FAMILIAR TALKS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 HISTORY OF 
 
 ARNOLD I. 
 
 C. SCH1RMER
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 ERNEST CARROLL MOORE
 
 FAMILIAR 
 
 ON THE 
 
 HISTORY OF MUSIC 
 
 BY 
 ARNOLD J. GANTVOORT 
 
 LECTURER ON THE HISTORY OF MUSIC AT THE 
 COLLEGE OF MUSIC OF CINCINNATI 
 
 G. Schirmer Music Stores, inc. 
 
 In WURLITZER BUILDING, First Floor 
 814 SO. BROADWAY LOS ANGELES
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1913, 
 
 BY 
 G. SCHIRMER 
 
 24273
 
 College 
 Library 
 
 ML 
 
 1113 
 
 MRS. BETTIE FLEISCHMANN-HOLMES 
 
 IN TOKEN OF APPRECIATION OF HER INCESSANT AND INDEFATIGABLE 
 
 LABORS IN THE CAUSE OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF MUSICAL 
 
 ART, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR
 
 PREFACE 
 
 IN these days of extensive general education, some know- 
 ledge of important events in the history of the development 
 of musical art, and some acquaintance with the lives of 
 our greatest musical personages, have become almost indis- 
 pensable. 
 
 The desire for a concise work which would contain con- 
 siderable information on this subject, presented in a manner 
 and in language easily understood, has been expressed to me 
 by many hundreds of music students, musical amateurs and 
 members of musical clubs. 
 
 In response to this demand, the present volume, which is 
 the outgrowth of more than twenty years of lecture- work, 
 was written. 
 
 The notes containing the data for this lecture-work were 
 made during a long period of musical study and musical ac- 
 tivity, and their import has so completely become a part of 
 my composite knowledge on the subject, that I find myself 
 unable to give credit to any individual historical writer whose 
 works may have been consulted. Sincere thanks are therefore 
 hereby extended to all who have written on this subject 
 from whom information may have been gathered. 
 
 If a perusal of this volume shall succeed in creating in the 
 minds of some of its readers a desire for further information 
 about the history of that far-reaching art, which accompanies 
 us from the cradle to the grave, I shall not deem my labors 
 
 to have been in vain. 
 
 ARNOLD J. GAXTVOORT. 
 
 CINCINNATI, O., March the isth, 1913.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 "THE proper study of mankind is man," said Pope. This 
 statement, of course, implies not only the study of man as 
 an individual, but also that of his achievements in every 
 field of high endeavor. This study of man's endeavors in 
 the various arts and sciences results in culture. The thor- 
 ough study of any art includes a knowledge of the history of 
 its development, an acquaintance with the conditions under 
 which it began and attained maturity, the uplift or degener- 
 ation of its ideals. The value of a musical art-work is not 
 a mere question of opinion, or of its apparent adherence to 
 certain fixed rules, but of musical judgment. One means of 
 obtaining a real foundation for true musical judgment is the 
 study of the History of Music. This does not mean the 
 mere memorization of a number of important dates, which 
 are, after all, largely identical with those of other great world- 
 events, but rather a faithful, earnest search for such knowl- 
 edge as will help us to recognize the interrelation of these 
 events. Every invention in art, no matter how humble, is 
 founded on previous efforts, and whatever may help us to 
 recognize the bearing of one of these upon another, whatever 
 may help us to perceive the causes that led to noteworthy 
 subsequent events, is deserving of serious study. Viewed 
 from this standpoint, the seemingly barren periods of musical 
 history become interesting. Much may be learned from even 
 the many unsuccessful attempts and efforts made to reach 
 certain artistic ideals. Our degree of possession of the best 
 in music is but the fruit of many successful and unsuccessful 
 attempts, and a slow development. Progress in art. as in 
 individuals, is seldom realized by leaps and bounds, but is
 
 viii Introduction 
 
 rather the result of a gradual evolution, each period of defi- 
 nite accomplishment being only the natural issue of the im- 
 provement suggested by the previous period. In the course of 
 our study we shall find that among all nations of antiquity, 
 music was supposed to be of divine origin, an attribute of 
 the gods. Even we, who live in a more material age, must 
 acknowledge that it contains a suggestion, an inspiration, a 
 something derived from a rich inner life, a higher source 
 than man himself, a quality that we rightly attribute to all 
 works of the imagination. Such works in their higher devel- 
 opment seem to be above man and to come from above 
 man. 
 
 From the very earliest times we shall find the practice of 
 music, even among the savages, inhabiting the islands of the 
 sea, whose mental power is so limited that they cannot count 
 above five, but who have nevertheless an established practice 
 of some sort of music which contains the elements of rhythm 
 and melody. Some years ago, at the World's Fair in Chicago, 
 there were to be seen a number of South-Sea Islanders, whose 
 language is said to be most primitive, but who executed 
 very intricate dances. Perhaps we should not call them 
 dances, as they did not whirl around, but moved so many 
 steps forward, or backward, or in different directions, with 
 astonishing perfection of rhythm. The primitive music to 
 which they danced had a rhythm quite different from that of 
 the dance, and, as this accompanying music was made almost 
 wholly by instruments of percussion, the feat of keeping 
 with the music was rather extraordinary. We more highly 
 civilized folk would find this a difficult proceeding, perhaps 
 for the reason some philosopher has advanced, that, as we 
 become more civilized, we lose our sense of rhythm to a 
 degree. From our study we shall learn that every period of 
 generally increased mental strength brings increased general 
 proficiency in the art of music, for there is no art which more 
 perfectly reflects the activity of the innermost spirit.
 
 Introduction ix 
 
 Early forms of musical expression were very simple, em- 
 bracing very limited ranges of tone. Physical effort was then 
 put forth only to supply bodily wants. In countries and 
 climates where this did not require much exertion, where 
 people needed but to stretch out their hands to find what 
 they wanted to eat, emotional and mental development was 
 limited. As the struggle for life became more intense, man's 
 activity increased, his mental horizon broadened, and, in con- 
 formity with this growth, the musical scales, the tonal range, 
 became extended, relations between tones came to be rec- 
 ognized and later to be utilized. Musical art then became 
 qualified to express energetic and intense emotion. 
 
 Certain physical conditions and surroundings are prerequi- 
 site to the cultivation of all art. In considering these, it is 
 necessary to compare the external and internal movements of 
 the mind of a nation or a people, at any given period of its his- 
 tory; to examine into the amount of mental and physical energy 
 required to provide for existence, and the depth of that energy 
 and force. The surplus, that portion which is not expended 
 in procuring the necessaries of life, finds expression in the arts. 
 The direction of this art-expression depends largely upon en- 
 vironment and mental predilection. The time of the greatest 
 artistic activity in Greece was when Athens had much wealth, 
 when the intellectual movement had acquired its greatest 
 force and activity. During that period sculpture reached its 
 supreme artistic height, because it reflected man's physical 
 perfection, then considered to be the most desirable asset of 
 humanity. In pictorial art the periods of Da Vinci, Michael 
 Angelo and Raphael in Italy, of Rembrandt and Van Dyke 
 in the Netherlands, were signalized by combined * mental 
 activity and wealth. 
 
 Since musical instruments of adequate tonal power, and 
 therefore fit for genuinely artistic purposes, did not exist 
 before the fifteenth century, instrumental music as an art 
 did not begin until about that time. Vocal music, however,
 
 Introduction 
 
 was not thus limited, and flourished both in religious worship 
 and social life. It is of intense interest to us, as students, 
 to trace the development of this class of music. 
 
 Emotional expression, no matter how limited, is common to 
 all mankind. Man rises higher than the animal, to the same 
 degree that he is able to give expression to his emotions. 
 Intellectual ideas among nations may differ; moral ideas may 
 differ; but the emotions of joy, sorrow, contentment, courage 
 and a certain degree of exaltation are common to all, and 
 find their fullest expression in music. In our study we shall 
 see music, first, as an attempt at such expression, and there- 
 fore an art. As the art becomes more generally practised, 
 the theorist will come and reduce the art to a science; the 
 rules of the science will then be learned and obeyed by those 
 who wish to perfect themselves in the art; as the art pro- 
 gresses still more, philosophers and theorists will note the new 
 developments and again formulate them for the guidance of 
 devotees of the art; they will analyze and systematize their 
 discoveries, and thus prepare the way for further artistic 
 progress. Students of harmony are taught that certain har- 
 monic and melodic progressions are forbidden. In our study 
 of musical history we shall learn of a prior period when such 
 progressions were not only permitted, but advocated, and that 
 the composer of to-day makes dramatic use of these selfsame 
 things. 
 
 Our ability to express the Beautiful is limited by our 
 capacity for emotion. All emotions are pleasurable or pain- 
 ful, and as such are muscular stimuli. Spencer and Darwin 
 agree that emotions seek and find physical expression of some 
 description. Have you ever noticed any one waiting for the 
 arrival of a person who was late for an appointment? The 
 one who waits will very likely tap the ground with his foot. 
 That is simply a muscular reflex action expressing the pent-up 
 emotion of impatience. In great sorrow, too great for the 
 utterance of words, people are often seen to rock the body
 
 Introduction xi 
 
 back and forth, a wholly involuntary and unconscious mus- 
 cular expression of emotion. 
 
 Emotional speech, as found in Shakespeare and other great 
 writers, is rhythmical. In impassioned declamation the voice 
 rises and falls with a certain cadence and rhythm. Such 
 exalted speech leads into song. The Gregorian chant or 
 plain-song of the Catholic Church was the result of a con- 
 ventionalized form of speech or utterance, and became the 
 foundation of much of our art-music. The dramatic recital 
 of his legends by the savage grew into epic poetry; while lyric 
 poetry, with its exalted tones and cadences, gradually led to 
 the recitative and the song. 
 
 The muscular stimulation, which is the result of rhythm in 
 song or speech, also found expression in the dance, and be- 
 came a mode of worship among the nations of antiquity. We 
 read in the Bible that the priests and Levites danced around 
 the ark of the Covenant. This dance was not a two-step or 
 waltz, but, like that of the South-Sea islanders, consisted of 
 a rhythmic stepping back and forth in perfect harmony with 
 the rhythm of the chant or song, a muscular expression of 
 the emotion engendered. Emotional speech, poetry and the 
 dance, all being expressions of human emotion, form part of 
 the foundations of the art of music, whose development we 
 are to follow and investigate.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface v 
 
 Introduction vii 
 
 Chapter I. Music among the Nations of Remote Antiquity 1 
 
 CHINESE. Mythology; Form of Scale; Songs with their Accom- 
 paniments; Orchestra; Instruments Hiuen, Cheng, Kin and Che. 
 JAPANESE. Instruments Kin, Cheng, Samisen; Orchestra. 
 HINDOOS. Mythology; Scales; Melodies; Instruments Vina, 
 Serinda. 
 
 EGYPTIANS, AFRICANS AND WESTERN ASIATICS. Mythology; Scales; 
 Melodies; Instruments Kem-Kem, Lyres, Drums, Harps, Kinnor, 
 Dulcimer. 
 
 Chapter II. Music among the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans 12 
 
 HEBREWS. Biblical Accounts; Importance of Music in Temple Ser- 
 vices; Antiphonal Singing; Psalms; Instruments Kinnor, Nebel, 
 Psaltery, Flutes, Harps, Trumpets, Ugabh, Shofar; Melodies. 
 
 GREEKS. Mythology; Scales; Melodies and their use; Tone-rela- 
 tionships understood; Monochord; Pythagoras; Poets as Musicians; 
 Skolion (banquet-song) Virtuosi. 
 
 ROMANS. Virtuosity; Masses of Players and Singers; College 
 Curricula. 
 
 Chapter HI. Music in the Early Christian Era 25 
 
 Greek and Hebrew Folk-tunes utilized; Antiphonal Singing; Varying 
 Manner of Singing and Service in Seven Churches of Asia Minor; First 
 Singing-schools in Rome; Reformation of Modes or Scales by Ambrose 
 and Gregory; Characteristics of Reform; Ambrosian Chant; Gregorian 
 Chant, its probable origin, its establishment; Gregorian Melodies; 
 Early Writers on Music. 
 
 Chapter IV. Early Didactics; Beginning of Polyphonic Music 38 
 
 Influence of the Moors on European Civilization; their Poetry; 
 Music-system; Songs; Instruments Rebab, Laud, Psaltery with 
 metal strings, struck with hammers. 
 
 Ancient Music Homophonic, Monophonic; Beginnings of Polyphony, 
 two voices; Hucbald's Organum (sacred and secular); Guido d'Arezzo; 
 Didactic Improvements; First Solmization; Discant. as expounded by 
 early writers; Examples; Improvements in Notation necessary to keep 
 
 xiii
 
 xiv Table of Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 pace with practice of discant; Text-books by de Garlandia, the two 
 Francos, Marchetto of Padua. 
 
 French School of Polyphony; Fauxbourdon; Musical Forms 
 Motet, Rondeau, Conduit; Musical Devices Imitation, Canon, 
 Double Counterpoint; Composers Perotin, Leonin, de Meurs, 
 de Machaut. 
 
 Chapter V. Folk-Music during the Middle Ages 55 
 
 Appreciation and Practice of Folk-music among the Celts of Brittany 
 and Wales (Eisteddfod), and Ireland; among the Anglo-Saxons; Old 
 Round "Sumer is icumen in"; among the Scandinavians; in France 
 and Germany; Early Popular Ballads, "Chansons de geste"; In- 
 fluence of the Crusades on Music and Literature; Troubadours, 
 Trouveres, Minnesingers; Examples of their Songs; Meistersinger. 
 
 Chapter VI. The Development of Vocal Polyphony 71 
 
 GALLO-BELGIC SCHOOL; its Masters Zeelandia, Dufay, Binchois, 
 Busnois; Introduction of Popular Songs into the Mass; "L'omme arme." 
 NETHERLANDISH SCHOOL (Dutch-Belgian), First Period: Master 
 Okeghem (with enigmatical canons); Pupils Hobrecht, Brumel, 
 Tinctor, de Pres, Agricola; Examples of their Work. Second Period: 
 Master JosquindePres; Characteristics; universally appreciated; Con- 
 temporaries, Mouton and Arcadelt; Pupils become Leaders in Third 
 Period: Gombert, Goudimel, de Rore, Willaert, Ducis, Hollander, 
 Jannequin; their Pilgrimages, and resultant Influence; Development 
 of School of Organists; Master Sweelinck; Pupils Scheldt. 
 Scheidemann, Reinken, Buxtehude (forerunners of Bach). Fourth 
 Period: Master Orlandus Lassus; Contemporaries Verdelot and 
 Buus; their Influence. 
 
 Chapter VII. The Renaissance and the Reformation 92 
 
 Appearance of Hymns in Germany; Mixed German and Latin 
 Hymns; Marienlieder, Annenlieder; Fall of Constantinople, its Liter- 
 ary and Educational Influence: Rise of National Spirit in Germany; 
 Early Folk-poets and Musicians; Hans Sachs, Isaac, Senfl and Fink: 
 Luther, his Influence upon Music; the Chorale; Early Hymn-books; 
 Use of Modern Scales and Abandonment of Church Modes. 
 
 Chapter VIII. The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music 107 
 
 Influence of the Renaissance; Willaert in Venice; Rise of Harmony 
 as an Art, contrasted with Polyphony; Return of Homophony; Com- 
 posers of the New School the Gabrielis, Zarlino, Schiitz; Rise of 
 Sublime Style of Polyphony under Palestrina and his Followers; Char- 
 acteristics; Examples; Missa Papa? Marcelli; a Comparison of Lassus 
 and Palestrina.
 
 XV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter IX. The Birth of Opera and Oratorio 126 
 
 "Mysteries" and "Miracle-plays"; their gradual degeneration; the 
 Passion-Play at Oberammergau; Neri and his "Laudes spirituales," 
 leading into Oratorio. 
 
 Influence of the Renaissance on Secular Literature and Music; the 
 Camerala Bardi, Galilei, Strozzi, Rinuccini, Cavalieri, Caccini and 
 Peri; their efforts to reestablish Greek ideals; First Attempts at Solo 
 Song with Harmonic Accompaniment; the Invention of Recitative 
 \stilo parlante); Daphne, the First Opera (dramma per musica); Peri's 
 Euridice (tragedia per musica), its libretto, music, orchestra, perform- 
 ance; Examples Influence of Operatic Style on Oratorio; Cava- 
 lieri's "The Soul and the Body." 
 
 Chapter X. The Development of Italian Opera 140 
 
 Monteverde; his youthful effort Ariadne an outgrowth of the labors 
 of the Camerata; Innovations; Use of Dissonances for Dramatic Pur- 
 poses; the Da Capo; Orfeo, great advancement in orchestral accom- 
 paniment; Description of Operas; Overture, Interludes, Beginning 
 of Leitmotiv, Coloratura Passages; Ariadne in Oratorio-form; Tancred, 
 introducing pizzicato and tremolo; Cavalli, direct successor of Monte- 
 verde; Popularization of Opera; Florid Writing in Jason; Appearance 
 of the Aria; Carissimi; Appearance of the Voice-Teacher; Beginning of 
 the Style "beautiful," carried on by the Scarlattis; Coloratura as an 
 Art. Form of Italian Opera at Beginning of Eighteenth Century, its 
 Characteristics; Development in Same Style under Donizetti, Bellini, 
 Rossini, the earlier Verdi; Changes in Verdi's later works; Boito, 
 Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Puccini. 
 
 Chapter XI. French Opera from its Beginning 159 
 
 Pastoral Plays; Robin and Marian; Ballets; Masques; Peri's 
 Euridice in Paris; French Alexandrine Verse deemed unadaptable to 
 Opera; New Form of Verse byPerrin; "Vaudeville Pastorale" by Cam- 
 bert; First French Opera Pomona; Lully, great popularity of his works; 
 Rameau, first French Grand-Opera Composer; Rousseau; Attempt to 
 introduce "movable Do"; Introduction of Opera Boiijjc; Struggles for 
 Supremacy by French and Italian opera adherents; Opera Comiqiie; 
 Gluck, Early Efforts, Development, a Follower of Monteverde's Style, 
 Opponent of Contemporary Italian Opera; Orfeo, Alcestc, Iphigenia; 
 Rivalry with Piccini; Establishment of Paris Conservatory; Cheru- 
 bini, Auber, Boieldieu, Herold, Adam, Gounod, Masse, Massenet, 
 Saint-Saens, Delibes, Bizet, Thomas, Meyerbeer. 
 
 Chapter XII. Opera in Germany, and the German Opera 174 
 
 Student Song-plays with Solos and Choruses; Peri's Euridice trans- 
 lated into German, Music by Schiitz; Efforts at German Sacred Opera
 
 xvi Table of Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 in Hamburg by Theile, Cousser, Keiser and Handel; Victorious Reign of 
 Italian Opera; Song-plays; Operettas by Haydn and others; Mozart's 
 Entfuhrung and Magic Flute; Beethoven's Fidelia; Rise of Romantic 
 German Opera; Weber's Rubezahl, Preciosa, Freischiitz (with introduc- 
 tion of the Leitmotiv), Euryanthe; Marschner's Hans Heiling; Rossini's 
 William Tell; Apex reached by Wagner. 
 
 Chapter XIII. The Development of the Music of the Protestant 
 
 Church, the Passion and the Oratorio 186 
 
 Influence of the Chorale; Metrical Psalter; English Hymn-Books and 
 their Authors; Merbecke, Tye, Tallis, Byrd, as Writers of Protestant 
 Church Music; Morley; Gibbons. 
 
 Development of Passion Music in Germany; Early Composers von 
 Burck, Selnecker, Gesius, Eccard; Later Composers Hassler, Prae- 
 torius, Schiitz and Fux; examples of their styles; Vulpius, Schultz and 
 Sebastiani direct precursors of Bach; examples of their styles. 
 
 Chapter XIV. Bach and Handel 203 
 
 BACH. Biographical Data; Influence of his Character upon his 
 Works; Suites; Inventions; the "Well-tempered Clavichord"; Mag- 
 nificat; 5-minor Mass; Passions; Church Cantatas. 
 
 HANDEL. Biographical Data; Travels and Musical Experiences; 
 
 Italian Operas; Financial Failure; Oratorio with Dramatic Chorus; 
 
 Daily Association with great Literary Lights Savage, Johnson, Swift, 
 
 Pope, Addison, Gay; his Oratorio a New Development of that Form. 
 
 Bach and Handel Compared. 
 
 Chapter XV. The Development of Musical Instruments, and the 
 
 Rise of Instrumental Music 217 
 
 Origin of Most Instruments Obscure; Rebab and Lute Arabian; 
 Chrotta, Fidula and Viole. Instruments of the Violin Family; their 
 Makers da Said, Maggini, Amati, Guarnerius, Stradivarius; Violin 
 becomes a Solo Instrument; Madrigals to be sung (cantata) and played 
 (sonata); Town Musicians; Dances "en suite," Suites or Ordres; Com- 
 posers Couperin, Marchand, Rameau, Bach, Handel; the Overture; 
 its Italian Origin; Developed by Scarlatti and Lully; Sonata da Chiesa 
 and da Camera; Concertos by Vivaldi, Corelli, Tartini; Concerti grossi by 
 Handel. 
 
 THE ORGAN. Origin in Pandean pipes; Early Mechanism; in 
 hands of Church Musicians; used to support Church Music; Improve- 
 ment of the Keyboard led to Organ Music as an Art; the Fugue, Toccata 
 and Canzone; Different Organ Schools. 
 
 THE PIANO. Its Precursors, and their Development into the Piano- 
 forte; Temperament of the Scale. The Orchestral Instruments Flute, 
 Oboe, Bassoon, English Horn, Clarinet, French Horn, Trombone, Trum- 
 pet, Kettledrums; Rise of the Orchestra.
 
 Table of Contents xvii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XVI. The Early Symphonists 229 
 
 HAYDN. Biographical Data; Characteristics of the Man and his 
 Art; Orchestral Attempts and Successes; the " Sonata-form "; Quartets, 
 Symphonies, Sonatas; Oratorios. 
 
 MOZART. Biographical Data; Characteristics of the Man and his Art; 
 Development of Symphonic Form in Content and Refinement; Operatic 
 Successes; Quartets, Sonatas, Symphonies. 
 
 BEETHOVEN. Biographical Data; Sonatas, Quartets, Symphonies; 
 Influence of Physical Life on his Works. 
 
 Comparison of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. 
 
 Chapter XVII. The Beginning of Romanticism 242 
 
 Causes leading to the Expression of the Romantic; Early Composers; 
 Gombert and Jannequin; Revolt against Opera Boiijfe leads to Romantic 
 Opera. 
 
 SCHUBERT. Biographical Data; Musical Characteristics; Roman- 
 ticism in Songs; the Art-song; other Works. 
 
 MENDELSSOHN. Biographical Data; his Works. Beethoven as a 
 Romanticist. 
 
 SCHUMANN. Biographical Data; his Works; his Art; his Influence. 
 
 Chapter XVIII. The Development of Romanticism, and the 
 
 Advent of the Great Virtuosi 254 
 
 The Successors of Mozart and Beethoven as Piano Virtuosi 
 Clementi, Field, Cramer, Berger, Moscheles, Hummel, Dussek, Czerny; 
 their Works. Violin Virtuosi, Successors of Tartini and Leclair 
 Viotti, Rode, Paganini; Paganini's Influence on other Virtuosi and 
 Composers. Spohr; Berlioz, "virtuoso of the orchestra"; his 
 Romantic Works; Program Music. Thalberg; Chopin, his Style and 
 Works; Liszt, his Style and Works; Influence of Thalberg, Chopin and 
 Liszt on Piano-composition; Romanticism exhibited in their Works. 
 Salon Music, its Composers and Piano Exponents; Followers of Men- 
 delssohn, Schumann, Chopin and Liszt in the domain of Virtuosity and 
 Composition. 
 
 Chapter XIX. The Advent of the Music-Drama, and the Rise of 
 
 Nationalism 266 
 
 Review of Operatic Conditions in Europe in the First Part of the 
 Nineteenth Century; Wagner; Biographical Data; the Man, his Ideals, 
 his Characteristics; the Operatic Revolution created by his Works; his 
 Final Overwhelming Success; his Followers. 
 
 Nationalism a New Arrival; Characteristics of National Music of 
 Different Nations; their Employment in Musical Art-works Sym- 
 phonies, Operas, etc. The Personal Expression in Music: Debussy, 
 Strauss.
 
 xviii Table of Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XX. Conclusion 280 
 
 Beginnings of Music in America; Music of Cavaliers and Puritans; 
 First American Attempts at Composition; William Billings, Oliver 
 Holden, Andrew Law, Jacob Kimball, Daniel Reed, Timothy Swan; 
 Early Singing-schools, resulting in Singing Societies; Early Leaders 
 Lowell Mason, Gottlieb Graupner. Opera in America; Orchestras; 
 Theodore Thomas; Music Festivals; Opportunities in America; 
 Recent Statistics of Music; Hopes for the Future.
 
 FAMILIAR TALKS 
 
 ON THE . 
 
 HISTORY OF MUSIC 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MUSIC AMONG THE NATIONS OF REMOTE ANTIQUITY. 
 
 THE CHINESE. 
 
 IN our historical search for the expression and practice of 
 music we turn first of all to the cradle of the human race, 
 southeastern Asia, inhabited by the Chinese, Japanese and 
 Hindoos. These nations, though geographically allied and 
 bearing a degree of mental resemblance to each other, pre- 
 sent very striking contrasts. These contrasts are due in a 
 measure to their different dispositions or "make-up," which 
 may be ascribed, in part, to climatic conditions. The Chi- 
 nese conception of the world and the great works of nature 
 seems to us rather insipid and prosaic. Their imagination is 
 limited; they live the practical, utilitarian life. Music orig- 
 inated with them, as with other nations of antiquity, in 
 their religion, and has long been under state supervision in 
 order to guard against the covert introduction of "tones" 
 contrary to the ordinances. Such regulation is, of course, 
 baneful to art and its progress. They consider music to ex- 
 ist for two purposes, recreation and theoretical investigation, 
 and seem never to have realized that it is a language for 
 the expression of emotion. Their theory of the origin of the 
 tones of their scales is very interesting as showing how far 
 pedantry will lead the mind astray. Their oldest musical 
 scale was limited, but not more so than that of other nations
 
 2 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 whose musical utterance is quite artistic. In their music- 
 system the tone which we call F is the center of all things. 
 It represents and is called the Emperor, and each tone of 
 their original five-tone (pentatonic} scale F, G, A, C, D has a 
 fantastic name, referring usually to something political. In 
 early times this five-tone scale was extended, for certain kinds 
 of music, to the full octave, by the insertion of E and J5, 
 called "Leaders" and "Mediators," but the songs of the 
 temple (in fact, all their ancient songs) are constructed on the 
 pentatonic scale. Later they learned to divide the octave 
 into twelve half-steps, and then the scale was called Lue 
 (law), but F always remained the foundation- tone. They 
 had some idea of harmony, or at least of the relationship ex- 
 isting between the principal tones of the scale, the fourth and 
 fifth and tonic. Theoretically, they have 84 scales, all with 
 philosophical significance, although few of them are in use. 
 Their literature of music, so far as known, consists mostly 
 of theoretical works which show considerable discriminative 
 power, collections of songs being rare. From the theoretical 
 works it is evident that they care little for the combination 
 of sounds in harmony. Their melodies, excepting those of 
 the older sacred music and the songs of the sailors and moun- 
 taineers, lack definite outline and seem to us vague and aim- 
 less. The following three examples of Chinese melody were 
 recorded by a Jesuit missionary. The first is a song in 
 praise of the dead, which is very well known and much used, 
 the Chinese being devout ancestor-worshippers. 
 
 The second melody was used by Carl Maria von Weber in 
 one of his overtures:
 
 Music among the Nations of Remote Antiquity 3 
 
 m 
 
 S&=*^f=5 
 
 
 [- I -4-1 
 
 1 + + Jfa - 
 
 
 
 S^->=zad 
 
 -0 -4-j 
 
 ^* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In this melody we notice a decided element of rhythm, 
 even though it is somewhat monotonous. Both of these 
 melodies are constructed on the pentatonic scale. 
 
 The third example is a sort of antiphonal song between a 
 ship's mate and his sailors: 
 
 THE MATE 
 3.+.. -^ 
 
 Hei - ho, hei - hau ! 
 THE SAILORS 
 
 Hei - ho, hei - hau ! 
 
 
 Hei - ho, 
 
 Ilei - ho, hei - hau ! Hei - ho, hei - hau ! 
 
 
 hei -hau! 
 
 Hei - ho, hei -hau! 
 
 The last illustration is of a decidedly higher type than the 
 others, as are the songs of the mountaineers. Is this due, 
 perhaps, to the fact that these people see more of the gran- 
 deur of nature? That the pentatonic scale of the Chinese is 
 capable of much more than these simple melodies is evident 
 from the many charming Scotch and Irish songs which also
 
 4 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 have it for their basis. As an example, we might cite "Auld 
 Lang Syne" (in its original form, not as sometimes edited). 
 
 The accompaniment of their songs, which regularly in- 
 cludes a small drum, is quite similar in character to the drone 
 of the bagpipe, a very primitive device common among most 
 musically untutored nations. Their sense for rude rhythm is 
 manifested by their predilection for instruments of percus- 
 sion. In the average Chinese orchestra will be found many 
 such instruments, consisting of drums of all kinds and sizes, 
 bells, stones beaten with mallets, different kinds of cymbals, 
 a row of suspended tuned copper plates or stones, wooden 
 clappers, and even wooden tubs, beaten sometimes from the 
 outside and sometimes from the inside. Wind-instruments 
 are less common. Some of these, such as the Hiuen, which 
 is similar to an ocarina, are made of clay; others, like flutes, 
 are of wood or metal. Their most elaborate wind-instru- 
 ment, and at the same time the most pleasing, is the Cheng. 
 This is made from a hollowed gourd, in which are inserted a 
 number of bamboo tubes of different lengths. The gourd acts 
 as a sort of wind-chest into which the player blows through a 
 tube, while the vents in the bamboos are stopped with the 
 fingers. Their stringed instruments are but few in number 
 and sparingly represented in the orchestra, where one lone 
 fiddle with one or more silk strings often carries the melody. 
 Their most popular musical instruments are the Kin, a primi- 
 tive guitar, and the Che, a sort of large zither with twenty- 
 five strings, both said to have been invented about 3000 B.C. 
 In spite of its limitations in the matter of sustained tone, the 
 Chinese regard their orchestral music as the best in the world, 
 and that of a European orchestra as horrible. 
 
 THE JAPANESE. 
 
 This island people, neighbors of and racially allied to the 
 Chinese, are more active and energetic, mentally and physi- 
 cally, than their continental kinsfolk. Although they revere
 
 Music among the Nations of Remote Antiquity 5 
 
 music very highly, they have, artistically, fallen below even 
 Chinese standards. Many of their instruments, especially 
 the percussives, resemble those of the Chinese; they also 
 have the Kin and the Cheng. We note a new instrument, 
 however, made out of a sea-shell, with a tube inserted therein, 
 used somewhat like a trumpet. They have many stringed 
 instruments somewhat like the mandolin and the lute, the 
 most popular of which, used for accompanying songs, is the 
 Samisen, played with a plectrum (pick) like that used in play- 
 ing the mandolin. An old picture of a Japanese orchestra 
 (and a family orchestra, at that) shows three men and four 
 women, whose instruments are a flute, a very large drum 
 (played at both ends), two bell-rattles, two wooden clappers 
 and two small drums, the flute sustaining the melody above 
 all these instruments of percussion. Their melodies resemble 
 those of the Chinese, having the pentatonic scale for their 
 basis, but their musicians are not so much addicted to theo- 
 retical discussion. That they have realized the comparative 
 poverty of their music is evidenced by the fact that in 1879 
 the Japanese government engaged an American, Luther 
 Whiting Mason, to establish the ideas and methods of occi- 
 dental music in their schools. 
 
 THE HINDOOS. 
 
 Here we have a people endowed with a most vivid imagina- 
 tion. Living in a climate nearly tropical, and in a country 
 rich in verdure and teeming with the gifts of nature, their out- 
 look upon life is decidedly different from that of the nations 
 mentioned before. Among them the origin of music is again 
 found in their religion, it being considered as derived directly 
 from the gods. Sarasvati, the wife of Brahma, is revered as 
 the donor of the Vina, the national musical instrument. She 
 is considered the guardian of music, with a special god, Na- 
 reda, as a sort of prime minister. One of the great books 
 of the Brahmins, the Rig- Veda (1500 B.C.), contains many
 
 6 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 hymns whose melodies are ascribed to the gods. Some of 
 these melodies, called Ragas, were supposed to be capable of 
 extraordinary effects. One of them, the Raga of Fire, was 
 said to possess the power of calling fire from heaven, and 
 legend tells of a popular singer, who, wishing to try the effect 
 of this Raga, immersed himself up to his neck in a river, where 
 he perished because the water began to boil. Another Raga 
 was supposed to have the power of calling down rain and thus 
 saving the country from drought; while still another could 
 eclipse the sun's rays, all because of the effect of the melody. 
 The Hindoo scale, like that of the other ancient nations, was 
 at first pentatonic, but later was expanded to seven tones 
 and still later throughout three octaves. Their subdivision 
 of the octave is very curious, the whole steps being divided 
 sometimes into four and sometimes into three equal parts, 
 while the half-steps are divided into two quarter-steps, mak- 
 ing a division of twenty-two tones to the octave. It is evi- 
 dent that this series of twenty-two tones was not practicable 
 for singers or players in any one melody, although the quar- 
 ter-steps were used in certain portions of a scale for the pur- 
 pose of forming a new one. Theoretically, they had sixteen 
 thousand scales, mythologically explained in the story of the 
 sixteen thousand Gopis (beautiful maidens), each of whom, in 
 her efforts to secure the love of Krishna, invented her own 
 scale, hoping by a new form of melody to win his favor. In 
 time the number of scales was reduced by the theorists to 
 nine hundred and sixty, then to thirty-six, and even as low 
 as twenty-three, but the thirty-six were generally retained. 
 Their most important scale was the Sriraga, corresponding to 
 our A -major scale. 
 
 Hindoo poetry is of varying rhythm and meter, and the 
 melodies of the songs correspond. Their music is very diffi- 
 cult of notation because of numerous rules for the guidance of 
 the artists and the many licenses and liberties allowed them. 
 While their more modern music may not be much like that
 
 Music among the Nations of Remote Antiquity 
 
 1 
 
 of past ages, their oldest songs, which were memorized and 
 chanted, are still in common use. Below will be found a typ- 
 ical Hindustanee melody. 
 
 \ 
 
 I - K 1 >-J 
 
 
 
 Their characteristic national instrument, the Vina, consists 
 of a tube some three feet in length, having a gourd-like hol- 
 low sphere attached underneath at each end. It has nineteen 
 movable bridges and seven strings, which, by shifting the 
 bridges, are capable of producing a chromatic scale. Another 
 of their stringed instruments is the Serinda, a sort of violin 
 shaped like a mandolin, but with indented sides, allowing it 
 to be played with a bow. The percussives and wind-instru- 
 ments resemble those of the Chinese, but their use is less 
 universal. Their poetry is of a high order, and ma.ny of their 
 dramas were produced with music. Notable among these is 
 the one telling the story of Krishna's quarrel with the gods, 
 which contains both songs and choruses. All in all, the 
 Hindoos were further advanced in instrumental music, as 
 well as in musical form, than the other nations of remote 
 antiquity.
 
 8 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 THE EGYPTIANS, AFRICANS AND WESTERN ASIATICS. 
 
 Egypt has been named "the land of monuments," and the 
 Egyptians "the monumental people of history." In examin- 
 ing the music of this interesting people we are instantly re- 
 minded of its disadvantages, as compared with the plastic 
 arts, in the matter of records. A sound is, after all, the crea- 
 tion of a moment, and then vanishes. Even when records 
 were made on papyrus, they were easy of destruction as com- 
 pared with the pyramids. Music took a leading part in the 
 temple worship of the Egyptians, and its origin was attrib- 
 uted by them to the goddess Isis. Plato, after his travels in 
 Egypt, said that he believed their sacred songs to be not less 
 than ten thousand years old, and that they must have ema- 
 nated from the gods or from god-like men, because of their 
 power to exalt and ennoble mankind. The Egyptians also 
 ascribe the origin of some of their primitive melodies to the 
 gods. The "mighty Ptah" alluded to in Verdi's Aida is 
 represented as a player on the harp. A curious similarity 
 between the mythology of the Egyptians and the Greeks is 
 noticeable, Osiris, the Egyptian patron of music, being repre- 
 sented accompanied by nine female singers, like Phoebus- 
 Apollo with the nine Muses among the Greeks. The division 
 of the people into castes bred a conservatism which was inten- 
 sified by lack of intercourse with the rest of the world, made 
 difficult because the land is virtually an oasis in the desert. 
 The poetry of the Egyptians is so lofty in conception that 
 if their music was at all commensurate in expression, it must 
 indeed have been sublime and of great effect. 
 
 We have little information regarding their tonal system. 
 Walls of temples and tombs furnish us with representations 
 of musical instruments and processions of musicians, but with 
 no idea of the actual quality of their music. However, in 
 view of the fact that they have been exceedingly tenacious in 
 the continuation of their religious ceremonial and philosophic
 
 Music among the Nations of Remote Antiquity 9 
 
 ideals, we may reasonably assume that many of the melo- 
 dies in use among the common people of to-day are handed 
 down from remote antiquity. If this assumption be correct, 
 their scale was even more limited than that of other ancient 
 nations, in that it had but four tones, like the tetrachord of 
 the Greeks. Their far-removed ancestors, the Abyssinians. 
 used the same four- tone diatonic scale in their melodies. 
 Architecture was, in point of fact, the predominant art of the 
 Egyptians, for even their sculpture is in a measure architec- 
 tural, being limited by unchangeable lines. Because of their 
 conservatism, their music was probably equally limited. 
 Musical investigation, however, proves that even the tetra- 
 chordal scale is capable of great variety, and that its use 
 often gives the character of grandeur. Mozart used it in 
 The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni; Gluck in his Alceste; 
 while Verdi gives a fine example in Aida. William Edward 
 Lane, in his book on " Egypt and Its Customs," presents 
 the following examples of ancient Egyptian melodies. 
 
 What especially interests us in these melodies is their form 
 (the idea of repetition of certain phrases making for unity), 
 and the fact that they lie within the tetrachord. It is pos- 
 sible that, unlike other nations, they had an appreciation of 
 harmony, for the pictures of groups of musicians in the tombs 
 display a series of various musical instruments, such as large 
 harps with many strings, small harps, instruments like the
 
 io Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 guitar, lyres, and flutes of different lengths. Since the harp- 
 players are represented as using both hands together, some- 
 thing hardly necessary for the performance of their limited 
 melodies, they may have furnished harmonic support. The 
 harp was apparently their most important instrument, for. it 
 appears (pictorially) to have been of many sizes and kinds, 
 and played in various manners over the shoulder, standing 
 and kneeling, with many strings and with few. The lyre they 
 used is a modification of an Asiatic instrument. The Kem- 
 Kem (the Sistrum of the Hebrews) consisted of a bronze 
 frame crossed by four metal bars with jingling appendages, 
 and was used for the purpose of attracting attention during 
 some portion of their temple worship, like the bell at Mass 
 in the Catholic Church. We find the same instrument again, 
 under another name, in the idol-worship of the Romans, 
 where it is called the "Isis clapper," the name proving its 
 Egyptian origin. The Egyptians ascribed to this instrument 
 the power to drive away evil, as well as the power of intimi- 
 dation, and therefore used it in battle to frighten their enemies. 
 Prolonged investigation has revealed the fact that the 
 music of the Egyptians was in many respects closely allied 
 to that of the Greeks, the Hebrews, the Phoenicians, and also 
 to that of the Ethiopians, their nearest neighbors. The Ethi- 
 opians have many instruments in common with them, such 
 as the Sistrum, lyres, drums and harps, and the relationship 
 is especially noticeable in their melodies, even though they 
 are more primitive. Following is an Ethiopian melody: 
 
 etc. 
 
 The inhabitants of western Asia form a great contrast to 
 the Egyptians. The Assyrians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, 
 Lydians, Phrygians, Medes and Persians exhibit in their 
 music decided differences in their conception of the art as well 
 as in their methods of performance. Their music was used
 
 Music among the Nations of Remote Antiquity n 
 
 mostly in idolatrous praise of their despotic rulers. Among 
 their instruments we notice the smaller portable harp played 
 with a plectrum, the Kinnor (the triangular harp of the He- 
 brews), and the Dulcimer, a square wooden box strung with 
 metal strings which were struck with a hammer one of the 
 great-great-grandfathers of the piano. Religious music among 
 these nations was for the most part superficial and effeminate, 
 despite their otherwise warlike spirit. 
 
 While, as we have seen, nearly all these nations of an- 
 tiquity believed music to be of divine origin, none of them 
 so thoroughly realized this conception as did the Hebrews, 
 whose efforts we are next to consider.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MUSIC AMONG THE HEBREWS, GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 IN considering the music of remote antiquity we have seen 
 that its most important function was in religious worship. 
 The Hebrews also gave it great importance in their temple 
 service. More than any other ancient nation do they give 
 evidence of the feeling that music is something supernatural, 
 something divine or that it contains, at least, a breath of 
 the divine. In the Hebrew biblical accounts we find abun- 
 dant testimony that music was used for the purpose of creat- 
 ing in man a feeling of awe, to induce in him a spiritual 
 state proper for the reception of messages from on high, to 
 bring to his consciousness whatever in him was divine. 
 
 The tribe of Levi the tribe of the priests cultivated 
 music as one of the studies necessary for becoming an acolyte. 
 The liturgy of the church was noble, and the lofty character 
 of its poetry is exemplified in the thoughts of Isaiah and Eze- 
 kiel, which are expressed in wonderfully sonorous language, 
 replete with flowery metaphor and full of Oriental poetic 
 imagery. 
 
 There is abundant evidence in the Bible and in the writ- 
 ings of Josephus, the great Jewish historian, that the music 
 of the temple service consisted of what we call antiphonal 
 singing; that is, one choir sang a strain and a second choir 
 answered, sometimes the men on one side and the women on 
 the other, or both on either side, something like the prelimi- 
 nary service in the modern Episcopal Church, when the rector 
 reads and the congregation answers with a line or stanza. 
 This antiphonal singing led, in later years, to a great advance 
 in musical art. A predominating idea throughout many of
 
 Music among the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans 13 
 
 the Psalms, as well as most Oriental writings, is what is called 
 "parallelism," that is, the utterance of a thought followed 
 by a sequel, which either reiterates that thought in other 
 words, or is a commentary thereon. 
 
 " The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." 
 
 Now, that is a direct statement. The sequel follows: 
 "The world, and they that dwell therein." 
 
 Note that "earth" and "world," as here used, mean exactly 
 the same thing, forming a parallelism the same thought 
 repeated in different words. 
 
 "For He hath founded it upon the seas," 
 
 and the sequel 
 
 "And established it upon the floods." 
 
 Here, again, we have the same thought expressed in other 
 
 words; 
 
 "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?" 
 
 That is iteration; now comes the reiteration: 
 
 "And who shall stand in His holy place?" 
 
 Many of the Psalms are constructed in this antiphonal 
 manner. 
 
