 n APPENDIX C SHADWELL'S PREFACE TO PSYCHE (1675) E F A C E . I'M a good Nalitrd Countrey, I doubt not but this my frji Ejjay in Rbnue would be at leajl'-'forgiyenj cfpeehVy.; when I proniije to offend no wore iu this kind : But lamfenftblt, tbjt here I ntitjl encounter agre.it many Difficulties. In tbe firji place (though 1 I cxpeSl wore candour ft out the bett Writers • in Rbiine.) the more moderate of them ( who hive yet a vumtrom ' party, goad Judges being very fcarce) are very much of-fended With me, for leaving my own Province of Comedy, invade their Dominion of Rhimc : But me-tbinkf ! they might befathft'd, Once'I have nude but a jmall in< \ ntrlioii, and amrefolv dtn retire. Aid were 1 never fe 1 powerful, they fionlcl efcapemo, as the Northern People. n n n n u u u, u. did the Romans, their craggy barren Territories being not woi.the Lonqn'riiig. 'I be next fort. I ant to encoun- : 1cr with, are u-ojc nho an too great Admirers of t hi j Frcnch Jf'it, nho (if they a- not likelbisPlay ) will fay, i the French Pfychc • « much better if they do, they will fiy ,1 have borrow d it all from the Frcnch. Whether the French be better, I leave to the Men of Jf^it (who under-Jl.ind both Languages) to determine", I will onely fay, | Here is more Variety, and the Seem/ ofPajpon are wrought \ up with more Art , and this is much more • a Play then that. And I will be bold to affirm that this is as much a Thy, as could be wade upon this Subjeil. That I have i borrow'd it all from the Frcnch, can onely be the objeElion \ of tbofe, who do not kiiow that it is a Fable, written by \ Ajiulcjius, in bis Golden Afs'j where you will find moti things in this Play, and the French too.' For fever althings concerning the Decoration of the Play, 1 am obligd to the \ Frcnch, 'and for iheDeJign of Two of the onely moving i Scenes in the Frcnch, ivhich I way fay, without vanity, [ i arc very much improy'd, being wrought up with more Art \ in this, then in the Frcnch Play, without borrowing any of [ i the thoughts from them. i In a thing written in fiy; weeks, as this was, there wujl t :• needs be many Errours, which I dcfire true Criticks 'to ••>. i pajs by , and whith perhaps I fee my felf, but having. I i much bus'nefs, and indulging my felf with fome pleafure j /co, I have not hadleifure to nnnd them, nor would ft I I indeed be worth the pains, fmce there are fo many fp ten did i ! ObjeSls in the Play, and fuch variety ofDiverfou, as wiU I i not give the Audience le<in>e te mind the Writing j and I \ • ' :: doubt •.[. ; doubt not but the Candid Reader will forgive theft,*!,, when headers, that the great Defign was to.entertain /JC,l°lV" m l l j , erne™ Dancing,fpkn. i did Scenes and Machines : And that I do not, her twdid i mend to value ,,!yfelf upon the writing of this Fhy. Far i had rather be Author ofoQe Scene of Comedy, lihefomeof ;. Ben . J o h n f o n s , then of all the befi Flays of this kind that have- been, or c'uerfljall bewritteh: Good Comedy ; requiring much more Wit and Judgment in the Writer then any Rhiming, unnatural Flays fan do: This I };ay>e ; jo little Dalit'd, that I have not alt er d fix lines-in it (vice ii ' was firsl written, which ( except the Songs at the Marri- l age of P lyche in the la$ Scene) was all done Sixteen j vionethsfinct. In all the words which are fungx I did not Jo much take care of the Wit or Fancy of'em, as the ma^ngl of 'em proper for Muftc kj, in which I cannot but ba-pefom? \ little knowledge, haying been bred for .many years of my I Youth to fome performance in it. I chalked out the way to the Compofer {in all-hut thtl Song of Furies and Devils in. the Fifth Aft) having de-.' fign'd which Line I wouidhavefmg by Ont, which by j Two, which by Three, which by