,,music ,,its ,,masters ,uniform with this ,volume ,,symphonies ,,and ,,their ,,meaning ,,by ,,philip ,h4 ,,goepp #abmo4 #djg pages4 ,cloth1 #b4jj ,this work1 now in its third edition1 has demonstrated its great usefulness4 ,taking up the representative symphonies of the great composers1 and illustrating his remarks with excerpts from the score1 the author shows the individuality1 the special intention of the master1 and1 where possible1 the underlying purpose of his art4 ,as an aid in the study of the symphony1 and as a companion at symphony concerts1 the book is without a rival4 ,illustration3 ,,wagner ,page #acd ,by permission of ,e4 ,h4 ,schroeder1 ,berlin ,,music ,,its ,,masters ,,by ,o4 ,b4 ,,boise ,illustration ,,with ,,six ,,portraits ,,philadelphia ,,london ,j4 ,b4 ,,lippincott ,,company #aijb ,copyright1 #aija ,by ,j4 ,b4 ,lippincott ,company ,electrotyped and ,printed by ,j4 ,b4 ,lippincott ,company1 ,philadelphia1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,,to ,,george ,w4 ,,stockley1 ,,esq4 ,,preface ,i have endeavored through showing the true nature of music1 and the conditions that are essential to its growth in breadth and significance1 to incite amateurs to a more respectful consideration of its claims4 ,o4 ,b4 ,b4 ,,berlin1 ,march #a1 #aija4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,the ,,nature ,,and ,,origin ,,of ,,music #ac ,,ii4 ,,music',s ,,first ,,era1 ,,and ,,the ,,influences ,,which ,,were ,,operative ,,in ,,various ,,lands ,,during ,,its ,,continuance #bf ,,iii4 ,,biblical ,,mention ,,of ,,music #fa ,,iv4 ,,music ,,from ,,the ,,invention ,,of ,,notation ,,to ,,date #hj ,v4 ,,wagner ,,and ,,the ,,music ,,drama #acd ,,vi4 ,,what ,,are ,,the ,,influencing ,,factors ,,in ,,deciding ,,musical ,,destinies8 ,,who ,,is ,,to ,,be ,,our ,,seventh ,,high-,,priest8 #afi ,,vii4 ,a ,,summary ,,of ,,music',s ,,attributes4 ,,what ,,constitutes ,,musical ,,intelligence8 #ahh ,,illustrations ,,page ,,wagner ,frontispiece ,,palestrina #ib ,,bach #ii ,,beethoven #ajf ,,schubert #aji ,,schumann #aad ,,music ,,its ,,masters ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,nature ,,and ,,origin ,,of ,,music ,a glance backward over the course of music's evolution suffices to show that1 until in very recent times1 it furnishes no pregnant data for the historian4 ,the first era of music's evolution began before the advent of historic man1 for the earliest races of whom we know anything had a well-defined appreciation of its significance1 but no noteworthy landmarks appear until after music came in touch with modern culture2 indeed1 no great advancement is traceable until after the invention of notation4 ,the first record of melodies produced is supposed to have been made in the fourth century 7,a4,d4 71--viz41 that of three ,greek hymns1--to ,apollo1 ,nemesis1 and ,calliope1--which1 however1 possess meagre means of proving their authenticity4 ,from this shadowy period until harmonies enter the field1 nearly a thousand years later1 the historian finds no fruitful material1 no verified accomplishments4 ,the march of material events was amply recorded1 but melodies were passed from mouth to mouth and ear to ear1 necessarily changing their outlines in the process1 for the line that connects memory and expression seems1 in most of humankind1 to run so near that which leads from imagination to expression1 as to engender inaccuracy in transmission4 7,this crossed-line influence is recognizable in the productions of most composers4 ,memories become entangled in their fancies47 ,although our modern melody has doubtless come down to us through long lines of heritage1 yielding to the prevailing influences of each successive stage in transmission1 there is no statistical light on its line of development4 ,it would be interesting to know in what form the first musical intuition manifested itself1 and then to trace an unbroken chain of cause and effect from that first manifestation to date1 but that knowledge would not materially benefit music1 which is the only art whose career does not follow well-defined cycles1--the features of periods reproducing themselves with the recurrence of conditions4 ,in sculpture1 poetry1 and architecture we have seasons of reverting to the antique1 and with good results4 ,these arts dealt with tangible material1 could be kept present to the eye and mind1 and therefore developed quickly4 ,we return to their ancient forms1 so restful in their conformity to natural adjustment1 for relief from the tireless ingenuity of modern producers1 and to find bases for new flights4 ,music is1 however1 so essentially intangible that it required ages to discover sufficient of its underlying principles to afford the foundation for an art4 ,nothing within our ken has been as slow in evolving1 and yet nothing has shown such an unwavering tendency forward and upward4 ,these characteristics1 and its insidious influence upon man's nature1 entitle it to be called the divine art4 ,it is in course of evolution from its original germ1 but the outlines of its early technical forms have no significance for the nineteenth-century composer4 ,for the above reasons statistics will be avoided when they are not essential in locating and verifying conditions4 ,some periods were too influential in broadening and defining the scope of musical expression to be ignored4 ,i shall endeavor to make my theories in regard to the origin and growth of music accord with its inherent qualities1 as well as with man's devious and changing nature4 ,the greater the music the more direct is its appeal to our imaginations1 and the stronger its effect upon our emotions4 ,each intrinsically great composition has its distinguishing mood or temperament1 which is the sequential expression and perpetuation of an emotion4 ,this mood is first announced by the chosen themes1 and then its varied phases and the cumulative intensity essential to sustained expression are secured through the logical manipulation of these themes4 ,i would divide music into two classes1 natural and artificial4 ,the latter class is1 as the name assigned to it implies1 a mechanical combination of musical means1 the result of purely intellectual processes1 incited by will force1 and not by inspiration4 ,it lacks all reason for being1 and ,i shall dismiss it without further ceremony4 ,it is to natural music1 which springs from our imaginations1 is formulated for purpose by intellect1 appeals to the sympathies1 and sways the emotions1 that ,i shall devote my attention4 ,the music of the barbarous races1 although developed little beyond the initial stage1 is adapted in its character to their habits and sensibilities1 and is among them quite as powerful an agency for stimulating the passions as is our nineteenth-century music among the people of this ,western civilization4 ,their musical exercises are purely emotional1 and therefore natural4 ,natural music is composed of two species1 that which is earnest and edifying1 and that which is entertaining only4 ,these diverse growths are equally spontaneous1 and each develops form1 substance1 and proportions in keeping with the intellectual soil by which it is nurtured4 ,the world requires that music shall suit its varying moods4 ,some of ,johann ,strauss' waltzes are quite as genuine music as are ,beethoven's symphonies1 and each in its own way contributes to the pleasure and benefit of mankind4 ,which would be the greater loss1 were it blotted out of existence1 is unquestionable1 for the resultant deprivation must be measured by the comparative numbers who would feel the lack of each4 ,the great majority of the public1 and even some of music's devotees1 derive more pleasure from entertaining than from earnest 7so-called classical7 music4 ,this is partly because earnest music is quite often abstruse1 requiring well-directed mental effort to understand its full significance2 but a more generally prevailing reason for this condition 7especially when dance music is concerned7 is to be found in its cheering and exhilarating effect4 ,i think it pure affectation for musical persons to express a lack of respect for a good piece of dance music4 ,a large percentage of those who do so are not sincere4 ,they fear to discredit their appreciation of the classical1 thinking wrongly that there would be something incongruous in liking both4 ,the artist's ideals should embrace the whole gamut of human feeling1 and music that strikes our sensibilities at any point in this line is genuine1 whether it be a symphony1 a love song1 or a waltz4 ,if music be the language of the emotions1 its germs must be those sounds through which joy1 grief1 love1 fear1 rage1 wonder1 and longing find natural1 unpremeditated1 and often involuntary expression4 ,the fact that the import of these sounds1 whether produced by man1 beast1 or bird1 is unmistakable1 has led some writers to accord music the honor of having been the initial means of intercourse between members of the human family1--the original language4 ,this is hardly consistent1 for life is mostly unrhythmic monotone1 punctuated only here and there by episodes fruitful in musical germs4 ,scientific observation has established the fact that all of the higher species of living things have forms of vocal intercommunication4 ,like human beings1 animals have forms of speech comporting with their degrees of intelligence and needs1 but quite apart from these forms1 they and man have mutually intelligible codes of emotional expression4 ,these codes are not identical in less essential details1 nor are they equally comprehensive1 but they spring from a common source4 ,they vary in character according to the qualities of instinctive feeling1 refined or coarse1 that dominate the creatures that employ them4 ,the lowest grade of animal life which possesses vocal apparatus is susceptible of but three emotions--anger1 longing1 and fear--in such measure as to elicit expression4 ,the higher grades feel joy1 love1 sorrow1 anger1 fear1 and longing4 ,music has significance only when fraught with messages from the composer to the hearer4 ,therefore those sounds which most clearly voice strong emotions are the most pregnant musical germs4 ,isolated shouts of triumph1 rage1 and joy1 or cries of pain1 fear1 and entreaty1 appeal to our sensibilities1 but they do not suggest music1 although its line of development from these primal elements is traceable4 ,it began with the first intellectual recognition of the adequacy of tonal expression1 when those sounds which had been involuntarily produced as the result of sensations1 were placed by the human mind in the category of expressive means4 ,at this point our germs came under the influence of deliberate purpose4 ,intellect took spontaneous shouts1 cries1 and moans in hand1 and has gradually endowed them with continuity1 life pulsation 7rhythm71 and form2 has made them express sentiments surcharged with emotions1 creating a definitely significant atmosphere 7stimmung74 ,this pervading atmosphere or mood1 which is a vital element in successful musical effort1 must be in no wise confounded with the situations incident to and arising through the descriptive 7program7 composer's art4 ,the first is personal1 a heart mood2 the second is impersonal1 a brain picture4 ,from this first step in musical evolution intellect has been more and more closely associated with emotion1 as the composer's intentions have become more definite and his forms more extended4 ,music's progress has not been uniform1 for it is most sensitive1 and the conditions have often been unfavorable4 ,it has followed1 to a great degree1 the tidal fluctuations of refinement and fine sensibility in the masses2 for although its growth is dependent upon certain conditions1 these necessary conditions1 if confined within narrow limits1 or when found only in isolated persons1 will not suffice4 ,it must breathe a free air1 full of sympathetic feeling and impulse1 and it must have a broad1 deep soil in which to spread its roots1 for it aspires heavenward1 up through the material into the ideal4 ,the growth of music from its initial stage to an art is quite analogous1 except in time consumed1 to the growth of each talent to maturity1 or of each musical conception to full expression4 ,they all move on towards realization1 impelled by art instinct and imagination4 ,the composer of to-day has a legendary past1 full of romance and heart-throbs1 and a warm1 sympathetic present1 to stimulate his fancy1 but it required ages of joy1 sorrow1 love1 and culture to quicken and refine man's stoical nature4 ,the soil which nourishes our imaginations has been made fertile by the blood and tears of countless generations4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,music',s ,,first ,,era1 ,,and ,,the ,,influences ,,which ,,were ,,operative ,,in ,,various ,,lands ,,during ,,its ,,continuance ,there are two distinct eras in the course of the evolution of music4 ,the first ended and the second began with the invention and adoption of notation4 ,this mechanical device so revolutionized musical production and taste1 that we may properly concede to it the honor of having made possible the formulation of our art1 for it chronicled the accomplishments of each generation1 thus furnishing its successors with suggestive models4 ,these were virtually lacking in the first era1 which accounts amply for the little advancement made during its continuance4 ,that early career of music is shrouded in utter darkness1 unbroken by a single luminous episode1 and the lights which we are enabled to throw back upon it are entirely deductive4 ,they are not sufficiently strong to bring details into relief1 but they suffice to develop outlines which are ample for the purposes of my sketch4 ,the fact that the ancient ,egyptians1 ,greeks1 and ,chinese devoted much attention to what some are pleased to call the science1 or technic1 of music is to me no indication of the condition of music existing at that time4 ,their libraries contained numerous volumes devoted to music1 but their treatises considered melody 7harmony was not known7 from a purely mathematical stand-point4 ,this vital element of music1 which should be as free as air1 was fettered by pedantry4 ,i feel convinced that the evolution of music was seriously delayed by this too early association with science4 ,china has perpetuated this system of vassalage1 the result being that her present temple melodies1 which also serve as folk-songs1 are utterly devoid of plastic grace and spontaneity4 ,the fallibility of long lines of oral transmission casts doubt upon the ,chinaman's claim that he inherits at least a portion of these songs1 in their original form1 from a period four thousand years back2 still1 there is one feature of the situation which1 in a measure1 substantiates it1--viz41 the instinct for imitation that distinguishes this race from all others4 ,evolution involves removal from an elementary state1 and we measure its advancement through placing the present outlines and qualities1 of whatever may be concerned1 over against those that characterized some known previous condition4 ,china has produced some great scholars1 and her civilization1 such as it is1 endures like the everlasting hills1 and seems subject to little more change than they1 but her people are not emotional1 imaginative1 nor susceptible to influences from without4 ,the great wonder is not that real art feeling has never manifested itself in ,china1 nor that she has repulsed all attempts to introduce the fruits of ,european musical culture1 but that the ,chinaman1 with his nature1 should have ever evoked our muse4 ,china has contributed nothing to the development of music1 and we cannot draw one spark of light from her for our investigations4 ,the ,mongolian race treated their feeble first musical impulse as they still do the feet of high-caste female children1--viz41 they wrapped it so tightly in pedantic cerements that it could not grow2 and1 being an impulse1 and not flesh and bones1 it failed to endure the repression4 ,although these ancient scientific treatises afford no clues to the actual spirit and form of contemporaneous musical utterances1 they do bespeak the presence of interest and respect4 ,as ,i have shown1 this condition was of no service in ,china1 but as the ,egyptian and ,greek people and culture were of a quite different substance and mould1 we may safely infer that their efforts were important features in this preparatory era4 ,the light which we are enabled to throw backward over the line of musical evolution is drawn from the following sources3 #a1 the nature of music itself1 and the first purposeful use of its germs2 #b1 its present condition among barbarous peoples2 #c1 profane history of ancient ,egypt2 #d1 its development in pace with that of the ,aryan race2 and1 #e1 ,biblical references 7to which ,i shall devote a separate chapter74 ,,nature ,,of ,,music ,it is a gross misconception to regard music as merely a concord of sweet sounds1 for that would be a barren art which had no contrasting features4 ,much great music is not beautiful1 for it may be tragical1 sombre1 or may voice any of the moods incident to life4 ,euphony was doubtless one of the last developed qualities1 for it springs from joy1 love1 or reverence4 ,we must look among the coarser emotions for the germ which was first used in tone expression4 ,in that prehistoric time1 at the beginning of what might be called soul tenantry1 man1 whether created or evolved1 being the first of his line1 had no fruits of human experience to guide him1 and his emotional status could therefore have differed little from that of the higher grades of soulless creatures4 ,we learn from history that since it began its annals animal nature has remained virtually unchanged1 whereas man1 because possessed of a higher grade of intellect and a definite recognition of ,deity1 in one form or another1 has refined and broadened the scope of his impulses and understanding4 ,as it is the first subjective1 and not objective1 manifestation of tone expression that we are seeking1 we cannot do better than to scan this feature of animal life4 ,such manifestations result from the sequential co-operation of emotion1 reason1 and impulse4 ,animals have their growls1 roars1 and trumpetings of anger and defiance1 and many of them have forms of expressing affection1 but these latter are acquired through experience1 whereas they instinctively appeal to agencies outside themselves for relief from pain or want1 employing means the efficacy of which they recognize4 ,if we turn to humankind1 we find that the new-born babe will express its desire for food long before it becomes responsive to its mother's endearments4 ,i1 therefore1 assume that pleading was the first purposeful1 premeditated form of tonal communication1 and1 consequently1 that it was the nucleus about which experience and culture have gathered such ample resources4 7,this term1 tonal communication1 applies equally well to our formulated art1 for music is invariably addressed by its creator to some intelligence1 whether it be a person1 the world1 or ,god47 ,this first developed element has never relinquished its prominence1 for it is the mood which most often pervades the composer's tone pictures4 ,we find it depicted1 as prompted by each and all phases of human insufficiency1 appealing to appropriate sources for relief1--the oppressed entreating the tyrant1 the lover the object of his affection1 and the finite world1 prostrate before ,infinity1 pouring its hopes and aspirations into the ,divine ear4 ,now occurs a period of unmeasurable time upon which we can throw no light4 ,it extends from this first manifestation up to that stage in evolution which produced forms of tonal expression like those now employed by the lowest savage races4 ,some time during this unexplorable period1 man having appropriated a fuller vocabulary from nature's store1 and having adopted more sustained1 and at the same time articulate1 forms1 was led to feel pulsations1--incipient rhythm4 ,whether this primitive conception of metre was suggested by associated word successions1 or was incident to the extension of tonal expression itself1 we can only conjecture1 but rhythmic impulse is evident in1 and it is the main feature of1 the crudest musical efforts4 ,,music ,,of ,,the ,,savage ,,races ,science has long busied itself with race origin4 ,it has approached the problem from every side1 and has accomplished so much towards its solution as to afford grounds upon which to base the assumptions that the diverse types of mankind1 as they now exist1 are each physically1 morally1 and mentally the outcome of