 The whole Jewish ritual strove to realize the ideal of the 
 grand song of praise to be sung in the hereafter, and was full 
 of beautiful, poetic conceptions. Even to-day it is one of 
 the most potent art-influences in the world, and the Jews 
 have been ministers of art in all lands. They have been 
 celebrated in modern music as well as in the music of the 
 ancient temple, and there is ample evidence that even in 
 antiquity music played a part in their daily social life. In 
 Genesis xxxi : 27, Laban says to Jacob, when the latter re- 
 turns after a long absence, "Wherefore didst thou . . . .
 
 14 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 steal away from me, and didst not tell me, that I might have 
 sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and 
 with harp?" This means that they would have had a fare- 
 well feast together with music as a prominent feature. 
 
 During the Captivity, the music of their ritual was prob- 
 ably influenced by the music of Egypt, for while we know 
 that the Jews had and have a remarkable capacity to retain 
 and discriminate, we also know that they possess the ability 
 to assimilate that which is best from others. 
 
 Jewish Psalmody began with David, and is really the 
 foundation of our ecclesiastical music, for the hymnologies of 
 the nineteenth century derive their strength from the hymns 
 which, sung thousands of years ago, inspired the Jews in 
 their struggles for religious and civil liberty. Their religious 
 music was their national music, and all history shows that 
 religion and patriotism exercise a powerful and enduring in- 
 fluence upon the life and character of any people. 
 
 In some old manuscript copies of the Psalms are marks, or 
 "curlicues," that look like enlargements of germs or bacilli. 
 These marks were used for the purpose of indicating how 
 the voice was to proceed, whether up or down, how far up, 
 how far down, or whether it was to continue on a level, that 
 is, on the same tone. In the fourth and fifth centuries of 
 the Christian era, similar marks called neumes appear. We 
 shall meet with them further on, more definite in shape and 
 more easily deciphered. 
 
 Their musical instruments were so restricted in tone- 
 power and quality, that the development of instrumental 
 music was necessarily equally limited, but large choirs and 
 great bodies of players were often brought together. We 
 read in Chronicles that at one of the temple services four 
 thousand Levites played on these primitive instruments, and 
 two hundred and eighty-eight singers took part. While the 
 Bible gives the names of the Jewish instruments, an idea of 
 their appearance can be obtained only from the monuments
 
 Music among the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans 15 
 
 of antiquity, the great Egyptian tombs. In the picture of a 
 Jewish procession, on the inner walls of the tomb of Beni- 
 Hassan, supposedly representing the family of Jacob on its 
 visit to Joseph, there are thirty-seven performers on musical 
 instruments. Only one of these carries what was called a lyre, 
 a small, hollow wooden instrument, like a box, with a number 
 of strings stretched across an opening in its center. These 
 short strings, played pizzicato with a plectrum, could of 
 course not yield much sound, but a number of them played 
 together probably produced a considerable volume. Among 
 these instruments is also to be seen the Kinnor, a small 
 triangular harp that was in general and even household use. 
 When we read of David's harp, and that "they hung their 
 harps upon the willow- trees," the Kinnor is meant. In ad- 
 dition to these two instruments are depicted the Nebel, a 
 large harp played with both hands; the psaltery, flutes, 
 small trumpets and small cymbals; others in that procession 
 do not carry any instruments at all, but apparently simply 
 clapped their hands to mark the rhythm, like the negroes in 
 their "juba." 
 
 Another instrument in general use among the Hebrews 
 resembled the Greek pipes of Pan, or Pandean pipes, and was 
 called the Ugabh. The pipes of Pan were originally made 
 of dry reeds from the riverside. These reeds were cut to 
 certain lengths and joined together, and when one blew 
 across the ends of them, they produced, according to their 
 length, tones of high or low pitch. Out of the principle of 
 these Pandean pipes was evolved, in the course of time, the 
 organ. The earliest of the small trumpets were made out of 
 rams' horns. By the way, the ram's horn, or Shofar, is stil] 
 used in every Jewish community. At the beginning of the 
 Jewish year, the Shofar is blown in every synagogue; this 
 is quite an important ceremony, and he who has the Shofar is 
 highly honored, and blows upon it a call such as can be played 
 on a cornet or bugle without pressing the pistons or keys.
 
 1 6 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Evidence of the tenacity with which the Jews have held 
 to their religious customs through the passing centuries is 
 found in the fact that in all orthodox synagogues at Vienna 
 or Dresden, Jerusalem or Constantinople or New York, the 
 call of the Shofar is identical. 
 
 The Jews, more than any other nation, had a lofty ideal of 
 the power of music. In proof of this, two instances related 
 in the Bible may be cited. When Elisha was asked to 
 prophesy, he at first refused, because he was among an alien 
 people; but after they had implored him to grant their 
 prayer, he said, "Bring me a minstrel," and the biblical 
 account states that during the singing of th*is minstrel, 
 the spirit of God came upon him so that he was enabled 
 to prophesy. At the dedication of the second temple, 
 when, after much alternate praying and singing, the congre- 
 gation was waiting for the Shekinah to come from Heaven, 
 it was only "when all had lifted up their voices as of one 
 accord, that the spirit of God came down and filled the 
 house." 
 
 The following examples of Israelitish song should prove of 
 interest. "Miriam's Song" (No. 8) is, according to Dr. 
 Landau, chief Rabbi at Dresden, one of the most ancient of 
 Hebrew melodies, for it is sung, with but the slightest varia- 
 tion, in all the synagogues of Europe. 
 
 At the close of the services, in the synagogue at Dresden, 
 the following characteristic and quite Oriental melody is still 
 sung.
 
 Music among the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans 17 
 
 The peculiar melody, printed below, is claimed on excellent 
 authority to be that of the first stanza of an ancient Jewish 
 hymn for a solo voice, with interspersed choral exclamations, 
 and each stanza is said to increase in melodic floridity. 
 
 CHORUS SOLO 
 
 CHORUS 
 
 
 MUSIC AMONG THE GREEKS. 
 
 Among the Greeks we also find a lofty, ideal conception of 
 the power of music; and not only among the poets and 
 musicians, but among philosophers, law-givers and judges of 
 the courts. The Greeks also believed that music came from
 
 1 8 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 the gods, and was something that could, in its highest sense, 
 be used only for the worship of the gods. Pythagoras, whom 
 we remember in mathematics, tells of the relation of number 
 and "harmony," which was the name then given to music. 
 He was the chief pioneer in researches on musical acoustics, 
 and formulated the idea of the relationship of tones to each 
 other. By means of the Monochord (a wooden box over 
 which was stretched a metal string whose vibrating length 
 could be shortened or lengthened by a movable bridge), he 
 discovered the true relationship of the fourth, fifth and 
 octave of a given tone; that three-fourths of the length of a 
 string would produce its fourth; two-thirds, its fifth; and 
 one-half of the string, its octave. We find the same principle 
 applied in playing the violin; and the "frets" on the mando- 
 lin take the place of the bridge of the Monochord. When 
 playing the tones of the scale on a violin, we apply the prin- 
 ciple that Pythagoras discovered, for the finger pressing the 
 string on the finger-board shortens the vibrating part. Be- 
 cause of the numerical simplicity of each of their ratios, he 
 declared^, the fourths, fifths and octaves to be perfect musical 
 consonances, just as we do to-day. It is undoubtedly due to 
 this declaration that, in the first attempts at music for two 
 and more voices, these intervals were deemed the proper 
 ones to be used. 
 
 The relationship between a tone and its third he found to 
 be so complex that he and his followers regarded it as a dis- 
 sonance; this interval was consequently avoided by the early 
 composers, except in certain kinds of secular music. Pythag- 
 oras was so much esteemed and revered that many people 
 followed his teachings and became his disciples, a whole sect 
 calling themselves "Pythagoreans." In that sect (or club, 
 as we might call it), music, mathematics and astronomy were 
 ranked side by side as great developers of the mind; and an 
 ability to play on the lyre and to sing were requisites for 
 admission.
 
 Music among the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans ig 
 
 Plato, too, was a great admirer of the power of music, and 
 speaks of it as the purger of evil passions. Terpander was 
 another of the Greek promoters of musical art, and Olympus 
 (not the mountain, but the man) tells us how common was 
 the use of music in social circles as early as 600 B.C. Just 
 what that music was like we have but a vague idea. Pindar, 
 one of the greatest Greek poets (522 B.C.), and a disciple of 
 Pythagoras, was celebrated for his melodic invention; one 
 of his odes was preserved, and has been deciphered and ar- 
 ranged by the German savant, Westphal. It consists of a 
 solo, followed by a chorus of Citharodes. 
 
 11. Corypheus 
 
 Their instrumental music was, of course, limited, but that 
 they made much out of it is evident from the fact that it 
 made such a deep impression on them. Flute-playing was 
 common among them also, and rival methods of teaching the 
 flute were already in vogue in 600 B.C. 
 
 Nowadays we talk of banquet or after-dinner speakers. 
 In those times there were no after-dinner speakers, but there 
 were after-dinner singers. They sang, they improvised. 
 The opera of Tannhauser affords examples (translated into 
 modern terms!) of improvisation as it was carried on in the 
 early Middle Ages. You may remember that in this opera
 
 2O Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 the Landgrave offers the hand of his daughter, Elizabeth, to 
 him who shall best improvise upon a given subject. Not 
 only knights, but even servants, were allowed to compete in 
 this banquet-song for that is virtually what it was. The 
 Greeks knew this art and practised it. They began it by 
 singing of their heroes, but later they sang stories full of 
 beautiful thoughts and poetic imagery. 
 
 In France and England, during the Middle Ages, people 
 were afraid to have a song made about them, for if it was a 
 song of ridicule or criticism it was often the political end of 
 the person sung about. Even in the nineteenth century the 
 "Song of the Shirt," Hood's poem, when sung (though to a 
 very ordinary tune), stirred all England from center to cir- 
 cumference, changed its laws, and gave the workingmen 
 rights they had never had before and of which they had not 
 even dreamed. The Greeks had similar ideas of the power 
 exercised by music over men's minds on certain occasions. 
 
 The Greek system of music was based upon " modes," of 
 which we shall learn more later. Measure, in our sense of 
 the word, did not yet exist independently, the rhythm of the 
 song being derived from that of the text. The early Greek 
 scales were like those of the Egyptians, limited to four tones, 
 and formed what we call tetrachords (tetra meaning four). 
 The half-step (e-f) in them was immovable, and the position 
 of the half-step in this small scale determined the mode. 
 Two such tetrachords were in the course of time used to form 
 the octave-scale. 
 
 12. Tetrachord Tetrachord Dorian Octave-Scale, or Mode 
 
 
 Phrygian Mode Lydian Mode 
 
 =t: 
 
 Tetrachord Tetrachord Tetrachord Tetrachord
 
 Music among the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans 21 
 
 The Greeks attributed different emotional and ethical 
 effects to melodies based on their different scales, as inducing 
 different moods. Melodies based on the Dorian scale were 
 considered to inspire respect for law and order, obedience, 
 courage and independence, and therefore adapted to the 
 education of youths; those based on the Lydian scale were 
 considered by some philosophers, such as Plato, to possess 
 an enervating tendency; while for those based upon the 
 Phrygian scale was claimed the power of inspiration. 
 
 The early Greek tonal system provided for the extension 
 of the scale into two octaves, and was therefore capable of 
 considerable melodic expression. The insertion of quarter- 
 steps, borrowed probably from their Asiatic neighbors, did 
 not improve the original system, for, after all, neither the 
 human voice nor musical instruments could more than ap- 
 proximate their pitch. 
 
 The Greek idea of melody was, that it should be a rein- 
 forcement of poetic diction by means of fine gradations and 
 inflections of rhythm and tone. They had many musicians 
 who were not poets, but most of their poets were musicians. 
 They thought music was the foundation of all science, and it 
 was said that "nothing great could be expected from a man 
 who was ignorant of music." One of the reasons why Greek 
 poetry is in some respects far superior to Latin poetry is 
 found in the fact that the Greek poets were musicians. 
 
 At a later time, when philosophy, poetry and music were 
 separated, all three were at first weakened. The philosophers 
 spoke no more through the medium of poetry, nor the poets 
 through the medium of melody; still later, however, the 
 separation proved the means of a great development in each. 
 In the Athenian drama, the Athenian tragedy, we find the 
 union of poetry, music and mimetic action; and many great 
 composers of recent centuries, beginning with those who made 
 the first attempts at opera, strove to realize what they thought 
 was the Greek ideal. Monteverde did it; Puccini did it;
 
 22 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 the first really great opera-composer, Gluck, did it, for all his 
 later operas follow his conception of the Greek style, and are 
 on Greek subjects. He tried to revive the ideal which the 
 Greeks had apparently reached. 
 
 The decline of an art begins when any one element of it 
 is unduly magnified in importance. The moment that tech- 
 nique became the thing most appreciated, when the artist 
 was judged by technique alone, there arose the age of the 
 virtuoso, and the art proper, the art as a whole, was weakened 
 just to the extent that the individual stood out. It may be 
 difficult to apprehend the full force of this distinction, even 
 though our present musical life illustrates it frequently. 
 Shakespearian dramas are nowadays usually played by a 
 cast containing perhaps but one fine actor; all centers on 
 that individual, and the rest of the company is often mediocre. 
 Shakespeare realized that danger when he said, "The play's 
 the thing" not the actors. When we plan to go to a per- 
 formance of opera our first question is, usually, "Who is 
 going to sing?" not "What is the opera?" and "By whom is 
 it written?" -"Who is going to sing?" Not "What great 
 art-work are we going to hear?" but "Who is the virtuoso?" 
 
 Now we must not decry the virtuosi, for we desire and 
 ought to hear them; but we wish to hear their interpretation 
 of the art-work, which is greater than the individual who in- 
 terprets. 
 
 As a result of the rise of virtuosity in Greece, philosophy, 
 the lofty thought, degenerated, and instead of the philoso- 
 pher we have the sophist, who exalts the individual. History 
 teaches that, as soon as "technique" in one of the arts be- 
 gins to reign, it is not long before it is not a question of real 
 art any more, but rather of who can do the most amazing, 
 wonderful thing, thus making technique the art.
 
 Music among the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans 23 
 
 MUSIC AMONG THE ROMANS. 
 
 The Roman Empire, after its conquest of Greece, did little 
 toward the development of music as an art, but offered 
 prizes to those who had the greatest dexterity, could blow 
 the loudest or play the fastest, and thus soon lost the art- 
 ideals which the Greeks had formerly held. Although Rome 
 borrowed her art from other nations, nevertheless, because 
 she offered large financial rewards and great honors, musicians 
 (especially the virtuosi) flocked thither to receive them. 
 We read that upon one occasion, in the time of Julius 
 Caesar, there were thousands of singers and players at 
 one feast. In the Roman schools, however, we find the old 
 Greek curriculum continued in the teaching of what was 
 called, and is stilled called in college courses, the "human- 
 ities; 1 ' and among these humanities, music ranked first. 
 Under the Roman emperors some developments were made 
 in the theory of music and the classification of rhythms and 
 meters. 
 
 One evidence of the importance which the Greeks attached 
 to music and its allied arts is the story of the Nine Muses. 
 The poet Callimachus explains their functions in these 
 words : 
 
 Calliope the deeds of heroes sings, 
 
 Great Clio sweepeth for their tones the strings; 
 
 Euterpe teaches mimes their silent show, 
 
 Melpomene presides o'er scenes of woe: 
 
 Terpsichore the flute's soft power displays, 
 
 And Erato gives hymns the gods to praise: 
 
 Polymnia still inspires melodious strains, 
 
 Urania, wise, the starry course explains, 
 
 And gay Thalia's glass points out where folly reigns. 
 
 The study of the music peculiar to nations of the pre- 
 Christian era reveals their efforts in the domain of vocal 
 music with and without instrumental accompaniment, the
 
 24 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 lofty ideals which moved them to expression in music, in 
 song, and the limited means at their disposal, which never- 
 theless contained the germs of the greater art which was to 
 blossom and bear fruit so abundantly after the advent of 
 Christianity.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MUSIC IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN ERA. 
 
 WHEN Rome was the center of civilization, men sought 
 pleasure, power and riches above all things. During this 
 period was born the Christ, whose message to humanity was 
 diametrically opposed to the prevailing spirit. The classical 
 age, lofty as was its mission and great its perfection, in many 
 ways ignored the claims of humanity. In Rome the rights 
 of the individual were respected even less than in Greece. 
 Class-prejudice was universal. Ideality was repressed, and 
 therefore art degenerated. Man was nothing; his social 
 position and his wealth were the only things to be considered. 
 No wonder that such messages as "Blessed are they that 
 mourn, for they shall be comforted," "Fear not them that 
 kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul," "Come unto 
 me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give 
 you rest," fell like dew upon the spirits of the oppressed, and 
 like fire upon the heads of the oppressors. Their import in- 
 fused hope and comfort into the hearts of those who suf- 
 fered under tyranny, and awakened dormant yearnings for 
 love and truth. In the new religion man was directed to 
 search his heart, for from the heart only could arise that 
 which was true and noble. The classic artist imitated and 
 beautified the models he found in Nature, but the new art 
 was to realize the Divine. Plastic art could not delineate 
 inner revelations; it therefore became the handmaid of 
 architecture, and gave place to the art of painting with its 
 representations of the Christ. The painter began to strive 
 to express the emotions, the soul, in the faces of his subjects, 
 and beauty of form was to become a secondary consideration. 
 
 25
 
 26 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 The longing for a future existence, for expression of the 
 inner life of man, was to find its most sublime utterance in 
 music, for that alone could express the craving for the un- 
 known. The greatest religious musical works of later years 
 are the outgrowth of this period, and the influence of Christian- 
 ity is in large part responsible for the emancipation of music 
 from the domination of other arts. Part-writing developed 
 out of the music of the Church. Music, most fugitive of arts, 
 was drawn upon to depict the life beyond the grave, which 
 had been considered the end of man. The motto of an- 
 tiquity was, "Think ye how to live;" that of the new religion, 
 "Think ye how to die;" and thence arose the "De Pro- 
 fundis," the "Miserere" and the "Requiem," followed by 
 the "Gloria in Excelsis" and the "Te Deum Laudamus." 
 The new doctrine taught man's equality, and woman's, 
 before God. This change of the status of woman from a 
 chattel to the equal of man is responsible for the romanticism 
 of later years, which was unknown in the classical age. 
 
 In the beginning the worship of the Christian church was 
 modelled either after the Jewish temple service or after 
 Greek ideas and Greek forms. The mythological illustra- 
 tions used by the Greeks were used over again by the Chris- 
 tians, though under other names, as biblical illustrations. 
 The Greek representations of "Hermes and the goat" thus be- 
 came those of "Christ and the lamb;" "Orpheus surrounded 
 by wild beasts" was transformed into "Daniel in the lions' 
 den;" and "Arion and the dolphin" became "Jonah and the 
 whale." What was true of the pictures was also true of the 
 forms and ceremonies and much of their music. 
 
 Philo, a great Jewish philosopher and scholar, thus de- 
 scribes one of the early Christian nocturnal services: "After 
 supper their sacred song began. When all were arisen, they 
 selected two choirs, one of men and one of women, in order 
 to celebrate some festival, and from each of these two choirs 
 they selected as leader a person of majestic form, and well
 
 Music in the Early Christian Era 27 
 
 skilled in music. They chanted hymns in honor of God, now 
 singing together and now alternately answering each other." 
 
 They probably chanted antiphonally one of the Psalms, a 
 Hebrew practice recommended by the Apostles, as can be 
 seen from Paul's letters to the Ephesians. St. Augustine 
 (354-430) also recommends this practice when he says, "One 
 cannot sing to the Lord, unless he hath God in his heart, 
 and no worthier songs could be found than the inspired 
 Psalms of David." 
 
 It is certain that many of the early Christian hymn- 
 tunes were selected from the folk-songs of the Hebrews, 
 Greeks and Romans, thus preserving in unbroken sequence 
 the manifestations of the mind of man in his development. 
 
 Improvisation, which was common among the Greeks in the 
 banquet-song (the "Skolion") and among the Hebrews, was 
 undoubtedly also in use among the early Christians. In mo- 
 ments of high religious exaltation they could not help speak- 
 ing from the heart, and as they spoke very emotionally, they 
 naturally began to chant. The Twenty-third Psalm and the 
 fifteenth chapter of Exodus will give an idea of this form of 
 improvisation. 
 
 The Seven Churches of Asia Minor differed considerably in 
 their services and especially in their music. While St. James 
 the lesser, the first bishop of Jerusalem (martyred A.D. 62), is 
 supposed to have written the first Mass, appropriate hymns 
 were used even earlier in the Greek Church and are still con- 
 tinued there. Words and music are said to have been well 
 adapted to one another, and such embellishments as trills, 
 cadenzas, etc. (vocalization), which are indigenous to all 
 Oriental music, were very common and well liked. The re- 
 sult was, that since a crowd or congregation could not do 
 such singing in unison, singers were specially selected for their 
 ability in musical improvisation. After the manner of the 
 Greek orator with his Citharode, the singer was assisted by 
 another who reiterated a given pitch, a stationary tone. That
 
 28 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 may seem amusing to us, but, crude as it may appear, it was 
 the beginning of a great art, that of polyphony. 
 
 The Oriental Greek Catholic Church has scarcely altered its 
 early musical customs, their manner of song being somewhat 
 similar to that of the Orthodox Hebrew Church of to-day. 
 
 In the churches of Rome much care was exercised in the 
 selection of singers. At a very early date it was ordained 
 that only those who had been baptized should be allowed to 
 sing in the services, and this privilege was therefore highly 
 prized. Oriental ornamental singing gradually crept in, and 
 there arose a demand for skilled singers. No definite notation 
 being in existence, singers were also needed for the antiphonal 
 chants and hymns; and, since their preparation for this work 
 required time and labor, it was found necessary to pay them 
 for their services. Even then, however, the church could not 
 find enough singers. As a result, Pope Sylvester, in 320, 
 started a singing-school in Rome to train adult singers for the 
 services; but, as they were ill-paid, the undertaking was not 
 a success. Pope Hilary in the year 350 founded a sort of 
 orphan asylum for boys, who were cared for, educated, and 
 trained in the music of the Church an idea carried on 
 through many succeeding centuries, even to the days of 
 Haydn and Schubert. 
 
 The Syrian Church founded by St. Paul and St. Barnabas 
 had several divisions, but the center of Syrian Christianity 
 was the church at Antioch. Here the first heresies, religious 
 as well as musical, appeared. Here we find the first Gnostics, 
 who wanted to make a bible of their own; and poets who 
 wrote new Psalms in imitation of those of David. One of 
 these poets, Ephraim, a highly gifted man, was given the sur- 
 name of "the Harp of the Holy Spirit," and many of the 
 Syrian churches even to-day have an annual feast, or holy 
 day, in honor of his memory. He was a monk, born in Meso- 
 potamia, and converted at the age of eighteen. His writings 
 on the Syriac version of the New Testament are considered so
 
 Music in the Early Christian Era 29 
 
 important, and are so often consulted by theological students, 
 that they were translated into German within the last century. 
 His hymns are very poetic, and full of Oriental imagery. 
 
 As there was no definite notation in those days, the form of 
 church singing was handed down from priest to neophyte or 
 from teacher to pupil, and that in vogue in the Syrian Church 
 was quite different from that practised in Rome. Even the 
 form of the Mass was different, the Syrian Mass having 
 neither Kyrie nor Gloria. 
 
 The services of the Armenian Church, founded in the third 
 century, were so like those of the Eastern Greek Church that 
 their further consideration is unnecessary. 
 
 The African Church is historically and ethnologically prob- 
 ably the most interesting. Its liturgy was written either by 
 St. Basil or St. Mark. It was there that folk-songs were 
 used chiefly in the religious services. Since these folk-songs 
 contain countless repetitions and were much embellished, 
 the services were sometimes very long. They had also the 
 method of "vocalization" which has been mentioned, and 
 this habit of singing many tones on one syllable or word often 
 caused the vesper services to last four hours or even longer. 
 
 The peculiar style, called "vocalization," this making of 
 many turns and runs (coloratura singing), in later years 
 assumed high importance in the vocal art. Handel's works 
 present many examples of this form of embellishment; so 
 do the early sonatas and old Italian operas. It was an 
 early manifestation of man's love for beauty of musical 
 outline and form, and beauty of voice and tone. When 
 Handel wrote his oratorios on biblical subjects dealing with 
 ancient Jewish history, he was historically correct in em- 
 ploying these embellishments, because they were peculiar to 
 the singing of that people. 
 
 Even in those early days, however, there were in each of 
 these churches some persons who objected to the "mutilation 
 of the text" in singing, and objections finally became so
 
 30 Familar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 numerous that the great council of the Catholic Church, hav- 
 ing representatives from all the different churches, and meet- 
 ing at Laodicea, took notice of them. 
 
 From what precedes it may be seen that music in the 
 early Christian Church was in an unsettled state, and that 
 the time was ripe for reform. The first of the reformers and 
 great leaders of the church, St. Ambrose, was born A.D. 338, 
 in what Caesar calls Gaul, in the city of Treves. He was 
 thoroughly educated at home and then went to Milan to 
 study law. In 369 he was appointed prefect of that city, and 
 thus held a semi-military, semi-civil position, which implied 
 the government of upper Italy as well as that of Milan. In 
 374 he was chosen Bishop of Milan, where he ruled with 
 vigor and enforced church regulations and church discipline. 
 He began reform in church music by brushing aside much of 
 the cumbrous theory of the Greek modes, with their quarter- 
 steps and chromatic tones, which have been mentioned in a 
 previous chapter. 
 
 The Greek tetrachords were sometimes formed thus: 
 
 The B% here represents a tone midway between B and C; 
 the E%, a tone midway between E and F. 
 
 These difficult modes were discarded by Ambrose, who 
 then reestablished the early, simple Greek modes, using 
 only half-steps and whole steps between successive degrees. 
 The half-steps between E and F, and B and C, were usually 
 unchangeable, but occasionally B was changed to -flat, 
 because the early musical ear found no melodic pleasure in 
 a succession of three whole steps, the tritone. There is con- 
 siderable dispute among historians as to the names of the 
 Ambrosian modes, as they are applied differently from those 
 of the Greeks.
 
 Music in the Early Christian Era 31 
 
 AMBROSIAN MODES 
 14. Dorian Mode Phrygian Mode 
 
 Lydian Mode 
 
 l=*~ 
 
 Comparison with Ex. 12 will show that the Greek Lydian 
 scale, corresponding to our C-major scale, was omitted by 
 Ambrose, as it was deemed the modo lascivo (the vulgar 
 mode), associated with earthly, sensual love. The similarity 
 between these Ambrosian scales or modes and those of the 
 Greeks may be seen in the exact repetition of the forms of 
 the two tetrachords which make up the scales, with the 
 half-steps either in the middle, at the beginning, or at the 
 end. Ambrose also reestablished the Greek custom of al- 
 lowing the natural rhythm of the text to furnish the rhythm 
 for the hymn. 
 
 In the ninth chapter of his "Confessions" St. Augustine 
 tells how he first heard church music in the Ambrosian style, 
 and describes the deep impression it made upon him. 
 
 In spite of the firmness with which the Church at Milan, 
 St. Ambrose's church, maintained the musical practices in- 
 stituted by its Bishop, during the next two centuries abuses 
 crept in through the introduction of local secular melodies 
 with profane associations. Many of the fathers of the 
 Church tried to reform these abuses, but apparently with- 
 out success. 
 
 Perhaps the greatest of the reformers of early Christian 
 times was Gregory, after whom is named the Gregorian 
 Chant of the Catholic Church of to-day, a grand revival of 
 which has been in progress during recent years. Gregory 
 was born in 540, became Pope in 590, and reigned as such for 
 fourteen years. What that man is said to have accomplished 
 in that time is almost incredible. That he did many things,
 
 32 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 we know, but he is undoubtedly credited with others simply 
 because nobody knew to whom else to ascribe them. He 
 did not begin his reforms until 599, and had but five years to 
 put them into practice, but their results are still visible. 
 Tradition has it that he was the first to apply the names of 
 the first seven letters of the alphabet to the seven tones, 
 using the Greek letters, beginning with gamma (G) as the 
 lowest tone. His system was founded on the division of the 
 octave into a fifth and a fourth, and he considered the fifth 
 the most important, next to the octave. To the four Am- 
 brosian scales or modes he added four others by beginning 
 them a fourth below what we should call their tonic and 
 ending on the fifth above that tonic, say from a up to d and 
 from there up to a, the tonic being d (as in the Dorian mode) ; 
 and he called them the hypo-modes (the modes below). By 
 this arrangement Gregory not only extended the scope of 
 the scales, but gave them a wholly different character. 
 
 It is, however, safe to assume that several other Popes, both 
 before and after Gregory, had a hand in the reformation and 
 establishment of the Catholic musical services. For ex- 
 ample, the vocal service of the Canonical Hours is known to 
 have been established, in practically the present form, as 
 early as 540; and Gregory possibly neither composed any- 
 thing nor invented the alphabetical nomenclature of the seven 
 tones. 
 
 In the following illustration of these new so-called "Plagal" 
 (oblique) scales, placed as derived from the Ambrosian, or 
 "Authentic" (primary) scales, the half-note indicates what 
 we have just called the tonic, or final tone: 
 
 GREGORIAN MODKS 
 15. Dorian (Authentic) Hypodorian (Plagal) 
 
 t 
 
 Phrygian (Authentic) Hypophrygian (Plagal) 
 
 ^ 
 
 g=2= =*=*^ H=d--- ~~ ---. *. 
 
 *= y_^ ^ *i
 
 Music in the Early Christian Era 33 
 
 Lydian (Authentic) Hypolydian (Plagal) 
 
 -f_ 
 
 Mixolydian (Authentic) Hypomixolydian (Plagal) 
 
 Melodies in the plagal modes seem to have an upward ten- 
 dency, while those in the authentic modes seem to have the 
 character of rest, repose, because they always return to their 
 tonic. The former have therefore been likened to the me- 
 diaeval pictures of saints with the "-upward glance" of adora- 
 tion, sometimes called the "Catholic expression," while the 
 latter have been considered to express faith, hope and peace. 
 As a further illustration of the formation of melodies in these 
 different modes, it may be of interest to compare the first 
 theme of a Trio by Schubert with the first theme from the 
 Eroica Symphony by Beethoven. 
 
 SCHUBERT BEETHOVEN 
 
 ^_ _ ^_ 
 
 It will be seen that both themes lie within an octave, but 
 one might be said to be in the authentic mode and the other 
 in the plagal mode, both having the same tonic, or final. 
 
 The chant of the church as revised by Gregory and others 
 also differed from the Ambrosian chant in that it was no 
 longer recited in a rhythmic manner, governed by the length 
 of the syllables of the words in speech, but consisted of con- 
 tinuous melodies whose tones varied but little in length. In 
 the Ambrosian chant the natural inflection of the speaking 
 voice in exalted utterance formed the basis of the intonation. 
 Illustrations may make this clear. When we utter the prayer, 
 "Lord, have mercy upon us," there is a natural falling of the 
 voice upon the last word which might musically be expressed 
 when chanted in conformitv with this natural falling, as follows:
 
 34 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 17. 
 
 A llegro 
 
 Lord, have mer - cy up - on 
 
 We note here a fall of a minor third. Again: 
 
 18. 
 fc 
 
 As we put our trust in Thee. 
 
 Here we note a /a// of a. minor third, and a me of a major 
 second, and also a rhythmical utterance evidently inherent 
 in the text. This form of musical expression was common 
 among some semi-civilized nations of antiquity, and was the 
 beginning of the chant. 
 
 Gregorian Chant was called cantus planus (plain-chant) or 
 cantus choralis; planus because of the even movement of the 
 melody, and choralis because it was to be sung by the many - 
 the congregation or the choir and not by the priest or solo- 
 ist. This form of chant was also called canonicus, because all 
 liturgical texts were now provided with special melodies which 
 were to be used by the church singers because they were 
 canonical (fixed by the church law) ; and thus came into use 
 the term cantus firmus (fixed chant), a name which has not 
 changed through all the passing centuries. 
 
 Some very interesting things are told about the final adop- 
 tion of the form of chant which should be used, since some 
 priests preferred the Ambrosian manner and others the Gre- 
 gorian. Among others the story is told of a meeting of the 
 fathers of the Church at Milan, where this matter was dis- 
 cussed. Failing to reach an agreement, they decided to place 
 both missals upon the altar and to lock the church until the 
 following day. When they reassembled, the Gregorian mis- 
 sal was found torn into many pieces, which were scattered all 
 over the church, while the Ambrosian book lay intact upon
 
 Music in the Early Christian Era 35 
 
 the altar; whereupon it was decided that this indicated that 
 the Gregorian form should be scattered all over the earth, 
 into all churches, whereas the Ambrosian form should be used 
 exclusively in Milan. The latter was therefore chained to 
 the altar in Milan in token of its permanent, exclusive use 
 there (which is said to continue until this day), while the 
 Gregorian missal, containing the new songs of the ritual, was 
 chained to the altar at Rome, thereby settling its future un- 
 changeableness. 
 
 Melodies in the authentic modes were held to possess a pe- 
 culiar charm that induced religious fervor; but the same was 
 claimed for those in the plagal modes. In both is to be 
 noted an apparent aversion for the use of what we call the 
 "leading-tone" of the scale, which is avoided by the leap of a 
 third, or even of a fourth or fifth. This avoidance of the 
 leading-tone, especially in ascending phrases, seems to give 
 the Gregorian melodies an undefinable, mystic character. 
 The following opening phrases of ritual chants will further 
 illustrate this statement, especially when heard in a vast 
 church, chanted from the altar. 
 
 19. 
 
 Lau -de di - gnum ca - nat san- ctuni. Glo - ria Pa - tri. 
 
 Rex . . . San - cto rum. Gau - de Ma - ri - a. 
 
 Me - di - a vi - ta in mor - te su 
 
 Quern quas-ri - mus . . ad - ju - to - rem
 
 36 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 stris 
 
 Te, Do - mi - ne, . . qui pro pec - ca - tis no 
 
 The liturgic influence has been a continuous source of inspi- 
 ration, both poetically and aesthetically, and every reform or 
 modification has been for the purpose of affording the congre- 
 gation a proper musical setting of the text. After a while 
 the melodies that were used in the earliest churches, the folk- 
 songs, again crept into the service, and with them we shall 
 deal in due course. 
 
 One of the longest steps in advance made about this time 
 was the emancipation of music from a slavish adherence to 
 the rhythm of the text. The Mass, as then arranged, has 
 remained unchanged to the present day, and is the founda- 
 tion upon which some of the most glorious compositions have 
 been built. Bach, Mozart, Cherubini and Beethoven, as well 
 as the masters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 
 received inspiration from the Gregorian chant. 
 
 In order to perpetuate his system, Gregory founded a 
 musical academy in Rome where priests as well as choir- 
 singers were taught by him. These priests, who went out 
 as missionaries, spread the fame of the cantus romanus over 
 the rest of the world, so that it soon became known even in 
 far England. The general acknowledgment of the Pope as 
 the head of the united Catholic Church, which occurred 
 during the reign of Gregory's successor, assisted in spreading 
 the new form of church-singing. 
 
 During the time of Gregory, and even during the fifth 
 century, various writers expounded different theories, or 
 wrote, upon the subject of music. The most important of 
 these early treatises were those of Boethius, born at Rome
 
 Music in the Early Christian Era 37 
 
 about A.D. 475. He was a student of the classics, who re- 
 ceived political preferment, in recognition of his knowledge, 
 and was therefore hated by the courtiers of Theodoric, and 
 cast into prison. He wrote five books on the subject of 
 music, one of which deals with the voice as the source of 
 music, another with the relations of intervals, and one that 
 deals wholly with musical practices. 
 
 Another writer, Cassiodorus (485-580), in his book "On 
 the Liberal Arts and Disciplines," suggests a series of fourths 
 and fifths for two voices, a suggestion put into practice later 
 by Hucbald. Still another writer, the Spanish Bishop 
 Isidore (650), mentions "harmonic music" as "at the same 
 time a modulation of the voice and a concordance of simul- 
 taneous sounds," and speaks of "concordant and discordant 
 sounds." 
 
 Bede, the historian, "the light of the eighth century" and 
 "the glory of the Anglo-Saxons," does not elucidate the state 
 of music in his day, and deals only in theories. 
 
 Most learned writers of the early Christian age continued 
 to expatiate upon the music of the ancients, to speculate 
 upon their systems, and apparently made no effort to give 
 future generations an idea of their contemporaneous music.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EARLY DIDACTICS. 
 
 THE BEGINNINGS OF POLYPHONIC Music. 
 
 FROM the days of Gregory the Great (ending with the sixth 
 century) until the year 1000, musical history is practically a 
 blank so far as definite improvement in the art itself is con- 
 cerned, but those four centuries were very busy ones for 
 Christendom. Everything worth while in educational mat- 
 ters was done for and by the church. All progress in music 
 was in the hands of monks, who taught those whom they 
 deemed worthy. Society during these four centuries had 
 not only to be reformed, but re-created, for the invasions of 
 the Huns and the Vandals, under Alaric the Goth and Gen- 
 seric, had destroyed the very foundations of the Roman 
 social fabric. 
 
 One of the most potent forces that disturbed Europe 
 during these centuries was the advent of the Arabs or Islam- 
 ites, one of the ancient peoples, a study of whose civilization 
 and character has been purposely delayed until this time. 
 The Arabs, geographically isolated by natural boundaries, like 
 the peoples of Egypt and ancient India, had a civilization all 
 their own, and special characteristics and gifts. Their belief 
 in one God, although sometimes obscured by the influence of 
 the religious worship of nations believing in many gods, was 
 revived in all its purity under the leadership of Mohammed 
 during the latter half of the seventh century. While their 
 music has in it something of the mysterious and romantic, it 
 never elevated itself to the level of an art like that of the 
 Hebrews, but was confined to folk-songs, religious songs and 
 popular instrumental music. 
 
 38
 
 Early Didactics 39 
 
 Peoples who enjoy nature are usually also music-lovers, and 
 many of them are musically endowed. This was true of the 
 Arabs and is plainly manifest in their poetry, which, while not 
 showing strong rhythmic traits, is lyrical and musical. While 
 their plastic art is limited (partly because of religious re- 
 strictions), their decorations are fantastic and at times 
 fascinating. They show great love for music and poetry, 
 which are more susceptible of variety than sculpture. The 
 philosophers of Arabia had for centuries been wise, great and 
 learned men. Many of the Greek sages, and also many 
 personages mentioned in the Bible (even Paul), went to 
 Egypt or to Damascus in Asia Minor to obtain what they 
 called "the Mysteries," which simply meant higher learning. 
 Universities such as those of Damascus and Bagdad were 
 well-known seats of learning long before the Christian era. 
 It is, therefore, not surprising that such a people should bring 
 forth a man like Mohammed, the author of the Koran (the 
 Mohammedan Bible) whose teachings embrace social as well 
 as religious reforms. 
 
 At the close of the seventh century all northern Africa had 
 been subjugated by the Mohammedans, and in 711 they 
 crossed into Spain, drove out the ruling Goths, and established 
 the kingdom of the Caliphs, or what we call the reign of the 
 Moors in Europe. Oriental culture and learning came with 
 them, and at Cordova, the capital of the new Moorish em- 
 pire, there was established a university which soon took rank 
 with the older ones. Here science was fostered, and learned 
 men were protected, relieved from taxation and given govern- 
 mental support. As a consequence many Jewish scholars, 
 with their followers, who were persecuted in most countries, 
 sought and found a home in Spain. 
 
 To get a clear idea of what Moorish civilization in this 
 early eighth century meant, we need but recall the general 
 condition of Europe with its absence of roads and its lack of 
 learned men except in the cloisters or monasteries. In the
 
 4O Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Moorish cities, on the contrary, were found paved streets, 
 lighted and carpeted houses, and great libraries containing 
 as many as 600,000 manuscripts. These Arabs were well 
 versed in the science of chemistry; they had discovered al- 
 cohol, nitric and sulphuric acid, and the principle of specific 
 gravity; they had invented the clock, and discovered how to 
 regulate it with a pendulum; they had a good idea of the 
 size of the earth; they invented that most intellectual of all 
 games, chess; they introduced algebra and trigonometry, and 
 knew how to manufacture cotton textiles for dress; they knew 
 how to forge steel in a marvelous manner, for no armorer has 
 ever been able to excel the Damascus blade in its combina- 
 tion of strength and pliability. 
 
 The Moors helped to make Europe acquainted with an- 
 cient Greek philosophy, and also had a powerful influence in 
 the domain of architecture, as is shown in the Cathedral of 
 Cordova and the Alhambra of Granada, which were erected 
 in the early eighth century, and are still admired for their 
 singular beauty. As the Koran forbade all kinds of symbolic 
 representations, the Arab could gratify his taste for beauty, 
 for art, only by using mathematical forms of construction for 
 his ornamentation, which in architecture, and by courtesy also 
 in music, are even to-day called "arabesques." These latter 
 are each constructed out of one certain figure, and so won- 
 derfully contrived after the Arab manner of artistic structure 
 that they become art-works. The same spirit of exuberant 
 ornamentation prevailed in their music, but there it lacked the 
 firm foundation necessary for a suitable starting-point. 
 
 They had a great love for the beautiful, for poetry, as did 
 all the Orientals, their rich and flexible language affording 
 abundant scope for a flowery style of expressing the ideas sug- 
 gested by their fertile imaginations. Like the Greeks, they 
 chanted poems at their banquets, their feasts and religious 
 festivals. At their annual fairs the people came together 
 from far and near, and held contests in elocution and in poetry,
 
 Early Didactics 41 
 
 similar to those at some of the Greek and Roman games. 
 They did not exhibit mammoth pumpkins, large ears of 
 corn, or big apples, but instead had contests of mind; and 
 selections from the very best literature, thus presented, were 
 embroidered in gold upon silken banners which were hung 
 in the most sacred places, such as the temple at Mecca. In 
 the time of Mohammed seven such banners hung in that tem- 
 ple, and the great leader highly esteemed the honor conferred 
 upon him, when one of the chapters of the Koran was deemed 
 equal in eloquence and power to the great poems to which 
 had been awarded the palm of excellence at the contests. 
 
 Their theoretical music-system, with its seventeen tones 
 within the octave (progressing by one-third steps), was as com- 
 plicated as that of the Greeks and Hindoos, though probably 
 much simpler in actual practice, but their vocal melodies are 
 decidedly different, being full of the ornamentation that we 
 call Oriental, of which the following "Song of a Muezzin to 
 the Rising Sun" is a fine example. Ferdinand David recorded 
 this melody as exactly as our notation will admit, and also 
 supplied a harmonic basis which here appears slightly con- 
 tracted. 
 
 SONG OF A MUEZZIN TO THE RISING SUN. 
 21. 
 
 ?E= ^tj
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 dint. 
 
 i ' -i i > i I ' I. u i- I | i -J 1 M H -i 
 
 ad I il>. 
 
 The similarity in character of this melody to that of the 
 more ancient ones used in the synagogue is at once evident, 
 even though it is more jubilant. 
 