four Voice t,&c. and what manner of Humour 1 would have in allthe VocslUuftck. : And by his excellent Compofition, that long k>wwn abl?; I and approved Mafier ofMuJicl^Mr. L o c k , (Compofer to- [ His Majejly, and Organijl to the Queen ) has'dm? me a , great deal of right; though, I believe, the unsbil0 iu Mufick will not like the ;rnofefolmn part of it, as tht- I Muficl^in the Temple ofApollo,. andtheSong-oftbeDc^' / p a i r i n g L o v e r s , in the Second ASl \ both which arepro- f ( b ) per : I per and admirable in their kinds, and are recommended to ; the judgment of able Mnficians : forihofe who are not fo, there arc light and.aycry things to-pleafe them. All the Injlrnmental Muficl^ (which is not mingled with-• the Vocal) was compofcd by that Great Majier, Seignior Gio: Baptifla Dragh'u Majier of the Italian Mitficl^ to the King. The Dances were made- by the viofi famous Majier of Francc, Monficitr St. Andrce. The Scenes were Fainted by the Ingenious Artijl, Mr. Sccphcnfon. In thofe things that concern the Ornament or Decoration of the Play, the great indujiry and care of Mr. ftcttcrton ought to be re-member'd, at whofe defire I vsrote upon this SiibjeSi. t o srs crit r. f Hnd borrow'd fomething from two Songs of my o<vn, which, til) thi& Play was Printed, I' did not know were pub- , l ick} but 1 have fmce found 'em printed in Colleftions o f ! Poems, viz. partofthc Song of the De/pairing Lovers, in the I Second Act, and about Eight linesiu the Firft Af t , beginning at ! this line, 'Tit frail as an abortive Birth. This I fay, to clear my j felffi miThicv'ry, 'tisnonetorob my felf. TheRcader may j plcafe to take noticeoffevcral Errata's, as, / - • | j. ' :• . .-•.,. ."v-i [ P.igc 1. (or, blight Sun txhilct, mil, (>re// Eirth cxialti, p. 6. after, nhtrcjtit fitW i btidem'i bj ne, infm, w/lfc itttbe Trcapiret if ihcEdfi and It'cft. p. i f . I. 5. for,' J I ufin II I Trifid,1 renl, Ufne wbiih fl'i/s ihcTriptJ. p. iSTbcfore, itlhktdtTt, ipfirrt,, L j Anhi FiicjUfs P/ihij is mounting ihtTtifod. p <i:.r:,iil, (JrtJt Stitucnf Gili jUnd- • \ iag nf.ii Pedrftjk, with fmtU figurci cf Gold fitting <tt ihtir feet. Several dthto, | Euoti ihett sk, Kind) list fcafo will fcdp you lo conc&, ' • / 1 * • . ' .' •' • . i' P R O -APPENDIX D LOCKE'S PREFACE TO PSYCHE (1675) E F A C E. i f " \Hat Poetry and Mufick, the chief manifejlers of Ihr- ! : || monical Pbancy^ fjoitldprodnce fucb difcordantejfefts i ! II in many,is n;ore toT)e pityedlhan rvonder'd at ; it be-\ ing become a kind of fafljionable wit, to PeckandCarp i * at other Mens conceptions , bore mean fotver their otpii are. Ex-peElina therefore to full under the Lafb of fame [oft headed, or i: hard hearted Compofer ( for there are too'many better at finding j \of faults then mending them ) I fljall endeavour to remove thofe | ifexv blocks which perhaps they may tah» occafion to flnmble at. I I The firH may be the Title, O P E. R A . To thi<s I mutt an-j fiver^ 1 hat the word is borrowed of the I t a l i an 5 who by it^dtjiin- \ gui/Jj their Comedies from their O p e r a ' s Thofe, a fjort Plot b:-ing laid, the Comedians according fo their different 1 beams given, , \Speal^, and Aft E x t e m p o r e ; but thefe after much confideraiion, ;v iinditjlry and pains for fplendid Scenes and Machines to Illiterate, y. the Grand Defign^ with Art are compofed in fitch kinds of Mnfich^ ! as the Subject requires : md accordingly performed. Proportro- \ n able.to which are thefe Centpo fit ions ( the Reader being referrd i / o the Book of the ivhole'ivorl^ for the particular Excellencies ) : ! Their nature fur the-tm-Jl part being foft.. en fie, and, at fir as my . ability could reach, agreeable to the dejign of' the Author : fur iii | -\them you have from Ballad to jingle Air, Counterpoint, Recti at ii/er\v \Fnge, Canonf and Chroma!icl^MuJick^, which variety (without ^ j vanity .be it faid •) -was never in Court or Theatre till .now prefc'i- '^ j ted in this Nation : though Ivn'tjl confefs there has been fmctbing i • . . . , j o n ( . T h e P r e f a c e . !