conditions of which climate1 soil1 and degrees of isolation have been the most potent factors2 and that these branches which have spread out to cover the world spring from one common family trunk4 ,even within the limits of historic time migrations have been caused either by climatic changes or by the dissensions incident to over-population4 ,when the savages of the ,south ,sea ,islands became detached1 and whether of their own volition or through a dispensation of ,providence1 which caused the ,pacific ,ocean to isolate them from less pestiferous humanity1 will never be known4 ,it must1 however1 have taken place after the idea of at least limited tone expression had taken a firm hold on mankind and had become a transmittible instinct1 for these savages evince little more disposition or capacity for originating than the more intelligent species of animals4 ,i cite these people and their lyric status to mark the lowest ebb in things human and musical of which we have any knowledge4 ,their music and habits are alike crossed by the line which separates the human from the animal1 and it is needless to say which quality contributes the larger portion4 ,their songs are1 like their language1 ejaculatory1 showing little exercise of reason in their forms1 and voicing the baser emotions solely4 ,rude rhythms are the only features that attest their origin in musical impulse4 ,music in its course of evolution had necessarily to pass through this primitive stage4 ,in more congenial environments it passed on and out1 but these barbarians1 being neither emotionally nor intellectually capable of imparting the impetus requisite to the development of finer and broader significance1 have for thousands of years used their present crude forms4 ,their stage comes in touch with music's line of evolution at a period countless years before ,david sang4 ,from a letter in response to my inquiries as to the musical status of these barbarians1 written by ,count ,pfeil1 who has most closely observed their customs during twenty years spent in exploring the dark continent and these darker islands1 ,i infer that their barbarism has grades analogous to those that exist in the culture of civilized nations4 ,in speaking of the two musical instruments in use ,graf ,pfeil says1 ,they are the ',tutupele' on ,new ,britain and ,duke of ,york1 and a sort of pan pipe or flute on the ,solomon ,islands4 ,the former may hardly be called an instrument4 ,it is used in connection with the superstitious ceremonies of the ,dult-,dult practice1 and is supposed to herald the appearance of the spirits4 ,two pieces of wood are carved down till they sound two neighboring notes1 such as c-d1 g-a1 or f-g4 ,they are then placed over a little hollow dug in the ground1 and are beaten with small club sticks4444 ,the other instrument is used by the ,solomon ,islanders4 ,they assemble three or four men1 each armed with his flute1 of which the largest pipe is about three feet in length1 with a two-inch internal diameter4 ,there are five of these pipes in each instrument4 ,they are made of bamboo1 and played by being raised to the lips and strongly blown into4 ,the sound1 especially when heard from a long distance1 which robs it of its harshness1 is not at all unpleasant1 but has rather a melodious1 though sad1 character4 ,the few men who play these instruments begin turning round and round1 and others1 wishing to join in the dance1 gather round them1 also moving in a circle4 ,when a hundred dancers perform1 those on the outside run at a headlong speed1 while those forming the centre spin1 but very slowly4 ,the dancers accompany the players by very curious half-whistling sounds1 which sound like the twitter of birds4 ,the louder and shriller the sounds the prettier they are thought to be4444 ,on the ,duke of ,york1 boys have a curious1 cruel way of procuring music4 ,they take a large beetle and break off one of its legs4 ,in the remaining stump they push a lot of elastic gum1 of which they hold the other end4 ,the beetle is now made to fly1 but not being able to get away from the boy's hand1 keeps circling round and round it1 emitting a loud whirring or humming sound4444 ,all these races sing4 ,their songs are very monotonous1 but are defined1 like our own4 ,you can ask them to sing such or such a song1 and they will always sing it exactly as they sang it before4 ,all songs are sung in a subdued voice1 as the melancholy and suspicious character of the people prevents all loud demonstrations of mirth4444 ,i have never heard their songs accompanied by any instrument1 excepting at a dance1 when1 to my sorrow1 combined vocal and instrumental efforts served as an accompaniment to the dance4 ,the ,north ,american ,indians1 despite the demoralizing influences of traders1 agencies1 and fire-water1 are noble men as compared with the cannibals just considered4 ,many of their less amiable traits are doubtless the fruits of white intruders' avarice1 which has from the first set aside equity when dealing with the red man4 ,they live having a future state in view in the happy hunting-grounds1 which stimulates in them a strict1 but not too comprehensive1 moral consciousness4 ,those conditions of life which mould race characteristics have in the case of the ,north ,american ,indian developed bodily activity1 close observation1 bravery1 and reasoning faculties1 though crude4 ,they lack delicate sensibility and imagination1 but still in them we find nomadic manhood at its best1 and their music mirrors their character4 ,their war1 funeral1 and joyous songs are alike monotonous to modern ,aryan ears1 for they are devoid of romance and fine feeling1 and are composed of repetitions ad libitum1 instead of progressive developments4 ,their climaxes are produced through increased unction in delivery rather than through sequential means4 ,they mark the primary pulsations of their songs through swaying the body1 dancing1 and through the use of rude instruments1 and in so doing work themselves up to a remarkable state of exaltation4 ,this result of their musical exercises must not be construed as indicating the presence of a strong1 emotional element in the ,indian character4 ,they are1 on the contrary1 so stolid that few things can ruffle their equanimity4 ,their ecstasies are purposeful and self-induced4 ,their phenomenal capacity for reading and interpreting nature's chronicle of the movements of living things1 and its continual exercise1 have blinded them1 in a great degree1 to the beauties of landscape4 ,they devote themselves to the analysis of details instead of to the contemplation of the ,creator's harmonious ensemble1 and they consequently develop little sense for the beautiful4 ,the fundamental manifestation of this sense is1 in normally endowed man1 an appreciation of the forms and colors of material things4 ,upon this sense we may build responsiveness to the intangible and ideal1 but without it we have no foundation for sthetic taste4 ,i can think of nothing more incongruous than an atmosphere of ,bach fugues or ,beethoven symphonies for a man who sees only tons of hay1 feet of lumber1 water-power1 etc41 while gazing upon nature's grand panorama4 ,the music of the ,north ,american ,indian is neither euphonious nor romantic1 but it is distinctly more human than that of the ,south ,sea ,islanders1 and its varying tribal phases permit the inference that it has1 in their keeping1 accumulated resources1 however slight they may seem4 ,the ,indian's character and music throw light upon the course of evolution during the first era1 inasmuch as they1 contrasted with those of the cannibal races1 tend to substantiate my claim that sound expression takes its cue from attendant culture1 advancing in pace with it4 ,,profane ,,history ,,of ,,ancient ,,egypt ,at that remotest period upon which the historian can throw light 7about #cjjj ,b4,c4 7 the ,valley of the ,nile was the scene of undertakings the fruits of which have ever since excited the wonder of the world4 ,the ,pyramids1 the somewhat later-built ,palace of ,karnak1 and ,temples of ,luxor and ,ipsambul stand first among the phenomenal conceptions of human architects2 and the mechanical skill required in handling the massive blocks and pillars of which they are composed would severely test the appliances of our practical and inventive age4 ,these monumental buildings1 their consistent environments1 and the deciphered records of scientific and literary accomplishments in those earliest historic times1 bespeak broad culture4 ,as we possess no record of a race from whom the ,egyptians could have drawn either stimulus or knowledge itself1 their culture was presumably indigenous1 and therefore of slow growth4 ,the ,palace of ,karnak1 for instance1 marks the climax of accomplishment in a line of architectural endeavor which may have begun soon after the ,nile commenced making her alluvial deposits4 ,the persistent and audacious ambition which this long course of development attests1 and the art feeling expressed in their works1 endows ,egyptian interest in music1 as evinced through the scientific treatises mentioned at the beginning of this chapter1 with especial significance4 ,they were more learned and less pedantic than the ,chinese1 and were1 besides1 emotional and imaginative1 although sadly superstitious4 ,had that high enlightenment permeated all classes of the people1 ,egypt would have been an ,elysium for our art1 but it was1 unfortunately1 confined to the upper social grades1 which embraced the priests1 and to a certain extent the warriors4 ,the masses1 in company with prisoners of war and slaves from ,central ,africa1 were mere servitors to the monarchs and priests in executing their ambitious schemes4 ,although their labor built up indubitable testimony to the greatness of their masters1 the burdens imposed upon them century after century finally wore away their fealty2 therefore the decadence and downfall of great ,egypt4 ,there could not possibly have been anything like art enthusiasm among a people so oppressed4 ,despite this vital lack1 ancient ,egypt did more1 directly and indirectly1 to foster music1 and to give it an onward impulse1 than all other agencies of the first era combined4 ,this was somewhat attributable to the fact that then1 for the first time1 tone expression was associated with rhythmic texts2 still1 ,i infer that their music was merely an accessory to euphonious declamation1--subservient to poetry1--for had their melodies possessed independent import1 those resourceful people would have found some way of recording them4 ,these relations between music and poetry were perpetuated in ,greece2 indeed1 our art was not accorded equality as a contributive element in song until in quite modern times4 ,there have been several distinct epochs in this relationship1--viz41 that in which tone expression1 because of its little understood capacities was held in vassalage to her sister art2 music's equality 7dating from the adoption of notation71 during which she greatly extended and beautified her forms2 her ascendency1 which characterized the vocal works of the early part of the present century2 and now the ,wagner school1 in which the two are again made to collaborate on equal terms4 ,the ancient ,egyptians employed pan pipes1 flutes1 horns1 instruments of percussion1 and small harps4 ,mural pictures of the fourth dynasty represent players blowing upon pipes of different lengths1 and consequently of different pitches1 which is a dumb declaration that at least some principles regulating the simultaneous use of tones had been recognized4 ,outside this pictorial record1 we can find no intimation that anything analogous to modern harmony was known and practised by this people4 ,in the absence of specific data we are forced to predicate the condition of music in that stupendous1 though exclusive1 civilization1 upon the elements of the atmosphere from which it drew its impulse4 ,as the more prominent of these elements were profound religious feeling1 scientific learning1 insatiable ambition1 and a clearly pronounced lyric tendency1 their melodies must have been coherent and expressive4 ,,aryan ,,race ,as the instincts and capacities of the ,aryan race have always been unique1 it may prove instructive to glance at those features of its prehistoric existence in ,asia which have been brought to light through comparative philology and mythology4 ,in the first place1 these sciences establish the fact that we of the ,west 7,greeks1 ,italians1 ,germans1 ,english7 and the ,hindoos of the ,east are of common origin4 ,our ancestors listened to the same legends1 ballads1 and mythical tales while gathered as children about one and the same mother1 and they have handed them down to this generation of the descendants of each so little changed as to furnish ample proof of family relationship4 ,many of the more important words of the various ,aryan languages are suggestively similar1 and this in spite of the five thousand years of transmission1 and of the diverse conditions incident to the growth of widely separated clans into great nations4 ,the ,aryans were worshippers of ,nature in her more spectacular and heroic forms and moods1--in storms1 fire1 sunset1 and dawn1 but looked upward for their ,supreme ,deity4 ,the sky1 with its fathomless depths of blue and its star mysteries1 was their ,zeus4 ,from this it will be seen that they were1 in a way1 idolaters1 but their idolatry was not degrading2 it was1 indeed1 ennobling4 ,they contemplated ,nature1 and in her processes saw the hand of an all-pervading1 beneficent power1--a ,god4 ,they worshipped the ,god thus1 and in no other way1 revealed to them through ,his works4 ,their conceptions of family and community organization have served1 and still serve1 as models to civilized nations4 ,they were paternal1 the clans being large families with patriarchal heads1 and elected councillors4 ,they were pastoral1 cultivating the soil and herding cattle1 sheep1 horses1 and pigs2 but they were at the same time good warriors4 ,they wore leathern shoes1 garments woven from wool1 and they had at least a rudimentary knowledge of the sciences4 ,from all this ,i infer that the early ,aryans were a race of freemen1 not subject to the class discrimination that ruined ,egypt4 ,their appreciation of nature1 and their reverence1 ambition1 and pertinacity fitted them to become the especial guardians of the arts1 and their comparative class equality enabled them to fulfil the requirements of my theory that music can only flourish in a widely diffused interest and knowledge4 ,it must breathe a genial and suggestive atmosphere4 ,our main business is with ,aryan music after it came under the influence of ,egyptian culture1 but it may interest my readers to flash1 for a moment1 the light of analogy back upon its earlier period4 ,we have found the early ,aryans less learned than the ,egyptian scholar class1 but also less superstitious and less pedantic4 ,they were normal human beings in their occupations1 susceptibilities1 and social life4 ,with such a picture in view it is quite natural for our imaginations to hear its complement in expressive sounds1--peaceful lullabies1 songs of praise and love1 and sonorous rejoicings4 ,in remote times the region which is supposed to have been the original home of the ,aryans must have been fertile1 for early poets were enthusiastic in describing its charms4 ,the climatic changes that made the soil arid as it is to-day may have suggested1 or may even have necessitated1 migration2 still1 what condition or combination of conditions induced the ,aryans to abandon ,central ,asia can never be positively known2 but it is certain that they1 like irresistible tidal waves1 rolled westward and southward1 destroying1 carrying before them1 or absorbing and dominating all peoples and institutions in their course4 ,one of the streams of ,aryan migration flowed towards the south and formed the ,hindoo and ,persian nations1 and another came into ,europe by way of the ,hellespont and took up its abode in ,greece and ,italy4 ,three others1 the ,celtic1 ,teutonic1 and ,slavonic1 followed in the order named1 passing to the north of the ,black ,sea1 and occupied respectively ,western1 ,central1 and ,eastern ,europe4 ,of all the nations who have developed from these original nuclei1 the ,hindoos show least evidence of close intercourse with the world's great teacher1 whereas the ,greeks1 perhaps because of their proximity to ,egypt1 were led to avail themselves of her tuition to the fullest extent4 ,the ancient ,hindoos were less scientific than the ,chinese or ,egyptians1 and isolation has prevented them from advancing with modern civilization4 ,their music is less the fruit of theories than it is of natural ,aryan impulse4 ,they do not look upon it as a science1 but as a matter of the emotions1 the result of1 and intended to quicken1 the imagination4 ,i have seen ,hindoo melodies which exhibited a correct appreciation of rhythmic adjustment1 still their accomplishments do not entitle them to a place among the potent factors in musical evolution4 ,now we come to the climax of our first era4 ,such a true conception of beauty1 such perfect symmetry1 and such far-reaching imagination and lofty aspiration as are present in1 and have made ancient ,greek art and literature luminous for all time1 bespeak conditions that would have carried music to fruition during their continuance had she not been so intangible1 and therefore necessarily slow in developing4 ,had her nature been less coy1 we might have ancient ,greek music as monumental as the ,iliad or the ,parthenon4 ,the ,greeks were quick to recognize the virtues of ,egyptian learning1 and ,greece soon became great ,egypt's greater pupil4 ,still1 we should accord ,egypt first place among the factors that built up modern civilization and led to the formulation of musical art1 for she originated the vital impulse4 ,that period of ,greek culture supremacy dispensed no laurels to its mothers1 wives1 and daughters4 ,woman was regarded as an inferior being1 and she took no honorable part in intellectual social life4 ,boys were exhaustively educated1 while girls were neglected4 ,this was the one blot on the glory of those times1 and we1 besides deprecating the injustice it involved1 must regret that these ancient art-workers denied themselves that highest earthly source of inspiration1 intercourse with the delicate enthusiasm1 the keen perceptions1 and art instinct of educated and loved womanhood2 for to what heights might their achievements have attained but for this misconception of woman's nature and capacities6 ,one would think that ,sappho's lyrics1 which induced ,plato to call her the ,tenth ,muse1 would have suggested the existence1 in woman's purer and more sensitive nature1 of a subtle vein of beautiful intellectuality1 but such was not the case4 ,judging from what we have seen of early ,aryan family life1 this unpractical and debasing idea of suppressing woman must have been imbibed with ,egyptian learning4 ,music was taught in the ,greek schools1 and youths were thus fitted to join in the sacred choruses1 and to appreciate the significance of poetry4 ,the immortal bards sang their creations1 and they often remained unwritten for generations4 ,the drama developed from songs and dances4 ,music was a prominent feature of their symposiums1 the lyre being passed from guest to guest1 each contributing of his best to the intellectual feast4 ,banquets were brought to a close by singing hymns4 ,music pervaded each function of ,hellenic life4 ,their choruses were unisons1 and their instrumental accompaniments were either purely rhythmic 7regardless of pitch7 or they followed the voice1 for the ,greeks had no discoverable conception of harmony4 ,in contemplating the marvellous erudition and the poetic sense of ancient ,greece1 and the important rle played by music in the period of her glory1 ,i can but feel that the failure to chronicle her melodies is a misfortune4 ,they may not have been rich in variety of tone succession or in rhythm1 but they doubtless were vigorous1 expressive1 and logically rounded1 and they therefore mark the brightest point reached in the first era4 ,greece succeeded ,egypt as the world's teacher1 and her precepts gain significance as advancing culture enables us to better comprehend the fine adjustment of imagination to nature which they embody4 ,her sculpture1 architecture1 and literature are the highest models that we have1 and those of our architects who appreciate the import of monumental buildings look to ancient ,greece for appropriate inspiration4 ,is it not reasonable and logical to assume