 The Arab boat-songs and funeral chants are given a nasal 
 intonation, which is deemed preferable to our manner of sing- 
 ing. The most prominent among their musical instruments 
 is the Rebab or Rabab, a modification of the Serinda of the 
 Hindoos. This instrument is played with a bow, is shaped 
 somewhat like our violin, sometimes larger and sometimes 
 smaller, but played like the violoncello; the "poet's rebab" 
 has but one string, whose varying tone furnishes an emo- 
 tional basis for recitation, while the "singer's rebab" has sev- 
 eral strings used in accompanying the voice. It is generally 
 considered the precursor of all our modern stringed instru- 
 ments played with a bow. They also had a sort of mandolin 
 with seven or more strings called Al'ud (from which are de- 
 rived the Spanish word Laud, the Italian Liuto and the Eng- 
 lish Lute), and the psaltery of the Hebrews, but with metal
 
 Early Didactics 43 
 
 strings which were struck with little hammers one of the 
 ancestors of our piano. 
 
 After their conquest of Spain the Moors made numerous 
 attempts to cross the Pyrenees into France, hoping to estab- 
 lish their faith throughout Europe, but these were thwarted 
 by the armies of Charlemagne (Roland) and Charles Martel. 
 The character of their poetry, many of their customs and 
 some of their musical instruments, nevertheless, came into 
 European use in the twelfth century upon the return of the 
 Crusaders from the Holy Land. 
 
 After deep and extensive investigation of all available 
 material, music-historians agree that all ancient music was 
 homophonic or monophonic. Since, however, the voices of 
 men differ in compass from those of women and youths, their 
 unison singing must have been in octaves. The Gregorian 
 chant in its very name (cantus choralis) implies a similar 
 practice. 
 
 To us of the present day, with our inherited harmonic sense, 
 it seems perfectly natural to hear different sounds simul- 
 taneously. There are nowadays many people who upon 
 hearing a melody can improvise an "alto" thereto. They 
 practically illustrate our inherited sense of harmony. It is 
 only in comparatively modern times that the art of sounding 
 different tones together was realized and systematized. From 
 the earliest attempts at using two distinct voices arose the 
 form of musical practice called polyphony, in which every 
 voice finally became equally important. 
 
 In a comparison of the monophonic style, monody, with the 
 polyphonic style, polyphony, the former may be likened unto 
 a single beautiful line full of more or less graceful curves, 
 and the latter to a number of such lines which together form 
 a beautiful, harmonious design in which proportion and form 
 are clearly evident. The musical ear naturally seeks for 
 agreeable combinations of sound, or what are called conso- 
 nances.
 
 44 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Quotations from some writers of the early Christian era 
 with regard to the simultaneous utterance of different sounds 
 have been given in a previous chapter, but a chronicle of the 
 time of Charlemagne, written about A.D. 800, definitely states 
 that the French were taught by the Roman singers how to 
 accompany a melody with a subordinate one, and that this 
 was called the art of organizing, the Latin name for this prac- 
 tice being organum. 
 
 Another historian by the name of Hucbald, about the year 
 900, gives a similar account, and some of his personal efforts 
 in this direction have been discovered. He gives examples 
 of two kinds of organum, sacred and profane (i.e., secular). 
 In the sacred organum the two, three or four voices moved in 
 parallel fourths, fifths and octaves; Hucbald himself speaks 
 of the effect thus produced as "suavem concertum." 
 
 22. 
 
 Sacred Organum HUCBALD 
 
 ri - a Do - mi - ni in sae - cu - la. lae - ta - bi - tur 
 
 The secular organum (also called diaphony) was similar to 
 the practice in vogue in some of the early Christian churches 
 when one singer sang a stationary tone, while another sang 
 an improvised melody above it, thus forming a series of sec- 
 onds, thirds and fourths. 
 
 23. Secular Organum
 
 Early Didactics 45 
 
 The transition from theoretical rules to agreeable tone- 
 effects was very slow, and it seems almost as if the monks 
 and church musicians enjoyed Hucbald's sacred organum, al- 
 though they may have considered it a worthy penance for the 
 ear, similar to bodily flagellation. 
 
 A most prominent character in early musical history, who 
 lived around the year 1000, was a man by the name of Guido, 
 who was born in Arezzo, a little town in Tuscany. As in 
 those days there were no surnames, and people were desig- 
 nated according to the town from which they hailed, he is 
 called Guido d'Arezzo. He was a church singing- teacher. 
 For notation in his work he invented a staff of four lines (till 
 then only two lines, for F-clef and C-clef, had been used), 
 which became the accepted ecclesiastical staff, and placed 
 the characters called neumes (which now began to look a 
 little like our notes) upon and between the lines; in his 
 treatises he also wrote on his new staff the pitch-names C, 
 D, E, etc., in place of neumes or notes. He was therefore in 
 a dual sense the father of our modern musical notation. His 
 method of teaching sight-reading was famed for its supposed 
 simplicity. He drilled his pupils in the singing of a hymn 
 which had a notable effect upon our own solfeggio studies. 
 Like the members of every other business or profession in 
 the Middle Ages, singers had their special patron saint, St. 
 John. Every singer, therefore, after his regular prayers, 
 said an additional one to St. John, begging the saint to pro- 
 tect him against hoarseness; Guido, wise man that he was, 
 set this prayer to music, knowing that students of singing 
 would learn and practise it, especially as it would accom- 
 plish a double purpose. As may be seen from the following 
 illustration the tune was a very simple one. Each line of the 
 poem begins with a different pitch, C beginning the first 
 line, D the next, E the next, then F, G and .1.
 
 46 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 HYMN TO ST. JOHN. 
 24. GUIDO D'AREZZO 
 
 Ut que-ant la - xis ^-so-na-re fi - bris Mi ra ge-sto - rum 
 
 Fa - mu - li tu o - rum, Sol ve pol - lu - ti 
 
 La - bi - i re - a - turn, San - cte lo - an - nes. 
 
 The first syllable of each line gave the series ut, re, mi, fa, 
 sol, la. (Ut was changed in later years to do, forming the 
 familiar do, re, mi, fa, sol, la.} The last line of the hymn, 
 consisting of the words Sancte loannes, furnished still later 
 the letters ^ i for si. These six syllables were thus sung to 
 the tones of the scale of C, omitting B. There was a dis- 
 tinct advantage in thus memorizing the scale, as it laid an 
 excellent foundation for the study of intervals. Pope John 
 the Sixth, about the year 1026, sent for Guido to come to 
 him and explain this new method. Guido must have been a 
 very thorough teacher, for he was apparently able to adapt 
 his work to all kinds of students. For those who could not 
 learn otherwise he made use of his hand for the exposition of 
 his system, and he began with the Greek gamma (G) as ut at 
 the tip of the thumb, and from this ut down the joints of the 
 thumb, and then of the other fingers until he had used all 
 of the joints and had to indicate the last tone above the tip 
 of the middle finger. He did another wonderful thing, won- 
 derful at least for those days, and that was the exposition of 
 the relationship of keys and scales to one another. He vir- 
 tually used the key of C, with its dominant key of G; he hes- 
 itated to use the subdominant key of F (including 5-flat) in 
 teaching; and he omitted the sharp, possibly because he was
 
 Early Didactics 47 
 
 just a little afraid of its use. There were but six tones in 
 his scale, C D E F G A , so he called it a hexachord, to distin- 
 guish it from the Greek tetrachord; he recognized, further, 
 the scales G A B C D E and F G A Bb C D, all having the 
 same form or succession of whole steps and half-steps. The 
 augmented fourth, as we call it (F to B), was early named 
 the accentus diabolus (the sound of the Devil), and was care- 
 fully avoided by church composers. 
 
 He called the initial tone of each scale ut, because in doing 
 so the mi-fa always represented a half-step; and he named 
 this process of transition "mutation." 
 
 25. 
 
 ut re mi fa sol la ut re mi fa sol la ut re mi fa sol la 
 
 We see from this that he is the father of what we now call 
 the "movable-Jo" system (the tonic of the scale always being 
 do), in contradistinction to the "fixed-do" system in which 
 the place of C, regardless of sharps or flats, is always called 
 do, a method used in most Latin countries. 
 
 There are those who claim that Guido was not the in- 
 ventor of all these devices in teaching, but all agree that he 
 was a great teacher. That he deserved the title of master is 
 evident from his work "De disciplina artis musics, '' wherein 
 he proves himself not only a sound theorist but a practical 
 teacher. He himself said, "I care only for that which is 
 good for the Church, and tends to the advancement of our 
 little ones." In another place he says, "The musician must 
 so arrange his song that it reflects the words; if the melody 
 be for youth, it must be very cheerful; if it be for old age, it 
 must be serious; while funeral music should be depressed, 
 and festival music joyous." 
 
 The musical theories taught and practised by this brilliant 
 man must have been startling to the staid church fathers,
 
 48 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 as a departure from revered tradition, and it is not sur- 
 prising that, in spite of almost universal praise of his work, 
 through intrigue he was compelled to resign his office at the 
 monastery of Pomposa, near Ravenna, and was even cast 
 into prison, from which, however, he was released by Pope 
 John IX (1024-35), one f hi s staunch admirers. His country- 
 men of Tuscany have but lately recognized his greatness by 
 the erection of statues at his birthplace and at Florence. 
 
 While these didactic reforms were taking place in Italy, 
 efforts at part-singing were continually being made in the 
 Netherlands and along the Rhine, as well as in France and 
 England. 
 
 In time a fixed church melody, cantus firmus, was sub- 
 stituted for the stationary tone of the secular organum, and 
 another melody, called discantus, improvised above it, note 
 against note. The association of two such distinct melodies 
 forms the real beginning of two-part counterpoint, and the 
 singer who knew this art of improvisation was called a de- 
 chanteur. 
 
 About the year uoo we find written rules published for 
 the guidance of those who wanted to study this art of the 
 discant; and of course, when rules are formulated about any 
 art, it is evident that the art has already progressed con- 
 siderably in practice. 
 
 As long as the voices went along in parallel or contrary 
 motion, all singing the same words together (or at almost 
 the same moment), it was not difficult for the singers to 
 keep together; but soon a liberal use of all sorts of embellish- 
 ments was made in the discantus. These embellishments 
 were called by the French fleurettes (little flowers), and by 
 the Italians (when this art took root among them) fioriture. 
 It soon became necessary to have signs or characters ex- 
 pressing duration of tone, or what we call notes. Such a 
 musical notation was invented, codified and perfected grad- 
 ually by various theorists and composers, prominent among
 
 Early Didactics 49 
 
 whom were Johannes de Garlandia (the elder), who wrote 
 the treatise "De musica mensurabili " some time in the second 
 half of the twelfth century; he was followed by Franco (the 
 elder) of Paris, and Franco (the younger) of Cologne, the 
 former the author of the " Ars cantus mensurabilis," the latter 
 of a " Compendium discantus." From this last work it is evi- 
 dent that discant singing had considerable vogue along the 
 Rhine, and that the practice of two voices singing tones of 
 different duration was already well known early in the thir- 
 teenth century. 
 
 The next reformer was an Italian named Marchetto, of 
 the city of Padua, who wrote a treatise on music, and who 
 had begun to use what we nowadays call "modulation." 
 He was among the first to make use of the sharp, the flat 
 having been in practical use for a long time. After him came 
 Franco of Paris, where the first really important work was 
 done in polyphonic music. The Parisian Franco also labored 
 for the establishment of a mensural notation which he found 
 necessary for the proper reading of his part-songs, and he is 
 thought by many to have been its originator. 
 
 The younger Franco strongly advocated the use of men- 
 sural song, and his system was widely adopted. He also in- 
 vented a manner of indicating the contents of the rhythmical 
 measure by introducing the tern pus perfectum (the three- 
 beat measure), called perfectum because the number 3 repre- 
 sented the Holy Trinity. He was also the first to classify 
 the real dissonances in harmony, as being the seconds and 
 sevenths, and of course included the augmented fourth, 
 which had been abhorred by the ancients and avoided by 
 the early Christian musicians. 
 
 The laws of part-writing promulgated in his works are 
 virtually those that govern modern writers. He rejected 
 the parallel fourths and fifths of Hucbald, as Guido d'Arezzo 
 had done, and advocated the movement of voices in opposite 
 directions, what we term "contrary motion."
 
 50 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 We have seen that during the first eleven centuries of the 
 Christian era, the development of music was in the hands of 
 various men of different nations, whose work was very much 
 the same, with here and there some individual showing an 
 unusual invention that was speedily adopted by others. 
 Discanting, which arose in France, spread rapidly among 
 other nations, as had been the case with diaphony and the 
 sacred organum. 
 
 Beginning with the twelfth century, however, there seems 
 to be a rotation of nations whose composers really formed 
 schools of music, as we call them, in which their pupils were 
 educated, each student building upon the work of his master, 
 and carrying the new art-practices into other lands. 
 
 DISCANT OF THE EARLY TWELFTH CENTURY. 
 26. 
 
 Ver-bum bo-num et su - a - ve Per-so - ne-mus il - lud A 
 
 1'er quod Chri-ste fit con- cla - ve Vir- go Ma - ter ft - li - a. 
 
 The apex of such high endeavor shifted from France in the 
 1 2th and i3th centuries to Belgium in the i3th and i4th, and 
 from there to the Netherlands, Germany and later to Italy 
 in the i5th and i6th centuries. 
 
 The French school of polyphony is the real beginning of 
 counterpoint as an art, as well as a science. Until the middle 
 of the nineteenth century, it was generally agreed among 
 historians that the Belgians were responsible for its early 
 development, but the researches of the celebrated Belgian
 
 Early Didactics 51 
 
 scholar Coussemaker in the MSS. discovered in the medical 
 library at Montpellier, France, have proved that a number 
 of French contrapuntal composers existed as early as the 
 eleventh century, and that they resided mostly in Paris. 
 
 Foremost among these, towards the close of the twelfth 
 century, must be mentioned the Parisians Leonin and Pero- 
 tin, organists and dechanteurs at the church of the Virgin 
 Mary, the predecessor of Notre Dame. In their works are 
 to be found examples of important devices of counterpoint 
 which they had undoubtedly tested in practice. Some of 
 their pupils, such as Odygnton (died 1230), evidently came 
 from England, and these were in some measure responsible 
 for the splendid polyphonic compositions of the twelfth, 
 thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in that country, of 
 which we have such a fine example in "Sumer is icumen in" 
 (to be mentioned again later). At first their counterpoint 
 was for two voices, the cantus firmus of the Church with an 
 improvisation above it. As soon as this was a settled practice, 
 it was but a step to three- and four-part counterpoint, which 
 were first used in the Motet and in secular compositions. 
 There was another custom indigenous to North France and 
 England in the twelfth century, namely, the singing in three 
 parts in what we call chords of the sixth, using thirds and 
 fourths between the voices, the lowest voice producing what 
 was described as a "false bass," a fauxbourdon, although 
 some historians claim that the lowest part was hummed, 
 because "bourdonner" means "to hum." 
 
 FAUXBOURDON OF THE I3TH CENTURY. 
 27.
 
 52 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 This new and improved part-leading was first employed in 
 secular music; but though church musicians were bound by 
 academic rules, it was not long before it also came into use 
 in the church in singing the psalms and responses. 
 
 Three forms of composition were used by the early French 
 writers: the Motet, the Rondeau and the Conduit. 
 
 The first of these, the Motet, was (i) a sacred composition 
 used after certain portions of the Mass, repeating its text, 
 but in which one voice had a different text whose sentiment 
 was, however, related; or (2) a secular work in similar form 
 an effort at musical independence of the voices, an out- 
 growth of which is to be found in operatic ensembles. This 
 style of writing gradually disappeared from France to re- 
 appear in the Netherlands some centuries later, and to reach 
 its supreme development at the hands of Orlando di Lasso 
 in Munich, and Palestrina in Rome. In Germany, in a 
 changed form, it was brought to the highest expression by 
 Bach, Handel and their successors. 
 
 The second form of composition, the Rondeau, was secular, 
 and all the voices sang the same text. A fine example of 
 this is found in a composition by Adam de la Halle, used as 
 an illustration in many histories of music. 
 
 The third form, called the Conduit (Latin conductus), was 
 a style of vocal music in which all the parts progressed simul- 
 taneously, so that the mensural notation was not required 
 in writing it. 
 
 The early French masters seem to have been fond of 
 pleasing harmonies, rather than given to melodic invention. 
 Still, the intellectual devices of imitation, canon, and even 
 double counterpoint, were evidently sedulously cultivated by 
 them, even if they sometimes perpetrated voice-progressions 
 which are at times as harsh to our ears as the organum and 
 diaphony of their predecessors. The following example from 
 one of Perotin's works illustrates this:
 
 Early Didactics 
 
 53 
 
 28. 
 
 PERUTIN 
 
 The phrases marked la and 20. are imitated at ib and 2&, 
 and the voices still frequently form fourths, fifths and unisons, 
 showing the influence of the organum. 
 
 A succeeding French master of note was Jean de Garlande 
 (the younger), also an excellent teacher and theorist, whose 
 treatise on the rules of counterpoint (the first in which that 
 term appears) is especially interesting because he supplied it 
 with illustrations of his own, such as the following one: 
 
 29. 
 
 JEAN DE GARLANDE 
 
 Among the numerous disciples of the Paris school, many 
 of whom settled in England and the Netherlands, must be 
 mentioned Jean de Meurs [de Muris] of Normandy (1200- 
 1270). He it is who gives a clear definition of the discant 
 when he says, "In discant there are only two voices, one 
 which we call the tenor, and the other, who sings above the 
 tenor, which is called discant. " He is the first to define the 
 three kinds of tempi in use in his day, as lively, moderate and 
 slow. He also informs us that the use of several notes against 
 one is quite customary among contemporaneous singers. 
 He understood the art of that period very thoroughly, and 
 was severe in his criticism of those who practised it without 
 having a knowledge of its laws.
 
 54 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 The last of this early French school was Jean de Machaut 
 (1300-1372), a poet as well as a musician, who wrote a Mass 
 for the coronation of Charles V, his patron. His work al- 
 ready shows a blending of the French or Parisian style of 
 counterpoint with the Florentine "Ars nova" (new art) of the 
 fourteenth century. The "old art" (Ars antiqua) thereafter 
 declined in France, but was revived by the Belgians and 
 Netherlanders.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FOLK-MUSIC DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 EVERY nation and every tribe, even in ancient times, has 
 had its folk-songs, an outgrowth of the very life of the people, 
 more or less artistic according to their emotional develop- 
 ment, in which the soul sought expression of that for which 
 speech was inadequate. The authors of such songs are in 
 most cases unknown; many were undoubtedly of the common 
 people, although possessed of artistic instincts, and their 
 song unconsciously reflects most truthfully the soul's move- 
 ments. 
 
 The folk-song and the Gregorian chant, or Plain-song, 
 form the foundations of our musical art, the one being the 
 naive melodious expression of the sentiment of poetry which 
 depicts human emotions, the other typifying the solemn 
 churchly and mystic emotions, and voicing the aspiration 
 for a future life. We will now investigate the folk-music of 
 the various nations of Europe previous to and during the 
 Middle Ages. 
 
 Among the Celts music had a distinct place in the national 
 life outside of religion. Their bards, or minstrels, were 
 sought after and honored because of their ready and active 
 intervention in the causes of religion and patriotism, and in 
 social life. They sang legends and stories of martial ad- 
 venture, accompanying themselves upon primitive harps, 
 and were the popular singers of this very musical people. 
 Even their royal rulers seem to have ventured into the 
 domain of music, for there is a tradition that Scifylt, who 
 reigned as king in Brittany about the middle of the second 
 century, was a good musician and player upon the harp. 
 They also used another stringed instrument played with a 
 
 55
 
 56 
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 bow, known by the apparently unpronounceable name of 
 crwth (the crowd, afterwards called chrotta), of which we 
 shall learn more at another time. Three different classes of 
 bards were recognized among the people: (i) the priestly 
 bards, who were also the historians; (2) the domestic bards, 
 who made music for the glory of their employers, somewhat 
 after the manner of the later musical directors at the smaller 
 courts of Europe; and (3) the heraldic, patriotic bards, who 
 sang in praise of individual and national deeds of heroism. 
 The following song, which is ascribed to the Druids, is charac- 
 teristic of their rugged energy. 
 
 3O. Druid Melody 
 
 That these bards were an important institution is evident 
 from the comprehensive examination required for admission 
 into their midst. At their annual Eisteddfod, those belong- 
 ing to the lower ranks of bards were tested as to their know- 
 ledge and ability to enter the higher ranks. Gerald Barry, a 
 traveler through Britain during the eleventh century, wrote 
 an interesting account of some of his musical experiences. 
 Of the Welsh he says, that guests were entertained all day 
 with music, and that proficiency in harp-playing was con- 
 sidered preferable to all other learning. He also mentions 
 their practice of part-singing (for two voices) and his belief 
 that this was learned from the Danes. 
 
 Barry mentions a similar practice of music in Ireland, the 
 instrumental part of which he praises even more than that
 
 Folk-Music during the Middle Ages 57 
 
 of the Welsh. He implies that the Irish were industrious 
 only in their playing upon musical instruments, and lauds 
 their skill as performers upon the harp and tabor. The harp, 
 among the inhabitants of Ireland at the time of Brian Boru 
 (who drove out the Danes in the tenth century), was quite 
 a complete musical instrument. The specimen still to be 
 seen at Trinity College, Dublin (said to have been the prop- 
 erty of Brian Boru), must have been a fine instrument in its 
 day, as it is made with the utmost attention to every detail 
 that might help to strengthen and beautify its tone. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxons, a very mixed race, were also great 
 music-lovers, but their poetic literature was of a higher 
 character than their music, the production of fine minds giv- 
 ing expression to their national consciousness. So great was 
 their appreciation of singers, that these were welcomed 
 everywhere with great hospitality; even King Arthur himself 
 is said to have visited the camp of the Danes, his enemies, 
 disguised as a minstrel. It is claimed that secular music 
 in England during the Middle Ages was far in advance of 
 that in other parts of Europe, and there is reason to believe 
 that various musical forms, such as rounds and songs with 
 refrains, or so-called burdens, were quite common. 
 
 There is in existence a copy of an old Northumbrian round 
 entitled "Sumer is icumen in," which has already been 
 mentioned and whose approximate date of composition is 
 1230. This is a highly finished work, far in advance of the 
 contemporary French school of whose style it shows traces. 
 In addition to its being a round for four voices, it has two 
 other voice-parts which form a sort of ground-bass (pes) to 
 the round itself, which, being a strict canon, shows that the 
 polyphonic principle of imitation was well understood; its 
 ground-bass forms what was later called a basso ostinato (a 
 bass part that remains unchanged in spite of changing harmo- 
 nies above it), a favorite device of many modern composers. 
 A " translation " of the manuscript of this old composi-
 
 53 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 tion may be found in Grove's Dictionary, under its own 
 title. 
 
 In the Northland, in Scandinavia, Iceland and Finland, 
 there existed before and during the Middle Ages a class of 
 folk-poets called Skalds, whose office was similar to that of 
 the bards of Wales, and who also accompanied their songs on 
 small harps. The poetry of these songs is so rich in imagina- 
 tion, and at the same time so full of sentiment, that they are 
 admirable even in their translations, which of course cannot 
 fully equal the originals in ruggedness of character. They 
 sang of their gods and their heroes, of home and love, and the 
 best of these poems formed, when collected, the great Eddas, 
 the Norse national epics, which were already well known in 
 the eleventh century. 
 
 In France the development of secular music resulted in the 
 "Chansons de geste" (songs of deeds and action), which de- 
 veloped into national epics. These "Chansons" were tales 
 of the romantic and heroic deeds of Charlemagne and his 
 followers in their battles against the invading Moors who 
 ruled in Spain. These battles were the deciding factors in 
 the religious struggles between the followers of Mohammed 
 and those of Christ, and their issue saved France and Europe 
 for Christendom. The heroes of these struggles were famous 
 in story and popular song, in camp and town, and the names 
 and deeds of Charles Martel (the Hammer) and Roland of the 
 Basques became the affectionally treasured possession of the 
 common people. Each of the races whose mixed descendants 
 formed the population of France during the early Middle Ages 
 contributed its share towards the establishment of these songs 
 of ideal heroism, and thus aided in the formation of a really 
 national life and a national language. 
 
 Their earlier people's song, of ballad or narrative character, 
 dealt preferably with religious experiences and incidents. 
 The following is the first stanza of such a popular ballad, in 
 which is to be found an exaltation of religious faith.
 
 Folk-Music during the Middle Ages 59 
 
 "A good virgin was Eulalie, 
 
 She had a beautiful body 
 
 And a more beautiful spirit; 
 
 The enemies of God would conquer her, 
 
 Would make her serve the devil; 
 
 But never would she understand 
 
 To deny God was in heaven." 
 
 There are some twenty-three stanzas of this ballad, telling 
 how Eulalie refused to yield to temptation and was there- 
 upon thrown into a fire that would not burn, and how she 
 flew away in the form of a dove. This song, because of its 
 religious character, was probably sung to a chant something 
 like a church melody; but others of historical, chivalric or 
 political character were undoubtedly sung to folk-melodies. 
 These ballads were a great power in society, among the cour- 
 tiers, among the common people in the towns, and the polit- 
 ical ones made the most powerful courtiers tremble. Slander 
 or gossip, as we call it, seems in those days to have been 
 circulated thus in metrical form in rhymes that were sung. 
 If any man did something violative of others' rights, one of 
 the folk-poets would compose a song on the subject and sing 
 it in public places until everybody took it up and it spread 
 from town to town. Therefore it is said, that when a man 
 was tempted to do something that he knew was not right, he 
 often fortified himself against temptation with the thought, 
 "I must not do that, or they will make a bad song about me." 
 That may sound strange to us, but even within the last few 
 years in Norway, Sweden, Holland, and other European 
 countries, I have heard the street-singers singing poems by pop- 
 ular folk-poets on political subjects, on matters of govern- 
 mental policy or acts, and these are printed on very cheap 
 sheets and sold for the merest trifle, a fraction of the Ameri- 
 can cent, so that they are taken home by the people and sung 
 at the fireside as well as in public. Even to-day public men 
 and people generally are afraid to be made the butt of one
 
 60 Familiar Talks on tke History of Music 
 
 of these songs, because to become the subject of derision 
 through song means death to their hopes of political or 
 social preferment. 
 
 Charlemagne, in his dream of a great Christian European 
 empire, sought to compel all of his subjects to accept the 
 Christian faith, with all its practices, but at times the people 
 rebelled. The popular songs of the market-places, even in 
 those earlier days, often voiced resentment of the rulings of 
 the Church. Many times, as we find later, the folk-poets ex- 
 pressed this in humorous or satirical stories, which, unless 
 their purpose is known and the local allusions understood, are 
 difficult of appreciation as criticism of the acts of rulers and 
 of edicts of the Church. 
 
 During the tenth and eleventh centuries, it was generally 
 believed that the world would come to an end in the near 
 future. Life being at that time narrower than it is now, 
 people were strongly inclined to put faith in such prophecies; 
 and nations even refrained from making war upon one an- 
 other because of the unexpressed feeling, "What is the use? 
 The world is coming to an end very shortly anyhow, and we 
 shall all be going." 
 
 In the hope of a happy after-life, and wishing to stand well 
 with the Church and to gain her forgiveness for past sins, 
 men donated land and money, and thus gave her the power 
 of wealth in addition to the spiritual power which she already 
 possessed. When the expected time passed, and the world 
 still stood, men's hearts became softened and kings and lords 
 vied with each other in erecting the great European cathe- 
 drals, many of which still remain as tokens of their gratitude. 
 The power of the Church in those early times was univer- 
 sally acknowledged by all who came in any way under her 
 dominion, or even came in contact with her, and this to a de- 
 gree such as we can now scarcely realize. Men sought the ap- 
 proval of the Church above everything. Pilgrimages to this or 
 that sacred shrine were common; to atone for even the greatest
 
 Folk-Music during the Middle Ages 61 
 
 sins, one needed but to bathe in the River Jordan, or to sleep 
 on Calvary. Because of this, every year during the early cen- 
 turies hundreds of pilgrims went to the Holy Land. In the 
 latter part of the eleventh century, the followers of the Mo- 
 hammedan faith seized Palestine and began to inflict out- 
 rages upon these Christian pilgrims who came to do penance 
 and to worship at the Holy Sepulchre. When Peter the 
 Hermit, the pilgrim-monk, returned with this news from 
 Jerusalem, he traveled through Europe, bareheaded and bare- 
 footed, carrying a crucifix and inciting all he met to rescue 
 the Holy Land from the hands of the infidel. A council of 
 the Church was called at Clermont, in 1095; the fiat went 
 forth, "God wills it! " and the blood-red cross became the 
 symbol of the Holy War. Several popular but unsuccessful 
 crusades, under the leadership of the monks Peter the Hermit, 
 Walter the Penniless and Godeschal, resulted, but the first 
 effective one was that led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of 
 Lorraine, who, with five hundred thousand fighting-men and 
 one hundred thousand knights, including Robert the son of 
 William the Conquerer and many of the foremost Christian 
 warriors, \vent to the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre. While 
 resting in Constantinople, and during similar temporary halts 
 in their journey to the Holy Land, the knightly crusaders 
 became familiar with the refinement and culture of the 
 Orient, with the character of its poetry and attendant music 
 then in vogue among the followers of Mohammed, and espe- 
 cially the subject-matter of that poetry. It is an apparent 
 anomaly that in Oriental countries, where woman's place is a 
 questionable one, she having no social status, poetry should 
 mostly be in her praise. She is lauded by their poets for her 
 beauty, her perfection, her loyalty and devotion, in spite of 
 the fact that she is not allowed to enter a mosque, because 
 she is supposed to have no soul. We shall see what influ- 
 ence this literature and music of the Orientals had upon the 
 music of Europe.
 
 62 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Some of the Oriental music heard by the Crusaders was 
 difficult to learn, because of the peculiar division of their 
 scales previously mentioned; but their method of singing, 
 with its weird ornamentation, the subject-matter of their 
 songs, and the little instruments which they used (the lute and 
 the guitar, unknown to central Europe until brought from the 
 Orient), had a great influence upon the character of European 
 secular or popular music. The long separation from home 
 and family during the Crusades had also deepened the emo- 
 tional life of the Crusader knights, and upon their return a 
 new species of poetry arose, especially in Provence, called 
 the "gay science of Chivalry and love-service." That this 
 "gay science" should blossom first in Provence is not strange, 
 considering that Grecian culture, brought there by the 
 Romans, had never been wholly forgotten, that the country 
 had been in a comparative state of peace for centuries, and 
 that, under its brilliant skies, manly courage and womanly 
 beauty had always been held in high esteem. Music soon 
 began to adapt itself to this new art, this "gay science," by 
 liberating melody from the clog of calculation, giving it the 
 stamp of individuality, and thus attaining a character wholly 
 different from the music of the Church. Noblemen, even 
 kings, devoted themselves to it and were called troubadours 
 inventors or finders of new poetry and music. William 
 of Poitiers, a noted French knight, was one of these trouba- 
 dours, and so were Thibaut of Navarre and Richard of the 
 Lion-Heart. Among the many stories related of the latter, 
 one tells how, after returning from the Crusades, he wan- 
 dered away from the army in Germany and was captured 
 and imprisoned in a tower; how his "familiar," as he was 
 called, his friend Blondel, missing him, went in search of him 
 and finally found him by hearing a song that he knew 
 was sung only by Richard of the Lion-Heart, and how 
 this friend then brought succor from the army and rescued 
 him.
 
 Folk-Music during the Middle Ages 63 
 
 Among the Provencal troubadours, members of the guild 
 of chivalry, there were two kinds of poetry, that which was 
 to be sung and that which was to be recited. The same 
 thing obtains in the English tongue, which has one class of 
 poetry that almost sings itself, it is so strongly rhythmical, 
 such as the poems of Burns and Tom Moore, and another 
 class that is equally beautiful, but does not so readily adapt 
 itself to music. An example of this latter class is Long- 
 fellow's " Hiawatha." It was years before any one thought 
 of attempting to set that kind of poetry to music, and even 
 then it could not be composed in such form as to become a 
 popular song, because of the length of its sentences and 
 periods. It is not adaptable to the style of song called 
 folk-song or ballad, and can better be used in the statelier 
 forms of modern music, which are not conceived in the 
 smaller metrical forms of poetry, but in which the music is 
 the primary consideration and the text the secondary one. 
 
 In the troubadour's conception of song, the sentiment was 
 the chief concern, and the manner of its musical setting was 
 secondary. Therefore, the singer who had the gift of im- 
 provising the text and then setting it to music that would 
 convey the sentiment most clearly and forcibly, with an 
 artistic delicacy of touch, was the great, the real, Troubadour. 
 Their saying, that "to exalt the music at the cost of de- 
 stroying the word-meaning, made a man a mere minstrel or 
 maker of tunes, and to be a real troubadour the music and 
 the words must be in complete accord," shows that they had 
 a fairly good knowledge of music and of the interpretation of 
 the text. Such of their songs as have been discovered also 
 show that they had a very good idea of the compass of par- 
 ticular voices, and wrote their songs accordingly. After the 
 Crusades, their music becomes full of Oriental turns and 
 trills, what we now call fwriture, with many notes on one 
 word, or on one syllable, after the manner of the singing of 
 the Arabs. The following song is a fair example:
 
 6 4 
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 31. 
 
 L'AUTRIER 
 
 THIBAUT (1201-1253) 
 
 = p = jjg : 
 
 I^ZIIffl 
 
 
 The song of the Northern Troubadours, called Trouveres, 
 was different in character; it was more rugged, and did not 
 deal so much with love and romance, but more with the 
 martial side of life. They also made attempts at discant, 
 and sometimes became very able in that art. They did not 
 play on instruments, but hired musicians to play accompani- 
 ments for them, while they sang prepared songs. After a 
 while these players of instruments, these accompanists, were 
 employed as general entertainers, who played all kinds of 
 tricks, and were then called jongleurs. Some jongleurs also 
 knew the art of discant, and in practice took liberties with 
 the musical rules which the church composers had pro- 
 mulgated about singing in fourths, fifths and octaves, and 
 made laws of their own. Among these laws was formulated 
 the musical rule that a dissonance between two consonances, 
 if nicely put, was very interesting and very pretty, which is 
 a contrapuntal axiom to-day. It was from the jongleurs 
 that we get the first part-songs for men. After this practice 
 had been in vogue for a while, the more educated and theo- 
 retical musicians came along and formulated musical laws in 
 accordance with what was more euphonious. 
 
 During the period of the Troubadours and Trouveres, 
 there existed in Germany, and especially along the Rhine, a 
 similar class of exponents of the "gay science," which was
 
 Folk-Music during the Middle Ages 65 
 
 there called Minnedienst, or, literally translated, "love- 
 service." Heinrich von Morungen, Prince Witzlav, Sperrvo- 
 gel, Gottfried von Strassburg, Wolfram von Eschenbach, 
 Tannhauser, Heinrich von Osterdingen, a clerk, and Biterolf, 
 a sort of upper servant of Herrmann, the "Landgraf" of 
 Thuringia, were all noted Minnesingers; some of them were 
 admitted as worthy contestants to the tournament of song 
 whose prize was the hand of Elizabeth, the daughter of the 
 Landgrave, as depicted in the opera Tannhauser. The de- 
 mocracy of art is nowhere more evident than in the fact that 
 talented poet-singers, even though not of the nobility or 
 knighthood, were allowed to compete for such an exalted 
 prize at a time when class-distinctions were so strictly ob- 
 served. Some of the great epics of the time of the Trouba- 
 dours and Minnesingers furnished the basic material of the 
 poems of Wagner's great operas, the Ring des Nibelungen, 
 Lohengrin and Parsifal. The stories of the Holy Grail, of 
 King Arthur and Launcelot, though originating in France 
 and Provence and sung by the Troubadours, appear in German 
 dress, with German alterations, in the songs of the Minne- 
 singers, sung at times even in the market-places. 
 
 High ideals were thus kept before the common people until 
 gradually a similar form of song sprang up among them, 
 which, although more crude, furnished them with new means 
 of expression. These folk-poets and singers formed a society 
 or guild similar to those of the artisans, and called themselves 
 Meister singer, or Mastersingers. Admission to 'this guild, as 
 to others, was by examination in the knowledge of rules gov- 
 erning the construction of songs and poems, and ability to 
 sing them. To understand how much that meant to the com- 
 mon people of that time this means of expressing that 
 which was in them, of giving vent to their feelings to 
 realize this to the full, we must know the conditions under 
 which they lived. Bands of returning crusaders often drove 
 out the people from their towns and villages or else levied
 
 66 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 tribute on all who remained. In time the farmer came to 
 have no rights, neither to his lands nor to his crops, nor even 
 to his children to his family. If the Overlord wanted any 
 of these, the farmer had to give them up. One day, the 
 peasant or artisan was the servant of this Overlord or Baron; 
 next week, another Overlord came along with an army, dev- 
 astated the fields, and either killed the farmers, the laborers 
 and artisans, or took their stock, razed the former baron's 
 castle to the ground, and made the laborers build him a new 
 one. Life was a very uncertain thing. Cities and towns 
 that were rather wealthy made compacts with the robber 
 barons who commanded the roads and confiscated passing 
 goods. Several cities sometimes banded together to pay tri- 
 bute jointly, in order that they might be free from the threat 
 of destruction. They even paid annual taxes to these Over- 
 lords, so that their citizens, merchants and others could go 
 in and out of the cities without molestation or hindrance. 
 Such were the conditions under which the people of those days 
 lived. These civil difficulties were only a part of those with 
 which they had to contend, for they also had to reckon with 
 ecclesiastical authority and punishments. No wonder that 
 men's minds became unsettled, and that they sought to vent 
 their feelings in every way they could. It was under such 
 conditions that the folk-poets and Mastersingers arose, and 
 many of their poems therefore deal specially with the vanity 
 of life and reminders of death. 
 
 Thousands of such poems were written, and many of them 
 have been collected. Through Wagner's opera Die Meister- 
 singer the name of one of the most prominent among these 
 poets, Hans Sachs of Nuremberg, has become a household 
 word in musical families. The Mastersingers, like the Welsh 
 and Icelandic bards, were divided into three classes: (i) 
 Those who had to do only with the metrical difficulties of the 
 songs and simply learned to sing them; (2) the poets, who 
 could compose a text to any given tune; and (3) the "Mei-
 
 Folk-Music during the Middle Ages 67 
 
 ster," who could compose both poem and tune within certain 
 rules. The rhythmic form of the text was determined entirely 
 by the tune; the tune was composed first and the text was 
 made to suit the tune, and usually treated some political 
 or religious subject. The same tunes were used over and over 
 again for different poems as new poets were admitted to mem- 
 bership. Robert Burns, under the title of his poems, often 
 gives the name of a tune or "air" to which the words may be 
 sung. He sometimes made his verse to fit a tune, just as did 
 the Meistersinger, but he did it as a poet, an artist, not as a 
 literary artisan. 
 
 Wagner himself probably expressed the essential charac- 
 teristics of the Meistersinger better than any one else. This 
 is what he makes Hans Sachs say in answer to Walter's ques- 
 tion as to the requirements for a successful examination as a 
 Meistersinger : 
 
 The poet who, with brains so witty, 
 To words and rhymes by himself prepared 
 
 Can shape from the tunes a new strain or ditty, 
 He is a Meistersinger declared. 
 
 But a few years ago there still stood, in the city of Nurem- 
 berg, the old St. Catherine's church where the Meistersinger 
 examinations were held for centuries; and a visit to the 
 meadows on the banks of the slowly flowing Pegnitz is an 
 event in the life of the music student. 
 
 The flow of the melodies of early secular or folk-songs may 
 have been rather stiff, but later these became quite free, as 
 may be seen from the examples submitted below, and they 
 furnished another ingredient necessary to our modern art. 
 
 MINNESINGER'S SONG. 
 
 SPERRYOGEI. 11150-1175)
 
 68 
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 
 -*-* *-*-* 
 
 
 33. BROKEN FAITH. 
 
 Poetry by HEINRICH VON MORUNGEN Melody by PRINCE WITZLAV 
 
 ^ _ m_^t ^ ^_^_ 
 
 Fool- ish spir - it, wilt thou nev-er wear - y Of this mad love that 
 Sad and mournful I must part for ev - er, Be - trayed by love, all 
 
 hath so long de - lud - ed ? ( And yet 'twas she who in her 
 hope and faith have left me. ) 
 
 
 
 beau - ty, As white as lil - ies, red as ros - es, 
 
 Stood be - fore me, ra - diant as the sun - shine : Oh, 
 
 wound-ed heart, must thou for ev - er . . sor - row ? 
 
 Later we shall see how the popular song from the hearts 
 of the people was permitted by the Church to enter the Mass 
 and thus into the church service. And it is that leaven which 
 finally gave music its liberty, untrammeled by the rules of the 
 Church. 
 
 For your delectation I wish to submit some of these love- 
 songs of the Troubadours and Minnesingers of which I have 
 spoken, and regret that I can present only their text. The 
 first one was written in noo, by Bishop Fouquet of Mar- 
 seilles, who took great pride in being a good troubadour.
 
 Folk-Music during the Middle Ages 69 
 
 I would not any man should hear 
 The birds that sweetly sing above 
 Save he who knows the power of love: 
 
 For naught beside can soothe or cheer 
 My soul, like that sweet harmony, 
 
 And her who yet more sweet and dear. 
 
 No greater power my soul can bring 
 Than songs or lays of Brittany. 
 
 Here is a beautiful stanza by the troubadour Bernard Ven- 
 tadour (1150): 
 
 Little can sweetest song avail 
 
 If from the heart it does not come; 
 And from the heart it cannot spring 
 
 Unless there first be love at home. 
 And thus is love the soul to me, 
 
 Of all my song and all my joy, 
 Entrancing eyes and lips, 
 
 Heart, soul, in harmony. 
 
 The following was written by a Spanish troubadour at about 
 the same time: 
 
 Beneath my grief I fainted not, 
 
 And hope within me seemed to live, 
 Until the moment when I thought 
 
 That they who injure ne'er forgive. 
 Be pardon ready, oft one sees 
 
 A wound inflicted, ne'er intended; 
 And oftener by carelessness, 
 
 Than by design, are men offended. 
 I hoped in vain when hope had brought 
 
 Her dreams so fond, so fugitive: 
 I hoped, but sunk beneath the thought 
 
 That they who injure ne'er forgive. 
 
 Here is another Spanish song of the following century: 
 
 When the sea groans heavily and cries 
 
 When two contending winds sweep o'er its breast, 
 One from the. East, the other from the West, 
 
 Till the one, yielding to the other, dies;
 
 70 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 E'en so, two mighty passions angrily 
 Have long contended in my breast until, 
 Obeying the high dictates of my will, 
 
 I followed one that one was, love to thee. 
 
 The Minnesinger Walter von der Vogelweide, whose name 
 is prominent in the opera Die Meister singer, is responsible for 
 the following poem: 
 
 Love is neither man nor woman, 
 
 Soul it hath not, nor yet body, 
 
 And no earthly sign or token. 
 
 Though the tongue of man hath named it, 
 
 Never mortal eyes have seen it, 
 
 Yet without it can no creature 
 
 Win Heaven's pitying grace and favor, 
 Nor where love is, will there linger 
 
 Aught of fraud or baseness ever, 
 To the traitor and false-hearted 
 
 Love hath come not, cometh never. 
 
 If the music of these poems was at all expressive of their 
 sentiments we must grant that even in the Middle Ages there 
 existed artistic folk-songs, and that secular song was far more 
 free than that of the Church.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL POLYPHONY. 
 