• done, ( and more'by me than any other J) of this lynd. And there- ; fore it way juflly wear the Title. though all the Tragedy be not in ; M uficJ^:,for the Author prudently confidercl,that thonghlti\y wr*s, i and is the great Academy* of the World for that $cimcir and rvayj of Entertainment, E n g l a n d is not: and therefore mixt it ivith < interlocutions, as more proper to our G e n i u s . ; Another may be, T h e extrcam C o m pa fs of foirie o f the pat tf. I To which, the Idols of their own imagination may be pleas'd ( if\ pofpblc ) to l^now, that he rvho Compofesfor Voices, nut confide- \ ring their extent, is lih$ a .Botching Stull, who being obliged to t vuke l'Libits for wen, cuts them out for Children. 1 fuppofc it I nteds no Explication. The next may be, T h e extravagancies in fomc parts o f the \ •Conipoluion, wherein (as am^ng jle/ider Grammarians ) they may think f'x'd rules are broken : but they may be fat if fled, that, whatever appears fo, is only by way of Iranfition from Time or : half-Time Concords, and cover d by the cxtream Parts : or to fuf-1 pendthe Ear and Judgement, for fatisfying both in the Cadence, i Then, againf the performance, T h e y fing out of Tune. To which with modejly it may be anfwer'd, H e or fhc that is without: i fault may cad: the .fir ft Stone : and for thofcfeldom dtfcEls, the j i major part of the Vocal performers being ignorant of Muficl^, their; | Excellencies when they d.> welf which generally 3're fo, rather| | ought to be admired, then their -accidental'utiflab^s Mpbr,ii'de'd.y ~~T i The next ( and I hope lire Lf ) is, or may be, YY.'hy after fo j long expos'd, is it noVv Printed ? . i Firjly to mauifefl my ditty to feveralpcrfons of Honour, who i cxp -Sied it, Secondly, to. falisfie tbofe Lovers and Undenianclers of Muftch^ j whofe hnjinefs or dijlanci prevent their feeing and hearing it. ! Thirdly, that thrfe for whom it was Compo^'d (thoperchance : ignorant uf-thc Quality ) by the quantity may be convmc'.d, the | Lomp'if/ig and leaching it was not in a Dream y and conjcnuently, ! thu t [98] The Preface, that if the E x p e n c e they have been at, do not anfwer their big • Expectation, the fault's their own, not mine. Finally, ( "by way of"C'dfi!l'0?ry"Ttr 'prevent' what differences may happen between them, and whoever they may have ocsafion to imploy for the future, that on either fide there be no dependence ongoodWords or Gtnerofity. The Inflrnmental Mufich^ before and'b'etween the A&s, and'the' Entries in the A&s of Pfyche 'are omitted by the confent of their 'Author, Seignior G i o . Bapcifta Dragh i . The Tunes of the 'Entries and Dances in the T c m p c f t (the Dancers being chang d) ; i are omitted for the fame reafon. ' . j ' The Errata's in tliis TmprefTion, which afenottnany, the Printer defiresi ipardon for, it being his firft attempt in this kinci $ and hopes i f it fall,' in to ingenious hands they'l'Cprrcft them: and is confident what he tlialll: under take for theflitore, fliallbeas free fromMiftakcs, as any thing thatj kas hitherto been publilhed. • . A ' C T V
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France
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Music
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Lully's Psyché (1671) and Locke's Psyche (1675) : contrasting national approaches to musical tragedy in the seventeenth century
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