that the spirit of ,greece's unwritten musical forms has been preserved1 passed from nation to nation1 and from generation to generation1 and that it underlies our present classical school8 ,i say spirit in speaking of musical transmission1 for music's resources and outward forms were1 in the ,homeric period1 and still are1 in course of development4 ,it would be a waste of space to discuss the musical doings of other ,european nations during this period4 ,those that did least to prepare the way have been most active since our art took shape4 ,as great as ,italy's services have been since the sixteenth century 7,a4,d4 71 she did little for music previous to that time4 ,st4 ,ambrose1 of ,milan 7#chd ,a4,d4 71 and ,st4 ,gregory1 of ,rome 7#eij ,a4,d4 71 ordained rituals1 prayers1 music1 etc41 but there is no detailed record of their achievements1 therefore no authentic ,gregorian chants4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,biblical ,,mention ,,of ,,music ,the ,old ,testament is a chronicle of the growth1 movements1 physical and mental habits1 and religious status of the great ,jewish race4 ,its religion with one ,godhead1 whose immediate presence was often felt1 its music addressed to this presence1 and its family1 tribal1 and racial organizations were all ,jewish4 ,the great moving lever of ,jewish existence was a religion whose creed prohibited the making of graven images1 so painting and sculpture were not cultivated2 it recognized the direct agency of supreme will in moulding daily events1 and prescribed oft-repeated praise and prayer1 and thus created the atmosphere of exalted devotional feeling which we find recorded in many of the books of the ,bible1 and which climaxed in ,david's ,psalms4 ,the ancient ,hebrews were in no measure a scientific people4 ,their one intellectual aspiration found vent in beautifying the worship of ,god4 ,they were religious teachers1 who have directly or indirectly shaped the creeds of the civilized world4 ,according to the conditions upon which ,i have thus far based my theories of musical evolution1 early ,jewish songs could not have been equal1 in artistic merit1 to the texts with which they were associated1 for there was an utter lack1 in this race1 of such general culture and art sense as we found prevailing in ancient ,egypt2 but the ,hebrews were a race apart1 and their unique instincts may have made their music an exception to all rules4 ,their song-impulse was confined to one line1 but it was so strong that it projected itself from conception1 in religious enthusiasm1 to a high grade of fulfilment without touching the low plane of their general culture2 nevertheless1 the above-mentioned short-comings and the subsequent decadence of race nationality relegate ,hebrew music to a low place as an influence upon the world's song4 ,they had men who devoted themselves to the playing of instruments as an accompaniment to song1 and the ,bible mentions more varieties of instruments than can be found in profane history of those times4 ,worship was such an important feature of ,jewish life1 and praise was so essential an element in their worship1 that the masses must have learned and sung those great lyrics which to-day represent the culmination of human awe1 reverence1 prayer1 and thanksgiving4 ,it is impossible to imagine ,david singing his psalms to crude or inadequate musical settings4 ,here we have a situation apparently full of vital contradictions4 ,most of the influences which have proven themselves necessary to the development of music were wanting1 and still there is evidence that it had grown to be an expressive means4 ,the ,jews were actuated by profound religious feeling and by an exquisite sense of nature's forms4 ,no poet has yet equalled ,david's simple but beautiful appreciation of the universe1 and of its influence upon mankind4 ,the ,jews of ,poland1 ,spain1 and ,germany have diverse musical settings of the ,psalms1 so there is no traceable line of inheritance from ,david4 ,this line has been obliterated by the changes incident to generations of unassisted memory4 ,that there may be rare exceptions to this rule of change in form during extended oral transmission was abundantly proven recently by a ,german ,hebrew musician and scholar4 ,he played me an unwritten ,passover hymn which his father had always sung at that festival time1 and told me that he had not long before been entertained by a ,spanish ,hebrew1 who sang the same melody tone for tone4 ,this gentleman's hearing and memory are so absolute that there is no question to be raised as to this case2 but as far as my investigations have gone1 it stands alone4 ,the composer of the nineteenth century can nowhere else find such earnest and suggestive texts as in the ,old ,testament4 ,they voice the hopes1 sorrows1 despair1 reverence1 and joys of our hearts just as aptly as they did those of the ,hebrew bards who wrote them thousands of years ago4 ,their natural and direct method of expressing the emotions1 and their incomparable elevation of spirit1 make them appeal especially strongly to the musician1 whose flights of imagination start from these emotions4 ,we are denied the privilege of scanning the forms and substance of ,biblical melodies or chants1 and must content ourselves with tracing the more prominent features of the rle which was assigned to music during that older era1 and the mechanical devices which were employed to enhance rhythmic precision and sonority4 ,some writers have endeavored to solve the problem presented by ,hebrew music in the midst of incongruous conditions by attributing its development to the influence of presumable intercourse with prehistoric ,egyptian civilization4 ,this does not appear logical1 for ,hebrew music seems to have been little1 if at all1 affected by the continued direct contact during the long sojourn of the ,israelites in ,egypt4 ,the ,jewish and ,egyptian characters were so diametrically opposed 7as was evinced in their beliefs1 habits1 and aspirations7 that their emotional forms of expression could not possibly have followed common lines4 ,intercourse with ,egyptians did not impart even a scientific impulse to the ,hebrew mind4 ,it is therefore safe to conclude that my previously mentioned hypothesis--that the force of their impulses carried ,jewish music and poetry to unique positions1 as compared with those of their other arts and branches of learning--is worthy of credence4 ,the first mention of music is made in ,genesis iv4 #ba4 ,jubal1 the son of ,lamech and ,adah1 is described as the father of all such as handle the harp and organ4 ,jubal was of the seventh generation of ,adam's descendants1 and the world was1 according to ,biblical records1 in its second century of existence4 ,these harps and organs were doubtless similar to those depicted in pictures painted in the fourth ,egyptian dynasty4 ,the first named were frames upon which one or1 at most1 a very limited number of strings were stretched1 and the organs were pan-pipes 7a series of reeds of graded lengths1 bound together1 and played by blowing into them as they were passed back and forth across the lower lip74 ,the pan-pipes were probably played in unison with the voice1 whereas the primitive harp was used1 with the existing instruments of percussion1 to mark rhythms only4 ,all historians agree in their deductions as to the order in which the several classes of instruments made their appearance on the musical stage4 ,as rhythm is the heart pulsation of music1 it naturally took hold of the first singers of in any measure formulated melody1 leading to swaying of the body1 clapping of the hands1 stamping of the feet1 and quickly suggested the employment of other resonant means for marking its progress4 ,our drums were at first only hollow pieces of wood1 our cymbals1 triangle1 and gong may have had double duties1--musical and culinary1--and our harp and piano were anticipated by single strings stretched to yield a sonorous tone regardless of pitch4 ,next came the wind instruments1--at first single reeds blown to mark rhythms1 then pan-pipes1 and much later single pipes provided with finger-holes like the unimproved flute4 ,last of all came the instruments from which the tones are drawn by passing a bow over the strings4 ,the idea of adapting the vibrating length of strings to a desired pitch1 through pressing them down upon a fingerboard1 is comparatively modern4 ,these general classes took on numerous forms and were made from various materials4 ,the existence of ,jubal and his musical line of descendants bespeaks a wide-spread interest in and use of song1 but ,genesis yields no further enlightenment1 no texts1 nor any other allusions to the subject of music4 ,exodus xv4 furnishes the next mention4 ,the treacherous quicksands of the ,red ,sea having swallowed up the ,egyptians1 ,moses and the children of ,israel join in a song of rejoicing and thanksgiving to ,god1 to whose direct interposition they ascribe their deliverance4 ,the song as recorded is too circumstantial to have been spontaneous4 ,moses1 in writing his account of the occurrence1 doubtless embodied the sentiments which burst forth from the hearts of his people in the presence of the event in a more orderly and more amplified form4 ,the sentiments are lofty1 and the effect produced by the singing of that vast chorus of just rescued was1 beyond compare1 the grandest focus of human enthusiasm that the world has witnessed2 for ,moses had six hundred thousand fighting men alone4 ,miriam the prophetess1 after the song1 or during lapses in the singing1 to incite the throng to renewed efforts1 took a timbrel in her hand2 and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dancing4 ,and ,miriam answered them1 ,sing ye to the ,lord1 for ,he hath triumphed gloriously2 the horse and his rider hath ,he thrown into the sea4 ,the timbrels were drums1 probably much like our tambourines in size and shape4 ,the trumpet is mentioned three times in the nineteenth and twentieth chapters of ,exodus in connection with the delivery to ,moses of the ,commandments4 ,the last occasion is after the consummation of this universe-shaping ceremony1--viz41 ,and all the people saw the thunderings1 and the lightnings1 and the noise of the trumpet1 and the mountain smoking4 ,the thirty-second and thirty-third chapters of ,deuteronomy contain one of the ,bible's most sombre lyrics4 ,moses1 whose life has been devoted to the welfare of the ,israelites1 who has for forty years struggled to overcome in them the demoralization incident to centuries of bondage1 sings there a parting song to his people1 for they are about to enter into possession of the promised land1 which happiness is denied him4 ,could a sadder picture be imagined than this good man1 so little confident in the fruits of his past teaching1 exhorting the ,israelites for the last time8 ,it would make my sketch tiresome to burden it with the less important musical events chronicled in sacred history1 like the songs of ,deborah1 ,hannah1 etc41 so ,i shall skip four centuries1 the musical exercises of which seem to have been marked by no extraordinary occurrences1 unless we accept the fall of ,jericho as a musical phenomenon4 ,at the end of this period we come upon ,david1 who might appropriately be called the ,isaiah of our art1 for his songs voice the conception of a full1 free1 resourceful musical fruition1 unmeasured as yet by even the greatest composers who have given them settings4 ,i4 ,samuel xvi4 makes the first mention of ,david's musical capacity1--viz41 ,and ,saul said unto his servants1 ,provide me now a man that can play well1 and bring him to me4444 ,and it came to pass1 when the evil spirit from ,god was upon ,saul1 that ,david took a harp1 and played with his hand3 so ,saul was refreshed1 and was well1 and the evil spirit departed from him4 ,david's first recorded psalm of thanksgiving is in ,,ii4 ,samuel xxii4 ,its power1 vivid imagery1 and conception of omnipotence have never been surpassed by the mind of man4 ,it is musically suggestive and inspiring1 but a composer capable of grasping its import might be awed into silence1 for our art is still feeble to attempt such flights4 ,a careful reading of verses five to eighteen1 inclusive1 will yield an understanding of my feelings in regard to this song4 ,there is in much earnest music a substratum of ecclesiastical tone1 for the deeper strings of cultivated human responsiveness are attuned to worship4 ,our relation as creatures to ,god1 the ,creator1 is the prime factor in inducing this condition1 but next to it ,biblical song most influences the trend of high musical aspiration4 ,these influences are insidious1 and their fruits do not necessarily betoken design on the part of the composer1 who may be not at all devout2 but he1 having imbibed1 in common with civilized mankind1 the spirit of religion1 it permeates1 and to some extent characterizes1 his highest efforts4 ,as long as man continues to write music ,david will not cease to be one of the moving levers in shaping his conceptions4 ,this ecclesiastical tone1 when present1 does not usually manifest itself in themes1 nor in their contrapuntal development1 but in the harmonic outlines upon which these elements rest4 ,david is supposed to have written the larger number of the one hundred and fifty ,psalms that have come down to us1 and it may be interesting to trace some of the musical colors suggested by his more clearly manifested moods4 ,they mirror the deepest recesses of his ,god-fearing and paternal heart4 ,the thirteenth ,psalm is a wail of sorrow1 which is saved from sinking to despair by ,david's memory of past mercies4 ,this latter element is analogous in this case to the major harmonies in our modern minor keys1 which lend suggestions of coming brightness to our darkest tone pictures4 ,in the nineteenth ,psalm1 which begins1 ,the heavens declare the glory of ,god1 and the firmament sheweth his handiwork1 we find a spirit of contented contemplation1 for which these quoted lines strike the key-note1 and announce the theme with no uncertain sound4 ,the twenty-third consists of pastoral similes1 which follow each other with quiet but ever-increasing intensity4 ,it is as full of restful confidence and self-contained energy as the slow movement of ,beethoven's ,fifth ,symphony4 ,it is too sustained in its sequential progress to afford the contrasts so essential to composers of mediocre ability1 which may account for the desecrations of which it has been the subject4 ,nothing so tests the calibre of a musician as logically growing continuity4 ,this ,psalm would have found an ideal setting in ,bach's lofty serenity4 ,the spirit of exultation in the praise of the ,almighty1 which is present in even the sadder moments of ,david's song1 flashing light through its doubts and sorrows1 breaks into effulgent glory in the ninety-eighth ,psalm1 which has probably received more attention from composers than any other ,biblical text4 ,it has inspired much wonderful music1 but a misconception of the spirit which prompted the last verse has become traditional4 ,the psalmist did not invoke the floods to clap their hands1 and the hills to be joyful together before the ,lord1 in order to propitiate ,god1 but to express the joy he felt in anticipating the advent of ,him who should judge the people with equity4 ,to be consistent1 the composer should set this sentiment in broad grandeur1 as the culmination of his musical scheme4 ,these examples will suffice to illustrate1 in a superficial way1 the suggestive richness of ,david's ,psalms4 ,isaiah1 in chapter v4 #ab1 says1 ,and the harp and the viol1 the tabret and pipe1 and wine1 are in their feasts2 indeed1 the prophet makes repeated references to music1 but not in such manner as to endow his chronicle with special import to us4 ,i will close this chapter with two instances from the ,new ,testament4 ,the first occurred in connection with the ,lord's ,supper1--viz41 after the administration of the sacrament1 and when they had sung a hymn they went out into the ,mount of ,olives4 ,this quiet hymn will not cease to echo through the universe until we are enabled to realize ,st4 ,john's vision of heavenly music1 which as described in ,revelation 7fifth chapter7 would form a fitting climax to earthly musical effort4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,music ,,from ,,the ,,invention ,,of ,,notation ,,to ,,date ,the sweep of events in this new era has been so grand in its cumulative momentum and high tendency1 that one is quite as much embarrassed by its richness in data as by the poverty of the older period4 ,at the opening of its second era music began to make history1 and many painstaking and erudite men have devoted the best years of their lives to collating her records2 we are therefore amply supplied with books of reference1 which fact would seem to justify me in still further pursuing the path marked out by my individual impressions4 ,my deductions and theories may not always follow beaten paths2 indeed1 ,i am only led to discuss the well-known events of this era by the hope that these digressions may afford my readers new points of view1 and thus1 perhaps1 incite them to acquire a more intimate knowledge of the nature of music4 ,before commencing our explorations ,i should like to emphasize the theory advanced in ,chapter ,,ii41--viz41 that the progress of musical evolution is more or less rapid as the quality of its culture environment is better or less well suited to its requirements4 ,great composers are not eccentric growths1 but they are the natural fruits of the conditions into which they are born and in which they create4 ,acorns thrown upon bare rocks will decay2 planted in sands exposed to the violent winds from the sea1 they grow into gnarled scrubs2 but if they fall into a soil possessing qualities calculated to expand their inherent germs1 they become noble oaks1 differing in size according to the assertive vitality of their several germs and to the impulses which they receive from earth and sky4 ,these conditions also mould their forms1 for their branches reach out for sunlight and rain just as their root-tendrils seek more substantial1 but no more necessary1 sustenance4 ,this quest gives direction to their growth4 ,the forest giants are like our ,bach1 ,beethoven1 ,schubert1 ,schumann1 and ,wagner2 they1 like these musical giants1 tower above their fellows4 ,our musicians spread their roots out into the past 7into the knowledge of what others have achieved71 their aspirations are warmed into activity by the sunlight of widely diffused culture1 and their creations take form from their surroundings4 ,to illustrate my theory3 if ,beethoven were now living and composing music1 it would necessarily differ as much from that which he did produce1 in form and means1 as our life conditions and modes differ from those of seventy-five years ago1 for such a genius would be quick to feel the presence of new elements in either his material surroundings or art atmosphere4 ,some of these new elements are helpful to the composer1 while others tend to stifle his spontaneity or to distort the outlines and too much brighten the colors of his tone pictures4 ,in the first class ,i would put the universal increase of musical intelligence2 the mechanical devices1 which1 as applied to the organ1 piano1 and most of the orchestral wind instruments1 greatly increase their efficiency2 ,berlioz's idea of color integrity1 which has revolutionized orchestral writing2 the decrease of conventionality in form2 the greater intensity in harmonic successions2 and the somewhat ,bach-like import with which the writer of to-day attempts to endow the bass and middle voices4 ,at the head of the second class 7harmful elements7 ,i should place the immense practicality of our age1 which intrudes its steam ploughs upon our rural pictures1 and1 with its unending procession of mechanical innovations1 crowds poetic fancy into dark recesses1 where she survives but does not thrive2 then comes the feverish haste to become rich or famous1 which so dominates our generation as to disturb the contemplative moods of the artist1 imparting sometimes a suggestion of prosaic utility to his creations1 and in other cases endowing them with incongruous form and colors2 and last1 but not least1 comes the modern habit of self-introspection1 which1 springing from a laudable desire to reason philosophically1 smothers spontaneity4 ,beethoven would have rebelled against these adverse conditions1 but he would nevertheless have been influenced by them4 ,his spirit will defy time1 but his models and methods have become antiquated4 ,a