 IN our consideration of popular music in the Middle Ages, 
 we dealt of course only with secular song, the unconscious 
 art-expression of the folk-spirit. During the same period, 
 the nurture of music as a conscious art remained in the hands 
 of cloistered monks, organists and church musicians, and to 
 them we must return for a further investigation of its devel- 
 opment. 
 
 In previous study of the music of the Church we have 
 observed the oscillations between rhythmical and melodious 
 expression arising from differing conceptions of the best mu- 
 sical and religious interpretation of the sacred text. 
 
 We shall now trace the growth of this new art of vocal 
 polyphony, born and nourished in the monasteries of Flanders 
 and fostered in the churches of Paris; we shall follow its pere- 
 grinations from country to country, shall see it cast aside the 
 habiliments of childhood and grow slowly into the strength 
 and venturesomeness of youth, gradually losing its monastic 
 habits of thought and convention until at last it appears in 
 full maturity, invigorated rather than weakened by the train- 
 ing of its foster-mother. 
 
 In its search for expression, musical art now travels side by 
 side with the art of the painter, and together they enter upon 
 a new life, each adding, to the already existing delineation of 
 outline and form, the contrasts of light and shade and refine- 
 ments in color-effect. 
 
 Both arts during this period present, as in a mirror, the 
 reflections of contemporaneous thought, development, habit 
 and expression. This is readily perceived on examining the 
 paintings of the time, which depict scenes of actual life. Since 
 
 71
 
 72 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 the Italians, like all southern nations, loved musical sound per 
 se, for its sensuous effect, instrumental music found among 
 them is most propitious environment for growth. The works 
 of Italian painters of the period depict various contempora- 
 neous musical instruments, as well as the manner in which 
 they were played, thus affording us a glimpse of what was 
 then of general interest. 
 
 In the allegorical painting of "The Triumph of Death," by 
 Orcagna, there is a panel depicting "The Dream of Life," 
 which presents a group of ladies and gentlemen, one of whom 
 is playing upon a beautifully inlaid instrument of the violin 
 family, while another accompanies upon the psaltery. The 
 ecstatic joy of the performer who loves the sound of his in- 
 strument is visible upon their faces, while those of the listeners 
 exhibit either an intensely thoughtful interest in the players, 
 or the dreamy expression of deep emotion engendered by the 
 music. The whole scene is one that must have been familiar 
 to the painter, and it is quite possible that the faces in the 
 groups are portraits of his patron and friends. 
 
 In Flanders and the Netherlands the paintings of the time 
 indicate that the vocal art was the one most commonly prac- 
 tised. One of the altar-pictures by the brothers Ten Eyck 
 depicts a chorus of angels grouped around a reading-desk on 
 which is placed the book from which all are singing. The 
 desk forms the back of a small portable pipe-organ, whose 
 player acts as director of the choir. As the number of in- 
 strumental players represented in this picture is quite small, 
 and they are placed far in the background, we may con- 
 clude that they were deemed of minor importance. That 
 the artists have endeavored to portray that which they had 
 often actually seen, rather than the fruit of their imagination, 
 is proved by the fact that the faces of the angels are typically 
 Dutch and that their mouths are opened in what is deemed 
 the proper manner for the correct emission of tone. 
 
 The practice and love of singing being common in the
 
 73 
 
 Netherlands during the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth 
 centuries, it was but natural that that country should be- 
 come the training-school for masters of the grand polyphonic 
 vocal art, whose pupils were to carry its ideas and teachings 
 into other lands. 
 
 At the beginning of the fourteenth century, this art had 
 begun to decline in importance irv France, but had taken on 
 new life in the Netherlands. This migration was due partly 
 to political and social conditions, and partly to the fact that 
 the wealthy and prosperous burghers of Holland, Flanders, 
 Hainault and Brabant fostered all the arts and therefore 
 attracted their exponents from everywhere. In addition to 
 this, the politico-religious disturbances which caused the 
 removal of the Papal See from Rome to Avignon in 1305, 
 brought from Italy the very best composers, who aided in 
 the advancement of musical culture in the new center of the 
 arts. Thus there came to be established what is now called 
 the Gallo-Belgic school (1350-1430), the connecting-link be- 
 tween the early French school and that of the Netherlands. 
 
 The first master of importance in this new school was 
 Hermann de Zeelandia, who lived in the first half of the 
 fourteenth century. His chief claim to recognition above 
 his contemporaries lies in his efforts to eliminate the parallel 
 fourths and fifths of his French predecessors, whose ears had 
 undoubtedly rebelled against the euphony ( ?) of the inherited 
 Hucbaldian organum and diaphony witness the invention 
 of the device of contrary motion. In Zeelandia's works these 
 intervals have almost entirely disappeared, and in their place 
 we find a free use of thirds and sixths, giving his part-songs a 
 more agreeable character. A native of Holland, he was quite 
 celebrated as a teacher and as a composer of four-part chansons 
 whose texts were in his native tongue. In these he assigns 
 the melody to the highest voice, the soprano, herein departing 
 from the time-honored custom of the Church composers, in 
 whose works the tenor carried the cantus firmus.
 
 74 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 The most brilliant exponent and master of the Gallo- 
 Belgic school was Guillaume Dufay (1400-1474). He was a 
 chorister in the Papal choir at Rome from 1428 to 1437; 
 thereafter he held a canonry both in Mons and in Cambrai, 
 in which latter town he died. 
 
 He was the first master to formulate rules (canons) for the 
 "imitations" so timidly introduced by the masters of the 
 French school. Such imitation was then called fuga (a 
 flight), because, as was naively explained in the writings of 
 the time, "one voice seems to fly away from the other and is 
 pursued in a pleasant way." Strict imitation was exemplified 
 in the canon, in which only one voice-part needed to be 
 written out, as each singer, guided by signs or written direc- 
 tions, knew when and where and how to enter with his part. 
 
 Dufay, who was not only a musician but a close observer 
 of the musical trend of his time, soon realized the vital differ- 
 ence between the music of the people and that of the Church, 
 and in his desire to bring these together, conceived the idea 
 of introducing the folk-song as cantus firmus in the Mass. 
 He chose for his first effort in this direction the song "L'omme 
 arme," which was very popular at that time, and used it as 
 a melodic basis for a Mass, which became known under the 
 title of the popular song. 
 
 34. POPULAR SOXG: " L'OMME ARME." 
 
 L'om-me,romme ar-me . . . 
 
 This endeavor to produce popular sympathy with and ap- 
 preciation of the music of the Church brought together the 
 two elements which form the basis of our modern musical 
 art. Had Dufay stopped at the simple use of the secular 
 melody, it is not likely that much criticism would have been 
 made of this procedure; but in his attempt to imbue the 
 scholasticism of the monastery with the spirit of the people.
 
 The Development of Vocal Polyphony 
 
 75 
 
 he permitted the use of the secular text, so that we hear in 
 the Mass, at one and the same time, the solemn "Kyrie 
 eleison" and the "L'omme arme," as may be seen from the 
 following example: 
 
 35. Beginning of the Kyrie, from the Mass " L'omme arme " 
 
 UUFAY 
 
 ri - e e - lei - 
 
 Kv - ri - e 
 
 son. Ky 
 
 Ky - ri - e e - le - i - son. Ky - ri - e . . e - lei- 
 
 
 , i ~=i j_ U'*" ^ _ m 22 I * m M_*~ ^rj 
 
 E^_ t g*^ ^ fs 
 
 Kv - ri - 
 
 To detail all the improvements which Dufay made in 
 musical art would require too much time and space; but we 
 must mention (i) his introduction of interrupted canonic 
 part-writing, the imitation not being continuous, and (2) the 
 entire elimination of the obnoxious parallel fourths and 
 fifths of his predecessors. By him, in fact, the pure four- 
 part style of vocal writing was inaugurated. 
 
 In his labors for the improvement of musical art, Dufay 
 had the hearty cooperation of Gilles de Binche, or Binchois 
 (1400-1460), who was "Chapelain-chantre" to Philip the 
 Good. But few of this master's compositions have been 
 preserved; but he was highly esteemed by his contempora- 
 ries, not only as a musician, but as a courtly, honorable 
 gentleman.
 
 76 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 The last great master of the Gallo-Belgic school was 
 Antoine de Busnois (1440-1482). To him, as well as to 
 Dufay, we owe recognition of the principle that euphony in 
 music is more desirable than mathematically calculated con- 
 struction. That Busnois was bolder in his harmonies than 
 Dufay, is evident from his upward resolutions of the half- 
 steps of the scale, still carefully avoided by Dufay because of 
 his adherence to Church music customs, in which such pro- 
 gressions were shunned. 
 
 36. From the Chanson " Je suis venut " 
 SOPRANO AND ALTO. 
 
 Dufay, Binchois and Busnois, with their following, form a 
 bridge between the French school and that of the Nether- 
 lands, which latter we are now to consider. It comprises 
 the Dutch and the Belgian composers through whose efforts 
 was developed that great school of vocal polyphony which 
 finds its culmination on the one hand in Palestrina, and on 
 the other in Handel and Bach. Their efforts seem to be the 
 first that were directed toward making counterpoint sub- 
 servient to idea, in distinction to those of their predecessors, 
 who wrote much counterpoint for its own sake. They sought 
 for euphony and beauty of expression in the canonic forms 
 in which the voices were related. 
 
 The two hundred years from 1425-1625, during which the 
 influence of this school was predominant, we shall, for the 
 sake of convenience, divide into four overlapping periods, in 
 each of which some great master is supreme. 
 
 In the first of these periods the name of Johannes Okeghem 
 (1425-1513), a pupil of Binchois, stands out above those of
 
 The Development of Vocal Polyphony 77 
 
 his contemporaries. He is considered the founder of the 
 Netherlandic school, and is called the father of artistic counter- 
 point because he developed the canonic style, the style of 
 strict imitation, to its greatest ingenuity. That he carried 
 his contrapuntal subtleties to an extreme can be seen in the 
 minute but labored workmanship of his compositions. 
 
 As an example of this we need but mention a Motet for 
 thirty-six voices, of which only six were written out, each of 
 the six forming the theme of a canon for six voices which 
 could be sung as such, while finally the thirty-six parts could 
 be sung simultaneously. In keeping with the spirit of the 
 age, when (especially in the Netherlands) all sorts of artisans 
 as well as artists and musicians were members of guilds 
 whose secret signs were known only to the initiated, Okeghem 
 wrote a number of so-called "enigmatical" canons for the 
 singers of his day. Of such canons the theme alone was 
 written down, while Latin directions, couched in mystic 
 phrases, revealed to the initiated the manner of their per- 
 formance. The following are some of these enigmatical 
 directions: "He that followeth me, walketh not in darkness "; 
 "Ad medium referas in repetitione" ; "Pausas relinque 
 prioris." 
 
 To appreciate his compositions, and others of the great 
 contrapuntal vocal school, one must hear them sung, for to 
 play them on the piano gives no idea of their real character. 
 Okeghem has been aptly called the Bach of the fifteenth 
 century. His skill led to a general adoption of the free con- 
 trapuntal style, which gradually became less florid and more 
 simple, so that all the ingenious devices fell into their proper 
 places as means of expression. 
 
 His influence was greatest as a teacher, for his pupils, 
 whose labors form the second period *jl the Netherland 
 school, came from everywhere and carried their knowledge 
 into distant lands. Among those pupils must be mentioned 
 (the dates are only approximate) Jacob Hobrecht (1450-
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 1505), Antonius Brumel (1470-1518), Johannes Tinctor 
 (1446-1511), Josquin de Pres (1450-1521) and Agricola 
 (1446-1506). Of these, Tinctor spent most of his life in 
 Italy, whither we shall follow him at another time; Agricola 
 labored in Spain and Portugal; Hobrecht, who lived in 
 Antwerp, is noted for a beauty of expression in his com- 
 positions far beyond the practices of his time. He was so 
 highly esteemed as a learned musician and director, that not 
 only did the great choir from the Brussels cathedral often 
 come to do him honor, but the director of the Papal church 
 at Rome journeyed to Antwerp to learn and get ideas from 
 him. 
 
 37. End of " Parce Domine 
 
 HOBRECHT 
 
 et . . . mi - se 
 
 cors, mis - se - ri - cors 
 
 ex - au - di 
 
 au - di nos 
 
 
 di nos
 
 TJie Development of Vocal Polyphony 79 
 
 -{* ^ _| | j m ^-y__j ~zfrr~^~~'~y 
 
 in ae - ter - nam, Do 
 
 i i 
 
 1 
 
 Do 
 
 The compositions of Antonius Brumel exhibit a fine har- 
 mony quite surprising for that period, as he delights in full 
 sustained chords. 
 
 38. Beginning of a Motet 
 TENORS I & II. 
 
 I i 
 
 O Do-mi-ne Je - su Chri 
 
 BASSES I & II 
 
 II! i ,_ v .x 
 
 ste, Pa - - stor 
 
 stos con - ser 
 
 
 ne, ju-stos, ju 
 ju - stos, 
 
 stos . .
 
 8o 
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 
 
 1 l-i 
 
 
 - r - ^ , ^ 
 
 f ~ a> \* **?*^ ^^^ o - e& 
 
 (_ p f _ 
 
 -- "-^ 'xZ " 
 
 U 1 LI K ; r~ ' =s -' 1^ 1 ^^ 
 
 ser - va, . . 
 con - ser 
 
 -^ 1 1 ]^~~ |N 
 
 ju - - - - stos con - ser - 
 
 - - - - va, 
 
 ^ - sa * * 
 
 
 L ' ^ r 
 
 
 pec 
 
 pec - ca - to - res ju - sti 
 
 fi - ca. 
 
 va, pec - ca - to - res ju - sti- fi - ca. 
 pec - ca - to - res . ju - sti - fi - ca, ju - sti - fi - ca. 
 
 ca - - to 
 
 res ju - sti - fi - ca. 
 
 The great luminary of the second period of the Nether- 
 lands schools (1455-1525) was that most distinguished of 
 Okeghem's pupils, Josquin de Pres. After finishing his 
 studies with his famous master, he went to Milan and thence 
 to Rome, where from 1484 to 1494 he was a singer in the 
 Papal Chapel. His genius attracted the attention of Pope 
 Sixtus IV, with the result that his life was made very un- 
 pleasant by his fellow-musicians; so he went to Cambrai, 
 Modena, Paris and Ferrara (1503), where he made a great 
 impression upon his more liberal-minded colleagues. Re- 
 turning to France, he ended his days as a provost at Conde 
 a preferment probably due to Emperor Maximilian I. 
 While at first he followed closely in his master's footsteps, 
 he soon surpassed him in boldness and freedom of style. 
 He is the first of the great Netherland school whose works 
 exhibit real geniality and appreciation of the aesthetic value 
 of a dissonance in the expression of emotion as depicted in 
 the text. As he was a genius, a law unto himself, and a 
 master of the musical devices then in use, he was not strictly
 
 The Development of Vocal Polyphony 
 
 81 
 
 obedient to the academic rules laid down by his predecessors, 
 although very exacting with his pupils in this respect. 
 Luther, one of his greatest admirers, wrote of him: "Josquin 
 de Pres is a master of the notes. They do as he wills. 
 Other composers must do as the notes will. His compo- 
 sitions are joyous, gentle and lovely; not forced, nor con- 
 strained, nor slavishly tied to the rules, but free as the song 
 of the finch." 
 
 That he was a man of wit is evident from some of his 
 motets written for special occasions. In these he at times re- 
 minded his royal patrons of their promises of increased salary 
 or distinctions by selecting appropriate texts, such as "Portio 
 mea non est in terra viventium," or "Memor esti verbi tui." 
 His name on a composition was considered sufficient proof of 
 its excellence. His genius enabled him to break through the 
 strict forms of his time, without abandoning them, and his 
 motets and psalms are still effective as sacred music. 
 
 39. Motet 
 
 SOPRANO ANU ALTO 
 
 A - ve Chri - ste, A - ve Chri 
 
 JOSQUIN DE PRES 
 
 ste, 
 
 A - ve Chri - ste, A - ve Chri - ste, . . 
 
 ve Chri - 
 
 te in . . cru - cis 
 
 im - mo - la - te in 
 
 ste, A - - ve Chri - ste, . . 
 
 im - mo - la
 
 82 
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 ra, . . in cru - cis a - 
 
 - ra re - dem - ptio -_ 
 
 EfeEEE 
 
 ^| ! I" J I * \ I | '| I 
 
 ra redempti 
 
 a - - - ra 
 
 cis a - 
 
 cis a - - ra, 
 
 * ^ i-^j 
 
 cru - cis a 
 
 nis ho - 
 
 
 nis ho-sti - a, 
 re - dem - pti - o 
 
 re - dem-pti - o - 
 
 sti - a, mor - te tu - a nos a - ma 
 
 mor - te tu - a nos a - ma - ra 
 fac re - dem - ptos lu - ce cla - ra. 
 
 :etc. 
 
 I I 
 
 fac re - dem - ptos lu - ce cla - 
 ra fac re - dem - ptos lu - ce cla - ra, fac 
 
 i J. A JL .j. i j. j. i i i A. 
 
 :etc. 
 
 fac re - dem - 
 
 The Italian traveler and historian, Baini, speaking of the 
 universal popularity of the Belgian master's works, says:
 
 The Development of Vocal Polyphony 83 
 
 "They sing only Josquin in Italy, France and Germany, 
 Flanders, Hungary, Bohemia and Spain." It was, there- 
 fore, difficult for other composers to obtain recognition, how- 
 ever excellent their work. 
 
 Nevertheless, he still shows the influence of the scholasticism 
 of his age by his two musical settings of the genealogy of 
 Christ according to Matthew and Luke. Although he also 
 practised the custom of uniting sacred and secular melodies 
 and texts in his church compositions, he evidently realized 
 that, in order to be at all appropriate to each other, they 
 should at least express the same general mood; for in his 
 commemorative Mass on the death of his revered teacher, he 
 sets against the tenor's solemn "Requiem aeternam," a song 
 of lamentation which was very popular at that time: 
 
 Nymphes des bois, deesses des fontaines, 
 
 Chantres experts de toutes nations, 
 Changez vos voix fortes, claires et hautaines 
 
 En cris tranchants et lamentations. 
 
 The universal approval received by the works of Josquin 
 de Pres, and the great honors bestowed upon him, led to the 
 emigration of some of his countrymen and many of his pupils 
 to various countries. While some were perhaps actuated by 
 the hope of acquiring wealth or honors, many undoubtedly 
 went because they were filled with the genuine art-spirit 
 which seeks the conversion of the world to its ideals. 
 
 Almost every church musician of the period, at some time 
 during his career, went to Italy, the home of the Mother 
 Church. Many remained in the land of sunny skies; and 
 some founded great music-schools which in later years were 
 to produce numerous eminent musicians. 
 
 Among famous contemporaries of Josquin must be men- 
 tioned Mouton and Arcadelt. Jean Mouton, who died in 
 1522, was so musically gifted and so thoroughly imbued with 
 his master's principles, that some of his works were credited 
 to Josquin. His fame rests on his Motets and Masses, but
 
 84 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 still more so on that of his famous pupil, Adrian Willaert, of 
 whom more anon. 
 
 Jacob Arcadelt (1492-1556) in middle life went to Rome 
 and was admitted as a singer to the Papal choir, where he re- 
 mained from 1540 to 1549. In 1555 we find him in the ser- 
 vice of the Duke of Guise, at Paris, where he died. As a 
 composer of madrigals he attained world-wide celebrity. 
 Most of his serious compositions were written for the Church; 
 his "Ave Maria" is even now sung quite frequently. 
 
 The leading masters of the third period of the Netherland 
 school were largely the best pupils of Josquin, such as Gom- 
 bert, Goudimel, de Rore, Willaert, Ducis, Hollander and 
 Jannequin. 
 
 Nicholas Gombert, born in Bruggen (Bruges) in 1495, is the 
 only one of these who spent most of his life in his native 
 land. Although a priest, he performed the functions of 
 chapel-master during the greater part of his life. The hope 
 of fame and ecclesiastical preferment tempted him to leave 
 his native land to act as imperial music-master at Madrid 
 from 1530 to 1534. Even in that short time his teachings 
 undoubtedly exercised a considerable influence on the Span- 
 ish and Portuguese composers, although some of them had 
 studied for a while in the Netherlands, while others had re- 
 ceived instruction from his predecessor, Agricola. Upon his 
 return he was given a nominal office which enabled him to 
 spend the remainder of his life in peace and comfort. In his 
 works he exhibits an even greater freedom and flow of melody 
 than his teacher. Most of his fellow-musicians acknowl- 
 edged him as the greatest master of his time, and historians 
 agree that he was the direct precursor of the Palestrina style. 
 
 Two of his contemporaries, Ducis and Hollander, deserve 
 more than a passing notice. Benedictus Ducis, or Hertogs 
 (his Dutch name), born at Bruges in 1480, a pupil of Josquin, 
 in early life removed to Antwerp, where he was so esteemed 
 that he was chosen master of the guild of musicians, the
 
 The Development of Vocal Polyphony 85 
 
 highest honor in the gift of his colleagues. At the age of 40 
 he went into retirement, and died about 1540. His Passion 
 music and his Cantiones sacra justify his fame. 
 
 Christian Jans, or, as he is generally known, Christian 
 Hollander, was born in Holland about 1519. He served for 
 a number of years as chapel-master at Oudenaarde in Dutch- 
 Belgium, and later entered the service of Maximilian II. 
 His Motets are among the most brilliant works of the 
 Dutch-Netherland school, and are especially noteworthy for 
 originality of rhythm, declamatory phrases, effective tone- 
 coloring and animated movement. The date of his death is 
 unknown (before 1570). 
 
 One of the most talented and original pupils of Josquin 
 de Pres was Clement Jannequin or Janneken, the endear- 
 ing name given him by his countrymen. His early compo- 
 sitions were for the Catholic Church, but he became a con- 
 vert to the Protestant faith and as such made a splendid 
 setting cf a number of Marot's poems and of his versified 
 translation of the Psalms. It is as a secular composer, how- 
 ever, that he shines most brilliantly. He may well be con- 
 sidered the first composer of " program-music," and as such 
 we shall meet him again. Goudimel, de Rore and Willaert 
 will also be considered later. 
 
 While the fourth period of the Xetherland school presents 
 a number of excellent musicians, one name stands out bril- 
 liantly above all others, that of Orlandus Lassus, the greatest 
 of all the Netherland masters. According to his sojourn in 
 different lands he is variously known by the name just 
 given, or as Roland van Lattre, Roland Delattre, or Orlando 
 di Lasso. He was born at Mons in Belgium in 1520. As a 
 boy he became famous as a soprano soloist, and, in the suite 
 of Ferdinand of Gonzaga, went to Milan, Palermo and Naples. 
 During early life he traveled through England and France, 
 occasionally residing for short periods in Antwerp, where his 
 great abilities stimulated musical enthusiasm to a high pitch.
 
 86 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 During the fourth period of the Netherland school, there 
 lived in Holland a musician, Jan Pieters Sweelinck, who at- 
 tracted the notice of all the musical world. He was born at 
 Deventer in Holland in 1562, and is said by some to have been 
 a pupil of Zarlino in Venice (though this is improbable on 
 account of his youth) ; in his nineteenth year he was appointed 
 organist of the "Old Church" at Amsterdam, a position held 
 years before by his father, and in which he himself remained 
 till his death in 1621. He soon attained the reputation of 
 being the greatest organist of his time, and so many young 
 musicians came to study with him from all over Europe that 
 he became the founder of a great organ school. Among his 
 pupils were Samuel Scheidt, Heinrich Scheidemann, Adam 
 Reinken, and the Dane, Dietrich Buxtehude, whose works 
 deserve to be in the repertoire of every organist. It was the 
 fame of Reinken that caused Bach to make several journeys 
 on foot from Liineburg to Hamburg, to hear that great artist. 
 
 The high reputation enjoyed by Sweelinck's pupils re- 
 flected upon him, and was so well appreciated by his coun- 
 trymen, that the merchants of Amsterdam presented him with 
 a splendid fortune, in order to preserve him from the anxie- 
 ties which too often attend an artist in old age. His vocal 
 compositions deserve a place in the repertoire of ambitious 
 choral-societies as superb examples of the a cappella style, 
 and direct precursors of the great vocal works of Bach. His 
 chief title to lasting fame rests upon his development of the 
 organ-fugue, a branch of composition wherein his first worthy 
 successor was J. S. Bach. 
 
 In our consideration of the French school it was stated 
 that its masters never left their native lands to spread the 
 practice of their art, but were content to have young mu- 
 sicians come to them for study. In contradistinction to this 
 we have noticed that most of the masters of the Gallo-Belgic 
 and Netherland schools, filled with zeal for their art, at one 
 time or another in their lives journeyed abroad to spread the
 
 The Development of Vocal Polyphony 87 
 
 new gospel of music, a mission which they considered almost 
 as a sacred duty. 
 
 The names of most of these are to be found in the records 
 of famous singers and musicians connected at various periods 
 with the Papal Chapel, where their services were much in 
 demand, not only as composers but also as professional 
 singers, many of whom went abroad to seek their fortune. 
 As early as 1467 the Duke of Milan sent to the Netherlands 
 for a choir of thirty singers, whom he paid handsomely for 
 their services. These cantori ultramontani, as the Flemish 
 singers were called, were in a measure responsible for the 
 improvements, in church singing and for the founding, in 
 Naples, Rome, Venice, Munich and Vienna, of choral societies 
 which became favorites of the dilettanti and the general 
 public. There are still extant many written invitations from 
 princes and reigning monarchs requesting the presence of 
 schooled vocalists, who were thus enabled to select their 
 positions and impose their own terms. Time and space for- 
 bid further mention of their work, and we shall now turn our 
 attention to those composers and teachers who went abroad 
 as missionaries to preach their art to willing and sympathetic 
 ears. Among them we have already mentioned Dufay and 
 Okeghem, who labored in France; Josquin de Pres, who 
 practised his art in Rome and Ferrara as well as at home; 
 and Tinctor, who was the first of those missionaries to make 
 a prolonged stay (1475-1487) in Southern Italy. He was a 
 very learned and scholarly musician, whose works, "Ter- 
 minorum musicse diffinatorium," the earliest musical diction- 
 ary (printed about 1475), and "Liber de arte contrapuncti," 
 a text-book on counterpoint, both written in classical Latin, 
 did much to unify and classify musical knowledge. 
 
 A majority of these musical missionaries settled in Italy, 
 the Holy Empire of the Mother Church, and while some 
 labored quietly, sometimes in obscure places, others showed 
 such strong individuality in their work that they attracted
 
 88 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 old and young musicians, and thus became the founders of 
 distinct schools of music. 
 
 Among the many able Netherlanders who selected Northern 
 Italy for their home stands out the commanding figure of 
 Adrian Willaert, the star-pupil of Jean Mouton. After a 
 thorough schooling in the methods and learning of Josquin 
 de Pres, he went to Rome, where he became a chorister in 
 the Papal Choir in 1516. When the authorship of one of 
 his compositions was doubted by his fellow-singers and de- 
 risively ascribed to Josquin de Pres, he abandoned his position 
 and went to Ferrara; later acting as chapel-master (Kapell- 
 meister) to Ludwig, King of Hungary and Bavaria, until 
 1526, when, attracted by the fame of the gorgeous life of 
 Venice, he set his face toward that city. Within a year he 
 was made director of the music in the church of San Marco, 
 and there began the most glorious and effective part of his 
 career, which we shall consider at another time. His suc- 
 cessor as musical director at San Marco was his countryman 
 and pupil, Cypriano de Rore, who had been the master's 
 assistant during his lifetime. 
 
 Other disciples of the Netherland school who labored for a 
 while in Venice were Verdelot and de Buus. 
 
 Philip Verdelot (//. Verdelotte) was born in Belgium about 
 1490, and at the age of thirty followed Willaert (or Master 
 Adrian, as his name appears on the roll of choristers at San 
 Marco) to Venice. In 1530 he went to Florence and con- 
 tinued the work of Hobrecht in the domain of sacred music, 
 making a reputation for himself that extended not only 
 throughout Italy, but the whole of Catholic Europe. 
 
 Jacob de Buus (van Boes) was born in North Belgium 
 about 1505. As a student he was attracted by the possi- 
 bilities of music-printing, which, having been invented by 
 the Italian Petrucci about the year 1500, had proved a boon 
 to the musical world. After much travel through Italy, he 
 settled in Venice, where he established his own music-printing
 
 The Development of Vocal Polyplwny 89 
 
 establishment. That he was an excellent musician is evident 
 from the fact that, in 1541, he was appointed organist at 
 San Marco, being chosen in preference to many native can- 
 didates for the office. Later he went to Vienna, where he 
 remained the rest of his life as organist to the Court choir. 
 
 Among the musical missionaries who wended their way 
 into Central Italy, to Rome, we have already noted Arcadelt, 
 whose style was almost as colorful as that of Willaert, and 
 who after several years of fruitful labor for the Church, went 
 to Paris, where he died. 
 
 Another Xetherland master already mentioned was Claude 
 Goudimel, a man of high intellectual and musical attain- 
 ments, who spent many years in Rome and then emigrated 
 to Paris, where he became a Huguenot and made splendid 
 musical settings of some of the Psalms. While in Rome he 
 is said to have been the instructor of Palestrina, whose works, 
 while in many respects surpassing those of his teacher, show 
 the strict training of the Netherland school. In addition to 
 those who practised their art in various parts of Italy, quite a 
 number of the Dutch and Belgian masters went to Germany 
 and Austria, Christian Hollander spending the greater part of 
 his life in Vienna, where he joined in the musical labors of 
 his countrymen. 
 
 We have also spoken of the last and greatest master of the 
 Netherland school, Orlandus Lassus, who, after travels in 
 Italy, France and England, returned in 1555 to Antwerp. 
 In the year following he received a munificent offer from 
 Albert, Duke of Bavaria, who invited him to bring a choir 
 of the best singers from among his countrymen, and to be- 
 come chapel-master at the Bavarian court. Lassus accepted 
 the offer with alacrity and traveled with his chosen singers 
 to Munich, where he shortly afterward married a maid of 
 honor to the Duchess. 
 
 In his new position he also had charge of a number of in- 
 strumentalists, who, however, rarely united with the singers,
 
 9 o 
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 as the purely vocal a cappella style was still preferred. While 
 in Munich, he wrote his celebrated Penitential Psalms, as 
 well as a large number of Masses, Motets and Magnificats for 
 the Church. Although a contemporary of the famous Pale- 
 
 4O. Portion of a Magnificat 
 SOPRANO 
 
 ORLANDUS LASSUS 
 
 =1= 
 
 po 
 
 - ten - ti - am 
 
 Fe - cit . . 
 TENOR (8ve lower) 
 
 Fe - cit . . po - ten - - - - - - -ti- am 
 
 in bra - chi - 
 
 bra 
 
 chi 
 
 strina, it was Lassus who was universally regarded as the 
 "Prince of Musicians." A man of amiable temper, a wit, a 
 superb musician, master of all the then known art, he was uni- 
 versally honored by prince and burgher, who vied with each 
 other to do him honor, so that he was knighted and deco- 
 rated with the highest orders. 
 
 In spite of the demands of courtly society, of which he was 
 a shining star, he gave much time to the gratification of his 
 innate desire for creative work, but the combination proved 
 too much for him in the end. and his last years were marked
 
 The Development of Vocal Polyphony 91 
 
 by depression of spirits and a morbid fear of death, the con- 
 sequence of overwork. His genius was strikingly manifested in 
 his versatility, which enabled him to write equally well in all 
 contemporary musical forms, in which his innate sense of the 
 beautiful is predominant. With him closes the period of mu- 
 sical development known as the Netherland school, whose 
 art, disseminated over the whole of Europe, furnished the 
 foundations for the upbuilding of a still greater art. 
 
 In this era, polyphonic music reached its highest devel- 
 opment as vocal musical expression in the impersonal manner. 
 It was the natural expression of a collective churchly relation 
 to God, and therefore gave no utterance to the personal, 
 individual human relationship to the Divine Being which was 
 the moving impulse of the Reformation. This human note 
 appears in the works of Palestrina and some of his succes- 
 sors, through whom was inaugurated the "Golden Age of 
 Catholic Church Music."
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE AND THE REFORMATION. 
 
 IN spite of numerous internal doctrinal disputes, the church 
 of Rome maintained its jurisdiction over all the nations of 
 western and central Europe throughout the Middle Ages. 
 
 During the reign of Maximilian I, however, a religious 
 movement was begun, which led finally to the division of all 
 Christendom into two great denominations; and this move- 
 ment is called the Reformation. From it sprang the Cho- 
 rale, which had a potent influence upon the art of music. 
 
 In the early centuries of the Christian era, the Church, in 
 its proselyting zeal, was in the habit of sending out small 
 bands of missionary priests to convert the European pagans. 
 These priests would select an open, favorable location, or, if 
 necessary, would clear a place in the forest, and after build- 
 ing huts for themselves would erect a chapel where they 
 held religious services. They would cultivate the ground 
 after the improved manner of the Italians, and, if possible, 
 secure some saint's relic in order to add to the sanctity of 
 their chapel and make it more attractive to their neighbors, 
 and also in the hope of miraculous cures of the various ills 
 to which mankind is heir. 
 
 Once the people were converted, they built homes as near 
 as possible to the place of worship, so that every church or 
 monastery became the center of a town. When, in the 
 course of years, the congregation became too large for this 
 church edifice, another was built, and people settled around it. 
 so that a map of any old city of the Middle Ages presents 
 a series of ever- widening circles in whose center stands a church 
 or monastery. 
 
 92
 
 The Renaissance, and the Reformation 93 
 
 The monastery of St. Gall, on the slope of the Alps near 
 Lake Constance, was the center of such a town. Its library 
 contains a Latin-German dictionary, dated A.D. 638 and as- 
 cribed to its founder. Towards the close of the ninth cen- 
 tury two brothers, missionary priests, were on their way from 
 Italy to France. One of them, Notker Balbulus, fell ill 
 while crossing the Alps, was cared for at the monastery, and, 
 with his brother, decided to remain there. 
 
 In the music of the Church, which, then as now, was sung 
 in Latin, the congregation's share was limited to the utterance 
 of the responses "Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison," during the 
 chanting of the hymns and psalms by the priest and choir. 
 These were in the habit of singing on the last syllable or 
 syllables of the Alleluia a great many tones, giving the char- 
 acter of an outburst of jubilant feeling. As these jubilant 
 outpourings occurred after the Alleluia, they were called Se- 
 quences. 
 
 According to his own writings, Notker Balbulus had, in 
 his novitiate, found it difficult to remember the melodies 
 of these long-drawn-out Alleluias, and had therefore written 
 sacred texts, one syllable to each tone, to fit them. 
 
 The psychological effect of a rhythmic utterance of words 
 upon the memory, especially when sung, is now universally 
 recognized. Every recruit in the army of this or any other 
 nation, in order to learn the drum and bugle signals, is taught 
 a series of word-jingles having a natural rhythm identical 
 with that of the signals whose message they convey. On this 
 same principle Notker wrote these Latin sequences, which he 
 translated into German, and which thus became the basis 
 of German hymnology. The people learned the sequences, 
 these first German hymns, very gladly and readily, and took 
 such delight in being able to participate in the services of 
 the Church in their own tongue, that after a time they re- 
 fused to sing in Latin. 
 
 After the popular success achieved by the sequences, the
 
 94 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 priests began to imitate the Kyrie in German, in order to 
 furnish the people with intelligible words to replace their 
 sometimes inarticulate explosive responses. Every strophe 
 of the verses thus composed ended with the words "Kyrie 
 eleison, Christe eleison," and the whole hymn, sung to the mel- 
 ody of the Kyrie, was termed by the Germans "Leisen." 
 
 The following hymn to St. Peter, written originally in me- 
 diaeval German and here presented in a free translation, is an 
 example of these mixed German and Latin hymns: 
 
 Our dear Lord of grace hath given 
 To St. Peter ppwer in heaven, 
 That he may uphold alway 
 All who hope in Him and say: 
 "Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison." 
 
 A great number of Latin Hymns were thus translated into 
 German by the monks, many of them retaining such Latin 
 expressions as were familiar through frequent recurrence in 
 the services. In the following stanza from a Christmas 
 carol which was in use in the early Middle Ages, the me- 
 diaeval German has also been rendered freely into English 
 and the Latin phrases retained in their original places: 
 
 In dulci jubilo (In sweet joy) 
 
 Sing and shout, all below; 
 He for whom we're pining 
 
 Lies in prasepio. (In a manger.) 
 Like the sun is shining 
 
 Matris in gremio, (In his mother's lap) 
 
 Qui est A et O. (Who is Alpha and Omega.) 
 
 Despite the Mother Church's restriction of the practice of 
 such hymns to feasts and pilgrimages, religious hymns in the 
 vernacular grew into such popularity, that folk-poets began 
 to compose them freely. More than fifteen hundred such 
 hymns of the Middle Ages exist, written by eighty-five 
 poets; most of them semi-religious, treating of the vanity of 
 this world. The following stanza is a fair example:
 
 The Renaissance and the Rejormation 95 
 
 O Rose, of the flowers I ween thou art fairest, 
 
 But thorny and worthless the stem that thou bearest, 
 
 Fleeting thy beauty, unlovely thy fruit. 
 World! I would liken thee unto the roses, 
 Sweet are thy flatteries, sad are their closes: 
 
 Virtue and goodness in thee have no root. 
 
 Among the poets who wrote these hymns were a number 
 of the best Minnesingers, who composed their own melodies, 
 which were quite different from the church hymn-tunes. 
 
 During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, great social 
 and political changes came over Europe. Even the physical 
 aspect of the country changed, for instead of being a mere 
 pasture for cattle, broad stretches of open lands were now 
 covered with various crops, while some of the towns grew 
 larger and larger until they became great cities. In ad- 
 dition to this, upon cliffs and mountains, commanding the 
 fertile valleys beneath, were perched large castles, erected by 
 returning crusaders or lords of the country, whose lawless 
 retainers often carried off not only the fruits of the fields, but 
 the very children of the laboring men and farmers. 
 
 Nevertheless, it was an era of rapid growth, socially and 
 commercially, especially in the cities, which formed leagues 
 of defence against the lawless elements, and soon organized 
 as independent principalities, entitled to representation when 
 the nobility met to choose a common ruler. 
 
 Considerable "politics" was shown in such selections, both 
 in the Diet, which chose the Emperor, and in the College of 
 Cardinals, which chose the Pope, often resulting in war. In 
 1314 Frederick of Austria and Ludwig of Bavaria were each 
 declared Emperor by different factions of the Diet; this 
 resulted in a bloody war between the armies of the rival 
 emperors, which was ended in 1322 by their general acknowl- 
 edgment of Ludwig as ruler. The Church then demanded 
 that the new Emperor should become her dependent vassal, 
 and when Ludwig refused, on the ground that the unanimous
 
 g6 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 choice of the people was the true source of power, the Pope 
 forbade all the ordinary ministrations of religion. During 
 the interdict, which in some portions of Germany lasted 
 twenty-six years, the churches were closed and only the first 
 and last sacraments were administered. To add to the un- 
 happy condition of the people during that period the country 
 was visited with earthquakes, bad harvests, swarms of 
 locusts and grasshoppers destroying all vegetation, and, to 
 crown all, by that awful scourge known as "the black plague," 
 bringing lawlessness and despair in its train. Men and 
 women became either indifferent to religion or possessed by 
 a religious frenzy which spread like an epidemic and resulted 
 in the formation of ghastly traveling processions of bands of 
 men and women, calling themselves Flagellants and White 
 Hoods, wandering from town to town, half-naked or clothed 
 in white garments spotted with blood, the result of bodily 
 flagellation, and singing hymns and sequences in German. 
 There were many, however, especially among the clergy, who 
 revolted against the interdict of the Church, encouraged the 
 reading of a German version of the Bible, preached in German 
 and wrote songs of faith and hope, urging the people to live 
 rightly. They also wrote and acted "mystery-plays" based 
 on stories from the Bible or from the lives of the saints, 
 followed in later centuries by the art-form which we now call 
 Oratorio. 
 
 The chivalric spirit of the Crusades also found an outlet 
 in hymns of praise of the Virgin called "Marienlieder," and 
 later in songs to the Mother of Mary called "Annenlieder/' 
 The spirit of unrest was quieted somewhat, during the early 
 fifteenth century, because of the comparative stability of the 
 German Empire, when there happened two great events 
 the invention of printing, in 1446, and the fall of Constanti- 
 nople, in 1453, both of which were to have a tremendous 
 influence upon civilization and, as a result, upon all art- 
 music.
 
 The Renaissance and the Reformation 97 
 
 The influence of the first of these events is well known; 
 that of the second requires, perhaps, a word of explanation. 
 By their conquest of Greece and Turkey, the Mohammedans 
 drove from their monasteries many learned Christians who 
 possessed a profound knowledge of ancient Greek literature 
 and art. From them Central Europe learned of that ancient 
 civilization which promptly became the foundation of edu- 
 cation and thought. Literary art was the first to be affected 
 by this new learning, but gradually painting, sculpture, 
 architecture, and finally music, yielded to its influence, ap- 
 plied to more modern environment. As a result, the paint- 
 ings of the Cinque-Cento (sixteenth century) by da Vinci, 
 Titian and Correggio are full of a new expression, depicting 
 the sublimity of the human suffering of Christ in His Passion. 
 "Truth to Nature," which became the watchword in art, 
 finally superseded formalism and redeemed Europe from in- 
 tellectual and scholastic thralldom, resulting in a new birth 
 which we call "The Renaissance." 
 
 The discovery of America broadened the scope of man's 
 physical activities in conformity with this novel intellectual 
 and spiritual life, and helped in creating both eagerness for 
 new conquests and confidence in the unbounded possibilities 
 of the future. 
 
 This was especially the case in the thickly settled Nether- 
 lands and Germany, whose people had long been filled with a 
 spirit of unrest and intense dissatisfaction with existing con- 
 ditions in society and the Church. 
 
 Their learned men, such as Erasmus and Reuchlin, now 
 demanded that the universities teach truth, and not specu- 
 lation. In Germany a popular leader, Baron von Hiitten, 
 called upon his countrymen to resent the domination of 
 Italian priests and Spanish mercenaries in Church and State, 
 and to assert their nationality, and thus helped pave the 
 way for approaching revolt. Persecuted by the Church, he 
 wrote a stirring song, "Ich hab's gewagt," which breathes
 
 98 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 the spirit of the coming Reformation, and of which we present 
 one stanza: 
 
 I've ventured it of purpose free, 
 
 Nor yet my deed I rue, 
 I may not win, but man shall see 
 
 My heart and life were true. 
 'Tis not my own I seek alone, 
 
 This they must know at least; 
 'Tis good of all, though me they call 
 
 A foe to Church and Priest. 
 
 The attitude of the Church towards any exhibition of 
 national spirit was enough to embitter patriotic leaders; but, 
 in addition to this, thinking men realized that religious wor- 
 ship had degenerated and become an aggregation of rules 
 and ceremonies. They noted that the clergy, at one time 
 the protectors of the people and the preservers of learning, 
 had become not only ignorant, but also avaricious in their 
 demands for offerings, by which they claimed to be able to 
 mollify the harsh judgments of God. The spirit of antagon- 
 ism to the clergy was expressed through a most important 
 addition to literature in the shape of satirical works like the 
 stories of "Reynard the Fox," "Till Eulenspiegel" and 
 "The Ship of Fools," which were printed in German and 
 Latin. 
 
