Niedermeyer, Louis, a musical composer, who deserves a place here for his devotion to the cultivation of sacred music, was born April 27, 1802, in Nyon, can- ton of Vaud, Switzerland. His father, a native of Wiirtzburg, had settled and married in Switzerland; himself gifted with much natural talent for music, he ■was the first teacher of his son. The latter, at the age of fifteen, was sent by his parents to Vienna, where he received for two years lessons upon the piano from jMos- cheles, and in composition from Forster. After having published in that city several of his essays, consisting of morceaux for the piano, he went to Rome, continued there the study of composition under the direction of Fioravanti, master of the pontifical chapel, and aftcr- w<ards went to Naples, where Zingarelli undertook the completion of his musical education. It was during his sojourn at Naples that the yotnig artist wrote his first opera, entitled II Reo per amore. Niedermeyer had conceived the idea of founding, like the ancient insti- tution created by Choron under the Kestoration, and suppressed in consequence of the Revolution of 1830, a school for religious music, designed to form — by the study of the chefs-d'oeuvrcs of the great masters of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries — singers, organists, chap- el-masters, and composers of sacred music. With the support of Fortoul, then minister of public instruction and of worship, he obtained a subsidy' from the state, and in the course of the year 1853 he opened his school,
associating with himself M. Dietsch as inspector of studies. This establishment, situated in Paris, and in which literary education is placed on a level with mu- sical studies, soon began to prosper and produce distin- guished subjects, which have been placed in different cathedrals or churches of France. Constantly occupied from that time with the cares claimed by his school, Niedermeyer neglected nothing which could contribute to improve education. It is thus that, dissatisfied with the wholly arbitrary manner in which church music is generally accompanied, he published in 1855, in collab- oration with jNI. J. d'Ortigne, a Traite d'accompagnement du plain-chant, founded upon new principles, which soon circulated throughout France and in foreign countries. It was also with the design of propagating among all classes a taste for good religious music that he estab- lished in 1856 the journal La Maitrise, the direction of which he abandoned in 1858; now intrusted to M. d'Ortigne. He was occupied with a large work upon organ accompaniment for church music, which was soon to appear, when death suddenly came,, on March 14, 1861. This composer, whose talent has more than one trait of resemblance with that of Schubert, has pro- duced, besides many pieces of detached song, some very remarkable melodies. We have also several masses by Niedermeyer, and a great number of pieces of religions music for singing and for the organ. In the music that he has written for the piano, we remark particularly a brilliant rondo with accompaniment for four hands, fan- tasias, airs varied upon themes by Rossini, Weber, Mey- erbeer, Bellini, etc. See Fetis, Biographic wiiverselle des Musiciens ; Castil- Blaze, U Academic imperiale de Music, Histoire Utteraire, mnsicale, etc. ; Vapercau, Dic- tionnaire unii'ersel des Contemporains ; Documenls par- ticuliei's. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, xxxviii, 41.
Niedner, Christian Wilhemm, D.D., a noted German theologian, distinguished especially as a Church historian, was born August 9, 1797, at Oberwinkel, in Saxony, and was the son of a minister. He was edu- cated at Leipsic, where he began his studies in 1816. In 1829 he was honored by his alma mater with a pro- fessorship in theology, and he held that position until 1850, when he removed to the Wittenberg high school. In 1869 he accepted the professorship of theology in the luiiversity at Berlin, and was shortly after made councillor of the Brandenburg Consistory. He died Aug. 13, 1866. Few men of recent date have done so much for historical theology as Prof. Niedner. He labored unceasingly with true Christian devotion to se- cure everywhere the geiuiine historical evidence, and for this purpose even founded a magazine, the Ztitschrift fur historische theologie, in 1845, which at the close of the year 1875 was discontinued. His principal work is his Lehrhuch d. christl. Kirchengesch. (Leips. 1846, and often; new edition prepared just before his death [Berl. 1866, 8vo]), which is something between a text-book and a manual, presenting not merely a dry collection of thoughts, but an abundance of elementary views of in- dividual subjects. He has also published several small text-books on Church history, history of doctrines, and history of philosophy, which are highly esteemed for the thorough scholarship they evince. (J. H.W.)
Niello-work (i. e. Black work, from Latin Nigel- lum) is the technical term for a method of ornamenting metal plates in imitation of pencil drawing, by engrav- ing the surface, and rubbing in a black or colored com- position, so as to fill up the incised lines, and give effect to the intaglio picture. It is not quite certain when this art was originated; Byzantine works of the Pith cen- tury still exist to attest its early employment. This art must have been known at quite an early date in Chris- tian culture. The monk Theophilus speaks of it, and the patriarch Nicephorus of Constantinople sent, in 811, to pope Leo two jewels adorned with niello. JIarseilles was eminent in this art during the reigns of Clovis II and Dagobert. As an art it is claimed to have been