Among the Great Masters of Music | Page 3

wished, her house was consecrated as a church, and the
chamber in which she had suffered martyrdom was regarded as a place
especially sacred. In after years, the edifice fell into ruins, but was
rebuilt by Pope Paschal I. in the ninth century. While this pious work
was in progress, it is told that Paschal had a dream, in which St. Cecilia
appeared to him and disclosed the spot where she had been buried. On
a search being made, her body was found in the cemetery of St.
Calixtus, together with the remains of Valerian, Tiburtius, and
Maximus, and all were deposited in the same edifice, which has since

been twice rebuilt and is now known as the church of St. Cecilia in
Trastevere. At the end of the sixteenth century, the sarcophagus which
held the remains of the saint was solemnly opened in the presence of
several dignitaries of the Church, among whom was Cardinal Baronius,
who left an account of the appearance of the body. "She was lying,"
says Baronius, "within a coffin of cypress-wood, enclosed in a marble
sarcophagus; not in the manner of one dead and buried, that is, on her
back, but on her right side, as one asleep, and in a very modest attitude;
covered with a simple stuff of taffety, having her head bound with cloth,
and at her feet the remains of the cloth of gold and silk which Pope
Paschal had found in her tomb." The reigning Pope, Clement VIII.,
ordered that the relics should be kept inviolate, and the coffin was
enclosed in a silver shrine and replaced under the high altar, with great
solemnity. A talented sculptor, Stefano Maderno, was commissioned to
execute a marble statue of the saint lying dead, and this celebrated work,
which fully corresponds with the description of Baronius, is now
beneath the high altar of the church, where ninety-six silver lamps burn
constantly to the memory of Cecilia. The accompanying inscription
reads, "Behold the image of the most holy virgin Cecilia, whom I
myself saw lying incorruptible in her tomb. I have in this marble
expressed for thee the same saint in the very same posture of body."
It seems hardly possible now to say when St. Cecilia came to be
considered as music's patron saint,--probably it was not until centuries
after her death. We know that in 1502 a musical society was instituted
in Belgium, at Louvain, which was placed under the patronage of St.
Cecilia. We know, also, that the custom of praising music by giving
special musical performances on St. Cecilia's Day (November 22) is an
old one. The earliest known celebration of this nature took place at
Evreux, in Normandy, in 1571, when some of the best composers of the
day, including Orlando Lasso, competed for the prizes which were
offered. It is recorded that the first of these festivals to be held in
England was in 1683. For these occasions odes were written by Dryden,
Shadwell, Congreve, and other poets, and the music was supplied by
such composers as Purcell and Blow. At the Church of St. Eustache, in
Paris, on St. Cecilia's Day, masses by Adolphe Adam, Gounod, and
Ambroise Thomas have been given their first performance. In Germany,

Spohr and Moritz Hauptmann have composed works in honour of the
day, and Haydn's great "Cecilia" mass must not be forgotten.
Mrs. Jameson says that, before the beginning of the fifteenth century,
St. Cecilia was seldom represented in art with musical attributes, but
carried the martyr's palm. Later, she appears in painting, either
accompanied by various instruments of music, or playing on them.
Domenichino, who was in Rome when the sarcophagus of St. Cecilia
was opened, and painted numerous pictures of the saint, shows her in
one of them as performing on the bass viol. This picture is in the
Louvre, where also is Mignard's canvas, representing her
accompanying her voice with a harp.
Many painters have depicted St. Cecilia playing upon the organ, often a
small, portable instrument, such as she bears in the celebrated picture
by Raphael, which we reproduce. For over six hundred years, from the
time of Cimabue to our own day, artists of all countries have vied with
each other in representations of St. Cecilia, but none have risen to the
height of Raphael's treatment of the theme.
[Illustration: St. Cecilia. From painting by Raphael]
He shows us Cecilia, standing with enraptured face lifted to heaven,
where the parted clouds display six angels prolonging the melody
which the saint has ceased to draw forth from the organ she holds. On
her right, the majestic figure of St. Paul appears as if in deep thought,
leaning on his sword, and between him and St. Cecilia we see the
beautiful young face of the beloved disciple, John the