 In addition to the hymns translated from Latin into 
 German, and those written by folk-poets and Minnesingers, 
 there had sprung up during the fourteenth century the 
 German Volkslied (folk-song), of a more spontaneous char- 
 acter than the secular chanson of the Netherlands, and 
 therefore artistically superior. Both in Germany and the 
 Netherlands, during the period of the latter's leadership in 
 the art of music, most composers considered it a greater 
 evidence of musicianship to be a symphonda (a contra- 
 puntist) than to be a phonascus (an original composer); 
 that is, they preferred the adding of parts to an already
 
 The Renaissance and the Reformation 
 
 99 
 
 existing melody to the invention of melodies of their own for 
 contrapuntal purposes. 
 
 Heinrich Isaac (1450-1518) was such a German phonascus. 
 He joined the group of Netherland musicians, consisting of 
 Hobrecht, Agricola and Josquin de Pres, at the Florentine 
 court of Lorenzo de' Medici, and remained there from 1480 
 to 1492, when he took service under Maximilian I, in Vienna, 
 where he died. To him we owe many fine German folk- 
 songs, such as "Innspruck, I must leave thee," "A peasant 
 had a daughter," "O world, I now must leave thee," and 
 "Now peace reigns in the forest." In these he shows the 
 spirit of nationality awakening in Germany, due to the in- 
 fluence of the Renaissance. His immediate successor was 
 
 41. 
 
 HEINRICH ISAAC 
 
 Innspruck,ich muss dich las - sen, ichfahr' da - bin mein Stra-ssen in 
 
 fremde Land da - hin. Mein Freud' istmir ge - nom-men, die ich nitweiss 
 
 be - kom-men, wo ich in E 
 
 lend bin, wo 
 
 ich in E 
 
 lend bin. 
 
 Ludwig Senfl, whose Motets are the best specimens of German 
 music in the first half of the sixteenth century, and who also 
 added to the treasury of folk-songs. 
 
 Another German master who wrote genuinely popular 
 songs was Heinrich Fink, who published towards the close 
 of the fifteenth century a collection of "Fifty-five Original 
 Songs, pleasing and well adapted for instrumental accompani- 
 ment."
 
 ico Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Isaac, Senfl and Fink had considerable influence upon the 
 music of the Reformation, which is now to be considered. 
 
 During the early part of the sixteenth century John Tetzel, 
 a Dominican friar, was entrusted with the preaching of the 
 Papal Indulgence, which required among other things an 
 alms or donation to the erection of the church of St. Peter at 
 Rome; this donation being looked upon as part of the pious 
 undertakings and good works required by the Church as one 
 of the conditions for gaming an Indulgence, at the same time 
 demanding conversion and change of heart. Towards the end 
 of 1517, Tetzel came to Jiiterbog, a small town not far dis- 
 tant from Wittenberg, in whose University Luther resided as 
 a professor, and the people went in great numbers to hear 
 him. Luther immediately began to denounce Tetzel, claim- 
 ing the alms to be an abuse, and forthwith attacked the very 
 doctrine of Indulgence, giving as his reason that Divine Jus- 
 tice demands of the sinner no other satisfaction than a refor- 
 mation of heart. He denied that anything beyond contrition 
 was needed for the remission of sin. Later, on the eve of All 
 Saints', 1517, he nailed on the church door his famous ninety- 
 five theses giving in a formal way his views on Indulgences. 
 This was the beginning of Luther's deflection from the Church; 
 in time he departed further from its dogmas, and formulated 
 a new religion, making many and radical changes in doc- 
 trine and liturgy, all of which exerted great influence in 
 matters of religion as they concerned the people at large. 
 He also objected to the idea that the language of the Roman 
 church (Latin) was better and more holy than others, which 
 were to be considered as vulgar and unclean; and he believed 
 in a national life for each people, untrammeled by Church 
 government. In 1520, refusing to withdraw his objections, 
 he was excommunicated, and his connection with the Church 
 of Rome severed. Believing that people ought to worship 
 in their own tongue, as they had already done a hundred 
 years before under Huss, he began the writing and compiling
 
 The Renaissance and the Reformation 101 
 
 of those grand chorales or hymns of the Protestant Church 
 which did so much towards making the Germans a singing 
 nation. While a great admirer of Josquin de Pres, as well 
 as of his own countrymen, Fink, Isaac and Senfl, and there- 
 fore an admirer of the polyphonic style, he did not believe 
 that kind of music to be suitable for the masses, but better 
 adapted to the use of singers selected from the congregation. 
 
 As an evidence of his love and admiration for the contra- 
 puntal style, the art-music of his time, the following quo- 
 tation from his writings is of interest: "Where natural music 
 (the folk-melody) is improved and polished by art-con- 
 trivance, therein one may see the boundless love of God, who 
 gave to man this power. Nothing is so strange and wonder- 
 ful as a simple tune (tenor) accompanied by three, four and 
 five other voices which gambol about and ornament it in 
 many ways. I can but liken it to a heavenly roundelay in 
 which the participants move hither and thither with marvel- 
 ous skill. Those that listen and are touched by it cannot 
 help thinking that there is nothing more marvelous in the 
 world than the ornamenting of so simple a melody with so 
 many voices." 
 
 Luther himself loved to take part in practising the con- 
 trapuntal part-songs of his day. In 1524, the same year in 
 which appeared his "First Popular Hymn-book of eight 
 hymns and five melodies," there was printed under his 
 direction a "Sacred Song-book for three, four and five voices," 
 proving still more conclusively that he believed in polyphony 
 as well as in unison song, as a means of praising God. 
 
 For the melodies of the Chorales, the congregational songs, 
 Luther selected the grandest hymns of the Catholic Church, 
 folk-songs, and some which he had himself composed. In 
 making these selections he called to his aid Johann Walther 
 (chorister to Frederick the Wise), to whom belongs the honor 
 of being the first to 'harmonize the hymns after the manner 
 of secular song, note against note, and Conrad Rupf. chorister
 
 102 
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 to the Elector of Saxony; together they produced, in 1526, 
 a complete German liturgy with a number of hymns for the 
 congregation. These hymns, which spread over Germany 
 like wild-fire, were full of dignity, and, while the melodies of 
 many of them are taken over from the Catholic Church, and 
 the prevailing harmony is that of the church modes, occasion- 
 ally there peeps out at us the true folk-song spirit which was 
 then so prevalent. 
 
 42. OUT OF THE DEEP I CRY TO THEE. 
 
 De profundis clamavi ad te 
 Gregorian Hymn Harmonized by J. S. BACH 
 
 Out of the deep I cry to Thee ; O Lord God, hear my 
 
 -- -- _ /TS -- -- -*- +-- 
 
 ing : In - cline Thy gra - cious ear to me, With 
 
 pray'r to Thee ap - ply 
 
 A *: FT 
 
 ing. For if Thou fix Thy searching eye On 
 
 _ I I _ -*-*- r& "9- 
 
 -22L 
 
 -T* *~t-- 
 
 2= 
 
 m
 
 The Renaissance and the Reformation 103 
 
 _ 
 
 ^" 
 
 all sin and in - i - qui - ty, Who.Lord, can stand be - fore . . . Thee ? 
 
 43. 
 
 NUN KOMM, DER HEIDEN HEILA.ND. 
 
 Veni redemptor gentium 
 Ambrosian Hymn 
 
 ^ I I i ~^ r-^- J I 
 
 
 Sav- iour of the hea - then,known As the prom-ised Vir - gin's Son, 
 
 Come,Thou wonder of the earth, God ordained Thee such a birth. 
 
 44. CHRISTMAS HYMN. 
 
 Ancient German Melody 
 
 All praise to Je - sus' hal - lowed name, Who, of vir - gin 
 
 EEp^si^ ^f j J^^J^^jM=lj=j= 
 
 i *- 
 
 pure, be - came True man for us. The an - gels sing As 
 
 r j ^
 
 104 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 - 
 
 the glad news to earth they bring, . . Hal - le - lu - jah! 
 
 * 1 1 1 ' I ' 1 1 1 ' 1 P 1 1 ' 
 
 Luther's desire that many of these chorales should be sung 
 in four parts is seen from their publication in that form, 
 although after his death they began to-be sung more in uni- 
 son, the organ furnishing the harmony. 
 
 The Protestant hymn-books and literature were placed in 
 the hands of the people by student-peddlers, who in some 
 places were made liable by the Church to death or impris- 
 onment if such books were discovered upon them. It re- 
 quired some time for the people to get used to them, for they 
 were not accustomed to taking such an important part in the 
 services, but thousands of copies were distributed, and four 
 printers of Erfurt were kept busy. 
 
 Now the spirit of these songs swept over Germany. A 
 noted cardinal of that day said, "The whole people is singing 
 itself into the Lutheran doctrine" a splendid tribute to 
 the power of the chorale. The hymns were not like the Eng- 
 lish hymns which we find in our hymn-books with the name 
 of some person or place as a heading, but were named accord- 
 ing to the first line of their text, as may be seen from the 
 examples submitted. 
 
 One of the masters of the Netherland school, Claude Gou- 
 dimel, issued a setting of the Psalms which was published in 
 France and adopted by the Huguenots. These psalms are 
 in the style of the German chorale, and show the avidity with 
 which this form of singing was received everywhere. 
 
 The Renaissance affected musical art much later than the 
 other arts, because music had no prototype, nothing to fol- 
 low, nothing even to imitate. The poet, the painter, the ar-
 
 TJte Renaissance and the Reformation 105 
 
 chitect, everywhere found expression of ideals in nature and 
 in the new culture, but music had none of these. 
 
 The Church Empire of the Middle Ages was backward in 
 its sense of justice with respect to property and human life, 
 but far in advance in its love of the beautiful and in purity 
 of taste. The works of the masters da Vinci, Raphael and 
 Michael Angelo owe their being to a prompt application of 
 the new birth of intellectual and emotional life (the Renais- 
 sance), all art before its advent (1503) being almost wholly 
 unexpressive of individual emotion. It is true that some 
 Netherland composers of the period strove after greater musi- 
 cal expression in conformity with the new thought, but the 
 influence of the Renaissance was not yet strong enough to 
 affect musical art and to break through mediaeval restraint. 
 An Italian traveler, who evidently had heard the hymns of 
 Germany, is said to have criticised severely the Papal singers 
 at Rome nearly a hundred years after the advent of the 
 Renaissance, by saying: "They count it their whole joy and 
 merit that one sings Sabaoth and another sings Gloria tua at 
 one and the same time, and this jumble is accompanied by a 
 bellowing and growling more resembling the cries of cats in 
 January than the fragrant flowers of May." 
 
 An even stronger impulse than the art-spirit was necessary 
 to bring forth a new view of music, and it was the teachings 
 and practices of the Augustinian monk of Wittenberg that 
 broke down the bulwarks of mediaeval artistic tyranny, em- 
 bodied in the plain-chant and in the ban of the Council of 
 Laodicea against congregational singing. But although Luther 
 selected only the rhythmical Gregorian chants, rejecting the 
 unrhythmical ones as too difficult for the uneducated masses, 
 we have seen that he favored polyphonic music for certain 
 parts of the service. 
 
 That Luther himself had a strong, almost prophetic sense 
 of the Renaissance spirit, "Truth to Nature," and of the ne- 
 cessity for a faithful musical expression of the inner meaning
 
 io6 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 of a text, may be seen in the first phrase of that splendid 
 chorale which was the battle-hymn of the Reformation, "Em' 
 feste Burg." What an impression of immovableness and 
 solidity is made by the simple repetition of the first tone, 
 and what sublime confidence and faith are expressed in the 
 ending of the phrase! 
 
 45. 
 
 
 Ein' fe - ste Burg 1st un - ser Gott, ein' gu - te Wehrund Waf - fen. 
 
 The Catholic Church recognized the powerful influence of 
 the modern scale as introduced in the chorales of Luther; 
 but, in its antagonism to heretics, refused to abandon the 
 Church modes, and in 1543 called another council of the 
 Church, the Council of Trent, which lasted until 1563, and 
 whose deliberations were followed by the "Golden Age of 
 Catholic Church Music," with Palestrina as its head.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE GOLDEN AGE OF CATHOLIC CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 As shown in the foregoing, the most striking and effective 
 result of the movement begun by the Renaissance was its 
 bringing to the world's knowledge the fact that, ages before, 
 there had existed a civilization more refined, more complex, 
 more artistic, than any known during the middle ages. I re- 
 fer, of course, to the civilization of the Greeks, the general 
 knowledge of which was lost for many centuries, but which, 
 after the fall of Constantinople, when the hermits and monks 
 were driven out of their shelter by the Turks, was disseminated 
 throughout Europe. The monks took their manuscripts 
 with them, and brought before the eyes of Europe evidences 
 of the culture that had existed long before the Christian era. 
 It was this knowledge that caused the new birth of intellectual 
 and artistic life, the change which came over the whole world 
 of letters, science and art, which is called the Renaissance. 
 This change amounted almost to a revolution, in which old 
 established dogmas, which had been taken for granted for 
 centuries, were questioned, and when men fearlessly investi- 
 gated the very foundations of religion, society, science and art. 
 
 This new intellectual birth, this Renaissance, affected music 
 in some respects much later than it did the other arts. One 
 reason for this was the close association of music with the 
 Church in those days. The Church is always conservative, 
 for the merit of any change ought to be well established before 
 it is sanctioned by religion. Another reason, perhaps, is the 
 fact that music acts upon the senses through the ear, and in 
 spite of its wide influence is more than the other arts a mys- 
 tery to the uninitiated. It is not easily affected by physical 
 
 107
 
 io8 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 environment, and draws no inspiration from external objects 
 except through the sensations excited by them. 
 
 When Catholic Church music was finally affected by the 
 Renaissance, it began to blossom and bear such fruit as it 
 never has surpassed; the period of this fruitage is usually 
 called "the Golden Age of Catholic Church Music." 
 
 It has been asserted that the Renaissance was irreligious, 
 but this cannot be true, for the times when men were led by 
 St. Bernard, Savonarola, Huss, Luther and Calvin were cer- 
 tainly not times of irreligion. The Renaissance was op- 
 posed to ceremonies and outward forms, but not to religion 
 itself; and the changes to come were favorable to the ex- 
 pression of true religious feeling. At the same time there 
 could hardly be a better proof of opposition to tradition, 
 and to the conservatism arising from a too strict adherence 
 to these forms, than the final abandonment of the church 
 modes and the general adoption of the modern scale which 
 had long been in use among the people in their secular songs, 
 and later in many hymns of the Reformation, but which was 
 called by the Church the modo lascivo, the vulgar mode. 
 
 All art has three periods of development: (i) The period 
 of thought-conception; (2) the period of drawing, outlining 
 form; and (3) the period of coloring, filling up this form, 
 making it alive. The labors of Hucbald, the Francos and 
 the early French school show the thought, the conceptive 
 period of musical art. The age of the Netherlanders may be 
 considered as the drawing, outline, or structure-period; then 
 the world was ready for the color-period, which could never 
 have had its subsequent success had it not been for the pre- 
 ceding efforts. 
 
 Many a so-called student of the art of painting comes to 
 his instructor, or to the art-academy, bringing specimens of 
 his work. The master will say, "You have a fine eye for 
 color, but you do not know anything about drawing"; or, 
 "You have a good idea of color and drawing, but you do not
 
 The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music 109 
 
 know form, structure"; so, according to his lack in any of 
 these branches of the art, he is made to study them. The 
 art-student who has a fine sense of color, but an undeveloped 
 sense of form, is made to draw all kinds of simple outlines 
 a skeleton, a head, a geometrical design anything to learn 
 structure; another studies originality of design; one whose 
 color-sense is deficient must study that part of it, for art 
 depends on these three elements. 
 
 Because of her high commercial standing, and the wealth 
 of her citizens, Venice was the art-paradise of the world 
 during the sixteenth century. The Venetians loved rich 
 coloring in everything; within their houses, in the stucco on 
 the outer walls, in their mosaic pavements, in their pictures, 
 and in their dress. 
 
 They also wanted color in their music, whether practised 
 at home for pleasure and as a pastime, or employed to en- 
 liven and magnify the pageants of the republic, or to heighten 
 the effects of the solemn religious services at San Marco. 
 It was, therefore, but natural that Venetian musicians should 
 seek for color and that the Venetian school should be the 
 pioneer in this new trend of musical art. The founder of 
 the New Venetian school was Adrian Willaert, already 
 mentioned as one of the very best of the Netherland school, 
 who emigrated to Venice in 1556. Within a year after his 
 arrival he was made director of the music at the church of 
 San Marco; and he founded the first of the great music 
 schools of Northern Italy. 
 
 Choruses for eight and even more voices in true polyphonic 
 style had for many years been used in San Marco as well as 
 various other churches, but their harmony was the result of 
 a rigid adherence to the established academic rules of part- 
 writing and imitation, resulting in many repetitions of the 
 same phrases. Alternate or antiphonal chanting had also 
 been practised for centuries. The presence of two organs in 
 the church of San Marco is presumed to have suggested to
 
 no Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Willaert the use of two distinct choirs for the antiphonal 
 singing of the Psalms, and this led to his discovery of the 
 fact that the effect thus produced was one of harmony rather 
 than polyphony. In consequence, he began the practice and 
 study of harmony for harmony's sake, rather than as the re- 
 sult of an intertwining of the voice-parts. 
 
 It was this scion of the North who began to expound in 
 his works the true and natural dependence of the melody on 
 harmony and who thus created a new style of part-writing 
 in which the individual voice-parts bore no melodic relation 
 to each other, but combined to form one effect. In doing 
 this he passed at one step from the vocal progression of the 
 church melodies to a new system in which the use of triads 
 was the predominant idea. 
 
 While his contemporaries Brumel and Arcadelt had shown 
 in their works an original feeling for chords as chords, they 
 had never made harmony a basis for contrapuntal writing. 
 For purposes of comparison there follow the Kyrie eleison 
 from a Mass by the English composer Wm. Byrd, written in 
 strict polyphonic style; and a " Dialogue for Seven Voices" 
 by Willaert, in the new style. Both compositions were 
 written in the first half of the sixteenth century. 
 
 46. CHRISTE ELEISON. 
 
 WM. BYRD 
 
 Chri - ste . e - lei - son. Chri 
 
 3=^3^^ 
 
 \ 1 S= = = 
 
 Chri - ste e - lei 
 
 Chri - ste e - lei - son, 
 
 Chri
 
 The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music in 
 
 Chri - - ste . . e - 
 
 Chri 
 
 ste . . e - lei 
 
 son, Chri - 
 
 lei - 
 
 Chri ste e - lei 
 
 
 47. Dialogue for Seven Voices 
 
 SOPRANOS , 
 
 WlLLAERT 
 
 When the earth cloth-ed it - self with 
 
 .^. .^_^ : ^-^^ 
 When the earth cloth - ed it - self 
 
 ~r r [ r 
 
 
 Love, when wast thou born ?When the earth cloth-ed it - self with 
 BASSES /- I
 
 112 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 * -i 1 . h 1 1 r- 
 
 ^E^E^Zrg=^=feE = 
 
 ^ I ^_ ^^ L ; f^z L <~^> C 
 
 green . . and beauteous col-or. 
 
 
 I 
 
 with green and beauteous color. Then of whom wast thou born ? . 
 
 *AM* 
 
 f^ 1 1 -Zg^-g^-i 
 
 i? 
 
 3==F 
 
 green . . and beauteous col-or.Then of whom wast thou . . born ? . 
 ~" J J J ! 
 
 
 T | 
 
 Then of whom wast thou born ? . 
 Of a warmth . . which ease and plea - sure em - 
 
 ^^F=3= 
 
 -% F , *- 
 
 Of . . . a warmth which ease and plea - sure em - 
 
 Of 
 
 a .... warmth which ease and pleasure em 
 
 
 Of a warmth which ease and plea - sure . 
 
 and . . plea - - sure em - brace. 
 
 i i^ "i i i r i 
 
 brace, which ease . . . and plea-sure em - brace. 
 
 
 1 
 
 brace, which ease .... and plea sure em - brace. 
 
 
 . . em - brace, which ease . . . and plea - sure em - brace.
 
 The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music 113 
 
 Willaert was also the creator (in its present form) of the 
 Madrigal, which originated as a love-song, or a song on a 
 pastoral theme, in Provence, thence to be transplanted into 
 Italy, where it had been in use for many years. As de- 
 veloped, by him, and enlarged by Monteverde and Cavalli in 
 later years by the addition of recitatives and cantilenas, this 
 musical form became a part of the Dramma per musica, or 
 opera, of the early seventeenth century. 
 
 Willaert died in 1562, honored and beloved by all the 
 citizens of the great Italian republic. He was succeeded as 
 chapel-master of the church of San Marco by his contem- 
 porary and pupil Cyprian de Rore, whose tenure of office was 
 very brief. 
 
 The most talented among the many Venetian musicians 
 who had the advantage of instruction under Willaert was 
 Andrea Gabrieli (1510-1586). Following in his master's 
 footsteps he still further enriched the tonal art by com- 
 positions for three choirs, which are very striking, marked by 
 noble and elevated expression, and in which he occasionally uses 
 instruments other than the organ for accompanying the singers. 
 
 His nephew and pupil, Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1613), 
 who succeeded de Rore as first organist at San Marco, was 
 equally gifted, and attracted the attention of many German 
 musical admirers and students by his compositions and his 
 superb organ-playing. While Willaert had written Madrigals 
 for some few instruments, the younger Gabrieli increased 
 their number, and wrote them in the form of canzonetti for 
 from eight to sixteen instruments. The elder Gabrieli (An- 
 drea) had occasionally used instruments in his church com- 
 positions, and the younger (Giovanni) added still others. As 
 the organ of his day was not capable of a crescendo, he used 
 wood-wind instruments and trombones, as well as violins, to 
 lend additional color, creating another new era in church 
 music. Through the efforts of the Gabrielis, instrumental 
 music thus gradually began an entirely independent existence.
 
 ii4 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 The favorite pupil of the younger Gabrieli was Heinrich 
 Schiitz (of whom we shall learn more later), who speaks of 
 his teacher in words which bear witness that he is living in 
 the Renaissance period and has absorbed many of its teach- 
 ings. It is Greek learning that illumines his language, for 
 his statement could not have been made by any one unac- 
 quainted with Greek mythology. This is what he says: "I 
 served my first years of apprenticeship under the great Ga- 
 brieli. Ye immortal gods, what a man was that ! If the ancients 
 had been acquainted with his powers, they would have praised 
 him above Amphion, and if Melpomene had been a lady in- 
 clined to marry, he would have made an ideal husband for her." 
 
 Willaert and the Gabrielis in Venice were then, as color- 
 ists, the beginners of the great change in music. But the 
 culmination of Catholic Church music was reached in Rome 
 by Palestrina, whose work we are now to consider. 
 
 We know that toward the end of the middle ages the musi- 
 cians of Rome, like those of Europe in general, were the 
 pupils of the Netherland musical missionaries Dufay, Josquin 
 de Pres, Arcadelt, Goudimel, and many others, all of whom 
 labored for church music in the Holy City, and followed 
 each other in almost uninterrupted succession. From the 
 beginning of the sixteenth century German musicians, instead 
 of going to Belgium for instruction, went to Venice, Florence 
 and Rome, the masters of these cities gradually becoming the 
 leaders in musical thought. 
 
 Among the many contrapuntal masters at Rome, in the 
 first half of the sixteenth century, may be mentioned the 
 Italians Constanzo Festa and Animuccia, as well as the Span- 
 iards Morales and Ortiz, all pupils of Goudimel in 1539; but 
 the greatest of that time, and one of the greatest of all times, 
 was Palestrina. 
 
 To understand the improvements made by this master, it 
 will be advisable for us to review the condition of Catholic 
 Church music at the time of the Reformation.
 
 The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music 115 
 
 As we know, the Renaissance embodied the opposition to 
 conventionality, which, being only the acceptance of the evi- 
 dence of other people's senses, sooner or later degenerates into 
 symbolism, into signs, in which the substance is lost. 
 
 The Liturgy, and even the interpretation of the Scriptures 
 by the Fathers of the Church, was variable, changing from 
 century to century, new doctrines being added and old doc- 
 trines abandoned. Not so with the music; it remained con- 
 ventional, the plain-song book of the Mass being chained to 
 the altar in token of its unchangeableness. But the progress 
 of art cannot be checked even by iron chains, and the rule of 
 the plain-song and the Church modes was finally broken. 
 Their use in original composition has become practically a 
 lost art, for although they may occasionally crop out in the 
 works of some of the great composers of later years, the fa- 
 cility with which a Josquin de Pres handled them is, at least, 
 very uncommon at the present day. 
 
 The Church ordinance forbidding any alteration of the Li- 
 turgic music in the Mass restricted the earlier musicians in 
 their efforts at ennobling this service, and so they were com- 
 pelled to make additions thereto, the first being a hymn, 
 called Motet, having the same words as a preceding portion 
 of the Mass, but free in form and not always in strict style. 
 
 About the year 1250, this ordinance having become a 
 dead-letter, musicians began to set the text of the Mass to 
 new music not in the style of plain-song. In doing this, they 
 feared a lack of sympathy and understanding on the part 
 of the people and therefore (as explained before) used the 
 melody of some popular song for the foundation (the cantus 
 firmus) upon which to embroider their beautiful counter- 
 point. 
 
 This was so contrary to their avowed object of increasing 
 the impressiveness and solemnity of the service, that we can 
 hardly imagine how it came to be so popular, and how the 
 Church itself could sanction it. It may have been on ac-
 
 n6 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 count of the proselyting zeal then so active, which permitted 
 the use of almost any means to gain its end of conquering 
 the world. 
 
 It may seem to us as if that kind of thing was unnecessary 
 after the Church had been so firmly established, but it is 
 only another example of how, by following conventional 
 usages, all proper perception of the use of things may be 
 lost, and one thus led into ludicrous, though unconscious, 
 inconsistencies. The evil did not stop at the adoption of 
 melodies from popular songs, but, as we have seen in Dufay's 
 Mass "1'Omme arme," the secular words were often sung in 
 the services. When the .serious effect of this custom was 
 at last recognized, the Church took prompt action. That 
 remarkable gathering of the learned men of the Church and 
 Catholic monarchs, the Council of Trent, which was con- 
 voked in 1543 to consider the heresies of the Reformation, 
 did not confine itself to these alone, but likewise discussed 
 means of purifying its own Church practices and methods, 
 including the music. The Church recognized the fact that 
 the protest against certain usages which caused the Reforma- 
 tion was a just one, and a reform in the Catholic Church 
 was inaugurated which was as sweeping in some of its declara- 
 tions as the Reformation itself. 
 
 The latent energy of the Church awoke, and she purified 
 herself, while at the same time she waged war against all 
 heretics, succeeding finally in reclaiming for Catholicism 
 France and southern Germany, which countries are still 
 largely true to the faith. 
 
 In this famous council, at its twenty-third session, was 
 offered the following resolution: "All music which, either in 
 the organ-parts or in the voice-parts, contains anything that 
 is impure [notice that word impure the modo lascivo] shall 
 be banished from the Church." The resolution would prob- 
 ably have passed had it not been for the influence of Emperor 
 Ferdinand of Germany, who, knowing the effect of popular
 
 The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music 117 
 
 melodies in the Protestant hymns, persuaded the Council 
 to retard the adoption of the resolution. 
 
 A committee consisting of eight cardinals was then ap- 
 pointed and eight singers from the Papal Chapel were asked 
 to cooperate with them. They met after the adjournment 
 of the Council and finally decided as follows: "That the Mass 
 which contained popular airs should not be tolerated, that 
 the insertion of an unauthorized text should be forbidden; 
 that motets with authorized words might be used, but that 
 the text must at all times be intelligible." - But how was 
 this ideal to be realized? They asked advice of the Pope, 
 and he suggested that they consult Palestrina, who had al- 
 ready made himself famous by a well-known Mass whose 
 opening phrase consists of the first six tones of the major 
 scale (the "Hexachord Mass"), and also by his "Reproaches" 
 for Holy Week. And so a Pope, several cardinals and sing- 
 ers, an emperor and a musician, all had a hand in the musical 
 regeneration which followed. 
 
 48. Part of a Magnificat PALESTRINA 
 
 De - po - su - it po - ten - tes de se - de, 
 
 De - po - su -it po - ten - tes de se 
 
 De - po - su - 
 
 de - po - su - it po - ten - - tes de 
 
 it po - ten - tes de se
 
 u8 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 de, de - po - su - it po - ten - tes de se - de, et ex - al - 
 
 Palestrina was a devoutly religious man. Feeling that 
 upon his shoulders rested the responsibility for the future of 
 Catholic Church music, he was unwilling to allow the de- 
 cision to be made on one work, and therefore wrote three 
 great Masses which in 1565 were sung in private before the 
 committee of Cardinals by the very best singers available. 
 The three Masses were written for six voices (soprano, alto, 
 two tenors and two basses), and while the first two excited a 
 great deal of admiration, the third one, which is now called 
 the Missa Papae Marcelli, evoked genuine enthusiasm, and 
 has ever since been the admiration of all musicians. While 
 the composer employed all the subtleties and ingenious 
 'artifices of musical science known to the Netherland school, 
 of which he was a master, the devices of canon and fugue now 
 fell into their true relationship to real art, but they were not 
 the art itself. Palestrina breathed into the dry formulae of 
 music the breath and color of life, endowing it with wonder- 
 ful beauty. 
 
 The Missa Papae Marcelli was declared the model of all 
 future Catholic Church music, not only because of its .fault- 
 less symmetry and beauty, and its superior religious char- 
 acter, but because art and the ingenuity of polyphony had 
 become subservient to natural human expression. 
 
 Palestrina brought to his work qualities of heart and mind 
 which are an absolute necessity to a composer of really 
 sacred church music. He had earnestness and religious feel- 
 ing, musical scholarship, a mastery of the contrapuntal art, 
 besides artistic ideals which were too lofty to allow technical
 
 The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music 119 
 
 display to obscure them. His music is ethereal, free from 
 earthly suggestions. It is not homophonic like our music, 
 consisting largely of a melody with an accompaniment, but 
 each voice is led in true contrapuntal style, a series of melodic 
 waves in one harmonic mass. As we listen to Palestrina's 
 music, analytic spirit and effort disappear and the power of 
 the music steals over us, producing a feeling of religious awe. 
 It is not worldly music, dressed up in cassock and cowl, but 
 it is religious, universally religious music. The harmonies 
 are natural and spontaneous, not as if certain effects had 
 been sought and then produced, but as if it could not have 
 been otherwise. The style of composition in the Masses 
 mentioned is known as the "Palestrina style." 
 
 A word of explanation as to some characteristics of Pale- 
 strina's music may be of value. The first is, that rhythm, as 
 such, is absolutely absent. There is no accent, no meter. 
 The music just seems to float in the air and never to reach 
 the earth. It is always above the earth. The Catholic 
 church desires it to-day, as then, to lift people's thoughts 
 from the earth, to lift them to a higher plane. If we do not 
 like it, the trouble is with us and not with the music. Our 
 modern ears are so attuned to other kinds of music that we 
 cannot bear the strain of listening to compositions of this 
 character very long. An audience of people who do not 
 know music cannot be expected to enjoy a two hours' recital 
 of Bach's works. This does not imply that Bach is not en- 
 joyable or interesting, but that the audience cannot lift 
 itself to his plane. It is thus with Palestrina's music, it is 
 above us. The musical laymen can hear a little of it but 
 not very much and enjoy it. It is too mystical, too 
 ethereal, or, shall we say, too mild, for our modern musical 
 palates, which demand highly-spiced food. 
 
 The Palestrina style, while based upon the Gregorian chant 
 in its utmost purity, is also colored by deep human feeling. 
 Some of his predecessors of the Netherland school often de-
 
 I2O Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 parted from the canonic law when they wished to reach the 
 human heart, but none of them raised his style to the per- 
 fection of that of Palestrina, who, in this deep expression of 
 human feeling, reached the summit of Catholic Church music. 
 
 49. 
 
 SOPRANO AND ALTO 
 Tranquillo 
 
 ~* jt- - 1 
 
 TENEBR/E FACT/E SUNT. 
 
 dum cm - ci - fix - is 
 Marcato 
 
 PALESTRINA 
 
 sent Je - 
 
 Te-ne-bras fac - tas sunt, dum cru-ci-fix - is - sent Je - 
 
 dum cru - ci - fix - is - sent Je - 
 
 ~ 
 
 TENOR AND BASS 
 
 r ~r'~~ J ~I^ 4 
 
 * ;~* i 
 
 
 
 dum cru - ci - fix - is - sent Je - 
 
 sum Ju - dae - i. 
 
 sum Ju - dae - i. Et cir - ca ho - ram no - vem ex - cla - 
 
 sum Ju - dx - i. 
 
 ex - - - cla - ma - vit Je - sus vo - ce ma - 
 
 ma - vit Je - sus, Je 
 ex - cla - ma 
 
 vit Je 
 
 - sus vo - ce ma 
 sus vo - - ce ma 
 
 ,. .<z- - 4 
 
 m - 
 
 ^m- - * 
 
 cla - ma - vit Je - - sus ... 
 
 ce ma
 
 The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music 121 
 
 gna: 
 
 gna : De - us me 
 ena : 
 
 us, . . ut quid me de- re - li - qui - sti ? 
 
 Ex - cla - mans Je - sus vo 
 
 SOPRANO I & II^____ ,, V. = 
 
 ce ma 
 
 ~^zjjgj^E3 r f^ga^E^Pi^Sg;g -^^ 
 
 Ex - cla - mans Je - sus vo - ce ma 
 ALTO 
 
 gna, 
 
 Ex - cla - - mansje - sus 
 
 gna a - it : In ma - nus tu - as, Do- mi - ne, 
 
 ^ foco rit. 
 
 jgg^^E^=pE|g3^3fefe3^^^S5*3^p 
 
 m- P*r+*a* &** 2-J , _4 rw i J f* '_ H 9 ^ > f m -* f-^ 
 
 vo-ce ma - - gna a - it : In ma - nus tu - as, Do-mi- 
 
 fioco rit. 
 
 vo-ce ma - 
 
 
 C^ ^ r "~~ -w- 
 
 na a - it: In ma - nus tu - as, Do -mi - ne, corn- 
 
 corn - men - do 
 
 ne, com - men - do spi - ri - turn me 
 
 -=- r^ 
 
 men - do spi - - ri - turn me -
 
 122 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 SOPRANO AND ALTO 
 >/ 1 , 3ir= p pp rit.^=- ppp>^ 
 
 Et in-cli-na-to ca - pi - te, e- mi -sit spi - ri - turn. 
 
 TENOR AND BASS 
 
 -/V.= pfip^ 
 
 A few words about this great man should not prove amiss. 
 His name was Giovanni Pierluigi Sante, and he was born in 
 1514 in the little town of Palestrina, near Rome, where he 
 received his early instruction. Returning to his birthplace, 
 he served as organist in the largest church in that little 
 town. In 1551 he obtained a position as teacher of choir- 
 boys at St. Peter's Cathedral, and in 1554 was admitted as a 
 singer to the Papal Chapel. But he fell in love, married, and 
 was dismissed from his position in the church. After he 
 wrote the Missa Papae Marcelli, and that had made him 
 famous, the Church could not afford to let him be "out" 
 even if he -was married; so a position was made for him and 
 he was called Composer to the Papal Chapel, a distinction that 
 has been conferred upon only one other composer. At his 
 death in 1594 he received the last sacrament at the hands of 
 Filippo Neri, his musical colleague and admirer, of whom 
 more later. Upon his remains was conferred the unusual 
 honor of being placed in St. Peter's, where upon his tomb- 
 stone may be read the words, "Princeps Musicae" -the 
 Prince of Music. 
 
 He founded his style, then, upon that of his predecessors 
 and teachers, on the Gregorian chant in its truest meaning, 
 its original idea of individual expression; and, as such, it 
 was the source of his inspiration. No master studied it as 
 he did, nor has any one used it with more variety and artistic 
 success. In spite of musical progress in other directions, in 
 spite of the musical current that demanded personal ex-
 
 The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music 123 
 
 pression, he remained true to the music of the church and 
 walked the streets of Rome oblivious to the life around him. 
 Like Willaert and his disciples, he sought for color, for his 
 beautiful harmonies are not accidental, but he would not 
 alter his style to obtain them. He remained under the in- 
 fluence of the strict polyphonic school, but was responsible 
 for the succeeding purity of that style in the music of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 The music-school founded by Palestrina at Rome perpet- 
 uated his manner of writing a cappella, and several excellent 
 masters were trained there, among whom must be men- 
 tioned Nanini and one of his pupils, Allegri, whose Miserere 
 is still performed in the Sistine Chapel on Ash- Wednesday, 
 and ranks with Palestrina's Stabat Mater. The improvement 
 in style for which Palestrina was noted was equalled if not ex- 
 celled by one contemporary composer who died in the same 
 year. This was the celebrated Netherlander Orlandus Lassus, 
 most of whose creative life was spent in Bavaria and whom 
 we have mentioned before. For comparison with the excerpt 
 from Palestrina (Ex. 49) we submit an Adoramus te, Christe 
 by Lassus (Ex. 50). Both compositions are fine miniature 
 examples of the style of these two great masters, which was 
 the direct fruit of the earnest and zealous work of the 
 Netherlandish school, although each master shows his in- 
 dividuality in his work. 
 
 5O. ADORAMUS TE. 
 
 ORLANDUS LASSUS 
 
 Ad - o - ra - mus te, . . Chri ------ 
 
 fi 
 
 Ad - o - ra - - - - - mus te, Chri
 
 124 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 ste, et be - ne - di - ci - mus 
 
 ste, et be - ne - di - ci-mus . ti 
 
 ste, et . . be - ne - di - ci - mus 
 
 Si, ... 
 
 ctam 
 
 qui 
 
 per tu - am san - ctam, per tu - am san 
 
 per tu - am'san-ctam cru - - cem, per tu - 
 
 i j i j r B^i i i \s 
 
 per tu - am san-ctam cru - - cem, per 
 
 . . . . cru 
 
 cem re - de - mi - - - sti mun 
 
 , i r*. j-^J i~l i i i CT~~w^: i r ~ 
 
 ctam, per tu - am san - ctam cru - cem re 
 am san - ctam cru - cem re - de - mi 
 
 de-mi-sti 
 sti mun - 
 
 ritenuto 
 
 tu - am san - ctam cru - - cem re 
 
 mi - sti 
 
 - dum. Do - mi - ne, mi se - re - re no - 
 
 A n "^l 
 
 mun - dum. Do - mi-ne, mi- se -re - re ... no - 
 
 - dum. Do - mi-ne, mi - se -re - re no - 
 
 ^ . ^ ^ 
 
 dum. Do - mi-ne, mi-se-re - re no -
 
 The Golden Age of Catholic Church Music 
 
 12- 
 
 bis, mi - 
 
 bis, mi - se - re - re . . no 
 bis, mi - se-re - re no 
 
 bis, mi - se - re - re no - bis. 
 bis, mi - se - re - re no - bis. 
 
 ' 'j I 
 
 -r--J-= M r- * ^ r-e-r- 
 
 EHE 
 
 ^/ 
 
 mi - se-re - re no - bis. 
 
 That he had a more universal mind than the gifted Italian 
 composer is generally conceded; for while Palestrina wrote 
 only for the Church, Lassus also wrote a great amount of 
 secular music. Some of his madrigals, such as "Matona, 
 lovely maiden," are still sung by ambitious choral bodies. He 
 also clung to the church modes, of which he was a great master. 
 
 If Palestrina may be likened to Raphael, Lassus may well 
 be likened to Michael Angelo, for he was a cosmopolitan 
 composer like Handel ; as this great German composer united 
 in himself the genius of German and English art, so Lassus 
 combined the Italian and Netherlandish arts, influenced and 
 colored by the genuinely deep, human emotion of the German 
 character. His epitaph is a clever one : "Lassus, Lassum qui 
 recreat orbem" or, in a free translation, "Here rests the weary 
 one who refreshed the weary of the world." 
 
 With these two great lights closes the Golden Age of purely 
 sacred Catholic church music.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BIRTH OF OPERA AND ORATORIO. 
 
 DURING the Middle Ages, individual, social, political and 
 psychological rights were not recognized, but all was gov- 
 erned and controlled by either State or Church; consequently 
 choral music, collective utterance, was the fitting medium for 
 expressing the artistic tendency of the times. All kinds of 
 secular songs the glee of the English, the madrigal of Italy 
 and Germany, the songs of the social circle and the court 
 were written in three, four or five parts and in the (to us) 
 quaint, but religiously impressive, church modes. The im- 
 portance of inner, personal expression, for which opportunity 
 is given in a solo, not being generally felt (although the Roman 
 Church had its solo chant, and the Protestant Church its 
 chorale), the ensemble-form of song was the usual one, until 
 the three great factors which together caused the Renais- 
 sance brought about greater freedom in both the political and 
 the social life of the people. As man became recognized as an 
 individual, and not simply as a part of an organic whole, 
 he began to crave individual expression in art. Music, the 
 adopted child of the Church, borrowed its forms from that 
 body, and was even used by the far-seeing fathers of the 
 Church in connection with the drama to impress her semi- 
 barbaric converts, and to strengthen her hold upon the regu- 
 lar communicants. 
 
 Many converts of the Church in the early Christian era 
 were descended from the Greeks and Romans, and thus in- 
 herited a pronounced taste for theatrical display and repre- 
 sentation, their plays being founded almost entirely upon 
 their mythology. 
 
 1 20
 
 The Birth of Opera and Oratorio 127 
 
 The Church, recognizing the natural demand of the people 
 for dramatic expression, attempted to satisfy it and to show 
 at the same time her superiority. She wished above every- 
 thing to attract the attention of the world to the new religion. 
 Sacred plays were therefore used so that the mind might be 
 reached through the senses. It was the intention of the 
 Church that the unconverted should find in her everything to 
 which they had been accustomed, but should find it more 
 beautiful and more refined than in any of the old religions. 
 She therefore adopted many a barbaric custom, such as 
 brilliant coloring, decorations, magnificent altar robes, etc. 
 Theatrical representations of the acts of Christ and the Apos- 
 tles were also given, and variously termed "moralities," "mys- 
 teries," or " miracle-plays." 
 
 It is not strange that the Church should thus try to im- 
 press the masses, for the native dramatic instinct of mankind 
 had always been associated with, and found expression in, re- 
 ligious worship. The fact was recognized that sensuous per- 
 ception made a deeper impression on the new converts than 
 mere words, mere sermonizing; and the gospel was therefore 
 acted. 
 
 The clergy, being the guides of their congregations both in 
 spiritual and social matters, and striving after leadership in 
 politics as well, desired that even the amusements of the 
 people should be under church supervision; they arranged 
 spiritual plays which were given for public instruction and 
 edification, and for religious purposes, on stages erected in 
 the church edifices. Priests in appropriate costumes imper- 
 sonated God the Father, Christ, the apostles, the angels, as 
 well as the female characters of Mary Magdalen, etc., no 
 women being allowed to take part. 
 
 The singing at these performances was similar to that of 
 the Church. Sometimes choruses were used; for instance, 
 in the musical portions of the Passion, one body of singers 
 represented the Jews, another the Sanhedrim (the council of 
 the Jews), and still another the Roman soldiery.
 