modern composer1 however gifted1 could not follow them without sacrificing his claims to recognition4 ,we willingly allow ,bach and ,beethoven to transport us back into their times1 and we draw refreshment from the natural atmosphere that pervades them1 but would reject a modern product which embodied similar elements2 for they would1 in such case1 be artificial1 not the elements suggested by and characteristic of an emotional mood4 ,notation1 which defined musical achievements1 and thus fitted each stage of development to serve as a stepping-stone to formulated art1 was unaccountably long in coming4 ,there is no absolute certainty as to who invented our present system of writing music1 but the honor is usually accredited to ,huchbold1 of ,flanders 7#hdj-icj74 ,he was a learned ,benedictine monk and an ardent worker in the field of music4 ,huchbold certainly employed a form of notation at least suggestive of that now in use1 but1 according to some historians1 ,huchbold's own writings mention the device as if not original with him4 ,he left examples of part writing1 which1 however1 mark no improvement on the implied methods of the ancient ,egyptians 7suggested through the mural paintings referred to in ,chapter ,,ii471 for his voices progress in parallel fourths1 fifths1 and octaves1 and consequently have no independent significance4 ,the earliest example of modern notation is to be seen in the ,winchester ,cathedral4 ,it is the setting of a prayer1 and is supposed to have been written in #ajaf ,a4,d4 ,england also claims to have furnished the first example of contrapuntal composition1--a four-voiced canon with two free bassi1 written in1 or prior to1 #abdj4 ,if this be authentic1 it is a phenomenon1 like thunder out of a clear sky1 for there was not at that time1 nor for three hundred years afterwards1 any manifest scientific tendency in ,england's musical methods4 ,this piece may have been a direct or indirect product of the ,flanders school1 of which ,huchbold was the progenitor4 ,this learned priest1 who strove to materialize and co-ordinate musical means 7not its spirit71 may be taken as an index of the intellectual bent of his time in the ,netherlands1 whose people1 undaunted by human foes1 or by the more merciless sea1 which was a perpetual menace to their very existence1 devoted much attention to the development of the arts and sciences and to building up industries4 ,their intelligent and persistent enterprise walled out the ,north ,sea and made it a tractable servant1 and created on those reclaimed marshes a civilization which for several hundred years represented the highest attainments of man4 ,this earnestness of character and high culture were congenial elements to the growth of music1 and there is abundant evidence that their complement1 a distinct sense for sound expression1 was not wanting1 for ,taine1 in his ,art in the ,netherlands1 says1 ,other people cultivate music2 to them it seems an instinct4 ,it is not strange that this instinct1 coupled with the perpetuated spirit of ,huchbold1 should have produced a formulated art at that propitious stage in music's evolution4 ,music itself had become a ripe impulse1 ready and waiting for just such conditions4 ,the ,flanders school adjusted tone relationships and invented counterpoint and canon4 ,john ,osteghem and his pupil ,despres were the greatest masters of that initial school1 which for nearly two centuries1 beginning with the middle of the fourteenth1 furnished all the ,european courts with singers1 instrumentalists1 and composers4 ,their more elaborate music was written for the ,church1 and a damper was consequently put upon production by the ,reformation1 which greatly simplified religious observances and closed choir doors to the composers of ambitious works4 ,before the development of opera and the institution of the concert orchestra and chorus1 the ,church was the sole patron of high musical endeavor4 ,fortunately1 the ,netherlands musicians had forestalled the calamitous results of this religious revolution through the establishment of conservatories of music in ,venice and ,naples4 ,they transplanted their knowledge and high aspirations into sunny and ,catholic ,italy1 where they flourished and bore fruit after their native land had ceased to be musically supreme4 ,a new art is unavoidably over-conservative4 ,the natural laws1 upon which it is founded1 hold its devotees to literal conformity until experience has evolved a sense of their broader meaning4 ,they are in reality but rigid outlines1 drawn in accordance with fundamental art adjustments1 the recognition of which saves the curved lines of our fancy's pictures from abnormity and chaos4 ,they are quite analogous to the anatomical knowledge which is essential to the artist1 who conforms to its general requirements and still endows his figures with individual character4 ,the ,netherland music of that period was more intellectual than emotional2 therefore1 taking the comparative characteristics of the two peoples into account1 we can but regard the migration of the focus of musical activity to ,italy as an extremely fortunate event2 beside the fact that this change of base avoided delay in evolution1 or possible decadence4 ,the emotional ,italians would not have made music's foundation as deep or as broad1 but they were well fitted to contribute grace and beauty to its superstructure4 ,the sensuous element in music is almost wholly a reflex of ,italian temperament4 ,we northern peoples1 recognizing the power inherent in this quality1 cultivate it with more or less success1 but it is an exotic in our colder natures4 ,under the influence of ,italian character music soon began to assume more graceful lines1 purer euphony1 and richer significance4 ,science was further developed1 but it was treated as a means1 subject to individual conceptions4 ,the success of this school transplanted from the ,netherlands to ,italy culminated in the production of ,palestrina 7#aebd-aeid71 the first high-priest of our finally clarified art4 ,the inherent qualities of music1 which were considered at some length in ,chapters ,i4 and ,,ii41 make our art exclusive4 ,they wall it about1 forming an outer temple1 an inner temple1 and a holiest of holies4 ,the first is accessible to all sincere and responsive adherents of the musical faith4 ,the second is for those who minister1 priests dedicated to the service4 ,to the innermost sanctuary1 which holds the presence of our musical goddess1 ,aaron-like high-priests alone are admitted1 but the song incense which they bring forth diffuses itself1 filling the inner and the outer temples to their farthermost recesses4 ,it is primarily to the ministrations of these high-priests that we owe the widely diffused musical culture of to-day4 ,it shall therefore be one of my tasks to trace the characteristic influence of each one of this line1 whose creations will endure throughout time4 ,in the course of music's refining she had necessarily become more and more exclusive1 less accessible in her ever higher estate to coarse and uncultivated mankind4 ,this exclusiveness had from the first step in evolution been raising the walls of our now finished temple4 ,illustration3 ,,palestrina ,by permission of ,e4 ,h4 ,schroeder1 ,berlin ,although most of ,italy's early music1 like that of the ,netherlands1 was written for the ,church1 ,palestrina was the first composer to strike a clear ecclesiastical tone4 ,the tendency had been towards brilliancy1 with a seasoning of unbecoming sentimentality1 and ,pope ,marcelli1 realizing the inappropriateness of such musical settings1 conferred with this rising genius1 and commissioned him1 in #aefc1 to write a mass consistent with the spirit of worship4 ,palestrina's third attempt resulted in the great ,pope ,marcelli ,mass1 which is to-day as acceptable a model for church music as it was in the sixteenth century4 ,i have chosen ,palestrina as the first high-priest because he1 like his successors1 ,bach1 ,beethoven1 ,schubert1 ,schumann1 and ,wagner1 was a creator1 and because his works1 like theirs1 exhale the incense of the holiest of holies2 an incense which1 unlike all others1 gains power with the passage of time4 ,palestrina's works are characterized by lofty purpose and by logically audacious methods4 ,his voice leading was so smooth and melodic as to prompt one of the most erudite of living musicians1 who was at first an anti-,wagnerite1 to say that ,wagner began with ,meyerbeer and ended with ,palestrina2 meaning in the latter comparison to pay the highest possible tribute to the contrapuntal skill and musical methods of the writer of ,die ,meistersinger4 ,besides ,palestrina1 ,scarlatti and ,pergolesi were the only early ,italian composers whose music outlived the generation in which it was written4 ,scarlatti wrote operas1 but it is through his piano-forte music that his name has been kept alive4 ,pergolesi1 who appeared on the scene nearly two hundred years later than ,palestrina1 wrote operas which were received with wild enthusiasm4 ,during the period of ,italy's supremacy 7#aejj-agjj7 many forms of composition were originated1 and many mechanical devices for recording and performing music were invented or perfected4 ,among the former were the fugue1 the oratorio1 the latter of which was at first responsive 7alternating music and reading71 but soon assumed its present character1 the mass1 and the opera4 7,it is astonishing that ,monteverde's operas ,arianna and ,orfeo1 produced in #afjg-h1 embody to some degree ,wagner's idea of consistent musical drama47 ,the organ1 violin1 and piano-forte were improved1 the flageolet1 clarionet1 bassoon1 music type1 punches1 and metal plates were invented1 the first opera-house was built 7in ,venice71 and the elements of modern orchestra 7wind1 stringed1 and percussion instruments7 were formally combined4 ,flanders' light had shone into ,france and ,england1 had awakened the people of those lands to a sense of music's latent possibilities1 and we find them working intelligently and with good results2 but our present aim is to follow the main stream of musical development1 guided by the successive beacon-lights of achievement1 along its course4 ,we will later trace these lesser tributaries4 ,at the beginning of the eighteenth century two lights of dazzling brilliancy draw our gaze from ,italy to ,germany4 ,the direct influence of the ,netherlands1 which made a deep and lasting impression on the slow1 but earnest1 intellectual1 and song-loving ,germans1 had quickened their susceptibilities1 and had made them responsive to the riper musical development of ,italy4 ,the ,teutonic character is less emotional and impulsive than the ,italian1 but it is more methodical1 more romantic1 and deeper4 ,it is more like that of the ,netherlanders1 but in measuring their status we must not forget that at the period of which ,i write two hundred years had passed since the beginning of music's decadence in the northern first home4 ,the ,reformation1 which had such a depressing effect upon that initial art1 incited these less scientifically musical people to song4 ,luther1 who co-ordinated the modern ,german language1 also struck a song tone1 which set the hearts of his race into sympathetic vibration4 ,the choral voices the deepest strata of ,german character1 and its spirit echoes through their more earnest works1--in the substratum1 mentioned in ,chapter ,,iii41--so the ,reformation marks the beginning of ,germany's musical culture1 which under direct and indirect guidance and incitement from ,italy grew substantially and broadened until the eighteenth century1 when the appearance of ,hndel and ,bach evidences a northward turn in the stream of development4 ,the ,italians had contributed the most potent qualities of their nature to this stream1 and now the ,germans added their deep feeling1 intellectual force1 and somewhat later their romance4 ,as will be seen1 ,italy had not entered an inactive era1 but ,germany at this period took first place among the factors of evolution1 a place she still holds4 ,illustration3 ,,bach ,my theory in regard to the essential character of widely diffused interest in music finds full endorsement in the conditions which prevailed at that time1 and still continue in ,germany4 ,luther's chorals were written for and were sung by the people4 ,each worshipper found in them a conveyance for his devotional feelings4 ,this feature of church service1 this song essence1 gradually permeated every-day life and bore wonderful fruit2 produced a really musical nation1 out of which our second high-priest1 ,johann ,sebastian ,bach1 and his less ,german contemporary1 ,george ,frederick ,hndel1 could arise4 ,before the advent of these giants ,germany had written and performed numerous operas1 and had in various ways manifested high aspirations1 but her musicians had composed no monumental works4 ,her early troubadours1 of whom ,walther von der ,vogelweide was the greatest1 and the ,meistersnger1 of whom ,hans ,sachs1 who lived #adid-aegf1 was the most gifted1 left no record of their melodies4 ,the very existence of these ,meistersnger guilds for hundreds of years shows vitality of purpose and high aim4 ,spurred on to ever higher accomplishment by friendly rivalry1 these guilds doubtless contributed much to the lyric strain in the ,german nature1 and therefore to the ultimate greatness of their ,fatherland4 ,the last of these guilds was disbanded at ,ulm in #ahcf4 ,bach was the mightiest man who has composed music4 ,a writer who saw him says1 ,his black eyes1 shining out of his massive head1 looked like flames bursting from a rock4 ,he was the descendant of a line that was both mentally and physically stalwart4 ,his remotest traceable ancestor was a baker who migrated from ,hungary to ,saxony1 and his son1 ,johann ,sebastian's great-grandfather1 was a carpet-weaver and musician4 ,the two succeeding generations devoted themselves exclusively to music1 and they furnished half ,thuringia with capable musicians4 ,their conscientious work1 however1 gave no premonition of the coming sublime climax in their family achievements4 ,johann ,sebastian ,bach inherited an iron will1 self-abnegation1 and devotion to art4 ,his conceptions soared so far above the existing traditions1 and he did so little to attract public attention1 that he was but slightly heeded during his lifetime2 indeed1 it required a century after his death and the appreciation of a ,mendelssohn to make the world realize that a veritable god had lived among men4 ,the modest cantor of ,leipzig's ,st4 ,thomas' school was obliged to struggle to support his large family1 but he made no concessions to prevailing taste2 he did not depart from the lines of his ideal to secure popularity4 ,he patiently submitted to whatever teaching-drudgery was necessary to earn bread for his children1 but when seated on his organ-bench or when he took his quill in hand he admitted no other allegiance than that to art1 and no other impulse than that which prompted him to serve her with his fullest powers4 ,the force1 dignity1 simple loveliness1 pathos1 and grandeur which in turn characterize his conceptions are so wonderful1 when considered as products of the eighteenth century1 that they and his serene indifference to recognition stamp him a unique man1--a musical ,messiah4 ,bach's versatility1 facility1 and physical endurance were as remarkable in their way as was the quality of his creations4 ,he wrote for organ1 piano1 violin1 for voices unaccompanied and with organ or orchestra1 and asserted his mastery in each and all of these fields4 ,his preserved writings would busy a copyist ten hours per day for fourteen years1 and still ,bach1 in the absence of other outlets1 found time to engrave much of his own music4 ,it is to be hoped that the tardy appreciation of his character and works1 which have at last filled the world with adoration1 may penetrate the ,beyond and warm his heart towards mankind1 who during his life so little fathomed the depths of his emotions and failed to see the loftiness of his ideals4 ,hndel was also great1 unless compared with his greater contemporary4 ,his best work was the oratorio ,israel in ,egypt4 ,his style was a mixture of ,italian grace and ,german vigor4 ,he was a master of vocal resources1 and his works are therefore strong in sonority1 and grateful to both singers and hearers4 ,hndel wrote fluently1 but with a less sustained earnestness than ,bach1 and his compositions have done more to foster chorus singing than have all other agencies combined2 for which reason the musical world is but discharging a just debt in assigning to him the place of honor on its vocal repertoires4 ,of these two masters1 ,hndel wrote less involvedly4 ,bach depended upon the legitimate development of his themes1 whereas ,hndel often resorted to tone masses1--was more harmonic than contrapuntal4 ,soon after the middle of the eighteenth century the ever-rising flood of musical culture became highest in ,vienna4 ,this resulted quite as much from the city's contiguity to ,italy1 whose lyric springs had by no means run dry1 as from the stream of northern influence4 ,musical intelligence had by this time become so diffused that bright lights showed themselves at many points on the horizon1 but ,vienna was made resplendent by a galaxy that illumined her musical life and prepared her for our third and fourth high-priests1 ,beethoven and ,schubert4 ,the most brilliant of this galaxy were ,haydn1 ,mozart1 and ,gluck1 each and all of whom bequeathed treasures to the world surpassed in value only by those with which our priestly line endowed us4 ,papa ,haydn gave expression to his pure aspirations and childlike simplicity in symphonies1 stringed quartets1 and other ensemble works1 and in large vocal compositions4 ,the ,creation and ,seasons are his most ambitious writings4 ,few of ,haydn's works have great intellectual power1 but they are as refreshing as rural scenes or well-told tales4 ,mozart and ,gluck will be necessarily discussed in ,chapter ,v41 so ,i will pass them now4 ,beethoven was our third high-priest1 because his somewhat earlier appearance entitles him to precedence over his later coadjutor4 ,the ,vienna school had originated or evolved the sonata form1 had endowed music with more sustained and more clearly defined melody1 richer harmonic color1 and dramatic power1 and had greatly enriched the orchestra2 so ,beethoven began his work with far ampler resources at his command and more fertile traditions in which to root his art than had any of his predecessors4 ,beethoven was like ,bach in many of his characteristics2 he was self-reliant1 manfully tender1 and forcible without violence4 ,his best conceptions are so high and noble that they leave human frailties far behind and suggest the music of the spheres1 but he was less constant in his fidelity to art than ,bach2 not because he yielded to pressure from without1 but because of his impatient nature1 which at times impelled him to follow routine rather than wait for inspiration to outline his course4 ,this resulted in lapses1 which will1 when awe has given place to discriminating judgment1 lead the musical world to discard some of his now blindly accepted works4 ,this is to be desired1 for those who profess to1 or actually do1 derive pleasure from all of ,beethoven's works are either untrue to themselves1 or they are incapable of responsiveness to his supreme moments1 which produced such wonders of tonal expression as ,fidelio and the ,eroica4 ,illustration3 ,,beethoven ,it will not matter what forms music may assume in the course of her further evolution1 ,beethoven's more intensely individual creations will retain their monumental character1 looking serenely upon passing generations of mankind like the ,pyramids1 but even less perishable than they4 ,in scanning ,beethoven's methods and the spirit which pervades his compositions1 as compared with those of ,bach1 we must take cognizance of the different social and musical conditions which prevailed in their respective periods4 ,europe was1 at the beginning of the nineteenth century1 shaking off her powdered wigs and their attendant austerity4 ,culture was becoming more confident and audacious1 and music reflected the features of her new environment in increased geniality and breadth of scope4 ,beethoven's methods were quite opposed to those employed by ,bach4 ,the former drew a grand sweep of outline1 and then used counterpoint as a contributive element1 whereas thematic counterpoint was the substance of ,bach's creations1--the tissue which gave them form4 ,each was a reflex of the noblest tendencies of