 128 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 A performance of the miracle-play of "The Wise and Fool- 
 ish Virgins" was given in 1322 at Eisenach (where Bach was 
 born three and one-half centuries later), before the Elector 
 Frederick. In the scene where the foolish virgins plead in 
 vain for admission and for the intercession of the Virgin with 
 her Son, the Elector became so excited that, at the words of 
 Christ, "Nay, Mother, this may not be!" he cried out, "What 
 is the use of saints and of pious works if even the prayers 
 of the Virgin cannot procure help and forgiveness ? " and 
 was so affected by the performance that he had a stroke of 
 apoplexy from which he died. 
 
 This shows how impressive these productions were made 
 and how seriously they were taken. 
 
 High dignitaries of the Church sometimes acted in these 
 plays, although in smaller towns, where there were not many 
 priests to take the parts, they descended sometimes to the 
 level of a "Punch and Judy" show, puppets being used, with^ 
 a priest behind the curtain making the speeches of the differ- 
 ent characters. 
 
 In the course of time the clergy, recognizing the fact that 
 the congregation, having acted in the secular plays of the 
 guilds, did not enjoy the Church plays because they were 
 not allowed to take part, permitted societies to be formed 
 whose members might appear in them, just as if we were to 
 take the most devout members from our church congregations 
 and say to them, "Now, you may act in these sacred plays 
 under the direction of the minister." As a result we find in 
 Paris, in the latter part of the fourteenth century, two so- 
 cieties, the "Confrerie de la Passion," to whom the king 
 granted the use of the Trinite theatre, and the "Confrerie de 
 Bazoche" both of which organizations were allowed to enact 
 the Passion of Christ. They had what we should call a 
 "permit" or, as they called it in those days, a "patent," for 
 this sort of performance. In Rome was another such society, 
 the "Compagnia del Confalone," that held forth in the
 
 The Birth of Opera and Oratorio 129 
 
 Coliseum. In England we find similar societies, but outside 
 of the Church, in the guilds, which were a refined edition of 
 our modern trade-unions. The dry-goods people, or Drapers' 
 Guild, produced "The Creation," in which Adam and Eve 
 are said to have appeared in their original costumes, ap- 
 parently without giving offense; whereas the Water-drawers 
 (the men who delivered water at the houses) naturally pre- 
 ferred "The Deluge," a play which contains some very 
 amusing incidents, although it had a religious purpose. In 
 it we read that when Noah tried to embark his family, his 
 wife refused to go along because she did not want to leave 
 her friends, "the gossips," and go out into the unknown 
 with just her husband and children. She is made to say, 
 "Row forth away where thou listeth, and get thee another 
 wife." Noah, however, insists and begins to threaten her, 
 while her friends invite her to a "carousal over a pottle of 
 malmsey." Her son, Shem, then urges her to go with her 
 family, and finally forces her into the ark, saying, "Mother, 
 in faith, in you shall, whether you will or nay." And when 
 she finally enters the ark she slaps Noah's face. 
 
 Happenings of this kind were plentiful in these sacred 
 stage-pieces. One of which we have record, and which 
 was played chiefly in Provence, where so many interesting 
 artistic things originated, was called "The Feast of Asses," 
 or "The Fool's Festival." This was held at the Winter 
 solstice, probably as a reminder of the Roman Saturnalia, 
 w r hen the slaves were masters for one day, and the masters 
 slaves. 
 
 The Church, wishing to control even this kind of amuse- 
 ment, which consisted of a "fool" bishop's being chosen, while 
 people and clergy, disguised as beasts, pommeled each other 
 during the frolic, countenanced even this festival. In time 
 this practice degenerated into a very low form, depending 
 somewhat on the size of the town and the opportunities of 
 the people.
 
 130 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 In one town the Biblical character Balaam, superbly 
 dressed, and wearing an enormous pair of spurs, rode on a 
 wooden donkey, in which a speaker was concealed. In an- 
 other town the donkey was dressed in a priest's robe, and was 
 led through the streets into the church, where a mock priest 
 at the altar intoned the so-called "ass's chant." 
 
 51. 
 
 O - ri - en - tis par - ti - bus ad - ven-ta - vit a - si - nus, pul-cher 
 
 et for- tis - si-mus, sar - ci-nis ap - tis - si- mus ; Hez, sir A - ne,hez! 
 
 For a refrain the mock priest imitated the braying of the 
 long-eared animal, to which the congregation, dancing around 
 the beast, responded antiphonally. Sometimes a young girl 
 holding a doll, representing the Virgin Mary with the Christ- 
 Child, rode on a donkey which was led through the streets. 
 The most important character in all these miracles or mystery- 
 plays was the Devil, who acted as the clown, and furnished 
 the humorous element. He was the most abused, and con- 
 sequently the most popular, of all the characters represented. 
 In those days he did not yet stand for the evil principle, but 
 rather represented a foolish fellow who was always making 
 efforts for the acquirement of souls, and was continually 
 baffled by the Church. All these plays were, as we see, but 
 allegories, and as the laity, the congregation, began to take 
 part in them, they became very popular, sometimes lasting 
 several days and often, in the larger cities, employing several 
 hundred actors. Soon the churches became too small, and a 
 stage was erected in a field or some wide street; but the 
 favorite place was the cemetery, presumably because its in- 
 habitants could not object, and did not mind the disturbance. 
 The stage was often divided into three stories, the middle one
 
 The Birth of Opera and Oratorio 131 
 
 representing the earth, everything that happened on earth 
 being enacted there; the upper story representing Heaven, 
 everything celestial being presented there; and we can 
 imagine what was to be seen down below. The actors 
 marched or climbed to their places according to their stations 
 in "Heaven," or on "Earth," or "down below," and the 
 action proceeded quite often in all three places at the same 
 time, somewhat as in our modern three-ring circus. 
 
 Because the clergy were few and the people were many, 
 jongleurs, buffoons and vagabonds began to take part in 
 these sacred plays, and introduced all sorts of profane comic 
 scenes. When, for instance, during the Passion, they enacted 
 the scene at the temple where Judas haggled about the 
 thirty pieces of silver, it was made ludicrous because the 
 ointment-seller would bandy coarse jokes with the holy 
 women who came to buy his wares on their way to the 
 Saviour's tomb. 
 
 The Church, seeing that the laity thus gave undue prom- 
 inence to the worldly element, finally forbade such per- 
 formances; but in Italy alone was this edict enforced, the 
 rest of Europe continuing as before. 
 
 Among the more pretentious of these mysteries or miracle- 
 plays we note that in 1440 there was given at Rome "The 
 Conversion of St. Paul;" at Florence in 1447 the story of 
 "Abraham and Isaac," and in 1556 the stories of "Cain 
 and Abel," "Samson," and "The Prodigal Son;" also "The 
 Spiritual Comedy of the Soul," produced in 1565. This last 
 was a play very much on the order of "Every Woman," the 
 Soul being accompanied by Conscience, its guardian angel, 
 the Virtues, and some of the Vices. There were about thirty 
 characters represented, among them Paul, Saint Chrysostom, 
 an Announcing- Angel who spoke the prologue, God himself, 
 Michael the Archangel, the human Soul with its guardian 
 angels, Memory, Intellect, Free Will, Faith, Hope, Charity, 
 Reason, Prudence, etc., and the Devil; while a chorus of
 
 132 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 angels sang Madrigals. The musical numbers of these church 
 plays were called "Laudes spirituales," i.e., spiritual praises. 
 This form of sacred miracle-play, a relic of those times, may 
 still be seen every ten years at Oberammergau. It remained 
 for Filippo Neri, the priest who administered the last sacra- 
 ment to Palestrina, to elevate the Miracle-play into the 
 Oratorio. 
 
 Every kind of theatrical performance being forbidden dur- 
 ing Lent, Neri conceived the idea of adding to his daily expla- 
 nations of the Scriptures some choral music to illustrate them; 
 so he asked certain Italian composers to help him by the com- 
 positions of these "laudes spirituales," or illustrative cho- 
 ruses. In them one voice would occasionally sing alone, or 
 two voices would have a musical dialogue, which, however, 
 formed part of a polyphonic work. 
 
 When Palestrina took up this form of church music, this 
 sacred play or "azzione sacra" was already called "oratorio," 
 after the name of the place where the plays were performed, 
 the oratory, a room adjoining the church. The chorus work 
 was all in the style of the Netherland school, polyphonic. 
 The " Passion according to Matthew " was thus enacted and 
 while its four-part choruses are free from dramatic inten- 
 tion, they are really preparatory for the great oratorio cho- 
 ruses which were to follow in the days of Handel and Bach. 
 Though it was very much expanded in later days, the idea of 
 a sacred musical representation, a sacred musical play, was 
 Neri's. 
 
 While this was going on within the Church, the musical 
 world outside of the Church had not been idle. The spirit of 
 the Renaissance fostered an admiration for everything handed 
 down from the Greeks, a desire for the breaking-down of 
 conventionality, the establishment of individual thought and 
 individual expression; As the litterateur, the poet, the painter, 
 the sculptor, found each day new beauties and superior excel- 
 lence in the thought and the descriptions of the ancients'
 
 The Birth of Opera and Oratorio 133 
 
 works just brought to light, musicians naturally supposed 
 that ancient Greek music had been vastly superior to theirs, 
 and wished to imitate it. 
 
 In 1579 Bianca Capello, the beauty of Venice, was married 
 .to Francesco, son of the Grand Duke of Florence, and the 
 Florentine elite of course came to the wedding in great num- 
 bers. The music for the occasion, consisting of madrigals and 
 similar polyphonic ensembles, had been written by Marenzio 
 and Gabrieli, both pupils of Willaert (the founder of the 
 Venetian school). The Florentines, now fully imbued with 
 the spirit of the Renaissance, were displeased with the inappro- 
 priate music associated with the dramatic performances which 
 always occupied a prominent place in such festivities, and 
 when they returned to their home-city, then the art-center 
 as well as the literary center of Europe, they inquired again 
 of the learned professors as to the nature of the Greek music 
 so lauded in the classics. They felt that they must find this 
 lost art which would follow the expression and meaning of 
 the words of their poetry, and its manner of singing, which 
 they deemed must have been different from both the mystic 
 Gregorian chant, and the ornate four- and five-part church 
 motet and madrigal. Their inherited artistic natures de- 
 manded a style more natural and logical and of greater 
 harmonic simplicity, one that would not detract from the 
 dramatic energy of a text. 
 
 The record of their struggles to reach this ideal is intensely 
 interesting. A number of these musical and literary people 
 formed a club called "Camerata," in which they discussed the 
 desired change. The leader of this club was Count Giovanni 
 Bardi, a man well known at court, where he was a leading 
 spirit. Among the members, who met at his house every 
 week to discuss art in all its phases, were Galilei, a young 
 amateur, the father of the famous astronomer Galilei; Rinuc- 
 cini, a poet; Cavaliere, a musician; Strozzi, another poet; 
 Caccini, a quite well-known singer; and Jacopo Peri, another
 
 134 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 musician. Galilei had studied with a pupil of Willaert's, 
 Zarlino, who, realizing that at the end of a composition the 
 ear demanded the third in the final chord, without which it 
 sounded empty, conceived the idea of slightly reducing the 
 mathematical ratio of the major third. This was the begin- 
 ning of the equal temperament of the scale, which was to 
 attain general acceptation in the days of Bach. 
 
 Although the drama with music, both sacred and secular, 
 existed, the music was but incidental to the drama, and al- 
 ways halted the dramatic action. The arts thus not only 
 failed to assist, but actually interfered with each other. 
 The "Camerata-" realized that something was the matter 
 with their music-dramas, and conceived an ideal of dramatic 
 performance wherein music and action should both be contin- 
 uous. The creations of the mind of Dante, their great poet, 
 were, like the songs of Homer, full of individual utterances, 
 and they concluded that these might be paralleled in music. 
 The first results in this musical direction were obtained by 
 Galilei, who, not satisfied with publishing a pamphlet in 
 which he called the music then in use in the drama "fit only 
 for the uncultivated masses, and unsuited to educated 
 people," decided to prove his assertion. 
 
 Being well acquainted with the scene in Dante's "Inferno" 
 where Count Ugolino has a long soliloquy, he set it to music 
 and presented it at one of the club's meetings. With an 
 instrument something like a 'cello, a "viola da gamba," he 
 sang this soliloquy with an occasional tone from the instru- 
 ment as support the first distinctive art-solo with an accom- 
 paniment not polyphonic, but harmonic. His subject was a 
 dreadfully gruesome one, to be sure, but this performance 
 marked the beginning of the art of solo-singing the art of 
 emotional expression, in song, of one's personal or individual 
 thoughts, or of those of others. He was applauded and 
 appreciated by his fellow club-members, who thought that 
 at last some one had rediscovered the Greek style of music.
 
 The Birth of Opera and Oratorio 135 
 
 After Galilei had written a second piece, "The Lamenta- 
 tions of Jeremiah," Caccini, a popular singer, brought the 
 solo song before a more public gathering, and stated that he 
 believed in the new discovery because "counterpoint was a 
 laceration of the poetry." He further stated that it was "no 
 expression, but a disturbance in the utterance of a thought" 
 when, in the five-part madrigal, one voice would sing "I love 
 you," while another was singing "in the moonlight." We 
 may smile at this; but the throwing away of old established 
 ideas and proclaiming a new form of song demanded great 
 courage, and was a very serious matter. In this manner 
 homophony was introduced into musical art. 
 
 Peri, another member of the Camerata, encouraged by the 
 efforts of his fellow-members, invented a style of singing which 
 he called the stilo parlante, the speaking style (what we now 
 call recitative), a style of speaking at certain pitches, the 
 tones being used to give dramatic inflection to the text in 
 the conversational part of the drama, and thus abandoning 
 the custom of stopping the music for the sake of the dialogue. 
 So now they had the lyric or solo song for the monologue, the 
 recitative for the dialogue, and the ensemble, which had long 
 existed. To put all these together into one work was the next 
 feat attempted, and Peri was the first to succeed in so doing. 
 
 We have seen that these steps were due to the influence of 
 the Renaissance, and find yet further evidence of this in the 
 selection of the text for the first music-drama; for Rinuccini, 
 the poet, wrote a dramatic libretto on the Greek story of 
 Daphne, which Peri set to music. The work was privately 
 performed in 1597, and contains the polyphonic chorus for 
 the ensemble, the arioso or melodic scene, depicting personal 
 feelings, for the monologues, and the recitative for dialogue, 
 every department of the opera thus being present, though in 
 embryonic form. 
 
 In 1600, three years later, at the marriage of Henry IV 
 of France to Maria de' Medici, the same two men wrote a
 
 136 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 similar work founded on Greek mythology, the story of 
 Eurydice and Orpheus. In this work Peri was assisted by 
 Caccini, Cavaliere and other members of the Camerata, who 
 all helped in the hope of producing a great music-drama. 
 They did not work for personal glory, for each was ready to 
 sink his personality for the benefit of Art, the credit for it 
 all being given to Peri. 
 
 And now let us examine the interesting preface of this 
 Euridice, in which the author gives his reasons for doing cer- 
 tain things in a certain way, of saying certain things in a cer- 
 tain manner. In this preface he says that he has adopted 
 recitative and continuous music, because the Greeks em- 
 ployed them. He did not know any more about that than 
 we do, but it shows the Renaissance influence; he was try- 
 ing to do what he thought the Greeks had done. He further 
 declares that he does not mean to say that his setting of the 
 story is the Greek setting, or resembles it in melody, but that 
 it is the only one he thinks suited to the story; that is, 
 he acknowledges that dramatic requirements influenced his 
 music. 
 
 Considering that this was his first attempt, the melodies 
 and harmonies in this opera are very flowing and very ex- 
 pressive of the text. He uses no counterpoint except in one 
 chorus, and there only for the dramatic purpose of expressing 
 the effect produced by a crowd saying different things at the 
 same time. He calls his Euridice a "tragedia per musica," 
 a tragedy with music. This work may well be said to usher 
 into life an art-species which thenceforth without interruption 
 has occupied the musical world. While it is simple, its har- 
 monies meager from our modern standpoint, we should not 
 underrate the merit of the effort. We owe a tribute to the 
 artistic genius of these gentlemen of the Camerata, who, as 
 the poet says, "Walked upon the clouds of their imagination 
 as upon paved roads, and in the end attained the destination 
 which they had set out to reach."
 
 The Birth of Opera and Oratorio 137 
 
 A word about the performance. The musical instruments 
 used for the accompaniment of the opera were placed be- 
 hind the scenes, not in front (a hidden orchestra), so that 
 nothing should interfere with a view of the stage or distract 
 attention from the performance. The only musical portion 
 that resembles what we should call a melody, and introduces 
 a scene, is called sinfonia, and consists of a few measures to 
 be played by three flutes. The drama itself is in three acts; 
 the same story has been used over and over again by suc- 
 ceeding composers of both serious and light operas. The 
 lament of Orpheus over the death of his Eurydice, which 
 follows, is a fair example of the composer's work. In it we 
 note a primitive attempt at a figured bass (harmonic short- 
 hand), proving that he thought in chords, like Willaert. We 
 note also that the measures are not all of the same length, 
 showing that he followed the rhythm of the text. What is 
 further interesting in the work is his orchestra. It consisted 
 of one violin; an instrument that was called the gravicem- 
 balo, of which we shall learn more at another time; a chitar- 
 rone (a large guitar, somewhat like that used in modern 
 college mandolin clubs); a double-lyre (a small double- 
 stringed harp); and flutes. This accompaniment should 
 be remembered, because within six years the opera-orchestra 
 grew from these few instruments to one large enough to play 
 a Wagnerian opera. 
 
 52. Lament of Orpheus, from Euridict, Act I 
 
 PERI 
 VOICE 
 
 Xon pian - go e non so-spi - ro, O mia ca - ra Eu-ri -
 
 138 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 01 - ce, che so - spi - rar, . . che la - en - mar non pos - so. 
 
 Ca-da - ve-ro in-fe - H - ce ! O mio cor - so! mia spe-me ! O 
 
 EEgJ s> # 
 
 -t--<&- 
 
 . 1 F^bt: 
 
 ovi-ta! Oi - me! Chi mi t'ha tol - ta? chi mit'ha 
 
 RH'' ""'I <S>: ^> l"|- * 
 
 '-=^=E^g \ "P^ 
 
 -j - "" " L ^-i ' - I" 1 " 
 
 6-=^ 
 
 tol-ta? Oi-me ! . . Do - ve sei gi - ta ? 
 
 To-sto ve-drai
 
 The Birth of Opera and Oratorio 
 
 139 
 
 ^ ff - r 
 
 son, nonsonlon-ta - no : lo ven-go, ca-ra vi - ta, o ca - ramor - te! 
 
 When the other members of the Camerata saw the success 
 of Peri's Euridice, and came to a realization of the value of 
 this newly invented species of drama, Cavaliere, who was re- 
 ligiously inclined, applied the solo and recitative to the church 
 drama with music, and in the same year produced the first 
 real Oratorio, which is called "The Soul and the Body." Its 
 music was continuous, like that of the opera; and it was 
 given and acted in costume in the oratory, a custom which was 
 still common at the beginning of the nineteenth century in 
 some Catholic countries during Lent. He used for the musi- 
 cal accompaniment a double-lyre, one gravicembalo, a double- 
 guitar, and two flutes. Scoring, barring (putting the bars in), 
 figured basses, which were soon recognized as necessary, all 
 are results of the work of these Florentine gentlemen. 
 
 Thus were produced, side by side, two of the greatest musi- 
 cal art-forms, the Opera and the Oratorio; the one born of 
 the Renaissance spirit, drawing its subject-matter not from 
 life, but from mythology; the other the fruit of a religious 
 conception, and of a desire to spread the Gospel.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ITALIAN OPERA. 
 
 THE success of Peri's Euridice in Italy, and later in France 
 and Germany, was not so much due to the inherent value of 
 the work itself, as to the general realization that these newly 
 invented styles of musical utterance exhibited a fitness for 
 dramatic purposes far beyond that of polyphonic writing. 
 
 It was left for a musician greater than Peri to erect on 
 this foundation a style of music which, in its combination 
 of constructive ingenuity, color, breadth of composition and 
 perfection of detail, was fit to rank with the greatest works of 
 other arts during the same period. The name of this artistic 
 genius was Claudio Monteverde, born in 1568 at Cremona. 
 At the time of his birth, his native town was already cele- 
 brated for its violin-making, Andrea Amati (1520-1611), 
 whose grandson, Niccolo Amati (1596-1684), was the most 
 famous of this remarkable family of violin-makers, having 
 already made a reputation as a splendid artisan. This was 
 a very paying industry in those days, because everybody 
 who pretended to be anybody in society had in his house a 
 chest of stringed instruments of different sizes, or at least a 
 quartet of violins, two sopranos, a tenor and a bass (viola da 
 gamba). In a catalogue of violins published in Italy in 
 1601, many kinds of such instruments are mentioned; good 
 authorities consider that the making of true violins probably 
 did not begin much before the year 1550. 
 
 Monteverde went as a young man to Mantua, where he 
 entered the service of the noble family of the Gonzagas as a 
 violinist. In this position he had the advantage of studying 
 
 140
 
 The Development of Italian Opera 
 
 141 
 
 with a sound contrapuntist, Ingegneri, the cathedral choir- 
 director, from whom he undoubtedly acquired a knowledge 
 of the strictly polyphonic style. In 1603 his teacher died, 
 and Monteverde succeeded him as director of music in the 
 ducal family. It must be understood that in those days a 
 musician could earn his living only by working either for the 
 Church or in some rich family. This continued to be the 
 case for many years afterwards, even Haydn being at first 
 but a sort of upper servant in the house of one of the Aus- 
 trian princes, receiving his daily orders for music as the 
 kitchen chef did for the dinners. In such positions, however, 
 musicians had a chance to try out their ideas, and it was 
 while Haydn was in the service of this prince that he con- 
 ceived and worked out the form of the Symphony. The case 
 of Monteverde was similar, for while with the Gonzagas he 
 conceived and created his surprises for the musical world. 
 
 His first opera was Ariadne, the text being supplied by the 
 poet Rinuccini, and its first performance took place in 1607, 
 seven years after that of Peri's Euridice. 
 
 With the exception of one number, "The Lament of 
 Ariadne," the music of this opera is lost, in spite of the fact 
 that it was performed in Venice as late as 1637. This aria 
 is so intensely mournful that it is said to have brought tears 
 to the eyes of Monteverde's audiences. 
 
 53. 
 
 ARIADNE'S LAMENT. 
 
 MONTEVERDE 
 
 =*f^ 
 
 ^r>r>-tr __-^rb=g ^} 
 
 La - scia - te - mi mo - ri - re ! La - scia - te - mi mo - ri -
 
 142 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 ^-i *_ t_*__ fi-j-^; J:., 9_;j_* ' 
 
 E che vo - le - te voi . . che mi con - for - te In co - si du - ra 
 
 sor - te, In co - si gran 
 
 -I 
 
 1 f^jf S - r- 
 
 tJ 
 
 mi mo - ri - re ! . La- scia - te - mi mo - ri - re ! 
 
 
 While this aria consists of but nineteen measures, it con- 
 tains several examples of Monteverde's innovations, which 
 stamp him as a worthy follower of Willaert and Gabrieli, 
 first apostles of the Renaissance in music. These innovations 
 consisted principally of the use of dissonances unknown up 
 to that time, such as (i) a dominant seventh-chord without 
 preparation an unprepared dissonance; (2) a secondary 
 seventh-chord without preparation; (3) a suspension with- 
 out preparation. Though these things are technical, they are
 
 The Development of Italian Opera 143 
 
 mentioned because the free use of discords, forbidden by the 
 learned theorists, proves that Monteverde had abandoned 
 convention and tradition and devoted his music to the ex- 
 pression of human feelings and passions, thus following the 
 teachings of the Renaissance. 
 
 The most important constructive feature which he in- 
 vented in this little aria was that of the Da Capo. Ex. 53 
 shows that the text began and ended with the repeated 
 phrase "Lasciatemi morire!" ("Let me die, let me die"), 
 the musical setting being identical, thus practically making a 
 real Da Capo. This D. C. germ of construction assumed in 
 later years great proportions. We speak of Haydn as the 
 father of the symphony, but the recapitulation in the sym- 
 phonic form of the sonata-form is the legitimate outgrowth 
 of Monteverde's invention, who thus provided that prime 
 requisite of art-form, unity. 
 
 In the same year Monteverde wrote another opera, Orfeo, 
 the libretto being somewhat altered from Peri's Euridice by 
 its author, Rinuccini. This opera has been preserved, and a 
 German copy of it is easily procurable. The altered plot 
 conforms more to the mythological story than that of Peri's 
 libretto. We notice at once a remarkable development of 
 the orchestra, for, while Peri used but five instruments, the 
 number used by Monteverde in Orfeo seven years later is 
 very large and shows what this genius deemed necessary for 
 the musical expression of the dramatic text. His orchestra 
 included two gravicembali, one on each side of the stage, 
 played from a figured bass to supply harmony; two con- 
 trabassi or double-basses; three mole da gamba ('cellos); ten 
 viols (about the size of our violas) and tw r o small "French" 
 violins (the violins of to-day), which were tuned a third 
 higher than the other violins, together forming a complete 
 orchestra of seventeen stringed instruments. But this is not 
 all; two large harps, two chitarroni (large guitars the size of 
 bass viols); two organi di legno (small portable organs), for
 
 144 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 which we have substituted our wood-wind instruments for 
 color; one regal (another kind of portable organ, with a 
 single diapason or flute stop); a number of brass instru- 
 ments, sufficient to balance the strings of a modern orchestra, 
 and almost equal to the requirements of the most dramatic 
 composer of the nineteenth century, consisting of four trom- 
 bones, two cornetti (small trumpets), one clarino (soprano 
 trumpet), and three muted trumpets, besides two flutes 
 and one piccolo thirty-nine instruments in all. This 
 development, coming within seven years, proves how well 
 prepared were both musicians and the musical art for the 
 message of the Renaissance. 
 
 A brief description of this opera should not come amiss. 
 It commences with a Prelude, called "Toccata," having 
 throughout a double pedal-point, of which we will speak 
 again. This was to be performed three times, and served as 
 an overture to put the audience in a proper mood. When 
 the curtain rose, an orchestral prelude called a ritornello was 
 played. The prologue was given by a singer, who imperson- 
 ated one of the Muses, in verses that were separated by 
 ritornellij during which there was dancing or varied stage 
 business. The first act, which commences with an elaborate 
 chorus of dancing shepherds and shepherdesses, deals with 
 the love of Orpheus and Eurydice, and contains a solo by 
 Orpheus, "Rosa del del," which is quoted in Grove's 
 dictionary in the article on Monteverde. The whole act 
 represents essentially the realization of the happiness of exist- 
 ence, thoroughly human, and therefore appropriate to Re- 
 naissance thought. In the second act there are two arias 
 with a D. C., a duet for two tenors (the first known in- 
 stance of such a duet), and in the middle of this duet, as an 
 interlude or echo, a duet for two flutes (behind the scenes), 
 something which must have taken the audience rather by 
 surprise. In the course of this act Orpheus receives the 
 announcement of the death of his wife Eurydice. (Ex. 54.)
 
 The Development of Italian Opera 
 
 145 
 
 54. 
 
 MESSENGER 
 
 ORFEO 
 
 Thy be - lov- ed Eu - ri - di - ce Go on and tell me ! 
 
 : 
 
 Probably ) 
 a pause | 
 
 MESSENGER 
 
 ORFfiO 
 
 m 
 
 Thy faith-ful wife be - lov - ed is no more. Woe's me ! 
 
 =*= 
 
 1 
 
 He is silent for some time, then breaks forth into a "lament," 
 a cry of sorrow, whose accompaniment consists of a double- 
 bass, a little portable organ, and a large guitar, a distinct 
 accompaniment for a distinct voice and character. The 
 beginning and ending of this "lament" are particularly 
 fine, and it is full of harmonic innovations, one of which is 
 an augmented chord of the sixth, a dissonance practically 
 unknown until then. 
 
 55. 
 
 LAMENT OF ORPHEUS.
 
 146 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 
 > Gr- 
 
 (fyg-iJ M-^-* a* fcg : i^feg-^La..; . J ^ i^ ... j 
 
 Dead,and I still live. My heart is beat - ing, From 
 
 
 -=? i rd i i ^ 
 
 \|^ 22 Lj 1 ^ J 
 
 ^^ 
 
 earth she has departed, 
 
 has departed from me for ev - er, 
 
 ^ * 4-' 
 
 nev-er to re-turn. And shall I re -main here ? No ! No! . 
 
 _^ J I 5 u_ J,-v L 
 
 _i i_ 
 
 If I thought my vers - es had the pow 
 
 ^^^=^=-. ^ =:=
 
 The Development of Italian Opera 147 
 
 I would des-cend . . in-to th' abode of dark-ness, Plead to melt the 
 
 >=>. 
 
 heart of Ha-des' monarch to let thee come back to see once more the 
 
 m 
 
 star - light. Or if that is de - nied me by his e - diet, 
 
 t> in 
 
 to re - main with thee, to help thee face the spir - its. 
 
 ~ : q
 
 148 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 ^__^-' 
 
 Farewell.O earth! Farewell,O skies! O sun-light, fare -well! . . 
 
 J !- 
 
 
 The act concludes with a chorus, followed by an or- 
 chestral interlude which lasted from the close of this act 
 until the curtain went up on the next, making an abso- 
 lutely continuous performance. This interlude is dramatically 
 important in its foreshadowing of the descent of Orpheus 
 into Hades in search of his Eurydice; a point which, in 
 the drama, is reached only at the end of the third act. 
 Only the keenest dramatic feeling could have caused this 
 arrangement, this musical pseudo-prophecy, which is again 
 repeated during the passage with Charon across the Styx 
 and at the close of the act. Its conception is suggestive 
 of the "journey of Parsifal to the castle of the Holy Grail," 
 in that there is continuous music during the passage from 
 one place to the other. Monteverde may well be called the 
 Wagner of the seventeenth century, for the repetition of this 
 orchestral interlude at different portions of the journey to 
 Hades had in it all the elements of what we call the Leitmo- 
 tiv (leading-motive). The scene of Act IV is laid in Hades. 
 After long pleading, Eurydice is finally permitted to follow 
 Orpheus provided he does not look back at her. In the 
 scene where they appear on the stage, the composer has 
 assigned to Orpheus a melody quite modern in style, which 
 we cannot refrain from quoting in comparison with that of 
 his first opera, because it shows a departure from the speak- 
 ing or declaiming style (stilo parlante), and Orpheus really 
 sings one of the conditions upon whose fulfillment Eurydice's 
 departure depended. Following is one of its three stanzas, 
 which were separated by interludes for the violins.
 
 The Development of Italian Opera 149 
 
 56. 
 
 ORPHEUS' SONG. 
 
 MONTEVERDE 
 
 ^~^ 
 
 -H* + 
 
 My home . . a - mong most beau - ti - f ul,heav'n-ly pic - tures 
 
 P . 
 
 shall be,Where to . . your mu - sic the stars will go danc 
 
 m 
 
 ing, will go danc 
 
 ing ! 
 
 i^t 

 
 150 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Then a doubt disturbs Orpheus' mind. Is Eurydice fol- 
 lowing him, or is he being fooled by the imps of Hades ? He 
 hears dreadful sounds behind him; he fears he has been de- 
 ceived; he turns, sees Eurydice; she fades from sight, and 
 he hears the condemnation: "Thou hast broken the con- 
 ditions and art unworthy of favor," sung by the bass voice 
 (the first bass we know of in an opera) of an unseen singer. 
 
 In the fifth act, Orpheus is bewailing his grief to the rocks and 
 the trees, and the composer introduces echoes to this lament, 
 as Gluck did nearly two hundred years later. Apollo then 
 descends, and carries Orpheus to the skies, where he will see 
 his Eurydice among the stars. The opera concludes with a 
 dance, "Moresco," which is described in Grove's dictionary. 
 ' These are a few of the marvelous innovations in music 
 which marked the years immediately following the birth of 
 opera; from them the high musical and dramatic ideals of 
 the early Italian composers may be partially realized. 
 
 In 1613 Monteverde obtained the position of music- 
 director at the church of San Marco in Venice, with a much 
 higher salary than any of his predecessors, which shows that 
 he must have been held in high esteem by his contemporaries, 
 and that the new style of music had taken deep root, for 
 Monteverde was incapable of writing music in the style of 
 Palestrina. His first years in Venice were devoted to re- 
 forms of music for the Church, and his first opera, Ariadne, 
 reappeared as an oratorio, under the name of "The Lament 
 of the Virgin." 
 
 We have nothing operatic from his pen until 1624, when 
 he wrote Tancred and Clorinda. Here he introduces two new 
 effects for the violin, the pizzicato, in imitation of the clashing 
 of swords, and the tremolo for all the strings; both used in 
 the exciting scene where Tancred meets Clorinda (his dis- 
 guised beloved) in mortal combat. 
 
 Shortly after the appearance of this opera, progress in art 
 was checked by the Black Plague, which again ravaged
 
 The Development of Italian Opera 151 
 
 Europe and which probably induced Monteverde to take 
 holy orders and retire to a monastery. In entering the 
 church, however, he did not lose his artist-nature, for through 
 his influence there was opened in Venice, in 1637, a theater 
 where opera could be given for the common people who had 
 hitherto been deprived of this pleasure. He then took up 
 the pen again and wrote four more operas. 
 
 Monteverde died in 1643 at the age of seventy-five, having 
 played a most important part in one of the greatest revo- 
 lutions which have ever taken place in any art. He strove to 
 make the music illustrative of the text by means of rhythmic, 
 melodic and harmonic devices, as well as by means of original 
 orchestral effects, such as neither his predecessors nor his 
 contemporaries had conceived, and which astonished even 
 the musicians of his orchestra. Every new harmonic com- 
 bination invented by him was used with unerring judg- 
 ment as to its aesthetic significance. His Orfeo makes us 
 question the originality of what are supposed to be really 
 modern conceptions, such as the employment of certain in- 
 struments to support the voices of certain dramatic char- 
 acters, and the constant use of the declamatory style, as later 
 employed by Wagner, in preference to the true recitative or 
 true melody. 
 
 A word now about the instrumental prelude of that opera, 
 the Toccata. Based from beginning to end upon a double 
 organ-point, what shall we say of it? It is absolutely 
 identical in construction with the introduction to Wagner's 
 Rheingold, although the two compositions are, of course, 
 totally unlike in feeling and intention. 
 
 The direct successor of Monteverde was Francesco Cavalli. 
 who, having grown up under his tutelage, had during his 
 teacher's lifetime obtained the position of second organist at 
 the church of San Marco, and at the age of forty produced 
 his first opera. That form of entertainment had now become 
 so popular that a new theatre was opened in Italy almost
 
 152 Familiar Talks on the History of "Music 
 
 every alternate year, and in less than one century (the seven- 
 teenth) six hundred and fifty-eight operas were produced in 
 Venice alone, chiefly by native or resident poets and com- 
 posers. 
 
 At the age of fifty, Cavalli produced his greatest work, 
 Jason, which was the first opera performed in Rome, in 1671. 
 In the score of this opera we notice that the clefs are fixed, in- 
 dicating that the orchestra had then assumed a definite form. 
 As a relic of the highest form of part-writing in polyphonic 
 style for five voices, the violins were divided so that the 
 strings consisted of first and second violins, first and second 
 violas, and basses. We note also that in the less dramatic 
 portions of the work some very florid passages are given to 
 the voices, evidently for the display of "vocalization," an 
 art then growing very rapidly. 
 
 57. From Jason 
 
 CAVALLI 
 
 And then up -on my car gor-geousandglitt'ring the sun's rays will 
 
 shine 
 
 2=4: 
 
 in bril-liant splen-dor, and then in their descend-
 
 The Development of Italian Opera 153 
 
 ing they will il - lu - - - - mi-nate and glo - ri - 
 
 fy this earth - ly mass. 
 
 The term " opera" was first applied to the works of Cavalli, 
 all previous works of that character being called music- 
 dramas, like Wagner's. The musica parlante, or recitative, 
 of the early days was gradually transformed into another kind 
 of recitative, the slromentato, which was not so eloquent, but 
 had a more continuous accompaniment, while the aria became 
 full of ornamentation (coloratura). 
 
 The appearance of the Aria as a musical form of beauty 
 for beauty's sake, is an indication that Renaissance influence 
 was waning. What had happened to painting was going to 
 happen to music, for the love of the beautiful was growing, 
 and growing so fast that it finally became the essential thing; 
 and the principle of realism, "truth to nature," the genuinely 
 dramatic expression, which was the maxim of the early Re- 
 naissance, was to be lost in admiration for the beauty of the 
 setting, until finally words were again wedded to music as 
 poorly fitted to express their meaning as the popular songs 
 which had been made to accompany the text of the Mass. 
 
 Until the beginning of the nineteenth century, Cavalli was 
 the sole Italian composer to follow firmly in the footsteps of 
 Monteverde. Even before his death a musician had sprung 
 up who had made himself felt in the domain of church music, 
 and that was Carissimi (1604-1674). He introduced the idea
 
 154 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 of beauty for beauty's sake, though he may still be classed in 
 the Renaissance period. Among his best pupils were Ales- 
 sandro Scarlatti and Cesti, whose arias much more resemble 
 those by Handel of sixty years later, than those by Monte- 
 verde of thirty years before. 
 
 The Renaissance composers had endeavored to denote what 
 a person would have sung in a particular situation if it had 
 been the habit of people to express themselves in song in- 
 stead of speech. This, as we know, was Wagner's idea, and 
 is, of course, the true spirit of the music-drama. The idea of 
 Carissimi and his followers was, that music should first of all 
 be pleasing; so he insists on beauty of outline and phrase in 
 the music of each of his dramatic characters. His' music is, 
 therefore, far more pleasing and beautiful than Monteverde's, 
 but, on the other hand, Monteverde more nearly reached a 
 realization of dramatic truth. 
 
 As an example of such departure from the truthful musical 
 expressions, we might cite an instance from the oratorio of 
 Jephthah, where the daughter, lamenting her fate, sings an 
 aria, each of whose phrases closes with a short, florid pas- 
 sage echoed by two flutes in thirds. Thinking that a single 
 echo would be bald, Carissimi sacrificed truth to a desire to 
 please, something quite different from Monteverde, whose 
 echo was a more real one. 
 
 The conceptions of Monteverde and Cavalli caused a vast 
 improvement in the violin, and made that instrument change 
 its position from that of an humble helper to the principal 
 instrument in the orchestra. The beauty of its tone created 
 a desire for similar vocal beauty, and, as a result, we find the 
 voice-teacher abroad in the land as early as 1650. 
 
 Beginning with Scarlatti in Naples, there now developed a 
 musical style which, in contradistinction to the sublime style 
 of Palestrina and the dramatic style of Monteverde, might be 
 called the style beautiful. He devoted himself largely to the 
 promotion of the opera, omitting, however, much of the dra-
 
 The Development of Italian Opera 155 
 
 matic spirit, while increasing its beauty, and his compositions 
 served as models for Handel. His fertility in composition 
 was marvelous. At the age of sixty-two he had composed 
 1 14 operas, 200 masses and hundreds of cantatas. Dr. Burney, 
 the English historian, discovered a manuscript of Scar- 
 latti's containing 35 cantatas dated on successive days. 
 Scarlatti was an excellent singer and teacher, a genial con- 
 ductor, and a fine clavicemballist (or, as we should term it, 
 pianist), although excelled in this by his son, Domenico. 
 Even before his death in 1725, his style had become the model 
 for the rising generation, and finally, as developed by his 
 pupils Leonardo Leo and Francesco Durante, attained su- 
 premacy throughout Europe. Vain were the attempts of 
 dramatic innovators to return to the ideals of Monteverde, for 
 even a Handel could not change the style and form of "opera" 
 as it had been prescribed and " iron-cladded " by Scarlatti. 
 His extremely graceful and melodious style culminates in 
 Bellini, Donizetti, and most of Rossini's works. The over- 
 ture, as written by him, consists of three movements, one fast, 
 one slow, and then another fast movement a sort of proph- 
 ecy of the three movements of the early symphony. 
 
 Being a voice-teacher, Scarlatti wrote chiefly for the singer, 
 a practice which has always been a stumbling-block to every 
 combination of pure musical and dramatic art. He perfected 
 the form of the aria, and made it the important part of the 
 lyric drama, the recitative being used merely as a thread to 
 unite the several arias and duets. 
 
 His best pupil was Porpora (1686-1766), an even greater 
 voice-teacher than Scarlatti, for his pupils became the great 
 singers of Europe. It was he who gave Haydn much musi- 
 cal instruction. 
 
 Gradually, the trills, turns and roulades of the arias, the 
 "vocalization," became their most attractive feature, and the 
 singer became the chief power in the opera. The public went 
 to hear the singer, not the opera; the composer, the musician,
 
 156 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 being no more considered. As a result, Mozart and Schubert 
 starved, and even Wagner felt the results of this attitude. 
 
 Intellectual elevation was not required of the singer, vocal- 
 ization being considered all-sufficient. During almost the 
 whole eighteenth century, opera-composers lived under iron 
 rules of musical construction. They could not even distribute 
 the voices in their opera as they chose. Six principal singers 
 was the proper number for an opera no matter what the 
 drama might demand three men and three women, and 
 the men were sopranos, or tenors, although, if circumstances 
 compelled the use of a seventh person for a small part and a 
 fourth man was necessary, he might be a baritone or bass. 
 In Handel's Teseo, for instance, all the singers were either 
 sopranos or altos. The form and place of each aria in the 
 opera was absolutely fixed, and the same iron conventionality 
 which had caused the dark Middle Ages descended upon 
 the operatic form. The society opera-goers knew the rules 
 of operatic construction. Even if a new opera was given, 
 they knew that at about such and such an hour in the even- 
 ing the principal soprano would sing her great aria; so 
 they came just in time to hear that, and then immediately 
 departed. 
 
 When Handel wrote an opera whose arrangement of arias 
 was different from the rules prescribed, he lost his following 
 and his fortune. There were five kinds of arias; (i) the 
 cantabile real singing to show the range, tone and quality 
 of the voice; (2) the portamento, to show sustained breath, 
 phrasing, etc., (3) the aria di mezzo carattere, something mid- 
 way between the two previous ones; (4) the parlante, in de- 
 clamatory style; (5) the aria di bravura, the fireworks, the 
 pyrotechnics, as in the mad scene of Lucia. Every scene in 
 the opera was assigned to one singer; each singer had one 
 aria in each act; no two arias in succession, even by differ- 
 ent singers, were to be of the same style. The Scene I, Scene 
 II, Scene III. etc., in the older Italian operas do not mean
 
 The Development of Italian Opera 157 
 
 that the scene changes, but that each scene is assigned to a 
 different singer, who is then entitled to the "lime-light," 
 everybody else staying in the background. 
 
 In the second and third acts, each of the principals had 
 one scene with a bravura aria and took part in a duo, but there 
 were no trios or quartets. Some one has said that it would 
 have been impossible to have a quartet in those days, for the 
 singer who had the principal part (the melody in the quartet) 
 would probably have been murdered (?) by. the other singers. 
 The sublime and dramatic styles of church music steadily 
 retreated before the advance of the public demand for colo- 
 ratura singing and vocal display, a typical example being 
 Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater," which is most sensuously beauti- 
 ful, but not religious. 
 