his time4 ,illustration3 ,,schubert ,by permission of ,e4 ,h4 ,schroeder1 ,berlin ,i approach ,schubert1 our fourth high-priest1 whose ministrations1 coming in conjunction with those of ,beethoven1 make their epoch the most remarkable one in music's career1 with wonder for his achievements and regret for his half-lived life4 ,that which was so beautifully said of ,keats1 ,life of a long life condensed to a mere drop1 and fallen like a tear upon the world's cheek1 to make it burn forever1 would apply equally to ,schubert4 ,he was born into a period that had already manifested lyric tendencies1 but he was an inexhaustible spring1 from which limpid melody gushed in ever-increasing volume1 filling his every musical scheme to repletion4 ,nature made ,schubert the greatest musical genius the world has seen1 and had his life but reached completeness1 he would1 perhaps1 have drawn from his emotional well-spring greater symphonies than the ,c major and the ,unfinished4 ,schubert was virtually the originator of the modern song1 which has been1 and always will be1 a great solace to mankind4 ,it is at the same time the most practical1 because the most easily understood1 means of educating musical instinct into sympathy with the spirit that pervades more elaborate forms4 ,the associated texts make clear their musical import1 and the appreciation of one really good composition places us on a vantage-ground from which we can better comprehend others4 ,schubert required the song as a ready outlet for his lyric productiveness1 and wrote twelve hundred of them without redundancies and with always definite and distinguishing significance4 ,many gifted composers have put their most felicitous fancies into this fireside form1 but although some have sung more impassionedly1 and others have placed their melodies in richer settings1 no one has been so uniformly adequate as ,franz ,schubert4 ,schumann1 ,franz1 and ,jensen always please1 and they often excite our wonder by the beauty and adaptability of their song conceptions1 but ,schubert's songs do not express1 they embody1 moods and sentiments4 ,his flow of melody was so fresh and strong that in instrumental compositions it often carried him to uncommon length4 ,the ,germans call his ,c major symphony ,the ,symphony of ,heavenly ,length4 ,this phrase quite aptly describes the work1 for an idea of its proportions1 and of the quality which prevents them from being prohibitory1 are both voiced by the expressive adjective employed1 ,schubert scarcely lived to maturity1 but he dispensed such unalloyed benefits that his name will be forever enshrined in the hearts of those who love pure music4 ,during all this time culture had been making great strides1 and a comprehensive glance1 at the time of ,schubert's death1 would have revealed all ,europe aflood with musical enthusiasm4 ,orchestras were multiplied and improved1 grand chorus organizations were founded1 and institutions for the education of musical aspirants were established under the patronage of various governments4 ,out of this condition come two bright lights that rivet our attention upon ,cantor ,bach's old home as the centre of influence4 ,our stream of development1 which was a rivulet as it flowed from ,flanders1 soon became a mighty river1 and has now overflowed its banks and formed a great sea of culture4 ,mendelssohn was one of the most genial characters that we meet in the annals of music4 ,his education and temperament made the adequate adjustment of resources to the fulfilment of his schemes almost intuitive2 but his conceptions themselves1 although invariably round and poetic1 usually lack the bold lines and the deep import that have distinguished the creations of our high-priests4 ,human characters1 like forest-trees1 seem to need exposure to trying winds1 which if successfully weathered only strengthen their fibres and loosen the soil about their roots1 so that they may spread out and extend downward to fresh and deeper sources of impulse4 ,it may be that ,mendelssohn's life conditions were too peaceful1 that he was too much sheltered from care and adversity to fully develop the depth and nobility of his nature1 which flashes out in some parts of ,saint ,paul and ,elijah1 and pervades the ,walpurgis ,night4 ,his happy disposition found its most characteristic expression in inimitable scherzi and works of that less emotional class4 ,mendelssohn's elegance of style1 richness of color1 and his personality caused a wave of imitation to set across musical production1 but it soon subsided1 for only the most stalwart methods endure the dilution incident to their adoption by lesser talent without degenerating to insipid weakness4 ,mendelssohn's greatest service to the musical world was rendered in his persistent advocacy of ,bach4 ,schumann1 our fifth high-priest1 had to encounter the difficulties of life in the open field1 having had no social nor financial breastworks from behind which he could ignore the arrows of outrageous fortune4 ,his path was strewn with thorns1 and was unlighted by recognition until near its end4 ,schumann was not so consummate a master of counterpoint as was ,mendelssohn1 but his stronger individuality and deeper sensibility filled his fancies with epoch-making qualities4 ,our art had during the previous quarter century taken on more intensity1 greater freedom in voice leading1 and1 last of all1 a well-defined romantic vein4 ,illustration3 ,,schumann ,by permission of ,e4 ,h4 ,schroeder1 ,berlin ,the first two appealed strongly to ,schumann's nature1 as is evidenced by his writings1 for the pictures of his imaginings are not peaceful pastoral scenes1 but depict storms of passion and emotional struggles4 ,romance shows itself at times1 but it is not a distinguishing element4 ,schumann wrote four symphonies1 of which the last one heard is always the best4 ,they rank among the few immortal works in this epic form1 but entirely because of the individual character of their schemes and the richness of their musical texture1 for their instrumental colors are not adequate4 ,he succeeded equally well in ensemble1 chorus1 and piano-forte music1 and his songs almost rival those of ,schubert1 but strange to say1 the orchestra seems to have been a closed book to our fifth high-priest4 ,schumann had1 in his impatience to overcome the weakness of his fourth or ring fingers1 employed a mechanical appliance which permanently lamed his hands1 thereby dashing his hopes of becoming a piano virtuoso4 ,this is the only recorded case in which violent methods have produced desirable fruits2 for they usually deaden the nerves only1 and result in strength without facility1 and tone without beauty2 in other words1 in wooden pianists4 ,in this case they produced entire disability1 and forced ,schumann into his proper sphere1--creation1--in which he accomplished lasting good1 whereas the benefits to art of even the highest grade of virtuosity are comparatively ephemeral4 ,his love for the piano-forte led him to study its capacities and limitations most thoroughly1 the consequence being that his compositions for that instrument are more grateful to the fingers and ears of pianists than those of any other classical composer4 ,schumann's music is more involved than ,beethoven's or ,schubert's1 and his restless passion found expression in broken rhythms and in dissonant compounds1 which1 however they may at first impress us1 gain natural and deep significance with close familiarity4 ,he was the first composer to feel and apply the immense1 expressive resources inherent in rhythm4 ,schumann's quintet for strings and piano-forte is one of the greatest pieces of ensemble music that has been written1 and his piano concerto in ,a minor is1 to my mind1 without a rival4 ,of his songs1 the ,frauen ,liebe und ,leben cyclus are1 when the numbers are considered singly1 and then in their respective relations to his beautifully rounded conception of womanliness1 the most remarkable1 although the ,dichter ,liebe is full of gems1 and the ,spring ,night is a picture which is more suggestive of a magic wand than of a human intellect4 ,our fifth high-priest was not alone a musician2 he was a philosopher and the ablest critic the musical world has seen4 ,he was so broad that he could be generous as well as just1 as was shown by his laudatory writings in regard to his rival1--,mendelssohn4 ,he estimated ,wagner's cruder stage correctly1 and would doubtless have become an adherent of the new faith had he lived to see its riper fruits2 for he was always susceptible to manifestations of genuine creative ability and logical reasoning4 ,the consideration of ,wagner1 the sixth in line1 involves entering upon a somewhat new field1 and it will require so much space that ,i will give him1 his forms1 and his methods a separate chapter4 ,before undertaking that task it may be well to trace some of the tributary influences which1 following collateral lines1 have helped to swell the tide of musical culture4 ,it will facilitate the accomplishment of this purpose to scan the achievements of each nation separately1 mentioning only such individuals and events as were active agents in furthering the cause4 ,france evinced a very marked interest in music early in its second era1 but her good intentions were several hundred years in crystallizing4 ,the establishment of an ,academy of ,music in ,paris 7#afgb7 was the first really noteworthy event in the history of ,french music4 ,tulli1 who was its first director1 was a very able man4 ,he wrote operas1 which were sung in ,french1 and he created the chrysalis from which our symphony was later developed4 ,although the next hundred years were not productive of great men1 ,paris had at the end of that period become attractive and congenial to such masters as ,gluck1 ,cherubini1 and ,piccini4 ,this shows that she had educated a generation of intelligent listeners1 and at least a portion of the executants necessary to the performance of grand opera4 ,in #agie the ,conservatory was founded1 which event marked the beginning of that earnest1 organized effort that has given the world so many rare instrumentalists and vocalists4 ,the finesse of the ,french school is delicious when applied with intellectual breadth sufficient to prevent its becoming finical4 ,france has also produced numberless composers1 but few who have attained to more than passing fame4 ,her people are quick in their perceptions1 and deft and dainty in all that appertains to sthetics4 ,they are enthusiastic lovers of such music as does not require them to think earnestly while following it1 but they are emotionally volatile4 ,berlioz is the only ,french composer who successfully resisted the pressure of this environment4 ,he was made of stern stuff1 and followed the promptings of his muse without wavering1 although she often dictated courses and methods that precluded immediate success with the public4 ,in his ,requiem ,mass1 which looks bizarre to a casual observer of the score1 he uses each and all of the executive forces1 an immense orchestra with all possible accessories1 auxiliary brass corps1 chorus1 and soli1 with such keen appreciation of individual quality and such unerring judgment as to the appropriate rle for each quality in the grand ensemble1 that the effects he attains not only disarm criticism1 they fill one with awe4 ,still1 if we scrutinize ,berlioz's works closely1 we find that he was more a ,rubens than a ,rembrandt1 for while his diction was often more erratic than sequential1 his sense of tone color was so acute that it led him to inaugurate the movement that is still in progress for purging music of pernicious unisons reinforcements4 ,of the other notable ,french composers1 ,gounod is delightfully melodious1 but is too sweet to be entirely wholesome1 and ,saint-,sans 7half ,german in instinct and manner7 is a phenomenal master of instrumentation1 and he is very ingenious1 but one is seldom convinced that his compositions have grown from emotional germs4 ,massenet1 ,bizet1 and others have written1 or are writing1 charming music1 but it has little substantiality4 ,its charms are liable to effervesce1 like the emotions of the ,paris public4 ,the ,french seem to reserve all of their earnestness for the more tangible arts1 and for science1 to all of which they have contributed their full share4 ,england's musical career has been unique4 ,the people of that snug little island across the channel should be an enthusiastically happy race1 for nature endowed their land with fertility and beauty1 and centuries of skillful cultivation have enhanced these virtues until ,albion's rural loveliness is to-day unequalled4 ,they have exceptionally rich traditions1 their prowess in arms and achievements in literature1 science1 pictorial art1 and industry furnish abundant grounds for their national pride1 but it is a pity that their blessings have not made them more demonstrative1 for stoical complacency is not good soil in which to grow an emotional art4 ,for this reason recorded ,english composition1 which began so unprecedentedly well in the sixteenth century with the invention of the madrigal1 has not fulfilled the promise implied by that event4 ,the ,english are a sturdy race1 and their climate and out-of-door amusements have endowed their voices with uncommonly mellow and tuneful qualities4 ,it is therefore quite natural that their musical activities should have been so largely centred in chorus singing1 which they make peculiarly sonorous and artistically adequate4 ,this choral virtuosity is not a recent growth1 for it attracted ,hndel in the eighteenth century4 ,it was also recognized by ,mendelssohn4 ,this love for song has been materially fostered by the ,established ,church1 whose elaborate services have furnished composers with both incitement and outlet4 ,most of ,england's choral works are dignified and smooth1 but they lack intensity4 ,there is an element in ,english 7and ,american7 musical life the evil influence of which cannot be easily over-estimated3 it is the popular ballad4 ,in them the best lyric texts in any language are associated with musical conceptions which are usually so devoid of artistic qualities and significance1 that no one at all musical would endure them were it not for the halo cast about their imbecility by the poet's art1 which they profane4 ,the ,scandinavian countries1 and ,russia1 ,poland1 and ,hungary1 each with its distinctive folk-song treasury and romantic traditions1 have1 during this century1 awakened to great musical activity1 and each of them has produced one or more composers who have made an impression on art evolution4 ,the first named have given us ,svendsen1 ,grieg1 and ,hamerik1 not to mention the artistic but less stalwart ,gade1 with their weird and at times grotesque rhythms1 melodic contour1 and harmonies4 ,the sensation produced by these ,scandinavian song characteristics when first brought to the notice of the outside world1 impelled these talented men to incorporate them into their art4 ,this was a mistake1 for great music is as broad as the universe1 whereas the vein of national song is narrow and only limitedly fruitful4 ,had ,svendsen escaped infection from this northern piquancy1 he might possibly have fitted himself to wear high-priestly robes1 for his endowments were of the highest1 and his dbut as a composer was startlingly brilliant4 ,russia's musical type is less pronounced than the ,scandinavian4 ,her producers have therefore developed on cosmopolitan lines4 ,tschaikowski1 who was beyond compare the most gifted composer that ,russia has given to the world1 may with the passage of time be recognized as the natural heir of our priestly line4 ,his emotional power1 clean-cut individuality 7originality71 fine sense of rhythmic values and color combinations1 and his inexhaustible lyric invention place him at the head of symphonists of his time4 ,an event which reflected honor on the empire of the ,czar was the birth within her borders of that giant of all pianists1 ,anton ,rubinstein4 ,i speak of him as a pianist rather than as a composer1 for while he often showed the possession of uncommon creative faculties1 he was too diffuse1 seldom focussed his tonal diction to such coherent strength as would make his writings comparable with his playing4 ,poland gave us ,chopin1 who is the one exception to the rules by which ,i have endeavored to trace the successive stages of musical evolution4 ,all other composers have taken inherited forms and means1 and have moulded them into shapes comporting with the spirit of their individual conceptions1 and even these conceptions were to a considerable extent reflections of their environment4 ,beethoven was a mighty genius1 but he did not create an art type1 and was therefore not1 in a broad sense1 original1 whereas ,chopin was radically so1 his works seeming to owe no allegiance to schools1 and seldom to nationality1 but only to his poetic soul1 of which they were the legitimate offspring4 ,his fancies are sometimes more graceful than strong2 they even1 now and then1 verge on the sentimental2 so ,chopin is not entitled to a place among the giants1 although he revolutionized composition for the piano1 and wrote some things so beautiful that they excite ever fresh wonder4 ,the small form seemed to best suit his spontaneous style2 therefore op4 #aj and op4 #be1 and the preludes1 undoubtedly better represent ,chopin's individuality than do any other of his works4 ,franz ,liszt was born in ,hungary1 and in his less serious moments made use of the gypsy-like rhythms1 twists1 and spasmodic utterance of her national music4 ,at other times he wrote universal music1 which he made characteristic through breathing into it his own rich individuality4 ,the ,abb ,doctor was more fted and less spoiled thereby than any successful artist of modern times4 ,he led a life of triumph from youth to old age1 and through it all preserved a simple modesty of manner1 interest in new talents and accomplishments1 and an indescribable intellectual fascination4 ,nothing afforded ,liszt more pleasure than to give advice to1 or to use his influence for the benefit of1 talent struggling to clarify its own conceptions1 or seeking indispensable publicity4 ,the list of his protgs includes many who have made world records1 like ,raff1 ,blow1 ,tausig1 and ,wagner4 ,but for ,meister ,liszt's early perception of ,wagner's then undeveloped genius1 we should have had no sixth high-priest to record1 and no ,bayreuth festivals4 ,america has only recently entered the lists1 for the conditions attendant upon a new civilization make artistic achievement impossible4 ,these conditions were emphatically bad in our land1 and they yielded reluctantly to art requirements4 ,the religious bigotry of a large portion of those who first came to ,america1 seeking freedom of conscience 7for those who thought and believed as they thought and believed71 was deadly to art impulse4 ,they looked upon any music not set to sacred words as a frivolity that would imperil their souls1 and they exercised little judgment in selecting such music as they did use4 ,this narrow view of our art greatly delayed the advent of musical intelligence1 and it called a species of psalm-smiters into being1 who1 with inappropriate adaptations of secular melodies1 and worse attempts at composition1 debased both music and the services of the church1 and sapped the vitality of art tendency when it first became manifest4 ,america still harbors some of these vampires1 but the day of art is breaking over our land1 and these creatures of darkness will soon disappear4 ,our progress was at first slow1 but there have been no backward steps1 and the past fifty years have witnessed a magical advance in general intelligence and in creative capacity4 ,before closing this chapter ,i must return to ,germany and trace some of the subsidiary sources of her present supremacy4 ,the name ,robert ,franz1 which was years ago adopted by a timid young musician as his nom de plume1 was formed by combining the first names of his ideal tone poets1 ,schumann and ,schubert4 ,his success was immediate1 and he soon became so identified with this name that his own almost passed out of use4 ,robert ,franz was a pure lyrist1 and his songs must be given place little below those of his great models4 ,he served to perpetuate the spirit of song1 and placed the world under tribute by his ,bach researches4 ,raff was a man of startling routine1 and of no less astounding inequalities in merit4 ,some of his symphonies are replete with sensuous melody and fresh harmonic1 contrapuntal1 and instrumental color1 while others are incomprehensibly dull4 ,leonora and ,im ,walde represent ,raff at his best1 and they are so strong and beautiful that they will keep their creator's name before the musical world for many years4 ,no one can predict how long ,raff's mastery of methods and forms will exert a salutary influence upon composers4 ,schumann was ,brahms' musical god-father1 and he predicted great results from the development of his godson's talent4 ,there is much difference of opinion as to whether ,schumann's prophecy was fulfilled1 but many capable critics are on the affirmative side4 ,brahms has1 in one way at least1 shown the possession of absolutely great qualities1--viz41 his productivity did not exhaust1 but increased the vitality of his conceptions4 ,he was an artist with whom future generations will have to do1 but he was not an epoch-maker4 ,,chapter ,v ,,wagner ,,and ,,the ,,music ,,drama ,it is quite proper to devote a chapter to ,richard ,wagner1 for his later works are not only examples of the most skillful and purposeful employment of the contrapuntal and instrumental resources which he1 in common with his contemporaries1 inherited from the past1 but they show how audacious genius may safely pursue its purposes out beyond beaten paths into unexplored regions of tonal expression4 ,why may genius do this1 which is so uniformly fatal to the less gifted8 ,it is because of its comprehensive grasp of logical sequence and its intuitive choice of adaptable means4 ,ripe genius is a definite talent which has been subjected to exhaustive discipline1 which is familiar with traditions1 and takes full cognizance of pedantic forms1 but is guided by an art feeling engendered by this knowledge1 and not by the knowledge itself4 ,it is a law unto itself4 ,it conceives a picture1 a poem1 or a musical sentiment1 and communicates it to us through means that are often as unfamiliar as is the effect of the whole original2 for it usually avoids the ruts of travelled ways1 its clear view of the objective goal enabling it to follow the less frequented stream-side or mountain-top paths4 ,wagner was1 in the last thirty years of his life1 a ripe genius4 ,he was the sixth of our musical high-priests1 and he filled the art temple with a characteristic song incense which will pervade its atmosphere as long as human passions continue to furnish art impulse4 ,there is a class of pedants who still take satisfaction in calling ,wagner's music artificial2 but these short-sighted critics cannot or will not properly survey the field of his activity and its fruits4 ,no human mind could1 unless impelled by natural1 sequential feeling and virile imagination1 write even one of his later dramas without manifold exhibitions of weakness in redundancies and lapses in significance4 ,the fact that ,wagner's works1 from the ,meistersinger on1 show few1 if any1 such barren moments1 adequately evidences their natural growth from musical germs4 ,a great creator always incites a large number of lesser lights to imitate his methods1 but few of them do so successfully4 ,wagner is not1 however1 answerable for the vague effects of his dramatic means1 when they are transplanted into ,wagnerish overtures and symphonic poems4 ,he evolved situations that made these means legitimate and significant2 isolated1 they fall into bizarre artificiality4 ,although we cannot fail to be influenced by the elements which ,wagner added to tonal resources1 they1 like all other elements1 must be applied because most adaptable to the development of the musical scheme in hand1 and not because of their newness4 ,a prophet is not without honor save in his own country4 ,this was strikingly exemplified by the attitude of professional ,leipzig towards ,wagner during the earlier stages of his career4 ,leipzig was at that time regarded by the outlying world as the musical centre of the universe1 a ,mecca with a magic balm1 dispensed by a priesthood whose ,mahomet was ,mendelssohn4 ,the town had been a prominent seat of learning since the first part of the fifteenth century1 had possessed ,bach as cantor of its ,st4 ,thomas' school1 had for a long series of years maintained its ,gewandhaus concerts1 and was the greatest of all book- and music-selling marts4 ,these circumstances combined to make ,leipzig stand out in bold relief on the world's map1 but it required ,mendelssohn's magnetism to make its attractions irresistible4 ,the ,conservatory faculty of those days included all the most prominent musicians domiciled in ,leipzig1 for the town was too small to furnish adherents for such contra-minded parties or factions as exist in larger cities4 ,mendelssohn had enlisted his forces with well-directed regard for harmony1 but their creed1 although properly placing ,bach as the corner-stone of musical faith1 was too narrow in its tenets to admit those to communion whose fancy led them outside the pale of traditional forms4 ,they were even lukewarm towards ,schumann1 who had lived among them1 had created a period1,a and had contributed treasures to musical literature so luminous with genius that1 as the mists of prejudice clear away1 they will eclipse forever all contemporaneous productions in the various forms which they followed4 ,the rugged boldness of originality was in the esteem of the ,leipzig pedagogue but an exhibition of crude ignorance4 ,those who could not or would not recognize ,schumann's great throbbing heart in his writings1 because he1 in expressing his individuality1 did not always follow prescribed formul1 would naturally have rejected ,wagner1 for his earlier works were not cast in classic moulds4 ,a ,composers who originate forms or methods that recommend themselves to the musical world because they voice recognizable advance in art expression1 create periods4 ,mendelssohn was in his more earnest moods a modernized ,bach4 ,he did not originate forms1 but adapted those of his great ideal to our nineteenth century habits of thought and feeling4 ,he did this inimitably1 but he was more finished than forceful or bold1 and his impress on art was consequently not deep1 although extremely salutary4 ,those of ,wagner's creations which had been before the public previous to #ahfj were characterized by few departures from ,weber and ,meyerbeer in scheme4 ,wagnerian harmonies were1 however1 too strong for the ,leipzig critic1 but the public flocked to hear them1 and was pleased4 ,original ideas often find first recognition among the non-professional1 because musical leaders are so saturated with pedantry that sparks of genius cannot quickly kindle them to enthusiasm4 ,in #ahfb the ,gewandhaus directors made a great concession2 they invited ,richard ,wagner to conduct his ,tannhuser ,overture at one of their concerts4 ,this was a fatal mistake1 for his triumph was complete1 and their influence as opponents of the music of the future was correspondingly weakened4 ,i have discussed ,leipzig at such length1 not because it was ,wagner's birthplace1 but because from this town1 with all its intolerance and smallness1 started the only short road to success4 ,leipzig's endorsement was a universally accepted voucher4 ,wagner had found this direct path barred1 and his wanderings in surmounting or circumventing obstacles lasted for a long series of years1 but his faith remained steadfast1 and he reached the goal of his ambition a far stronger man because of the difficulties he had overcome4 ,his appearance at the ,gewandhaus was only a station on his course to already assured success1 and not his starting-point4 ,wagner found opera a succession of solo1 ensemble1 and chorus pieces1 strung upon plots often too slender to give them coherence4 ,texts had been made subservient to music1 and that1 in turn1 to the singer's convenience and ambition for display4 ,operas were written as early as the thirteenth century1 but ,cherubini was the first ,italian1 and ,gluck the first ,german1 to produce works that have survived4 ,cherubini was followed by ,rossini1 a man of genius1 but too indolent to fully develop his gifts4 ,had his beautiful sensuous melodies been put into richer settings1 had more earnest thought been added to his spontaneity1 his operas would have taken their places among the undying creations4 ,flashes of genius ultimately tire4 ,it is the steady light of genius1 fed by knowledge and earnestness 7as in ,beethoven1 ,schubert1 and ,schumann71 that can hold the world's attention restfully1 which means perpetually4 ,bellini1 with ,norma and ,sonnambula1 and ,donizetti1 with ,lucia di ,lammermoor and ,lucretia ,borgia1 still hold a place on the operatic stage1 but their grasp is weakening4 ,verdi was the best equipped of all ,italian opera composers1 and his ,trovatore1 with it rare gems1 will crown his memory to the end of musical time4 ,his later works1 ,aida1 ,othello1 and ,falstaff1 written under the influence of the ,wagner period1 are quite different from his earlier operas in instrumentation and in treatment of themes4 ,in them he is more logical and stronger1 but less sensuous4 ,they furnish the first instances of ,italian music dressed in foreign garb2 of ,italian music written under pressure from without4 ,it has until recently been ,italy's province to shed influence over the musical world4 ,i construe ,verdi's concessions to ,wagner as the strongest possible endorsement of the latter's ideas4 ,no other composer was in position to pay such tribute to ,wagner's forceful and far-reaching art sense4 ,the ,italian composers of the new school are musical brigands1 who for a brief space succeeded in taking tribute from the musical world4 ,their leader1 ,mascagni1 made such a sensational raid with his ,cavalleria ,rusticana that young ,italy jumped into the breach he made1 and evidently thought to take possession of our temple1 regardless of their lack of equipment and discipline4 ,although but few years have elapsed since this assault on art1 its episodes have already been relegated to the realm of disturbing memories4 ,cavalleria ,rusticana1 the first and best of its class1 has some merits2 it is short1 melodious1 and dramatic1 but its melodies are often sentimental1 and its dramatic points are usually made through the audacious employment of crude means4 ,the direct influence of this work and its reception1 conspired for harm to art4 ,gluck was a ,teuton1 and although educated in ,italy and adopted by ,france1 can with propriety be called the father of ,german opera4 ,his ,iphigenia in ,tauris and ,orpheus and ,eurydice will always be regarded as classic models of lyric writing4 ,gluck's schemes differed little from those of the ,italian school1 but his harmonic and instrumental methods were ,german4 ,mozart was a phenomenal combination of inconsistencies4 ,his routine and creative genius were of the highest order1 his spontaneity and finish make his music delightful alike to amateurs and musicians1 but he seldom seems to take matters seriously4 ,don ,juan1 the ,requiem1 and his string quartets are exceptions1 for in these he is earnest and does his genius full justice4 ,beethoven gave us ,fidelio4 ,he was equally endowed with ,mozart1 but was actuated in what he did by earnest1 deep feeling4 ,fidelio1 although built on the old and now discarded lines1 will only take second place 7musically7 when some genius arises capable of writing symphonies to supersede ,beethoven's nine4 ,in ,fidelio we still have the string of well-defined pieces1 but they are rich in harmonization and polyphony4 ,weber made a great impression on opera4 ,his audacious use of the orchestra and of modulation1 opened up new fields of possibility1 and there is a doubt as to whether modern ,german opera would have become what it is1 had ,weber not lived4 ,he was gifted with an inexhaustible store of melody1 was equal to all dramatic situations1 however exacting1 and could court popular favor without belittling his art1--a very rare quality4 ,weber was at first ,wagner's model1 and ,rienzi and ,der ,fliegende ,hollnder bear a distinct ,weber impress4 ,meyerbeer was a ,german1 but early adopted ,italian methods4 ,he was an excellent business man1 possessed ample means1 and therefore secured deserved recognition early in his career1 instead of having lived almost a life of deferred hopes1 as is usually the good musician's lot4 ,meyerbeer is melodious1 and is often dramatic1 but unlike ,weber1 sometimes belittles his art in catering to public tastes4 ,his pageant and ballet music are the most characteristic and impressive features of his operas4 ,wagner expressed contempt for ,meyerbeer1 but evidently recognized the grandeur of the operatic pageantry of which he was the creator4 ,we see evidences of this phase of ,meyerbeer's influence until we pass the ,lohengrin stage4 ,many other good operas were produced during the first half of this century1 but as they were not potential factors in operatic evolution1 ,i shall mention them only in passing4 ,adam wrote ,postillion2 ,auber1 ,fra ,diavolo1 ,die ,stumme von ,portici1 etc42 ,flotow1 ,martha and ,alessandro ,stradella2 ,hrold1 ,zampa2 ,kreutzer1 ,nachtlager von ,granada2 ,lortzing1 ,der ,waffenschmied1 ,der ,czar und ,zimmermann1 etc2 ,marschner1 ,hans ,heiling1 ,der ,templer und die ,jdin1 and ,der ,vampyre2 ,nicolai1 ,the ,merry ,wives2 ,spohr1 ,jessonda and ,faust1 and ,schumann1 ,genoveva4 ,all of these operas are still given at least occasionally1 and most of them are excellent musical compositions4 ,the situation at the time when ,wagner first manifested a defined tendency towards the music drama was as follows3 ,gluck had given the world his two great works1 and they1 together with ,fidelio1 ,don ,juan1 ,the ,magic ,flute1 ,the ,marriage of ,figaro1 ,der ,freischutz1 and ,oberon of the ,german1 and ,trovatore1 ,william ,tell1 ,norma1 ,lucia di ,lammermoor1 ,la ,sonnambula1 ,robert le ,diable1 ,der ,prophet1 and ,die ,hugenotten of the ,italian1 were the most prominent and best examples of operatic writing4 ,although the first steps towards the emancipation of opera from inconsistencies were the result of conditions rather than of premeditation1 ,wagner had sufficient genius to appreciate the power inherent in logical sequence3 a power which1 when compared with that resulting from eccentric modes1 is as the progress of the ages to that of a leaf borne by the wind4 ,logical sequence moves onward with irresistible momentum1 whereas fragmentary diction is blown about by every wind of caprice4 ,the condition which most influenced ,wagner's conceptions was his relation as poet to his musical undertakings4 ,he was in each instance first poet and then composer1 and nothing could have been more natural than his early evinced disposition to guard his texts from distorted1 disconnected renderings4 ,this disposition grew1 as through experience his grasp became more and more comprehensive4 ,there were no backward steps in his career4 ,it was like his schemes1--consequent1--advancing unwaveringly from inception to full realization in ,parsifal and ,tristan und ,isolde4 ,wagner had courage adequate to sustain him in following his conceptions through ridicule1 want1 and almost utter friendlessness4 ,no discouragement could divert him from the even tenor of his chosen course4 ,his early operas1 although their texts were treated with unwonted respect1 gave little intimation of the revolution which was to be accomplished by their author1 and it is extremely doubtful whether ,wagner at this period had a shadowy conception even of that later ideal1 which time and experience developed1 in which music and the pictorial element were not only to collaborate with1 but were to reproduce the situations and sentiments of his poems4 ,this kind of tone painting1 in which the composer endeavors to endow his musical phrases with definite significance1 is justifiable and effective when they are so closely associated in performance with the motive text as to derive directness from its more tangible character4 ,such efforts must not be classed with so-called program music4 ,der ,fliegende ,hollnder1 ,rienzi1 and ,tannhuser might have been produced through the co-operation of ,weber and ,meyerbeer1 with ,wagner's individuality as a flavor4 ,in them the voices are given melodies in clear-cut form1 and they contain pompous ,meyerbeerisms almost approaching the bizarre4 ,this ,wagner flavor1 which consisted largely of a disregard of harmonic laws and key relationships1 as dictated by the pedantic school1 caught the public1 but it aroused the violent opposition of older musicians4 ,they denounced ,wagner as a crazy ignoramus and his operas as abominations4 ,viewed from a theoretical stand-point1 there was that in ,wagner's earlier works which in a measure justified his critics4 ,he was not a good contrapuntist1 and he consequently violated tenets of musical structure when conformity would have been more adequate4 ,the relations borne by plastic musical diction to the elementary rules of tonal science are so little understood1 and a clear understanding of these relations is so important1 that ,i feel justified in reiterating in different form what was said in a former chapter1--viz41 that musical theory as a whole is but the codification of nature's adjustments4 ,extraordinary requirements license exceptional means and modes1 but when composers abandon the letter of musical tenets and substitute therefor the higher law of compensation1 they enter upon a field in which pitfalls abound1 and through which nothing but keen judgment1 founded upon experienced erudition1 can safely guide them4 ,this law of compensation allows us to disregard elementary laws1 when the nature of the situation in hand is such as to warrant and reconcile our musical sense to combinations or successions1 which would without this justification sound crude and faulty4 ,the habit of what is called free writing is most pernicious1 for compensation must legitimize each irregularity or we lapse into incoherency4 ,wagner was a firm1 but an equally thoughtful man1 and while apparently undisturbed by the cyclone of criticism evoked by his compositions1 saw his vulnerable points1 and at once set about fortifying them4 ,he studied counterpoint exhaustively1 taking ,bach as his model1 and memorizing many of that master's most characteristic works4 ,he then gave the world ,die ,meistersinger as the fruit of his labor1 and therewith forever silenced honest cavillers who had based their adverse criticisms on his ignorance1 for that work is a sublime example of contrapuntal virtuosity1 and it marks the beginning of a new era in ,wagner's development as a musician4 ,his orchestral settings having kept pace with his musical growth1 had ripened1 had become tempered1 consequently ,die ,meistersinger is one of the most beautiful compositions of any time1 and in it we have the clear announcement of the new dispensation4 ,there have been tons of literature printed1 having as subjects ,the ,music of the ,future1 ,wagner1 and ,the ,music-drama1 some of the authors of which have been properly equipped 7good musicians and liberally educated men71 but more have been literary scavengers4 ,the former class1 having been on a war footing ever since ,wagner became a bone of contention1 are only just now beginning to discuss his creations dispassionately4 ,most of them were quite naturally arrayed against ,wagner1 for the most pungent flavor of the educated critic's writing is pedantry4 ,he prefers traditions without originality to originality which does nor conform to traditions4 ,wagner's first works almost paralyzed these gentlemen1 and they were a long time forgetting and forgiving the shock4 ,their criticisms were terribly acrid1 but1 as ,i have before mentioned1 were instrumental in creating the music-drama1 inasmuch as through pointing out veritable faults and weaknesses they led ,wagner to broaden his scholarship4 ,these critics find it hard to lay down their arms1 although the battle is over1 and ,wagner died in full possession of the field4 ,the few who were from the outset in sympathy with ,wagner were quite as intemperate in their laudations as were his opponents in their strictures4 ,they were blind idolaters1 and ,wagner was their musical golden calf4 ,the essence of the creed upon which the new dispensation is based is logical consistency4 ,poetry1 music1 and stage business are by it required to co-operate in expressing sentiments and in carrying the threads of dramatic schemes4 ,each of these arts is entirely essential to ,wagner's creations4 ,his texts are statues1 which music1 stage-setting1 and action imbue with life4 ,for this reason no one can hope to follow ,wagner intelligently who starts without having made himself conversant