 The next prominent Italian composer after Scarlatti was 
 Piccini, the unsuccessful rival of Gluck in Paris, and who 
 seems to have written the first ensemble numbers for the 
 principal singers. 
 
 When, because of the labors of Gluck, Mozart and Weber, 
 Italian opera seemed doomed to decay, Rossini (born in 
 1792) was the magician who, by the sensuous charm of his 
 melody, again captured the opera-loving public and bound it 
 with those brilliant fetters which a large portion of the 
 musical world has hitherto been unable or unwilling to cast 
 off. In 1829 he himself made an attempt (his last) at real 
 dramatic writing with an approximation of the earlier Italian 
 form in his William Tell. Here he abandoned the prevalent 
 Italian style and forswore florid writing, but, while this work 
 is very melodious and also very dramatic, the Italians did 
 not admire it until within the last thirty years. 
 
 Donizetti (1797-1848) came next in the same style, but 
 with improvements in the ensemble numbers over those of 
 Rossini, his greatest triumph being the sextet in Lucia, 
 probably the most popular ensemble number in any Italian 
 opera of the early nineteenth century.
 
 158 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Bellini (1802-1835), his contemporary, next captured the 
 world with La Sonnambula, Norma and / Puritani, all full of 
 great arias, but without much dramatic power simply 
 beautiful music. 
 
 After him came Verdi, born in 1813, with Ernani, Rigo- 
 letto, La Traviata, II Trovatore, and later Aida, Otello and 
 FalstajJ. While his early operas are in the prevalent Italian 
 style, in Aida he reapproaches for the first time the Monte- 
 verde idea, and Falslaff and Otello are again cast in the mould 
 of the first great Italian operas, although an interval of more 
 than two hundred years of melodious riot separated them. 
 Otello is a great masterwork, and its music, like that of 
 Falstajf, is absolutely subservient to and interpretative of 
 the text. 
 
 After Rossini came Boito, with his Mefistofele, who partook 
 of the Wagnerian spirit and wrote not only his own librettos 
 but those of many of the operas of his countrymen. That 
 the Italian composers since the day of Verdi have returned 
 to the principle of the Renaissance, realistic dramatic ex- 
 pression, is evidenced by the works of Mascagni, Leoncavallo, 
 Puccini and other Italians, which belong to the standard 
 repertoire of Modern Grand Opera companies.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 FRENCH OPERA FROM ITS BEGINNING. 
 
 IN previous chapters we mentioned that numerous kings 
 of France were patrons of music, maintaining bodies of 
 musicians at court, or as attaches to their chapels, for the 
 purpose of securing dignified performances of church music; 
 Okeghem being with Charles VII, and Josquin de Pres with 
 Louis XII. Francis I and Henry II themselves aspired to 
 be composers; Charles IX sang in his own church choir, and 
 Marguerite de Valois gave concerts at Issy, all proving that 
 the love for music was very common among French sove- 
 reigns. 
 
 Although political and religious struggles convulsed France 
 during the latter half of the sixteenth century, court amuse- 
 ments were carried on with great gayety. The most popu- 
 lar of these were ballets, in which the high nobility took part, 
 and which were staged with great splendor and at enormous 
 expense. The queen and her sister, and even the king, at 
 times took part in these; and in one of the favorite ballets, 
 published in 1582, occurs the melody which was so popular 
 in bygone days under the name of "Air or Gavotte of Louis 
 XIII." 
 
 As a result of Renaissance influence Greek mythology 
 furnished the subjects for most of the ballets; but con- 
 temporaneous follies, fads and political episodes came in for 
 their share, especially in the time of Henry IV and Louis 
 XIII, gloomy and taciturn though the latter usually was. 
 Louis XVI also loved to appear in these ballets. In one of 
 them a concealed chorus of sixty-four, accompanied by 
 twenty-eight stringed instruments and fourteen lutes, took 
 
 159
 
 160 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 part; while in another a chorus of ninety- two voices with 
 forty-five instruments participated, each conductor having 
 written the music for his chorus and its accompaniment; 
 while still another musician wrote the dance-music. 
 
 The pastoral play had early been in favor with the French, 
 for Adam de la Halle composed, in the thirteenth century, a 
 little pastoral play called Robin and Marian, noteworthy for 
 the charm of its songs, and written in what we should now 
 perhaps call the light-opera style. 
 
 The dance, as a class of dramatic entertainment, was in- 
 digenous to France, and the ballet is even to-day an im- 
 portant adjunct of French Grand Opera. The early French 
 ballets resembled the English ''Masques" in form (see 
 Milton's "Comus"), and contained dialogues, and vocal and 
 instrumental music; thus they were, in a way, the pre- 
 cursors of French Opera. 
 
 The Renaissance spirit, having reached France, exercised 
 great influence in the reconstruction of French literature, and 
 the poet Malesherbes (1555-1628) promptly established the 
 form of French dramatic verse along the lines of the Greek 
 drama. When the edict of Nantes was issued in 1598, it 
 seemed as if art would flourish under the reign of Henry IV; 
 but his career was cut short by the dagger of Ravaillac. 
 
 We mentioned this king's marriage to Catherine de' Medici, 
 which occurred at Florence in 1600, and the performance of 
 Peri's Euridice as a part of the wedding festivities. By this 
 union France became consolidated and comparatively peace- 
 ful, a condition favorable to artistic development. The 
 French ladies and gentlemen who accompanied Henry to 
 Florence were not only entertained by the performance of 
 the little music-drama, but it made a deep impression upon 
 many of them. The seed thus sown did not, however, 
 "flourish and bring forth fruit" until nearly fifty years later, 
 for the ballet continued the favorite form of amusement at 
 court. But after the death of Henry IV, Cardinal Mazarin,
 
 French Opera from its Beginning 161 
 
 fearing the capricious moods of Anne of Austria, queen of 
 Louis XIII, sent to Italy for a company of singers in the new 
 art (le nuove musiche), and in 1645 there came to Paris such a 
 company, which performed Peri's Euridice. The musical 
 ideas underlying this opera, and its musical forms of utter*- 
 ance, pleased; but a nation that had learned to appreciate 
 and enjoy such strong intellectual food as Corneille's "Cid," 
 and the dramas of Moliere, which had so stimulated and 
 elevated French literature, could not feel satisfied with a 
 performance dramatically so weak as Peri's Euridice. It was 
 agreed, therefore, that the music-drama must be altered, if 
 it was ever to correspond to French national art-ideas, and 
 that it must be sung in the French language. But how could 
 this be done? The very form and construction of the Alex- 
 andrine verse, in imitation of that of the Greeks, the ac- 
 cepted form of French dramatic utterance, with its every 
 line having the same number of syllables, was considered by 
 musicians to be incapable of operatic adaptation. Two or 
 three lines from one of the great French poems will illustrate 
 this: 
 
 "Je chante ce heros qui regna sur la France 
 Et par droit de conquete, et par droit de naissance, 
 Qui par des longs malheurs apprit a gouverner." 
 
 Line after line with the same number of syllables, no pause, 
 no stopping-place, none of that variety which the musician 
 demands in order to give a poem a musical setting. But who 
 would dare change the poetic mode of utterance, which be- 
 cause of its stately grandeur was the admiration of all ? 
 
 In the time of the Netherlander and other polyphonic 
 schools, poetry had often been ''murdered" to suit poly- 
 phonic development; but matters were now reversed, and it 
 was universally conceded that music must be subservient to 
 text in a music-drama. A change in the form of French 
 poetry was therefore deemed absolutely necessary. Xo one 
 ventured on such a change until Abbe Perrin, who for years
 
 1 62 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 had been master of ceremonies for Gaston, Duke of Orleans, 
 brother of Louis XIII, made a heroic effort. Having a great 
 deal of stage experience and possessing true dramatic in- 
 stinct, he, awakening to an appreciation of the duties of his 
 position, conceived the idea of a new form of poetry, in imi- 
 tation of that of the Italians, and in 1661 published a volume 
 of verses in the Italian style. He was immediately attacked 
 by all the poets and litterateurs for his heretical innovation; 
 but the musicians liked it because it gave them more freedom, 
 and Cambert, the organist of the church of St. Honore, set 
 the verses to music. Now, in itself, this new poetry was not 
 elevating, being merely a series of drinking-songs, although 
 attractive because of their form and decided character. In 
 his preface to these songs the composer praises the poet's 
 originality and regrets that his music is not as good as the 
 poetry deserves a rather rare confession. Perrin imme- 
 diately set to work to carry out his ideas in a Masque which 
 would appeal to its hearers because it was based on life not, 
 like Peri's opera, on mythology. With Cambert he prepared 
 the first French musical comedy, called " Vaudeville pastorale," 
 which was performed in 1659 before the summer court at 
 Issy. This work was in every sense an opera, not merely a 
 song-play with incidental music such as had obtained pre- 
 viously in Masques; for recitative was substituted for speech 
 in imitation of Italian opera, and the music was continuous. 
 The immediate success of this work is the more creditable 
 because it lacked the usual accessories of the ballet, such as 
 brilliancy of costuming, scenery, etc., and was performed 
 upon an impromptu stage. It was equally successful when 
 repeated at the court of Vincennes, and the authors hoped 
 to be commissioned to write a similar work for the marriage 
 of Louis XIV. In this they were disappointed, for Cardinal 
 Mazarin sent for Cavalli, the direct successor of Monteverde, 
 who brought out his opera Xerxes for the occasion. Shortly 
 afterward Perrin's protector, the Duke of Orleans, and
 
 French Opera from its Beginning 163 
 
 Mazarin both died. Nothing, however, could restrain the 
 poet's ardor, and he conceived the idea that the general 
 public, the masses, would be willing to support opera as a 
 form of entertainment. He managed to secure a patent or 
 permission for twelve years, granting him the privilege of 
 establishing an Academy of "Opera," or "musical represen- 
 tation," as it was called, as the players of the Passion had 
 done many years before. He succeeded in securing the 
 support of a rich man, Champeron, and called to his aid 
 Cambert, the Marquis de Surdeac, a nobleman who had a 
 talent for stage mechanism, and Beauchamp, the imperial 
 ballet-master, thus providing all the factors necessary to 
 produce opera. A building was erected in the Rue Mazarin, 
 and they went to work on the opera Pomone, which was pro- 
 duced in March, 1671. Though the libretto was dramatically 
 rather poor, the music pleased, as did the splendor of the 
 stage accessories, and the opera ran night after night for 
 eight months. In our day that does not seem a long time, 
 but in those days it was an enormous period of time for a 
 "run" of a play or an opera. It was such a great popular 
 success that the police had to be called out to control the 
 crowds who clamored for admission. For various reasons 
 the poet Perrin soon dropped out of this coterie of opera 
 promoters, and another poet, named Gilbert, was substituted. 
 In November of the same year they produced another opera, 
 also a Pastorale, entitled "The Difficulties and Pleasures of 
 Love." This work might have been as great a success as 
 its predecessor if in the meantime another and stronger 
 character had not appeared on the scene. This was Jean- 
 Baptiste Lully, an Italian, born in Florence in 1633. who 
 came to France in 1646 in the suite of a French nobleman 
 who had heard the boy play the violin in Italy. Lully 
 possessed considerable ability as a violinist and versatile 
 musician. He was also a good comedian, and these varied 
 accomplishments gained him the favor of the king, who con-
 
 164 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 ferred on him the title of " Inspector of violins," and also 
 gave him the use of a small orchestra, for which he wrote 
 special music which is said to have been extremely pleasing 
 to the court. His first successes were due to incidental music 
 written for the plays of Boileau, La Fontaine, and the great 
 Moliere. He seems, however, to have been a very un- 
 scrupulous chap, and ungrateful to those to whom he owed 
 his success and opportunities, for he is known to have in- 
 trigued against Cambert at the time of that gentleman's 
 rupture with Perrin. By various means he succeeded in 
 securing a revocation of the royal permission previously 
 granted to the others, and in stopping the performance of 
 Pomone. Having obtained his own patent, he determined to 
 establish an "Academic Royale de Musique" for the purpose 
 of giving opera. In this he was most successful, and together 
 with his collaborator, the poet Quinault, inaugurated the 
 golden age of French opera, which lasted a hundred years. 
 Lully's success was a popular one and due to the fact that he 
 appreciated the wants and desires of the contemporary public. 
 Being at home in tragedy, he gave up the Perrin form of 
 blank verse, and tried to conform to the nature of Greek 
 drama more closely than his Italian contemporaries. His 
 music is therefore more like Monteverde's, but he nevertheless 
 strikes out for himself a path which is absolutely individual. 
 His operas are inferior as musical art-works because his aim 
 was musical rhetoric and declamation in dramatic expression 
 a union of tone with speech rather than lyric song. His 
 music, in consequence, was simpler in form than that of 
 Scarlatti, but more expressive of dramatic spirit. For the 
 poverty of his music he compensated by his knowledge of the 
 stage and its accessories. In his intense earnestness to do 
 his work well, he tyrannized over his librettist, his singers^ 
 his chorus, orchestra, and dancers over all who were in any 
 manner necessary to the successful production of opera. He 
 taught the performers how to act, gave them better stage
 
 French Opera from its Beginning 165 
 
 manners, and insisted above all on distinct enunciation, some- 
 thing absolutely demanded in French opera to-day. We all 
 know that, no matter how beautiful the voice, the effect is 
 marred if the enunciation is not clear, and every one who 
 aspires to be a singer must, therefore, acquire an absolutely 
 distinct and clear delivery of the text. Lully's insistence on 
 this feature was all the more necessary because of the declam- 
 atory character of his music, even in the choruses, which, 
 by the way, were much more prominent in the French than 
 in the Italian operas, and had more to do, as in the Greek 
 drama. The chief advance in musical form made by Lully 
 was in the overture, which he perfected far beyond that 
 known in Italy. Like Monteverde, he makes use of so-called 
 " symphonies" to express dramatic action, employing them 
 either as descriptions or as reminiscences after the manner 
 of his Italian predecessor. ,.--" 
 
 His operas held the stage for many years, the last being 
 performed as late as 1778. During his lifetime his jealousy 
 and the favor of the king allowed no one on the operatic 
 stage but himself, but shortly before his death there was 
 born, in 1683, one who was destined to be a many-sided 
 genius, Jean-Philippe Rameau. He was one of the most 
 versatile men of whom we have record among musicians, 
 being a mathematician, a physicist, a profound theorist, and 
 a virtuoso upon the harpsichord. His is one of the four 
 great names of such virtuosi of the early eighteenth century, 
 Bach, Handel, Scarlatti and Rameau. His education was 
 very broad, and his talents were correspondingly great. He 
 was intended for the profession of the law, but in 1701 went, 
 instead, to study music at Milan. The sugared, florid, un- 
 dramatic singing of Italian opera in the early eighteenth 
 century was, however, not to his taste, and he considered it 
 far inferior to the dignified declamatory style of Lully. He 
 therefore returned to Paris and began to study seriously 
 with the organist Marchand, who, however, soon dropped him
 
 1 66 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 as a probably dangerous future rival. After this he settled 
 down in a quiet village near Paris, and devoted himself to the 
 study of the works of Zarlino (the pioneer in the "tempered 
 scale" movement) and other Italian and French theorists. 
 
 In 1725 he published a new system of Musical Theory in 
 which he promulgates and gives rules with regard to the 
 inversions of chords which had been in use in all forms of 
 composition for centuries. While this work won him repu- 
 tation as a learned musician, what he desired above all things 
 was recognition as a composer. In 1730 he wrote the opera 
 Samson, libretto by Voltaire; but it was declined at the 
 "National Opera" because founded on a Biblical story. In 
 1733 he tried again, selecting a classical subject, Hippolyte 
 et Aricie. The first impression this work made upon the 
 public was one of surprise rather than of satisfaction, and 
 Rameau, disappointed at its lack of success, felt disposed to 
 renounce further operatic composition. The public at first 
 seems. to have resented his views and innovations as insults 
 to the genius of Lully, to whose style of dramatic music it 
 was accustomed; but upon the production of his next opera, 
 Castor and Pollux, the Parisian opera-goers divided into two 
 camps, and pamphlets were circulated containing varied 
 justifications of the positions which their authors took in 
 championing, or opposing, the style of the new opera. Similar 
 usage characterized all the struggles for the development of 
 opera in France. The following is a free translation of one 
 of the numerous slurs and epigrams leveled at poor Rameau: 
 
 If the difficult be the beautiful, 
 
 What a great man is Rameau! 
 But if the beautiful, peradventure, 
 Be nothing but simple nature, 
 
 What a small man is Rameau! 
 
 In his twenty-two subsequent operas he strengthened his 
 hold upon the music-loving public, and became the acknowl- 
 edged first French Grand-Opera composer.
 
 French Opera from Us Beginning 167 
 
 His works so far surpassed those of Lully that many of his 
 ablest contemporaries conceded that one of his operas con- 
 tained enough new matter and material to make ten of 
 Lully's. He retained his prominence in the operatic field 
 until his death in 1764, in spite of cabals and intrigues. At 
 his funeral the world of art and letters united to do him 
 honor, and the anniversary of his death is still observed with 
 memorial ceremonies. 
 
 Besides his great advance in the domain of French opera, 
 he is one of the four great musicians responsible for the 
 general adoption of the tempered scale, which had already 
 been in use to some extent in Germany because of the demands 
 of Bach as far as the piano and organ were concerned, but 
 which was now adopted for all instruments with fixed pitch, 
 such as flutes, oboes, etc. 
 
 Rameau's most remarkable French contemporary was that 
 genius of many humanitarian and educational novelties, the 
 father of the kindergarten idea, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. 
 This man's importance in the history of music is not very 
 great, but one thing that he did deserves our special notice. 
 Having always found it difficult to read music at sight, he 
 devised the system of the "movable do," as we call it, with 
 notation by numerals instead of notes. This had been sug- 
 gested and even virtually taught by Guido d'Arezzo in 
 1050, in his hexachord scales, when he called each tonic 
 ut and where mi-fa always represented a half-step. Rameau 
 requested its adoption by the Academy of Sciences, but 
 it failed, being considered "musically unworthy." Never- 
 theless, in the last century, two men, Paris and Cheve, 
 worked out this very idea of Rousseau's, this reading by to- 
 nality, by key-relationship, and it is now in general use in 
 France. Rousseau lacked musical education, but not genius. 
 Rameau said of his compositions that some of them sounded 
 like the work of an artist, while others sounded like the 
 work of a man unacquainted with the first principles of
 
 1 68 Familiar Talks on the History oj Music 
 
 musical art. His best opera is Le Devin du Village, written 
 in 1752. 
 
 In the same year Pergolese's opera bouffe La Serva Padrona 
 was brought from Italy. Its appearance forms another epi- 
 sode in the operatic controversy which, from the beginning 
 of the eighteenth century, had continued at intervals, and 
 upon its production the theater became a field of oratorical 
 battle. The king and Madame Pompadour defended national 
 music, and their supporters ranged themselves on one side of 
 of the opera-house in "le coin du Roi" (the corner of the king), 
 while the supporters of Italian opera ranged themselves with 
 the queen on the opposite side in "le coin de la Reine" (the 
 corner of the queen). Pamphlets flew about. Every one 
 who aspired to be anybody in musical or educational circles 
 contributed to the literature on the subject, even Germany 
 furnishing her share in favor of Italian opera. Rameau, recog- 
 nizing that people were tired of the shackles of tradition, and 
 that opera boujje (comic opera) contained the germs of genu- 
 ine popularity, said, "If I were thirty years younger, I would 
 go to Italy and study Pergolese; but I am now past sixty, 
 and I cannot change." The common people preferring opera 
 bouffe, La Seroa Padrona was translated into the vernacular 
 and given at the "Opera-Comique," the opera house which 
 presented burlesques or parodies of the serious works per- 
 formed at the grand opera. La Serva Padrona was exactly 
 what the patrons of the Opera-Comique wanted, and became 
 so popular that a number of French composers began to write 
 in this style. Among them we must especially mention 
 Favart, Marmontel and Dauvergne; the latter's opera Les 
 Troqueurs was very popular during the early part of the 
 nineteenth century (and is still given), because scenes and 
 happenings from every-day life formed its subject. Thus 
 originated the real French opera, opera comique (comedy- 
 opera), which is the expression of the popular taste and the 
 popular life.
 
 French Opera from Us Beginning 169 
 
 The greatest operatic mind of the eighteenth century, and 
 one of the greatest of all time, was Gluck (1714-1785). The 
 Italian opera, as we have seen, was reduced by the middle of 
 this century to a mere collection of showy pieces for the 
 singers, the arias having an excuse in the story, but the dra- 
 matic action being entirely lost because of the interminable 
 length of these arias, and the many recalls of the singers, the 
 whole being more like a concert than what we now call an 
 opera. During these arias, dramatic action stopped, as may 
 be observed in the mad scene of Lucia, where the chorus, 
 representing the relatives and friends of poor, insane Lucia, 
 stand around while she sings long cadenzas in alternation 
 with the flute, in such trying relationship as to test all the 
 vocal ability and technique of a sane person. 
 
 The efforts of Gluck were antagonistic to those practices, 
 although he was educated at Prague, a stronghold of Italian 
 spera, and studied music in Italy. To this fact, of course, 
 is due his love for the Italian language. He wrote for Milan, 
 Venice, Cremona and other Italian cities, was invited to 
 England in 1746, and there produced two operas which met 
 with but moderate success and made but a slight impression 
 on Handel, who had already abandoned the operatic field 
 for that of oratorio. Gluck's visit to England was the turning- 
 point in his career, for he became inspired by the choral 
 works of Handel and impressed by their seriousness, while 
 mortification over his own failures led him to study the nature 
 of dramatic music. On his way back to Vienna he passed 
 through Paris, and heard some of Rameau's operas, which 
 also made a deep impression upon him. He struggled on 
 for some years producing now and then an opera that was 
 slightly better, but not of great note, until his Orpheus appeared 
 in Vienna in 1762. This is his first master-work. It is 
 conceived in the style of the Greek drama after the ideas 
 of Monteverde, except that the chorus has also a prominent 
 Dart in the dramatic action. His instrumentation was &
 
 170 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 revelation of the possibilities of the orchestra, and proved 
 that he at last had found his true sphere. In 1767 he produced 
 Alceste, whose music is excessively severe and tragic. The 
 public was divided as to its merits. The more thoughtful, 
 having conceived an idea of what music might some day 
 become (we are now speaking of the eighteenth century), 
 realized that probably only in a more self-forgetful future 
 would such a lofty work be duly appreciated. 
 
 In his dedication of Alceste to the Duke of Tuscany, which 
 forms a sort of preface to the work, he gives the reasons for 
 his departure from the then recognized Italian opera-forms 
 in the following words: "I seek to put music to its true 
 purpose, that is, to support the poem and thus to strengthen 
 the expression of feeling and the interest of the situation, 
 without interrupting the action. I have, therefore, refrained 
 from interrupting the actor in his fervent dialogues by little 
 ritournelles ; nor have I broken his phrase at a convenient 
 vowel, so that he might exhibit upon it the agility of his voice; 
 nor have I written phrases for the orchestra, that the singer 
 may take a deep breath for such an exhibition; nor have I 
 permitted myself to close an aria when the sense was incom- 
 plete, simply to give the singer a chance to introduce a long 
 cadenza. In short, I have striven to abolish all these bad 
 habits against which sound reasoning and true taste have 
 been struggling for so long in vain." 
 
 Galled by the lack of appreciation and the criticisms of his 
 high ideals by his countrymen, and noting the revolutionary 
 tendency of French philosophy and art-tastes, he went to 
 Paris, hoping to find recognition there. In this he was not 
 disappointed. Through his powerful artist-personality and 
 with the assistance of a stipend from Marie Antoinette, one 
 of his former pupils, he was enabled to obtain the support of 
 the Queen's followers and to produce his Alceste in Paris. 
 Iphigenia in Tauris followed in 1774, Armida in 1777. Here 
 he shows himself equally at home in rich, sensuous music, and
 
 French Opera from Us Beginning 171 
 
 he succeeded so well that the Bouffonites, the King's followers, 
 in their opposition called Piccini from Italy to bring out the 
 latter's opera Roland. 
 
 Once again the operatic war broke out between the old 
 elements, the partisans now styling themselves Gluckists and 
 Piccinists, and volumes were written in praise of Italian music 
 and in criticisms of Gluck's so-called roughness; but, though 
 he was accused of everything unmusical, and was compared 
 with a music-hall composer, he had the support of the men 
 and women who were representative of the literature which 
 then ruled the intellectual life of fashion. 
 
 The rivalry between Piccini and Gluck, i.e., the struggle for 
 supremacy between Italian and French opera (by a German), 
 may be said to have ended when Gluck's Iphigenia in Tauris, 
 succeeding an operatic setting of the same libretto by Piccini, 
 was conceded to be superior, even by his rival, who promptly 
 withdrew his own work and returned to Italy. 
 
 All the finest qualities of Italian and French music, and the 
 beauty of the German orchestra, are united in Gluck's later 
 works and even to-day they are often produced in Europe and 
 occasionally in this country. Gluck was in many respects a 
 direct precursor of Wagner. He died at Vienna in 1787. 
 
 The history of French opera from the time of Gluck is, with 
 few exceptions (and those only within the last fifty years), 
 the history of the Opera-Comique. During the Revolution 
 of 1795 and the five years preceding, the theaters in Paris 
 were crowded, but the composers were employed in glorifying 
 the revolutionary proceedings by national hymns and other 
 occasional works; so the musical productions of that time 
 have had no influence beyond their own period. To this 
 there is one exception, "The Marseillaise," written and com- 
 posed by Rouget de Lisle in 1792 as a "chant de guerre pour 
 1'armee du Rhin," and scored for orchestra by Gossec, which 
 has retained its power from that day to this. To this period 
 of bloody revolution belongs one very peaceful event, namely,
 
 172 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 the establishment of the great Paris "Conservatoire de Mu- 
 sique et de Declamation," which was designed originally by its 
 founder, Sarrette, for the education of French military band 
 players, that they might replace the Germans then employed 
 in the French army. After the government assumed control 
 over this institution, which had been supported out of Sar- 
 rette's private means, its sphere was enlarged to include all 
 forms of musical instruction. 
 
 That the German spirit for many succeeding years influ- 
 enced the growth of French opera is proved by Mehul's 
 Joseph and Cherubim's Wassertrager, both composers acknowl- 
 edged as great musicians by Germany ; the latter being called 
 by Beethoven an unsurpassable master in this kind of com- 
 position. 
 
 Spontini, the genuinely Napoleonic representative of the 
 musical drama of France, followed Gluck's ideal very closely, 
 but labored during the larger part of his artist life in Berlin, 
 where from 1820 to 1841 he was general music-director. 
 
 The French spirit from the day of Gluck until the second 
 half of the nineteenth century was expressed almost exclu- 
 sively in comedy-opera, which, as we have stated, is quite 
 different from what we call "comic opera," having a much 
 higher character, as exemplified in Boieldieu's Calif of Bagdad 
 (1800) and John of Paris (1812); in Auber's La Muette de 
 Portici (1828) and Fra Diavolo (1830), works which in this 
 country are often called grand opera. Herold (1791-1856), 
 with his Zampa (whose overture is so well known), and other 
 operas, begins to reflect the vigorous romantic spirit then 
 abroad in Europe; this was also the case with the works of 
 Charles Adam (1803-1856), who produced his opera Le Postil- 
 ion de Longjumeau in 1836. 
 
 The greatest, however, of all Gluck's successors in the 
 domain of French grand opera up to within the last few years 
 was Gounod, whom we know best as the composer of Faust. 
 He \vas above all a lyric composer of unusual merit, though
 
 French Opera from its Beginning 173 
 
 somewhat deficient in dramatic power, even his Faust depend- 
 ing on the choruses and songs rather than on the dramatic 
 action. 
 
 Other French opera composers of the last fifty years are 
 Victor Masse, who wrote several operas; Massenet, with his 
 Roi de Lahore and Thais; Saint-Saens, whose Samson and 
 Delilah is highly appreciated; Delibes, with Sylvia and 
 Lakme; Lalo, with Le Roi d'Ys; Bizet, with Carmen; Thomas, 
 with Mignon, Hamlet and Francoise de Rimini. 
 
 At the present time French opera is not so much French, 
 except in language, as it is cosmopolitan, its distinguishing 
 features being sprightly rhythms, clear melodic forms, and 
 clever instrumentation. Among foreign composers who have 
 contributed to French opera, we must mention Meyerbeer, 
 who, although also a German, gave us Les Huguenots and 
 Robert le Diable. The names of contemporary successful 
 composers of French opera, and of their works, may be learned 
 by reading the repertoire of modern Grand Opera companies.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 OPERA IN GERMANY AND THE GERMAN OPERA. 
 
 GERMANY was the first country outside of Italy in which 
 an Italian opera was performed, and it was given in the German 
 language and not in the original Italian ; for like the French, 
 the Germans have, from the outset, stood for the principle 
 that if they were to have any opera, they wanted it in their 
 own language. This is not strange, when we remember how, 
 even from the very beginning of the Christian church, they 
 protested against participation in the Latin musical services, 
 and would sing only in German, standing up sturdily for their 
 own tongue. That we, as Americans, have not been equally 
 persistent in demanding opera in our own tongue, is the result 
 of many causes which may not be stated here. 
 
 We have already considered the "Moralities" or "Mystery- 
 plays," as precursors of the Oratorio, having principally 
 theological and moral aims. Besides these, there were in 
 vogue among German university students certain kinds of 
 dramatic and comic plays which were recited in Latin or 
 German, and which later, because of Renaissance influence, 
 assumed importance as factors in the regeneration of the 
 drama according to Greek ideals. Different kinds of entertain- 
 ment called inter-scena or entr'actes, consisting of vocal and 
 instrumental numbers which had no connection with the 
 comedies themselves, filled the pauses between the acts of 
 the plays. 
 
 One of these school comedies, entitled "Jerusalem delivered 
 by the noble Prince, Godfrey, Duke of Bouillon," will serve as 
 an illustration. Its first inter-sccna consisted of (i) a panto- 
 mime by Pallas- Athene, Diana, Daphne and Mercury, with 
 
 174
 
 Opera in Germany and the German Opera 175 
 
 instrumental accompaniment; (2) a chorus sung by "all the 
 nymphs; " (3) lyrics sung by Mercury and the goddesses; 
 and (4) a ballet "neatly danced" by Mercury and the nymphs. 
 Its second inter-scena represented a combat between "Amazons 
 and men"; others consisted of dances, quartets and songs. 
 
 Besides these student-plays, there were in vogue at the 
 annual fairs and among the guilds of which we have repeatedly 
 spoken, certain dramatic performances called "Carnival 
 plays," which were at first arranged and concocted chiefly 
 by workingmen, but later by folk-poets such as Hans Sachs. 
 
 The Elector John George of Saxony, however, deemed this 
 sort of entertainment insufficient for the entourage of the 
 Landgrave of Darmstadt, who was to marry his daughter, 
 in 1620. Having heard of the great revival of what was then 
 thought to be the music of antiquity, he sent his court music 
 director, Heinrich Schiitz, to Florence, to study its form and 
 to secure a copy of Peri's maiden effort. Upon his return, 
 the Elector commissioned the court poet, Opitz, to translate 
 the Italian text into German. When the translation was 
 finished, it was found that text and music did not agree, the 
 dramatic accent of the German declamation not being in 
 accord with that of the Italian. Schiitz, whom we have 
 mentioned as a pupil of Gabrieli, was therefore commissioned 
 to write new music in the Italian style to the translated 
 text. In this form it was performed in Germany, but. since 
 there was now nothing left of the Italian work except the 
 story, we may well say that it was the first German opera, 
 even though its creation as such was almost accidental. 
 
 Neither the audiences nor the musicians of that day seem 
 to have recognized the importance of what had thus been 
 done, or the possibilities suggested by the performance of 
 this work. Schiitz, moreover, was (as we shall see later) 
 essentially a Church composer, although he wrote one other 
 opera in the Italian style, copied after Monteverde's Orpheus, 
 which was performed in Dresden, in 1638. This lack of
 
 176 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 initiative on the part of musicians to write similar works was 
 partly due to the political disturbances and consequent ma- 
 terial distress created by the Thirty- Years' war, which was 
 so destructive of every form of art in the German cities. 
 
 The city of Hamburg, however, formed an exception. Be- 
 ing a free city, and consequently immune from the ravages 
 of war and the drafting of its citizens into the army, also 
 because of its geographical position, its commercial energy, 
 and the consequent wealth and unusually high ideals of life 
 among its citizens, it had become a sort of nursery of musical 
 art and a Mecca for musicians, and as such had obtained a 
 considerable reputation throughout Germany. The fact that 
 Christoph Bernhard, when called in 1664 from Dresden to 
 Hamburg to be Director of Protestant church music in that 
 city, was met by the city officials, two miles out of town, 
 with a retinue of six coaches and a parade, and escorted by 
 them to a home that had been prepared for him, is one of the 
 best evidences of the city's respect for men of learning. 
 Even fifty or one hundred years later, such an action would 
 have been uncommon, and proves that Hamburg was a city 
 which highly esteemed knowledge, art and skill. Naturally, 
 some of the best musicians in Germany, hungry for that kind 
 of recognition, and appreciating its contrast with the servant- 
 like treatment they received almost everywhere else, flocked 
 to this hospitable city and made it their home. 
 
 Since the most progressive of them were employed in the 
 churches, it was but natural that the influence of the newly 
 recognized dramatic element in music should there first be 
 felt. This aroused opposition, and the question was freely 
 discussed as to whether music, proper for the church, should 
 be in the then accepted choral style, or in a subdued theatrical 
 style, with strong emotional and dramatic expression. The 
 best qualified musicians were inclined to this latter form, 
 holding that the very best forms of music should be used by 
 the church, and should not be confined to the theater.
 
 Opera in Germany and the German Opera 177 
 
 As a natural consequence of this attitude, the dramatic 
 Protestant church cantata, which later developed into the 
 Passion music as perfected by Bach, was originated. Some 
 of the clergy themselves wrote librettos for these cantatas in 
 operatic form, based on the sacred text, but it was not long 
 before the poets began to crowd out the Biblical text with 
 inspirations (?) of their own. These were often anything 
 but sublime, the sad story of the Passion being sometimes 
 almost lost. The orthodox clergy of course objected to these 
 inspirations, and a literary-musical feud began, which was not 
 limited to the city, but extended far beyond its confines. 
 
 Because of Hamburg's progressive spirit, it was natural 
 that she should also lead in the domain of opera. The de- 
 velopment of the dramatic element in church music gave an 
 impulse toward higher and better things for the theater. 
 Artists, musicians, litterateurs, and even the clergy gradually 
 began to favor the opera. Some preachers even wrote opera- 
 texts, to show their approval in deed as well as in word, and 
 their wishes were finally realized; for in 1678 the first German 
 opera-house was opened with the opera Adam and Eve, or, The 
 Created, Fallen and Redeemed Man, text by the celebrated 
 preacher Richter, music by Theile. This first intentional 
 German attempt at opera excited great interest, and many 
 confidently hoped for a rapid development of this form of 
 entertainment. 
 
 Hamburg, having a republican form of government, did not 
 have to consult the wishes of the Court and aristocrats, and 
 it was expected that opera would please the people. Its 
 projectors, however, were disappointed, for the poets wrote 
 above the heads of the multitude, and the sacred, austere and 
 profound subjects upon which their librettos were based, 
 gave no delight to the pleasure-loving audiences. The 
 managers, therefore, began to infuse a ludicrous element into 
 the sacred plays, sometimes even in the most serious situ- 
 ations, hoping thus to catch public favor. The operas were
 
 178 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 elaborately staged, almost regardless of expense, the only 
 great difficulty confronting managers and composers being a 
 lack of efficient singers, especially for women's parts. The 
 Germans did not like the unnatural male singers employed 
 throughout Italy, and women of respectable families were 
 ashamed to devote themselves to the stage because of preju- 
 dices then already existing. Accordingly, the singers secured 
 were largely from the lower classes, though they were to 
 represent goddesses, queens and Biblical characters. 
 
 During the directorship of the musician Cousser (1693-95) 
 great improvements were made in German opera, which he 
 modeled after the more modern Italian plan, introducing a 
 better style of writing and singing. Like Lully, he exerted 
 a tremendous influence over his singers; he knew how to 
 exercise discipline in a pleasant manner, resulting in a much 
 better ensemble than had ever existed before. He is held up 
 by Mattheson, one of the writers of the day, as the perfect 
 music-director and teacher of artists. Reinhard Keiser 
 (1674-1739), who came to Hamburg in the same year as 
 Cousser, was a still more versatile man, and became the 
 popular idol. While in Hamburg he wrote one hundred and 
 sixteen operas; however, he worked only to please the people 
 of his day, and in this he succeeded. 
 
 Hamburg so attracted German musicians from all quarters 
 by its efforts for the formation of a national opera, that 
 Handel, upon his return from Italy, spent three years (1703- 
 1706) in work for the opera-house in that city. In spite of 
 even his efforts, which had been so successful in Italy, German 
 opera gradually declined, and stimulants wholly foreign to 
 serious works became increasingly necessary to hold the 
 attention of the fickle public, until in 1738 it was entirely dis- 
 continued, and this last stronghold of the opposition surren- 
 dered to the victorious Italians. 
 
 About the middle of the eighteenth century, however, 
 German poetry took a strong upward flight through the
 
 Opera in "Germany and the German Opera 179 
 
 writings of the great poets of Frederick the Great's time, 
 Klopstock and Lessing. Before long, German opera, or at 
 least opera by Germans, began to bestir itself again through 
 the efforts of Gluck, who followed Lully and Rameau as the 
 most suitable models for the expression of his German opposi- 
 tion to the dramatic vagueness of the then prevalent Italian 
 opera. 
 
 The scene of operatic attempts now shifted to Leipzig, 
 which extended a welcome to the bold spirits who ventured 
 to contend with the Italians, resulting, in 1765, in a song-play 
 entitled The Devil is Loose, or, The Transformed Women, the 
 music by Hiller, the Cantor of St. Thomas' church. Poor 
 Hiller had his hands full, having to meet an even more griev- 
 ous difficulty in his artistic efforts than that of securing 
 capable singers to give acceptable performances of his music, 
 for the theater-director required him to write opera music so 
 simple tKat the audience could occasionally join in the perform- 
 ance. An intimate friend of Killer's, who was familiar with 
 the composer's ideals, especially mentions the lack of available 
 singers, and says: "As often as there came an air by Hiller 
 that was full of noble feeling and very expressive, I imagined 
 to myself how he used to sing it to me at home, and then I had 
 to listen to the bawling of some big-mouthed female singer 
 or the fog-horn-like night-watchman's voice of the lover/' 
 Still, Killer's form of the song-play was very popular, partly 
 because of its merit as a species of musical amusement and 
 partly because of the really intense patriotic feeling of the 
 German people that prompted their antagonism to foreign 
 ideas. 
 
 In Vienna, German song-plays and operettas had already 
 been performed for many years by itinerant theatrical troupes, 
 and, as early as 1751, Haydn had tried his powers on one of 
 these, but neither that operetta nor an early work of Mozart's 
 given in 1768 (in private) exercised any particular influence on 
 the development of German opera.
 
 180 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 In 1765 Joseph II ascended the Austrian throne, and from 
 the beginning of his reign he patronized the German stage, 
 recognizing its aid in the development of national culture. 
 He even determined to suppress entirely the Italian opera and 
 ballet, in order to foster the national "song-plays," as he 
 called the German operatic productions. As a result, quite 
 a series of such works came into existence, some being transla- 
 tions from the French and Italian and others being written 
 by Viennese poets and musicians. Among these last was 
 Mozart, who, having composed many Italian ones, cherished 
 the idea of writing a real German opera. He found a suitable 
 libretto, and Die Entfiihrung aus dem Serail (II Seraglio) in 
 1782 was the result. This opera received the enthusiastic 
 applause of the Viennese public; but, in spite of this and the 
 fact that it was much nearer Emperor Joseph's ideas, Mozart 
 did not get a commission for another opera. The emperor 
 seems to have thought the work insignificant, although he 
 recognized its beauty, for in conversation with Mozart he said, 
 "Too beautiful, dear Mozart, for our ears, and very many 
 notes," to which Mozart, the artist, replied, "Just so many 
 notes, your Majesty, as are necessary no more." How true 
 that is of everything Mozart wrote: "Just so many notes as 
 are necessary, and no more." 
 
 The venerable Gluck, returned from his triumphs in France 
 to end his days in Vienna, was deeply interested in the 
 Entfiihrung, and at his request it was performed for him 
 outside of the regular opera season. Goethe, who was inter- 
 ested in the success of a song-play for which he had written 
 the libretto, wrote to one of his friends; "Our piece suffered 
 from vocal leanness; it mounted no higher than a terzetto, 
 and one would have given a great deal for a chorus (Italian 
 style). Hence, all our efforts to keep within the simple and 
 limited were thrown away when Mozart appeared. The 
 Entfiihrung struck down everything, and nothing more was 
 said of our carefully prepared piece."
 
 Opera in Germany and the German Opera 181 
 
 The Entfiihrung is as much a German opera, as Don Giovanni 
 and Figaro are Italian, Mozart's genius enabling him to give 
 the character of each of these nations in his works. The 
 light opera, which had always been opposed by the best 
 litterateurs of Germany as destructive to culture and taste, 
 gained, through his efforts, a place among serious musical 
 art-works. 
 
 But still greater applause aiid encomiums were showered 
 upon one of Mozart's brilliant contemporaries, Ditters von 
 Dittersdorf, an amateur who wrote numerous string-quartets 
 very much in Haydn's style. He adapted his operas to the 
 musical culture of his environment, instead of rising above 
 it as Mozart did, and by means of melodic richness and 
 artistic forms, secured instant popularity and thus helped 
 immensely in refining the national taste. A number of minor 
 composers added to this refinement, and prepared the public 
 for an understanding of Mozart's Magic Flute, which may well 
 be considered as opening the temple of German operatic art. 
 It was the first real German opera, employing almost entirely 
 German characters, some of them strictly indigenous to 
 German soil, although some of the scenes are laid in Egypt. 
 In the Entfiihrung Mozart had attempted to improve the song- 
 play, but in The Magic Flute he gave full vent to his inward 
 artistic demand for dramatic characterization in whatever 
 form might best suit his purpose. That he succeeded is seen 
 in every measure of the score, with the exception of two dis- 
 play arias for the "Queen of Night," which he wrote for his 
 sister-in-law's agile throat. His German nature, unaffected 
 by prevalent Italian art-practices, is especially evident in the 
 characterization of Papageno, the bird-catcher, and in the 
 religious ceremonials of the Egyptian priests, which are said 
 to imitate those of the Free Masons, of which fraternity he 
 was a member. The popularity of The Magic Flute, although 
 more than one hundred and twenty years have passed since 
 its first performance, is greater now than a hundred years ago,
 
 182 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 and it is performed everywhere in Europe, despite its contrast 
 to most modern operas. Beethoven declared that The Magic 
 Flute was Mozart's greatest work, "for here he has shown 
 himself a German master." 
 