with his poems4 ,his later texts are heroic epics of no mean order4 ,their adaptability and musical suggestiveness are phenomenal4 ,they could have been produced only by a musician-poet who had his completed pictures in view while writing them4 ,they contain a vast amount of a species of word-painting1--viz41 the use of words the very sounds of which are expressive4 ,i remember well the hilarity caused among the anti-,wagnerites by the ,nibelungen text1 which was published some years before the operas were performed4 ,satires and parodies were written2 ,wagner was described wooing his muse arrayed in fanciful vestments suiting the character of the subject under treatment4 ,that was a happy time for his opponents4 ,opera texts that were not sentimental lyrics were incomprehensible4 ,the ,call of the ,walkre was to them the climax of inanity2 but those who have heard its musical setting will readily understand how its performance hushed these scoffers into respectful silence4 ,i mention this call because most musical persons have heard it1 and wondered at its adaptability4 ,wagner bestowed the utmost care upon each and every task which he undertook2 his effects are1 therefore1 less accidental than those of any other composer4 ,he was in the habit of making three manuscripts1--viz41 a sketch in which the outlines of form and character were defined1 then a score in which contrapuntal and instrumental material were developed1 and1 lastly1 a manuscript in which1 after ample weighing and filing1 each detail of dynamic marking1 etc41 was not approximately but precisely indicated4 ,a ,wagnerian crescendo or decrescendo must begin and end with the notes and dynamic force prescribed by the master1 or we miss the full realization of his pictures4 ,in securing instrumental color he was liable to mark the various parts played together differently1 ranging from forte to pianissimo1 according to the combination and registers of the instruments employed4 ,wagner left little or nothing to the conductor's discretion4 ,nevertheless1 there are few who have the keen1 delicate perception requisite to understanding his aims1 and still fewer who have it in their power to so control their forces as to secure their fulfilment4 ,we will now look at some of ,wagner's methods of musical treatment4 ,in the first place1 we find the ,overture replaced by the ,vorspiel 7prelude or introduction74 ,the former1 in its independent completeness1 complying more or less with the exactions of the sonate form1 was quite in place when operas consisted of detached pieces2 whereas the ,vorspiel1 which is analogous to the dramatic prologue1 is better adapted to the newer form4 ,it is composed of1 or at least it introduces1 the pivotal themes of the drama which it precedes4 ,in the prelude to ,parsifal1 which begins with the communion theme1 ,wagner has accorded to it1 and to the grail and faith motives1 places of honor4 ,they are1 indeed1 the foundation upon which the whole drama rests1 and are the keys to its situations4 ,we find the traditional closing form 7,coda7 conspicuous by absence1 the prelude leading up to and closing in the opening tones of the first act4 ,this omission is grateful1 for all careful musical listeners must have been disturbed time and again by the long-drawn1 fanfare effects that custom has placed at the end of musical pieces4 ,they are relics of barbarism to which even ,beethoven's genius could not impart logical significance4 ,the composer who1 having finished the development of his themes1 having said what he had to say1 appends a closing form composed of either new material or of old inconsequently presented1 sacrifices symmetry and vital force4 ,if custom required poets to attach ,hallelujah-,hosanna verses to their finished poems1 the result would not be intrinsically more incongruous than that produced by the average musical coda4 ,a piece of music should end roundly1 with a peroration1 but this peroration must be adapted to the character and length of that which has preceded it1 must grow out of the themes from which the piece has been developed1 and form an integral part of the whole4 ,the oft-mentioned intangibility of our art seems to induce timidity among her devotees1 and unfortunately this timidity is often greatest among those who are best fitted to introduce innovations4 ,we will next consider the vocal treatments of ,wagner's texts4 ,following his course from the beginning1 we find the singer's parts grow less and less melodic1 but the listener1 if not the singer1 has more than adequate compensation for this loss of lyric quality in the dramatic power gained4 ,reverting to our simile of the statue1 the stage setting and orchestra provide an atmosphere1 and the singer breathes into the text the breath which launches it into life4 ,in his later dramas ,wagner makes the vocal parts purely musical declamation4 ,he endeavors to1 and usually succeeds in intensifying the elocutionary effects through changes of pitch and expressive rhythm1 but gives the singer's convenience and voice limitations little attention4 ,the singer's parts are1 therefore1 very difficult to learn and exhausting to sing1 and they afford so little opportunity for display that only a love of art1 strongly flavored with self-abnegation1 could induce singers to attempt them4 ,my study of ,wagner's works has greatly increased my respect for the intellects of ,wagnerian singers4 ,any man or woman who can sing a leading part in one of the music-dramas acceptably1 must have been endowed with strong throat and lungs1 and must have acquired a faultless vocal method4 ,it is almost needless to say that the texts are set without any of those old-time illogical repetitions in which composers indulged1 in order that happy thoughts--good musical episodes--might be amplified4 ,wagner never lost sight of his central idea1 and made everything bend to its fullest realization4 ,his orchestra does not accompany1 in the common acceptation of that term1 but sings into its many-voiced melody the sentiments and moods suggested by the text4 ,the principal means used in the attainment of this end is the ,leit ,motif4 ,its auxiliaries are the countless shades of harmonic and instrumental color which ,wagner commanded4 ,these ,leit ,motifs 7leading and characteristic themes7 constituted ,wagner's vocabulary4 ,they expressed to him personalities1 moods1 or sentiments1 as the case required1 and they were consequently chosen to impersonate these in his schemes4 ,they sometimes consist of a few tones1 and again of phrases4 ,they appear in varied forms to suit changing conditions1 but their impersonations are only made clearer through their elastic adaptability4 ,these themes seldom appear in the vocal parts1 but ,wagner makes them1 through adaptation and instrumentation1 express each shade1 from sunlight to storm1 from love1 trust1 and worship1 to wrath1 fear1 and hate1 and in this way follows his text on parallel lines1--music by the side of and reinforcing poetry4 ,wagner's demands on the stage-carpenter and scene-painter are so great that none but large theatres with ample means can properly realize his ideas of pictorial illustration4 ,he possessed remarkable talent for inventing scenic effects1 and disregarded cost4 ,wagner originated the idea of having the stage overshoot the space allotted to the orchestra1 the effect of which has been good in most instances where applied4 ,it has two advantages over the common placing1--viz41 it brings the singer nearer his audience1 which facilitates his task of making himself understood1 and it has a grateful tendency to suppress obstreperous brass1 who have a way1 when placed in front of the stage1 of making singers forgotten4 ,i have seen singers struggle with tense muscles and swelling veins to make a vocal climax with no other result than an heroic spectacle4 ,when a conductor allows his brass to bury the more modest elements of his orchestra under their clangor1 he shows incapacity1--either a lack of control or a coarse conception of their mission1--and as this incapacity is quite common1 any mechanical device which will insure moderation on the part of our assertive friends who play the trumpets and trombones is worthy of commendation4 ,now let us see what can be done towards putting ourselves still more closely in sympathy with the master1 and to better prepare ourselves to follow his creations intelligently4 ,following intelligently does not imply merely the recognition of episodes of especial significance or beauty1 but much more3 it implies the loss of no contributive detail and an easy grasp of the combined means4 ,exhaustive study alone can make this possible4 ,its importance must serve to excuse my reverting to the subject of texts4 ,one should never take a book into an opera-house1 but should make it superfluous through earnest and repeated readings at home4 ,we should at least so familiarize ourselves with the text of works worthy of hearing1 that we can anticipate situations and keep in touch with each and every detail of action and shade of meaning4 ,this having been accomplished1 and having made ourselves acquainted with the more important ,leit ,motifs1 we shall be intellectually equipped to follow the master in the development of his music-drama on the lines and through the methods we have considered4 ,i do not wish to claim that the most favorable conditions would enable us to fully understand intentions1 or to discover all points of beauty and strength in one hearing2 our study should1 however1 have placed us quite inside the cold curiosity line4 ,we would be entitled to a creative sense akin to that felt by a co-worker3 our natures would have been made acoustically receptive and responsive4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,what ,,are ,,the ,,influencing ,,factors ,,in ,,deciding ,,musical ,,destinies8 ,,who ,,is ,,to ,,be ,,our ,,seventh ,,high-,,priest8 ,for reasons inherent both in music itself and in man's sluggish and prejudiced perceptions1 really great composers have usually to wait longer for recognition than do those of mediocre capacities4 ,music that is worthy of consideration is as individual as its composer's features or his unconscious habits4 ,it is a tonal utterance of his most intimate nature1 an inarticulate but clear expression of his strongest emotions1--a shadow-picture of his very soul4 ,the more intense the nature1 the stronger the emotions2 and the deeper the soul of the composer1 the less quickly can we apprehend the full import of his writings1 for they are characteristic of him and foreign to us4 ,each period-maker adds so much to art resources and so materially modifies art methods1 that he may be said to originate a musical dialect1 with which our ears and minds have to become familiar before his poetic schemes can assume for us sustained and clear significance4 ,because of this alien character of pronounced originality1 high-priestly honors are usually posthumous1 for they are bestowed only upon those who have convinced the musical world of their fitness through the life-long1 patient1 and intelligent use of supreme endowments4 ,it is the musical world only that has the power to confer high-priestly honors1 for that office is not at the disposal of composers' friends or adherents1 nor of parties or clans4 ,one must have gained universal recognition as a beneficent and radically new factor in art in order to secure the requisite suffrages1 and that requires so much time that but two of our six high-priests lived to realize the honor4 ,even ,beethoven did not live to feel full assurance of immortality1 but ,wagner did4 ,he knew that his innovations had been accepted by the world1 that his achievements broadened the foundations of art and opened new channels for musical thought1 that his individuality shone brightly across the broad sea of modern culture1 a beacon-light of resplendent brightness1 and that he was a period-maker1 whose impress upon art was too deep to wear away1 for he was a musician who abated not one jot or tittle of that which he thought was art's due4 ,this working throughout life for posthumous honors is not so depressing as it would seem at first glance1 for any man1 however modest1 if blessed with supreme endowments1 must feel his power1 and be buoyed up by the certainty of ultimate recognition4 ,the art love1 steadfastness1 ambition1 individuality1 and imagination of truly great men are proof against the struggles and discouragements of the artist's existence4 ,time is then our final tribunal1 the only adjuster of musical values who makes no errors in judgment4 ,the individual judge gauges the merits of contemporaneous composers1 guided by his or her personal impressions4 ,time gathers composite impressions made upon races of music-lovers during decades1 and her verdicts1 based upon these impressions1 are final4 ,we are sometimes nonplussed1 and even rebellious1 when the success of our favorite composer1 or of some especially sympathetic piece of music1 proves ephemeral1 but the fittest always survives1 and the fittest is the composer or work which1 in addition to the indispensable technical and sthetic qualities1 is pervaded by the richest vein of altruistic individuality4 ,if time be our final tribunal1 then professional critics are the advocates who present the claims of artists at the bar of her court4 ,these advocates differ widely in ability and in character4 ,a few of them have great learning1 acute perceptions1 and honesty2 they will advocate no cause that is prejudicial to the interests of art1 our muse having1 as it were1 endowed them with a super-retainer4 ,such advocacy embodies the highest and best of which the limitations of individuality admit4 ,from this ideal standard professional critics grade downward until they reach assertive1 prejudiced1 and sometimes malicious ignorance4 ,in passing down the scale we first find capacity without the essential confidence in convictions 7timid ability is always a weak factor in adjusting affairs1 whether artistic or material71 then honesty and good-will unsupported by capacity1 then capacity biassed by prejudice or self-interest1 and last and worst1 the pettifogger4 ,these classes show arrogance1 and attract attention 7temporarily7 in inverse ratio to their abilities4 ,if we scan the history of our tribunal1 we find that the more assertive the advocate the smaller his sphere of influence4 ,the great public is the jury in this court1 and its decisions1 although ultimately wise and just1 are always so delayed by the babel of pleas that dins in its ears1 that ,i feel justified in devoting a little space to these moulders of opinion1 and to facilitate my purpose will use a simile drawn from nature1 which is less whimsical and more reliable than man4 ,music is like a sensitive plant1--it flourishes only when each and every condition is favorable to its growth4 ,for this reason those who find pleasure1 edification1 and comfort in its subtle qualities should imitate the skilled gardener in his watchful and discriminating culture of flowers4 ,a professional gardener is to horticulture what a critic should be to art4 ,each is supposed to bring trained faculties to his task1 but the gardener1 familiar with the principles that govern flower growth1 studies the natures of his germs1 and then adapts soil1 temperature1 etc41 to the requirements of each4 ,he thus starts out with one material advantage over his art confrre1 in that his experience enables him to recognize the genera of his germs and to anticipate results4 ,he deals with seeds1 roots1 slips1 and bulbs2 the art critic with the mysteries of individuality1 of which he most often judges from the impressions made upon his susceptibilities by a momentary contact of its outward manifestations4 ,these manifestations are seldom full and trustworthy indexes of creative capacity1 especially in the cases of young composers1 because of the unfavorable conditions that so often attend upon their development and presentation4 ,communities are gardens in which music thrives1 barely exists 7the most common condition71 or entirely fails to take root4 ,propagation is the crucial test of vitalizing qualities4 ,a community that can produce new varieties1 really audacious talents1 must possess a high degree of fertility4 ,the composers to be found living and creating in any given place are therefore reflections of their musical environment1 for the faculties of musical organisms are more sensitive even than music itself4 ,transplanted music will continue to exist under conditions that afford no incitement to earnest creation1 nor the elements from which virility may be drawn4 ,beethoven's works interest communities in which his faculties would have remained latent4 ,the legitimate functions of criticism are to seek out and to nurture true talent and to guide public discrimination in its initial judgment4 ,critics and reviewers are experts to whose expressed opinions the printing-press imparts degrees of convincing power not always comportable with their merit1 and spreads them broadcast for good or ill4 ,printed criticism1 because of this cogent quality1 and because it appeals1 and may repeatedly appeal1--being in fixed form1--to so broad a radius of intelligence1 should be the most powerful as well as the most active agency in creating the conditions essential to musical growth2 but a careful review of the past and present relations of criticism to art culture would1 to my mind1 convince any unbiassed thinker that the decision of our court had been delayed and not facilitated by the average advocate1 and that the productivity of our garden had never been increased by the ministrations of professional gardeners4 ,nevertheless1 printed criticism has a momentary influence4 ,we do not necessarily surrender when confronted by criticisms at variance with our own ideas1 but the undue weight with which printed matter is endowed often causes even expert opinion to waver1 protest to the contrary as it may4 ,printed news is not always authentic1 nor are printed opinions on finance1 political economy1 sports1 weather1 etc41 infallible1 although usually written by specialists2 but these matters1 being material1 adjust themselves1 and their editorial short-comings seldom do irreparable harm2 whereas our sensitive art1 the elements of which are emotional1 and the supersensitive organisms which are blessed with art productivity1 are less capable of recovering from the shock incident to misconception and misrepresentation4 ,wagner was unique in this respect1 for he endured years of calumny and injustice without flinching4 ,his nature was dual1 as if his art instinct had been grafted into an heroic character1 like a noble oak1 from which it drew vitality1 and whose wide-spread roots imparted stability to its convictions without infusing into them any other suggestion of its stern elements4 ,were all talented composers as firmly rooted as ,wagner1 there would be less reason for protesting against ignorance and carelessness in print4 ,the second question propounded in the headlines of this chapter can be discreetly considered1 but it can receive no conclusive answer until time's verdict is rendered4 ,we can weigh the impressions made upon our individual susceptibilities by the qualities of the more prominent candidates for high-priestly honors1 and compare these with like individual conceptions of ideal attributes1 but the result of our speculations must necessarily partake more of the character of a weather-vane1 subject to the caprice of changing conditions1 than of a finger-post1 giving reliable direction to our anticipations4 ,of all the composers of recent times1 ,brahms attracted the largest following of musicians1 and with right1 for the volume of his worthy creations is larger than that produced by any of his contemporaries4 ,he wrote a vast number of songs1 ensemble pieces for a great variety of instrumental combinations1 accompanied and unaccompanied piano-forte pieces1 and symphonies1 overtures1 etc41 for the grand orchestra4 ,his work is usually characterized by rich harmonies1 melodic voice-leading1 transparent form1 and a varying amount of spontaneity that at times fails to conceal evident effort4 ,this effort makes itself felt in peculiar and even grotesque harmonic successions and rhythms1 and it is traceable through all periods of his career4 ,these1 which to me are forced methods1 are the only features that individualize ,brahms' music4 ,he is greatest when self-forgetful1 and these unnatural features bespeak self-consciousness4 ,schumann1 who was1 as ,i said in a previous chapter1 ,brahms' musical god-father1 was a genius with a clearly defined individuality1 the complete and natural expression of which obliged him to invent means to supplement those that he had inherited from his predecessors4 ,these invented means were peculiar harmonic compounds and erratic accents4 ,schumann usually employed these devices with grateful results2 for he makes us feel that they are essential to the development of full significance in his tonal schemes4 ,genius has a magical power over resources and modes1 often transforming eccentricities into felicitous1 expressive means1 and endowing that which would be chaotic in other hands with logical import4 ,brahms seems to have been dazzled by these extreme manifestations of his great prototype's individuality4 ,he not only adopted1 but exaggerated these1 and made them the distinguishing features of his style4 ,he was a masterly contrapuntist1 had a clear sense of form1 handled the orchestra well1 although he never exhausted its resources1 and was always a logical thinker4 ,his skill in the treatment of themes was so astounding that he often imparted significance to trivial motives 7vide the ,academic ,overture and his sets of variations71 but he was not a great initial inventor 7an originator of pregnant themes7 nor was he a resourceful colorist4 ,as ,i said before1 ,brahms was greatest when self-forgetful1 for at such times the artificial element dropped out of his diction and he became a masterful musician1 possessed of all the qualities but one that have characterized our priestly line4 ,this missing quality is to my mind the most essential of all1--viz41 a natural1 distinguishing1 and pervading individuality4 ,tschaikowski received brief mention while we were considering ,russia's services to art in the fourth chapter4 ,because of ,russia's half-closed door her art has1 until recent times1 been very much isolated4 ,for this reason ,tschaikowski's claims have not even now been fully laid before our tribunal4 ,it is a peculiar but characteristic circumstance that ,america anticipated ,europe by several years in her knowledge and appreciation of this great creator4 ,america is constantly eager for novelty1 and has not learned to seek it at home2 ,germany1 and in a less degree the other ,european countries1 feel complacency in their own achievements1 and corresponding distrust and intolerance of foreign products4 ,it was but six years ago that ,germany was made aware of the fact that a great genius had lived1 created1 and died outside of her sphere of direct influence1 and almost without her knowledge4 ,tschaikowski had naturally been known in a way to well-read ,german musicians1 but it required such a blow as was struck by ,professor ,leopold ,auer to draw from our tocsin a peal sufficiently vibrant to penetrate to the farthermost confines of the musical world and to herald the coming of a new hero4 ,never was an act of justice and love more conscientiously and adequately accomplished4 ,auer showed rare judgment in the selection of his programme4 ,his evident desire was to display as many features of ,tschaikowski's versatile genius as possible4 ,he therefore chose the scholarly second1 instead of the more assertively emotional sixth symphony4 ,the violin concert1 the ,nutcracker suite1 and the symphonic poem ,francesca da ,rimini followed4 ,i know of no other composer of any time whose works could furnish an equal variety of defined moods1 each bearing the unmistakable stamp of his individuality4 ,professor ,auer conducted the orchestral works and played the concerto with a skill which drew its inspiration from the reverent memory of his lost friend4 ,his exaltation infected the orchestral players1 and finally the audience1 making the evening memorable1 and sending out waves of enthusiasm that have carried ,tschaikowski's name and music to the remotest corners of the musical world4 ,in my previous mention of ,tschaikowski ,i accorded him virtues that place him at the head of symphonists of his time4 ,he had1 however1 two frailties1 one of which more or less pervades his works1 while the other shows itself but seldom4 ,the former is a too great fealty to his themes as at first announced1 and the latter is an occasional tendency to be melodramatic4 ,plastic compositions must be true to the spirit1 but not to the initial form of their themes1 for pregnant themes possess many phases of suggestiveness1 and the more of these phases a composer feels and displays1 the richer the homogeneity of his creations4 ,were it not for these slight weaknesses in ,tschaikowski's work ,i should not hesitate to predict that time would make him her choice for our seventh high-priest1 and he may win the honor in spite of them1 for his great qualities are overpowering4 ,there are no known candidates who are worthy of comparison with these two giants1 ,brahms and ,tschaikowski1 one mechanically and the other emotionally musical4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,a ,,summary ,,of ,,music',s ,,attributes4 ,,what ,,constitutes ,,musical ,,intelligence8 ,although some of the attributes of our art have received repeated mention in previous chapters1 ,i feel that a short summary of their distinguishing qualities might serve to throw the outlines of my sketch into clearer relief4 ,i shall seek this background without resorting to technical analysis4 ,before undertaking this task ,i should like to emphasize the oft-announced fact that music is a thing apart4 ,it1 like language and the other arts1 follows lines that lead from individuality to outside intelligence4 ,in the case of music1 these lines start in the innermost recess of the composer's emotional nature1 and connecting with lines that lead through our intellects into the equally secret chambers of our natures1 bring to us sentiments intelligible1 but too intimate to endure analysis4 ,civilized nations have long associated rhythms and moods1--i4e41 a marked four-quarter measure has always been characteristic of the march1 etc41 but rhythm1 although it is music's heart-pulsation1 is only the metre for musical thought4 ,scientists teach us that certain sounds are adapted to conjunctive use as chords because of the mathematical relation existing between the vibrations1 of which they are the audible results4 ,they go on from this beginning through the gamut of musical learning1 and close without having given us a key to interpretation2 so music is1 and must remain1 an untranslatable language of the soul1 producing effects and inducing emotions1 using the intellect as a medium only4 ,dr4 ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes said1 ,music which is translatable is necessarily of a low order4 ,this sentiment is true1 and it voices a fine sense of music's nature and limitations1 remarkable in a layman1 for there exists a disposition to pull the creations of the great masters down to earth1 and to make them tell tales of earthly experiences4 ,music's purity1 strength1 and beauty are always sacrificed through attempts to materialize it1 for great music results from the natural development and the felicitous expression of characteristic musical thought1 and not in the ingenious tonal illustrations of scenes or sentiments1 which have been1 or might better be1 expressed in words1 because of their material character4 ,pure1 complete conceptions cannot take form in other than sensitive natures2 sensitive to the influences of life's surroundings1 receiving impressions from the bird's song1 the flower's perfume1 the storm's might1 the mountain's grandeur1 the rippling stream1 the peaceful valley1 and filled1 at least for the time1 with love for ,god and man2 nor could such conceptions pass to expression through intellects that had not been tempered1 refined1 and broadened to grasp all the resources that tonal science offers4 ,it is in artificial music only1--born of purpose and not of inspiration1--or in the work of unripe musicians1 that science obtrudes itself4 ,in other words1 when the means are noticeable1 they have either been unskillfully employed1 or the composer has been actuated by the ambition to display scholarly qualities regardless of sthetic considerations4 ,how often we hear works in which any possible sparks of sensibility and spontaneity have been smothered beneath loads of counterpoint and thematic development1 which are devoid of significance because not evolved in logical sequence6 ,drawing and anatomy are to painting and sculpture1 and grammar1 rhetoric1 and metre are to poetry1 what musical science is to musical art1 inasmuch as in each the capacity to produce1 or to appreciate what others have produced1 is largely proportioned to one's knowledge of these structural laws4 ,temperament1 natural endowments1 culture1 and habit play such important rles in creating individual conceptions of beauty that we can only consider as our criterion the judgment of people existing in our own environment4 ,the first essential of beauty is symmetry4 ,a rose cannot be beautiful unless gracefully formed and poised4 ,the ,creator's hand may have tinted it incomparably1 may have distilled the daintiest fragrance for its portion1 but these will avail naught if it has inherited ungraceful proportions1 or if the world has distorted it during its period of growth4 ,as the rose requires color and perfume to perfect its charms1 so each animate and inanimate creation in this world requires its suitable accessories to symmetry4 ,according to our standard1 woman should have a lithe1 plastic form1 with fluctuating color and an all-pervading fragrance of intellectual modesty2 whereas man should have a sinewy form1 bold and strong1 the color of perfect health1 and the fragrance of intellectual fearlessness4 ,each must possess clearly defined individuality4 ,god's creations are never exact duplicates1 and still we have numerous beautiful roses and women and ,apollo-like men1 each with appropriate attributes1 and each satisfying the sthetic taste of some one person or class of persons1 because of the affinity to that object of the personal ideal which was implanted in this person or these persons by ,god1 and which has been nurtured by conditions of life4 ,as in everything else that lays claim to beauty1 so in music1 symmetry must underlie all other attributes4 ,the laws regulating musical symmetry are so rigid1 when viewed from one stand-point1 and are so elastic when viewed from another and higher1 that it is not at all strange that young composers stand aghast when they reach the neutral point of receptivity from which these apparently contradictory conditions first manifest themselves4 ,but these conditions are not really contradictory1 for prescribed form is but a properly proportioned and adjusted skeleton1 an outlining framework1 subject to such modifications as will adapt it to the character of our schemes4 ,these modifications must not1 however1 involve the use of eccentric lines1 or the omission of essential members of the body musical1 for such action would result in malformations4 ,the composer1 having articulated his form1 clothes it in such melodic and harmonic material1 moulded into such shape1 as will realize his fancy's ideal4 ,the outcome of exhaustive knowledge1 directed with justifiable freedom1 is musical symmetry4 ,the next attribute is1 as in the case of the rose1 color2 which in music is more or less attractive according to the richness of the material applied and the artistic skill and care bestowed upon its arrangement4 ,there are several sources to which the tone painter may resort for what might be termed primary colors1--viz41 the human voice1 the characteristic qualities of instruments1 harmonic compounds1 and rhythm1 the combining and blending of these primary colors so as to produce the most effective shade for each episode1 not only when considered by itself1 but also in its relations to the whole panoramic succession of the finished picture1 is the problem that so few solve4 ,most composers seem to feel quite satisfied if they succeed in startling us with uncommon combinations1 however crude and irrelevant4 ,next comes sentiment1 which is to music what fragrance is to the rose1 and what intellectuality is to woman4 ,all three would be hollow mockeries without this parallel endowment4 ,a piece of music must express a human desire1 a belief1 or an emotion1 otherwise it is but empty sound4 ,these three attributes--symmetry1 color1 and sentiment--are at the command of all talented musicians1 but the all-pervading individuality that so adjusts form1 so arranges color1 and gives such adequate expression to each shade of feeling as to create natural but unique tone pictures1 is possessed by few composers of any given generation4 ,so-called original music may be nothing more than the fruit of good taste displayed in the arrangement of laboriously sought peculiarities of means and modes1 and it is therefore only outwardly individual2 but music whose themes spring from a pronounced individual feeling1 which feeling moulds its form and makes each contributive detail conform to the spirit of the initial impulse1 is truly original4 ,individual music is then radically original1 but original music is not necessarily individual4 ,a spark of individual genius1 because of its clean brilliancy1 sends out its rays into illimitable space2 whereas a whole bonfire of purposeful eccentricities curtains its flames with non-radiating elements1 illuminating but a small field4 ,now we must step backward beyond that point where science begins to shed her light upon natural laws4 ,what agency produces life1 starts and keeps in motion the machinery of our bodies1 and places a soul behind our features8 ,the same agency must guide us in the conception of musical ideas1 or they will lack all living elements4 ,this power is ,god3 ,god in us1--a well-spring of inspiration for those whose susceptibilities are sufficiently acute to feel its influence4 ,science can teach us to produce rich harmonic successions and instrumental colors1 but it cannot impart the magical power of spontaneous and sequential growth that characterizes great compositions1 nor can it show us how to identify the spirit which pervades such works4 ,any one can prepare himself to weigh the intellectual properties of a musical work1 but the spirit which these properties are supposed to clothe will not materialize for unsympathetic souls4 ,herein exists the reason for differences of opinion entertained by cultured and honest critics4 ,some works possessing all the attributes of greatness must be often heard before they begin to enlist our sympathies4 ,others1 equally inspired1 fail to awaken responsiveness in certain persons4 ,differently constituted natures cannot be expected to vibrate in unison1 and as real music is soul vibration made audible1 it seeks responsiveness in our natures1 as any given tone lays hold of objects whose vibrations are sympathetic1 causing them to emit consonant sounds4 ,the impression made by music can only be similar even--in character and intensity--where the hearers are equally endowed and cultured1 and are equally conditioned mentally to surrender themselves to its influence4 ,as long as each member of the human family is distinguished by individuality1 so long will the impressions made by the intangible elements in art be diverse4 ,suggestiveness is the highest quality with which a poet1 an orator1 a painter1 a sculptor1 or a musician can endow his productions4 ,its existence implies a clear conception1 rooted in sentiment and adequately expressed through adaptable means1 but well within the line of demarcation which separates logical terseness from redundancy4 ,who can listen to ,beethoven1 ,schubert1 ,schumann1 or ,wagner and not find himself in a dreamland1 peopled not so much by children of the great master's brain1 as by the offspring of his own fancy8 ,these results are the fruits of suggestiveness4 ,routine often leads to diffuseness2 the lack of it always results in illogical and inadequate expression2 but routine directed by genius seldom fails to discover the vital line which marks the boundary of completeness4 ,on one side of this line we have inland waters1 flowing from the author's fancy3 on the other1 and fed therefrom1 the open sea of semi-conscious cerebration1 with its capricious winds and tidal currents4 ,if a writer succeed in enlisting our sympathies1 the flow of his thoughts will impart the impetus requisite to carry us beyond this line2 but here his direct influence ceases1 for the stream of his fancies becomes merged in the ocean of each of our lives' memories1 hopes1 and experiences1 and each having received an impulse comporting with his receptivity and habits of mind1 sails away upon his course propelled by unfettered imagination4 ,,musical ,,intelligence4 ,a symphony is like an epic poem2 its salient points rather than its rounded whole appeal to the average reader or listener4 ,the striking episodes of unfamiliar compositions in large form1 are prone to come out into undue prominence1 and so blind us to their true significance as phases of sequential development4 ,the sustained effort1 and experience demanded by a symphony1 are the supreme tests of a composer4 ,we therefore have no right to an opinion in regard to the merits or demerits of a large earnest work until study and hearing have1 in our understanding1 joined its episodes and given them importful continuity4 ,beethoven1 ,schubert1 ,schumann1 and ,wagner were endowed with great talent1 which indefatigable energy advanced to genius4 ,they worked upon a plane far above other men4 ,we cannot hope to feel what they felt while creating1 but we can work1 the while knowing that as we approach their level in knowledge and experience our minds will better assist our understanding of their conceptions4 ,their joys1 their sorrows1 their triumphs1 their every sentiment should find response in our hearts2 but the impression made by music can only be distinct after we have made ourselves acoustically receptive1 after our natures have become attuned like olian harps to responsiveness when waves of melody strike upon them4 ,our minds can be sounding-boards1 which gather and reflect upon our souls the tone pictures we hear4 ,a wooden surface must be smooth1 properly formed1 and perfectly poised1 or it will not collect1 focus1 and reflect sound effects4 ,in the same way our mental sounding-boards must be properly prepared1 or they will not collect details and reflect sentiments4 ,this preparation involves the use of all available means for shaping1 refining1 and poising4 ,the earnest study of any branch of learning broadens1 and the contemplation of the beautiful in nature and art quickens1 the perceptions4 ,pedantry--another name for self-sufficient ignorance--will warp and so distort our reflector as to mar its efficiency1 making it unjust alike to the subject and to us4 ,the ear should be capable of transmitting correctly1 and if possible in detail4 ,some persons are endowed with absolute pitch4 ,these fortunates1 if they persist in careful listening1 can become able to follow an intricate composition1 in its modulations1 thematic development1 etc41 more easily1 as well as more accurately1 through hearing than through reading the printed page4 ,this ability marks a long stride towards sympathy with the composer1 especially as its exercise involves undivided attention to the subject in hand4 ,the absence of absolute pitch is no indication of lack of talent1 and those who cannot acquire it have no reason for discouragement4 ,every ordinarily gifted student can educate his hearing to recognize intervals 7seconds1 thirds1 etc47 and the tendency of chords1 as based on the relations existing between the tones of which they are composed--to each other and to the key4 ,we should strive to make ourselves good mediums4 ,refined creations cannot appeal to crude natures4 ,the savage1 although sometimes possessing poetic instincts1 prefers his own music1 with its monotonous weirdness1 to that which more civilized communities can offer4 ,our right to pass judgment upon others' creations will therefore depend largely on the distance we are removed from the savage in the process of evolution4 ,,the ,,end 99 99 99 99 99 ,,transcriber',s ,,notes ,italic text is denoted by underscores4 ,a number of words in this book have both hyphenated and non-hyphenated variants4 ,for those words1 the variant more frequently used was retained4 ,in some cases there was no predominant variant4 ,the hyphenated variant was chosen in those cases4 ,obvious punctuation and printing errors1 which were not detected during the printing of the original book1 have been corrected4