 As the art of dramatic and artistic singing was the in- 
 dispensable basis of musical education until the close of the 
 eighteenth century, Beethoven, of course, studied it also, 
 and under one of its greatest masters, Salieri; still, it is 
 evident in Fidelio (his only opera) that he did not feel bound 
 by the vocal instructions of this teacher, and the complaints 
 of " unsingableness " uttered during the rehearsals of his 
 opera by the artists were, in a measure, well-founded. Nor 
 did Beethoven fully appreciate the scenic demands of a well- 
 staged opera, and, as he was very headstrong, and at first 
 refused to listen to any suggestions of improvements, the 
 reception of Fidelio was a very cool one, and it was criticised 
 as being "below expectations." The failure of the opera, 
 however, was not due to a real lack of artistic value; the 
 political situation must be taken into account. Napoleon 
 and his army had, but a few days before, driven the Austrian 
 court and nobility out of Vienna, and the first audience that 
 listened to Beethoven's opera was one composed entirely of 
 French soldiers. The next year it was given again, slightly 
 altered, with a little more success. Then it remained un- 
 performed until 1814, when Beethoven again revised it, and 
 it was then better understood and appreciated. 
 
 His genius demanded broader musical forms than those of 
 the opera of his day; but he so improved the orchestra and 
 so masterfully developed its capabilities that the Romantic 
 school of composers, which arose during his lifetime, was 
 enabled so to direct German opera that it acquired character- 
 istics as genuinely national as those of French or Italian 
 lyric drama. 
 
 German opera in the first half of the nineteenth century 
 reached an extraordinary development, far beyond its pred-
 
 Opera in Germany and the German Opera 183 
 
 ecessors among other nations, its special characteristics be- 
 ing full and dramatic treatment of the orchestra and a mode 
 of vocal delivery partaking of melody and recitative in nearly 
 equal proportions, the entire object of the opera being to 
 present a dramatic unity which should reach and impress the 
 inner consciousness of the listener. 
 
 Italian opera at that time consisted of a series of beautiful 
 arias and ensemble numbers, mostly held together by a thread 
 of recitative, accompanied by detached chords marking the 
 emphatic moments. The Germans of the early nineteenth 
 century greatly improved this (as the Italians did later) by a 
 recitative stromentato, a recitative accompanied by a de- 
 scriptive and sometimes flowing instrumental accompaniment, 
 which, however, differs essentially from the descriptive 
 recitative of Handel, Haydn, Gluck and Mozart. 
 
 The first of the German Romantic opera composers was 
 Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), although Spohr might 
 be mentioned as a comparatively weak example. Weber's 
 father was an actor and director of a traveling troupe of 
 Thespians, and a singer of some note. The boy's education 
 was rather fragmentary, since it depended upon the pro- 
 fessional engagements of his father in different cities. His 
 parents intended him to be a pianist, and he gave concerts 
 when he was but fourteen, at which age he also brought out 
 an operetta which was much appreciated in Vienna five years 
 later, and was also given at Prague, St. Petersburg and other 
 cities. At the age of eighteen, he became theater music- 
 director in Breslau, showing great talent in that capacity. 
 Here he composed his first romantic opera, Rilbezahl (1807). 
 whose overture is often played at popular concerts. In 
 1813 he was called to fill a similar position at Prague. There 
 he brought order out of the chaotic condition of things musical 
 at the opera house, disciplining his orchestra and engaging 
 new singers from Vienna. He was so successful that, in 
 1816, he was called to Dresden, where he remained until his
 
 1 84 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 death in 1826, giving those masterworks to the world which 
 established German opera on a distinctly national basis. 
 His new position was peculiar, because he found in Dresden 
 two companies of singers; one, Italian, which presented 
 grand operas, and the other, German, which performed light 
 and comic operas. His operas, which were conceded to be 
 of a much higher character than the best Italian works of 
 that day, gradually reversed this custom. In 1821 he brought 
 out Preciosa, and in 1822 Der Freischiitz, which latter estab- 
 lished his reputation forever, and was produced in Berlin 
 and other important cities quite frequently, even in that 
 same year. The performance of Der Freischiitz created the 
 wildest enthusiasm, for it united two ideas dear to all Germans 
 - peasant-life with its folk-song, and the fairy-lore that is 
 indigenous to the soil while its charming music was quite 
 original and also distinctively German. 
 
 In Der Freischiitz Weber makes use of what we have since 
 learned to call the Leitmotiv (compare Monte verde), that is, 
 a certain characteristic phrase which accompanies a certain 
 dramatic character or alludes to some dramatic incident, a 
 practice apt to be associated almost wholly with Wagner. 
 Weber's works marked the beginning of a distinct epoch in 
 German opera, as distinct as that ushered in by the Ring des 
 Xibelungen of W T agner, who speaks of the tremendous in- 
 fluence they had on him. 
 
 Weber's Euryanthe followed in 1823. This opera, which 
 in a way is the model of Wagner's Lohengrin, was received 
 with enthusiasm both in Germany and Austria. In the 
 same year followed his wonderful fairy opera Oberon, the 
 first such work ever written, and produced at London in 
 1826. But the strain of the work upon him was too great, 
 and he died in that same year. 
 
 Of Gluck we have spoken in connection with French opera, 
 because his greatest works, like those of Meyerbeer, were 
 written for France and given in Paris. One of Weber's
 
 Opera in Germany and the German Opera 185 
 
 greatest immediate successors was Marschner, who ex- 
 celled in the presentation of the unearthly and supernatural, 
 as may be seen in his Hans Heiling, which deals with the 
 kobolds of the mountains. He also had a gift for the delin- 
 eation of plebeian or comic characters, in which he was not 
 surpassed even by Weber. 
 
 It must not be thought, however, that the new German 
 style of opera was accepted without criticism or antagonism 
 by the adherents and lovers of Italian opera, for Weber's 
 Freischiitz was called the "most unmusical clatter ever put 
 on the stage," and resort was had to all kinds of cabals and 
 intrigues to drive the Germans out of the operatic field, as 
 Handel had been driven out of London opera houses. 
 
 But all in vain. German opera had now achieved an ex- 
 cellence all its own, one that could not be gainsaid even by 
 the Italians, whose most prominent composer of the time, 
 Rossini, finally recognized its superiority in his William 
 Tell. German opera received its final crown through the 
 efforts of Richard Wagner, of whom we shall speak at an- 
 other time.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MUSIC OF THE PROTESTANT 
 CHURCH, THE PASSION AND THE ORATORIO. 
 
 IN a preceding chapter we followed the development of 
 Catholic church music to its greatest height of artistic excel- 
 lence at the hands of Lassus, Palestrina and some of their 
 successors, an indirect result of the great Reformation. We 
 have seen that the music of the Protestant Church, imme- 
 diately after its stormy birth, consisted largely of the 
 Chorales, composed and selected mostly by Luther and his 
 assistants, Johann Walther and Conrad Rupf. We have 
 also spoken of the great Reformer's admiration for polyphonic 
 music, of its publication under his direction, and of his recom- 
 mendation of its employment in religious services, if sung 
 by a choir selected especially for that purpose. The Chorale, 
 however, was the nucleus of Protestant church music, and 
 its popularity invited to simple harmonic settings, rather 
 than to contrapuntal profundity. The hymns published by 
 Luther and his helpers became the foundation of Protestant 
 church music, as Plain-song had been of Catholic church 
 music. 
 
 The Swiss Reformation, under the leadership of Zwingli 
 (1518) and Calvin, contributed its share to the production 
 of the "Metrical Psalter," or versification of the Psalms, 
 which were promptly translated into other languages and 
 found a congenial home in England, a country whose contri- 
 butions to Protestant church music we shall now consider. 
 
 We have already noted the development of the folk-song 
 and popular music in the British Isles, and have spoken of 
 the polyphonic efforts of early English composers (of which 
 
 186
 
 Music of the Protestant Church 187 
 
 "Sumer is icumen in" is such a splendid example). An old 
 manuscript of approximately the same date presents a dance- 
 tune, of which we give one strophe. 
 
 58. Old English Dance-Tune of about 1250 
 
 -^ ^-a 
 
 etc. 
 
 Both compositions are especially interesting in that they 
 are distinctly in the major key of F and not in one of the then 
 prevalent church modes, proving still further that our modern 
 tonality was well known and liked among the people, even 
 though shunned by the Church. 
 
 During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries minstrelsy 
 in England gradually declined, owing to the suppression of 
 many lesser sovereignties at whose courts the bards had 
 flourished. That the practice of music nevertheless formed 
 a considerable portion of the social life of the time is proved 
 by contemporaneous poetry, which is full of its praises. 
 
 The religious unrest which caused the Reformation in 
 Germany, Switzerland and France, spread to England and, 
 in 1534, resulted in the abandonment of religious obedience 
 to the Papal See, Henry VIII becoming the head of a newly 
 formed Anglican church. 
 
 During his reign and that of his successors, Edward VI, 
 Mary and Elizabeth, church music underwent a decided trans- 
 formation, due in large measure to an imported religious sect 
 called the Lollards, and their habit of singing metrical Psalms. 
 
 Henry VIII was well educated in music, some of his compo- 
 sitions showing decided originality; his influence was strongly 
 exerted in the encouragement of musical art. 
 
 The Bible having been translated into English, there was 
 published in 1549 "The Book of Common Prayer," calling for
 
 1 88 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 three varieties of new musical settings differing from those of 
 the Catholic Church; first, the chants for the Priests, with 
 responses for the congregation; secondly, canticles (fixed 
 anthems) such as the Te Deum, the Jubilate and the Magnifi- 
 cat, for the choir; and thirdly, Hymns and Anthems other 
 than those prescribed. 
 
 As a result, in 1550, John Merbecke published the first 
 musical setting of this Book of Common Prayer, marking an 
 epoch in the history of English Protestant church music. Its 
 preface contains the following interesting explanation: "In 
 this booke is conteyned so muche of the Order of Common 
 Prayer as it is to be sung in Churches, wherein are used only 
 
 these IIII sortes of notes: 
 
 59. 
 
 The first is a sterne note and is a breve. The second is a 
 
 square note and is a semi-breve. The III is a prycke and is 
 a mynyme. And when there is a prycke by the square note, 
 that prycke is halfe as much as the note that goeth before it. 
 
 The IIII is a close and is only used at y e end of a verse." 
 
 In the Matins and Evensong which follow, the priest's 
 part is very similar to that still in use in many Cathedrals 
 and collegiate churches, as are also the responses, the Venite, 
 Te Deum, Benedictus and Magnificat. In fact, all these 
 canticles in use in the Episcopal church to-day are found in 
 this book, the melodies alone being given. They are written 
 in the various church modes and printed on the ecclesiastical 
 four-line staff of the Roman Catholic Church. It was not 
 long, however, before musicians began to harmonize these 
 melodies in four and five parts, in contrapuntal style, note 
 against note. 
 
 The principal church composer during the reign of Edward 
 VI was Christopher Tye, one of the best musicians of the
 
 Music of the Protestant Church 189 
 
 period. The University of Oxford, where King Alfred in 866 
 had established a chair of music, conferred upon him the 
 degree of Doctor of Music; and he was so esteemed by his 
 countrymen, that in an old play of the early seventeenth 
 century Prince Edward, who was one of his pupils, is made 
 
 to say: 
 
 England one God, one Truth, one Doctor hath, 
 For Musicke's art, and that is Doctor Tye. 
 
 During the reign of Queen Mary, the Catholic Latin service 
 was temporarily restored, but upon the accession of Elizabeth 
 to the throne it was entirely abandoned, and thenceforth all 
 Protestant church services were held in the English tongue. 
 
 The Virgin Queen was a patroness of all the arts, and while 
 she held the scepter, secular as well as sacred music received 
 every encouragement, and the Anglican Liturgy as published 
 by Merbecke was firmly established. As he had noted only 
 the melodies, English church composers now began to devote 
 themselves to the application of harmony to these tunes. 
 In their seriousness and devotional character the results of 
 their efforts compare favorably with those of Palestrina, 
 whose reforms were inaugurated about the same time in Italy. 
 
 Foremost among English church composers in the last half 
 of the sixteenth century was Thomas Tallis (1515 7-1585), 
 who, strange to say, wrote for the Catholic Church as well as 
 for the Anglican. His anthems, in spite of their somewhat 
 antiquated style, bear witness to the high standards of the 
 first English Protestant composers. His most stupendous 
 work is a Motet for forty distinct voice-parts, which is de- 
 scribed at length in Dr. Burney's History of Music, Vol. III. 
 The chief characteristics of his compositions are grandeur and 
 devotional solemnity, and some of them are still used in the 
 choral services on great national or religious festivals. 
 
 William Byrd (1543-1623), his best pupil, became almost 
 as famous as Tallis, on whose style he founded his work, a 
 specimen of which was presented in a previous chapter.
 
 igo Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Another English master of the period mentioned was 
 Thomas Morley (1557-1603), a pupil of Byrd. He was the 
 first in some of whose anthems solo voices appear. His 
 Madrigal "Now is the month of maying" is still sung quite 
 frequently. 
 
 The taste for singing metrical versions of the Psalms, that 
 had arisen in Germany, Switzerland and France, spread to 
 England during the reign of Elizabeth, and to such a degree 
 that a royal decree was invoked and obtained, confining its 
 practice to periods anterior and posterior to the regular 
 church services. The first complete edition of the versified 
 Psalms in English had been published in 1562, accompanied 
 by melodies called "the church tunes," whose origin is un- 
 certain. Shortly afterwards these reappeared, harmonized 
 in four parts, under the title "The Whole Psalmes in foure 
 parts, which may be song to al musicall instruments, set 
 forth for the encrease of vertue, and abolishyng of other 
 vayne and triflyng ballads." This work was intended for 
 private and not for church use, and was succeeded by several 
 similar ones, the most important of which was brought out 
 by Thomas Este in 1592. The title-page of this volume ex- 
 plains its purpose as follows: "The Whole Booke of Psalmes: 
 with their wonted Tunes, as they are song in Churches, com- 
 posed into foure parts: All which are so placed that foure 
 may sing ech one a seueral part in this booke. Wherein the 
 Church tunes are carefully corrected, and thereunto added 
 other short tunes usually song in London and other places 
 of this Realme. With a table in the end of the booke of such 
 tunes as are newly added, with the number of ech Psalme 
 placed to the said Tune. Compiled by sondry avthors, who 
 haue so laboured herein, that the unskilfull with small practice 
 may attayne to sing that part, which is fittest for their 
 voyce." In this work, hymn-tunes are first named after 
 places, and the melody is again given to tenor instead of 
 soprano voices.
 
 Music of the Protestant Church 191 
 
 During the first twenty-five years of the reign of James I, 
 Elizabeth's successor, English church music made small 
 progress, although several new composers appeared upon the 
 scene, among whom is especially to be noted that scion o? 
 an exceedingly talented, musical family, Orlando Gibbons 
 (1583-1625). His church anthems exhibit such a style and 
 excellence, that his countrymen called him the English 
 Palestrina, a title which perhaps might have become uni- 
 versal had he lived longer. His anthem "Hosanna to the 
 Son of David," and his madrigal "The Silver Swan," are ex- 
 cellent specimens of his work, the latter being easily obtain- 
 able. One of his contemporaries, John Bull (1562-1628), 
 added but little to the treasury of Protestant church music, 
 although he was such a skilled contrapuntist and organist 
 that he was called to Antwerp in 1617 to take charge of the 
 music in that great city, where he remained until his death. 
 He was one of the three English musicians who contributed 
 to the first collection of compositions for the virginal called 
 "Parthenia." 
 
 During the reign of Charles I and the protectorate of 
 Cromwell in fact, after the death of Orlando Gibbons 
 Protestant church music in England gradually degenerated and 
 was finally almost suppressed. Musical art, however, found 
 a new avenue for development in the Masque (or Mask), a 
 play with incidental music, of which Milton's ''Comus" is 
 an excellent example. On its native heath, France, the 
 Masque was, as we have seen, the very plant whose blossom 
 was the early French opera. 
 
 The results of Luther's influence upon Protestant church 
 music in Germany are seen in the numerous collections of 
 hymns and versified Psalms which appeared in the years 
 immediately following his death. Among the most impor- 
 tant masters who wrote new church music in Germany, 
 was Seth Kallwitz (Sethus Calvisius), a self-taught musician 
 of striking individuality, the first of the great cantors of
 
 192 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Leipzig's celebrated St. Thomas' church, made so famous 
 by Bach. The fact that some of his collections ran through 
 several editions, is the best evidence of their popularity. A 
 number of other German musicians enriched the Protes- 
 tant services by similar settings of the Psalms and Motets 
 and sacred songs, but what particularly interests us are 
 the musical interpretations of the Passion of Christ as 
 set forth in the Gospels, a direct outgrowth of Luther's 
 efforts and a splendid addition to the music of the Protestant 
 Church. 
 
 We have already described the rise of the Oratorio as a 
 form of religious service. The story of Christ's death and 
 sufferings, which we call "the Passion," has always appealed 
 to the dramatic instincts of mankind, and especially to 
 Christians, of whose faith it is the very foundation. We 
 have seen how the Passion, as well as the sufferings of the 
 Virgin-Mother, were enacted in the Middle Ages, at first 
 exclusively by the priesthood, and later with the assistance 
 of the congregation, but always under the guidance of the 
 Church. W 7 e shall now see how the same inherent dramatico- 
 religious demand of the people was gratified by Protestant 
 composers in their musical settings of the Passion, the be- 
 ginnings of German Oratorio, which was to find its greatest 
 exponents in Handel and Bach. 
 
 Among the first of these is Joachim von Burck, who wrote 
 five Passions, two according to St. Luke and one according to 
 each of the other Evangelists. Another was Nikolaus Sel- 
 necker, whose Passion music is already distinctive and unique 
 in that the words of the Apostles as well as those of the angry 
 mob are set for four voices, sometimes in the form of a chant, 
 at others in that of a chorale. The treatment of the text of 
 the Passion varied with succeeding composers, according to 
 their individuality; the one by Gesius, published at Witten- 
 berg in 1583, being quite dramatic in character. Its opening 
 five-part chorus consisted of an appeal to "pious Christians/'
 
 Music of the Protestant Church 193 
 
 having for its text the words, "Lift ye your hearts to God 
 and listen to the sufferings of your Lord, Jesus Christ, as 
 described by St. John." In this work the gospel is intoned 
 throughout by a tenor voice, while the words of Christ are 
 set for a four-part chorus. Peter and Pilate are each repre- 
 sented by a three-part chorus of women's voices, and the 
 shouts of the multitude by a five-part chorus. One of the 
 last Evangelical composers whose works show the strong 
 influence of Luther's musical as well as religious doctrines, was 
 Johannes Eccard (1553-1611), a pupil of Orlando di Lasso. 
 His most important work is "A Collection of Fifty-five 
 Sacred Melodies for Feast-days and Holy-days, including 
 Psalms and other Hymn-tunes," which is full of musical 
 jewels in the melodic form of the Chorale, harmonized in so 
 simple a manner, with so little motion in the accompanying 
 voices, that they were easy of performance by the musical 
 laity, and therefore a welcome addition to Protestant church 
 music. He also composed a number of "Prussian Festival 
 Songs for the whole year, for five, six, seven and eight 
 voices," whose form is new, as it lies between the Motet and 
 the song. 
 
 The influence of the Passion form of musical service was 
 so great, that even Catholic writers, such as Scandelius,- 
 began to write Passion music to German texts. In his setting 
 the Gospel story, as told by the Evangelist, is given in a 
 flowing recitative, and while Christ and the mob are repre- 
 sented by a four-part choir, the words of all the other person- 
 ages are uttered by a three-part choir. 
 
 Most musical writings during the last half of the sixteenth 
 century were in simple counterpoint, note against note; but 
 towards its close polyphonic accompaniment seems to desert 
 the melody of the chorale, and seeks a new field in the world of 
 composition, a departure for which the many improvements 
 in the Church organs, and the skill of the organists, were 
 undoubtedly responsible.
 
 1 94 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 We have spoken in a previous chapter of the gradual 
 assumption of supremacy in the musical world by the Italians 
 over the Netherlanders, and have mentioned the constant 
 migration of musicians from Germany and even from the 
 Netherlands to Italy for study under the masters of that 
 country. This was in a measure due to a recognition of the 
 superior beauty and euphony of the compositions of Pale- 
 strina, who united in his works the contrapuntal mastery of 
 the Netherlanders with the melodic beauty of the Italians. A 
 number of the younger German musicians went to Venice 
 and studied under the Gabrielis, of whom we have spoken. 
 Among them we should notice Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612), 
 whose contrapuntal compositions combine, in melody and 
 tone-color, the highest and most beautiful that German and 
 Italian art of that time could produce, and who later made 
 his home in Nuremberg. 
 
 Other young musicians went to Rome, attracted by the 
 fame of Carissimi and Frescobaldi. Prominent among them 
 was Jacob Froberger, a superb organist and musician, the 
 first to use the five-line staff, with the C, G, and F clefs. 
 
 The most notable German masters in the latter part of 
 the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth century 
 were Michael Praetorius, Heinrich Schiitz and Jacob Fux. 
 These three, more than any others of that period, possessed 
 the artistic comprehensiveness which enabled them to act as 
 mediators between the musical culture of Germany and that 
 of Italy, and to fuse the different art-styles and forms of these 
 countries into one. 
 
 Praetorius (1571-1621) was a thoroughly equipped musician, 
 a master of every style then known, and a distinguished 
 writer on the history and theory of music. His " Syntagma 
 Musicum" (in three volumes, published about 1615) is a 
 complete encyclopedia of music and the musical instruments 
 of his time, giving us an accurate idea of the various musical 
 instruments of the day and their construction, as well as of
 
 Music of the Protestant Church 195 
 
 the fusion of some instruments of similar character into one. 
 In the third volume he mentions the "new style and manner 
 of Italian music," " nuove musiche," proving that he was ac- 
 quainted with the inventions of Peri, Caccini, Monteverde 
 and Carissimi. He even speaks of "figured bass" as "a new 
 Italian scientific invention, of great value to chapel-masters, 
 directors, cantors, organists and lutists, which is now coming 
 into use in Germany." In another place he confesses his 
 "humble efforts to imitate the Italians" in his a cappella 
 compositions for two and three choirs with an occasional 
 orchestral accompaniment in the style of the Gabrielis. In 
 his "songs in concert style" he employs the florid style of 
 writing used by Caccini, and deliberately states that the 
 songs " are composed in the present Italian manner." He 
 devoted himself equally to compositions in the Italian style, 
 and to the Evangelical music of the Protestant Church, of 
 which he was a devout member. 
 
 Heinrich Schlitz (1585-1672) was also equally at home 
 in the music of the Catholic and Protestant churches, and 
 was an even greater musician than Praetorius, for his works 
 stamp him as a direct precursor of Bach and Handel. His 
 admiration for his teacher Giovanni Gabrieli, with whom he 
 studied in Venice, at the time of Monteverde's first opera, 
 was mentioned in a previous chapter. After Gabrieli's death, 
 Schtitz went to Dresden, where he remained several years 
 as chapel-master to John George I, Elector of Saxony. We 
 have already spoken of his work on what was really the first 
 German opera, a translation of Peri's Daphne, written at 
 the order of his princely employer. Schiitz, however, was 
 essentially a church composer, who combined in his musical 
 utterances the devotional simplicity of Palestrina, the tone- 
 coloring of the Gabrielis, and the serious, pithy expression of 
 the Protestant Church. He introduced into Germany the 
 form of the "Symphoniae sacrae" of his master, among which 
 must be mentioned the one dealing with the conversion of
 
 196 
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Saul upon his way to Damascus, a vividly dramatic compo- 
 sition written for fourteen voices, accompanied by molini 
 divisi and organ, which lend a mysterious coloring. In 
 middle life he began to assert his individuality more strongly, 
 in the combination of already existing forms of musical expres- 
 sion and the invention of new ones, as illustrated by his three 
 greatest works, "The Story of the Resurrection," "The Last 
 Seven Words," and "The Four Passions according to the four 
 Evangelists." In the first of these works, the various Biblical 
 personages express themselves in an ensemble of two or 
 three voices; the part of the Narrator, given to a solo voice, 
 having the character of Psalmodic improvisation, with pauses 
 during which there are evident attempts at musical descrip- 
 tion by the accompanying instruments. We present the 
 angels' questioning of the holy women at the tomb as a fine 
 example of colorful expression by the composer. 
 
 6O. Scene at the grave. Query of the Angels. 
 
 From " The Resurrection," by SCHUTZ 
 
 Wo - man.why weep - - est thou ? 
 
 Wo - man, why weep 
 
 est thou ? 
 
 In the following excerpt is voiced the despair of the two 
 Marys at finding the Saviour's tomb empty. 
 
 61. The two Marys. 
 
 They've tak - en my Lord . . a - way, . . they've tak - en my 
 
 IBE
 
 Music of the Protestant Church 
 
 197 
 
 and I know not where the place,and 1 
 
 know not where the place, where they . . . . have laid Him. 
 
 p. -> 
 
 know not where the place, where they have laid . . . Him. 
 
 --: 
 
 
 In "The Seven Last Words," the utterances of Christ are 
 delivered by a single voice, a baritone, and not in recitative 
 but in an aria, whose form was adopted by Bach in the fol- 
 lowing century. The organ accompanies the expressions of 
 all the actors in the drama except those of Christ, which are 
 supported by a quartet of strings in the higher register, fur- 
 nishing a sort of divine halo, an effect also imitated by Bach. 
 Here we find a prophecy of the future Passion text, the 
 gospel history being in dramatic form and the Church's re- 
 flection in the opening and closing choruses. The following 
 quotation is from the introduction to this work, and has the 
 character of a song of deepest sorrow, thus preparing for the 
 great drama which is to follow. 
 
 62. Introduction to "The Seven Last Words" 
 
 By HEINRICH SCHUTZ 
 
 
 :etc. 
 
 His musical setting of the Saviour's last words is equally 
 expressive, and shows the composer's dramatic instinct. 
 
 63. 
 
 
 E - li, E - li, E - li, la - ma
 
 igS Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 His third great work, mentioned above, is a masterpiece in 
 every respect. Although in these settings of the Passion he 
 abandons solo work and returns to the earlier forms of 
 ensemble utterance for individual expression, his incidental 
 choruses are full of varied emotions, being sometimes vehe- 
 ment, at others passionate or emotional, and always dramatic. 
 From these works it is evident that many of Bach's finest 
 choral effects were really invented by Schiitz. 
 
 The third of the prominent German musicians who labored 
 for a union of what was best in both Italian and German 
 religious music, was Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1714), a 
 learned theorist best known as the author of a treatise on 
 counterpoint entitled "Gradus ad Parnassum." This work 
 was written in excellent Latin, and is especially interesting 
 in that it contains a clear and distinct exposition of the 
 fugue in two or more parts, as distinguished from the older 
 form of the canon. 
 
 When remarking on the degeneration of Italian opera 
 during the latter part of the seventeenth century, we also 
 mentioned the rise of exuberant, melodic ornamentation by 
 composers and singers, regardless of the text. This same 
 ornamentation now enters the Protestant church service, and 
 gradually supersedes the simpler but more effective style, 
 influenced, no doubt, by the predominance of Italian opera. 
 The smaller German courts patronized only Italian music; 
 so German musicians began to write in the decadent Italian 
 style. 
 
 During the life of Schiitz two church cantors, Vulpius of 
 Weimar and Schultz of Delitsch, each wrote a "Passion," 
 of which we must take note on account of their highly 
 dramatic choral handling. We cannot refrain from quot- 
 ing a few excerpts which will show how fine were the 
 effects of composers of the Passion, before the mighty 
 genius of Bach clothed the musical settings with the greatest 
 majesty.
 
 Music of the Protestant Church 
 
 199 
 
 The following is the frivolous declamatory utterance of the 
 high priests and elders: 
 
 64. From the " Passion " 
 
 By VULPIUS 
 
 That is not our af - fair, that is your prob - lem ! 
 
 We notice also the naively interrogative question of the 
 Sanhedrin: 
 
 65. 
 
 The almost fanatically rhythmic utterance of the mob on 
 the words "Crucify! crucify!" is another fine example which 
 already foreshadows the choral dramatic action of Handel's 
 Oratorios. 
 
 66. From the " Passion " 
 
 By SCHULTZ 
 
 Cru-ci - fy, cru -ci - fy, cru - ci-fy him! Cru-ci-fy, cru- ci -fy, cru - ci - fy him ! 
 
 This is also to be noted in the more cold-blooded "Away 
 with him!" that follows:
 
 200 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 67. From the " Passion " 
 
 1ST DlSCANT 
 
 By SCHULTZ 
 
 m 
 
 A - way, a - way, a - way with him, 
 
 2D DlSCANT 
 
 *===t 
 
 
 A - way, a - way, a - way with him, 
 
 A - way, a - way, 
 IST TENOR 
 
 a - way, a - way with 
 
 A - way, a - way, 
 20 TENOR 
 
 a - way, a - way with 
 
 m 
 
 j ar f 
 
 
 A - way, a - way, 
 
 a - way, a 
 
 BASS 
 
 A - way, a - way, 
 
 a - way, a - way, 
 
 a-way with this man,and set thou Bar - ra-bas free ! 
 
 /TV 
 
 a- way with this man,and set thou Bar - ra - has free ! 
 
 . . /TV 
 
 him, a-way with him,away with this man, and set thou Bar - ra- has free ! 
 
 - p f - f * r- f 
 
 him, a-way with him,a-way with this man, and set thou Bar-ra- bas free ! 
 
 way with him, a-way with this man.and set thou Bar -ra-bas free! 
 
 - , * 
 
 - ^-^- * 
 
 a-way with him.away with this man, and set thou Bar-ra - bas free I
 
 Music of the Protestant Church 201 
 
 Another noted German composer, by the form and character 
 of whose works Bach undoubtedly profited, was Johann 
 Sebastiani, whose " Matthew Passion" appeared in 1672, the 
 year of Schiitz's death. In this work the form of Oratorio 
 becomes at least as well suited to the concert-hall as to the 
 church, with the preponderance in favor of the former style, 
 for the church song is now used more like an aria in Italian 
 Opera than like a congregational hymn, being written for a 
 solo soprano and accompanied by strings and organ. 
 
 The part of Christ, written for a bass voice, in the style 
 of earlier Italian opera, is suggestive of Schiitz, and equally 
 characteristic, being also accompanied by the strings, some- 
 thing that does not occur with the other solo voices. 
 
 The Choruses are simple, direct and terse in utterance, as 
 can be seen from the following quotation: 
 
 68. From the " Passion " By SEBASTIANI 
 
 A Si! 
 
 blood be 
 
 1 r*~ 
 
 up on . us 
 
 
 I i 
 
 f- 
 
 X 
 
 -^ 1~-^- ^ E 
 
 3C ' 
 i 1 1 
 
 His 
 
 blood be 
 
 up - on us 
 
 and on our 
 
 His 
 
 blood be 
 
 up - on . . us 
 
 
 1 
 
 _*. 
 
 ^ 
 
 -JL ^> N 8s> '. 
 
 *. -J J 
 
 =J^ 
 
 1 
 
 
 ^^-4 
 
 5 
 
 
 His blood be up - on us 
 
 and on our chil -....-... dren I 
 
 chil ... dren, our cliil - - dren 1 
 
 The introduction to this work, written for three violas and 
 'cellos, has the character of a hymn and leads directly into 
 the opening chorus.
 
 2O2 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 69. Introduction to the " Passion " 
 
 1^- 
 
 By SEBASTIANI 
 
 I I 
 
 J j lJ- J- 
 
 -+-=tt* j-g=r=g=aT=pg=^ 
 
 E i -j- I Lrdm =tp 
 
 
 t j 
 
 
 ==^+ ^rrt^l^=[ 
 
 , ^ *_s-i, 3:$z^iz;t 
 
 The efforts of many subsequent Protestant church com- 
 posers were, as remarked in a previous chapter, expressed 
 in the direction of sacred opera, the sublime heights of the 
 Oratorio being reached finally by Bach and Handel.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 BACH AND HANDEL. 
 
 WE have seen the supremacy of musical leadership wander 
 from France to Belgium in the i4th century, from there to 
 the Netherlands in the i5th and i6th centuries, thence to 
 Italy during the latter part of the i6th century and the early 
 part of the lyth, the Netherlanders being the missionary 
 teachers of the musical world of that day. We have seen, 
 further, how Netherlanders and Germans visited Italy to 
 study with Italian masters, and have observed the efforts of 
 great German musicians, upon their return to their native 
 land, in the direction of combining the melodic, euphonic, 
 colorful style of the Italian masters with the contrapuntal 
 style of the Netherlanders, to create a choral music intended 
 chiefly for the services of the Protestant Church. 
 
 In spite of fierce wars which devastated Germany, during 
 which all other arts suffered terribly, music actually advanced 
 in its development of truly human expression. The wealth 
 of folk-song and church music, including the Passion, then 
 acquired by Germany, is still one of its greatest treasures; 
 and polyphonic art, which had so sadly declined in Italy, 
 found a new opportunity for development and growth at the 
 hands of the great German organists. 
 
 The time was now ripe for the arrival of two great musical 
 geniuses, not only the greatest in Germany but in the world 
 of that day, Bach and Handel. 
 
 While it is in no sense our purpose to present a detailed 
 biography of these two great masters (this having been done 
 in the fullest and most interesting manner by Spitta and 
 Chrysander), the character of their principal works is so 
 
 203
 
 2O4 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 much the result of the circumstances under which they lived, 
 that some biographical data seem necessary. 
 
 Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685, at 
 Eisenach. His ancestors for more than a century and a 
 half had been musicians, some of them church organists, 
 others, "town musicians," of which class of players more than 
 one Bach became the leader, the numerous members of the 
 Bach family nearly monopolizing the musical positions in 
 many towns of Thuringia during nearly a century. Johann 
 Sebastian lost his parents before he reached the age of ten. 
 His elder brother, Christopher, also a musician, took care of 
 him, and gave him his first instruction in the elements of 
 music. Even as a youth, the future master showed his great 
 love for the art of which he was to be such a shining light, 
 by copying surreptitiously, by moonlight, a number of com- 
 positions which his brother deemed a treasure as yet be- 
 yond the boy's understanding. For nearly six months he 
 labored thus, only to be discovered when his work was almost 
 completed, and to have his treasure taken from him. The 
 blindness with which he was later afflicted has been attributed 
 to this episode of his boyhood. As Christopher Bach was 
 very poor, and like all the Bachs the father of an ever- 
 increasing family, Johann Sebastian was sent to the convent 
 school at Liineburg, where his fine soprano voice secured 
 him free tuition which included thorough teaching in Latin, 
 together with instruction on the violin and organ. He soon 
 made himself acquainted with the musical treasures to be 
 found in the school library, and thirsted for more. With his 
 credentials for entrance to the University, he left Liineburg 
 and wandered for some time from town to town, visiting 
 Hamburg, where he profited much from the organ recitals 
 of Adam Reinken, and obtaining temporary employment 
 here and there as a violinist, until at the age of eighteen he 
 arrived at Arnstadt, where he secured the position of church 
 organist.
 
 Bach and Handel 205 
 
 The Wanderlust compelled him to ask for temporary vaca- 
 tions, which were sometimes obtained with difficulty, as he 
 had a habit of forgetting his duties in the pleasures derived 
 from hearing Reinken at Hamburg, and Buxtehude, the 
 Danish organist at Liibeck, in recitals, as well as in listening 
 to Suites and other compositions of French masters. Upon 
 his return to Arnstadt, he usually received severe rebukes 
 for his prolonged absences; he was also repeatedly repri- 
 manded for "interspersing the chorales with many strange 
 variations and tones, to the confusion of the congregation." 
 This evidence of his youthful desire for the contrapuntal em- 
 bellishment of the chorales with their interludes, was only a 
 token of his artistic instincts. Shortly afterward, in 1707, he 
 accepted with joy the appointment of organist at Miihlhau- 
 sen, which offered a better salary and thus enabled him to 
 marry his cousin, Barbara. Of their seven children, two. 
 Friedemann and Philipp Emanuel, became well-known mu- 
 sicians. From Miihlhausen, where he remained but one year, 
 he went to Weimar to accept the position of court organist 
 and concert-master. During his stay of nine years in this 
 city, in the early part of his married life, he wrote for the 
 court chapel a number of his masterworks of which the 
 cantata "Actus tragicus," known under the title "God's own 
 time is best," is perhaps the greatest. 
 
 While in the service of the Duke of Weimar, he studied 
 most earnestly the works of Palestrina and others, and ar- 
 ranged the violin concertos of Vivaldi for harpsichord and 
 organ. His fame as an organist dates from this period, and 
 was so great that a contest in improvisation on the organ 
 between him and the French organist, Marchand, was ar- 
 ranged by Dresden music-lovers. Bach accepted the chal- 
 lenge and appeared at the hour appointed, only to learn 
 that the Frenchman had departed on that very morning. 
 
 Bach then journeyed to Cothen, \vhere in the meantime he 
 had been appointed chapel-master to Prince Leopold, who paid
 
 206 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 him a salary sufficient for his wants and also encouraged him 
 in his studies of the works of the masters. To please his 
 patron Bach wrote, among other orchestral pieces, the six 
 famous Brandenburg Concertos for the court orchestra, be- 
 sides many other concertos, and church music for various 
 instruments. During his stay at Cothen he also composed 
 the "French Suites," the "Inventions," and the first part of 
 the "Wohltemperirtes Clavier," whose first edition bore the 
 curious title "Preludes and Fugues in all tones and semi- 
 tones, i.e., in major thirds Do, Re, Mi, and minor thirds Re, 
 Mi, Fa, for the advantage and use of musical youths desirous 
 of study, as well as for the pastime of those who have already 
 acquired some skill, composed and noted down by Johann 
 Sebastian Bach, chapel-master and director of chamber music 
 to the Prince of Anhalt-Cothen, anno 1722." The second 
 part of this work was not completed until 1744. 
 
 Bach was in such favor with his employer that he often 
 went with him on his travels. During one of these absences, 
 Bach's wife died and was buried before his return. Almost 
 two years thereafter he married a well-known soprano, the 
 daughter of one of the court musicians. For her he wrote 
 some of his easier instrumental pieces and songs, and she later 
 assisted him in the copying of corrected manuscripts, some of 
 which are now in the Royal Library at Berlin, one of them 
 bearing the inscription "ecrite par Mme. Bach, son epouse." 
 
 From a letter to one of his school friends, written in 1730, 
 we learn the reason for his leaving Cothen and for his accept- 
 ance of the appointment as cantor in the St. Thomas' school 
 at Leipzig in 1723. In this letter he declares his affection for 
 his princely employer, whose graciousness and love for music 
 he praises, and with whom he would gladly have remained, 
 had not his marriage with a princess who delighted in worldly 
 pleasures gradually led the husband away from his interest 
 in serious music. He says, further, "And so God arranged 
 it that the post of cantor at St. Thomas' should become
 
 Bach and Handel 207 
 
 vacant. At first, I thought it unbecoming to relinquish the 
 dignified position for that offered to me, and therefore con- 
 sidered it for three months, but was at last induced to accept, 
 as my sons were inclined to be studious, and I was desirous 
 of giving them an opportunity to gratify this inclination by 
 entering them into school; and so, in the name of the Most 
 High, I ventured and came to Leipzig." 
 
 The salary attached to his new position was much smaller 
 than that received at court, and the bickerings with the 
 Church authorities that had embittered his earlier life at 
 Arnstadt were now renewed, although the criticisms made at 
 this time were not of his incapacity or lack of musicianship, 
 but rather of his unsatisfactory services as teacher of the 
 choir-boys and general servant of the church. Because of the 
 needs of his family, he eked out his income by giving music- 
 lessons to various persons of means but no ability, and by 
 playing at funerals, for which he received extra compensa- 
 tion. In the letter already quoted, he speaks of this: "When 
 funerals are numerous I gain more, but 'if the air be healthy,' 
 then my income drops, my earnings last year being consider- 
 ably less owing to the small number of deaths." His regular 
 duties were varied and numerous; besides the teaching of 
 music, they consisted in giving instruction in Latin, and direct- 
 ing the music at other churches and, on all festival occasions, 
 at the University. When we take these facts into considera- 
 tion, we may well wonder how he found time for the creation 
 of so many masterworks, some of which he was compelled 
 to hear performed very inadequately (as compared with his 
 conception), and others which he never even heard. 
 
 That he served his art for the love of it, and not for glory 
 or the hope of wealth, is seen from his sturdy adherence to 
 the composition of works which breathe genuine piety and 
 religious devotion, at a time when the atmosphere of the 
 courts and the society of possible patrons were permeated 
 with gayety and frivolity.
 
 208 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 One of his great joys at this time was his family, which he 
 loved passionately, and of whose individual musical abilities 
 he was very proud; another was the continuous flow of lofty 
 musical ideas which poured from his mighty pen and which 
 he so well knew how to mould into imperishable forms. In one 
 of his letters he refers with pride to the work of his first three 
 sons at the University and to his ability to give a very good 
 concert with the members of his family. Great was his sat- 
 isfaction when, in 1733, his son Friedemann was installed 
 as organist at the church of St. Sophia in Dresden, and when, 
 in 1 740, the second son, Philipp Emanuel, was appointed court 
 musician and pianist to Frederick the Great. Through the 
 son, the king often heard of the greatness of the father, and 
 finally in 1744 invited him to visit the palace in Potsdam. 
 The respect which the king showed the aged master was only 
 equaled by Bach's humble but dignified reception of this 
 royal attitude. 
 
 The list of great works written during Bach's sojourn at 
 Leipzig is a stupendous one, and includes about 200 church 
 cantatas, the great Magnificat, the Passions according to 
 St. Matthew and St. John, the 5-minor Mass, the Christmas 
 Oratorio, and the second part of the "Wohltemperirtes Cla- 
 vier," many of whose preludes and fugues are as full of religious 
 devotion and exaltation as his vocal works with sacred texts. 
 
 Among his professional pleasures were the opening of new 
 organs, the examination of candidates for positions as organists 
 in various parts of Germany, and his visits to his staunch 
 friend and admirer, the Elector of Saxony, at Dresden, on 
 which occasions he used to frequent the Italian opera-house of 
 that city with his son Friedemann "to hear some of those 
 pretty little Italian tunes.'' 
 
 After his return from Potsdam, his health left much to be 
 desired, and he sought relief in earnest and assiduous work, 
 which so aggravated the disorder of his eyes that he became 
 totally blind. He died on July 28, 1850, valued so lightly by
 
 Bach and Handel 209 
 
 the community in which he lived that the exact place of his 
 burial was unknown, and has only recently been discovered. 
 
 Space forbids a detailed enumeration of his great works, but 
 a few may be mentioned. Among the many cantatas there 
 is his setting of a fundamental conception of early Christian- 
 ity: " Think ye how to die," as expressed in his cantata "God's 
 time is best," which is filled with a mystic contemplation of 
 the life beyond the grave. Then there are his settings of the 
 Passion, according to St. Matthew and St. John, the one buoy- 
 ant with mature faith, the result of religious experience, the 
 other effulgent with youthful meditation on the mysteries and 
 beauty of the great tragedy. How powerfully has the master 
 portrayed the fanatical Jewish rabble surging around the 
 Saviour, and what a contrast this offers to the setting of His 
 words, by which we are impressed with His human sufferings 
 regardless of creed or schism, and which therefore appeals to 
 all the world. 
 
 Among his instrumental works for the piano the "Wohltem- 
 perirtes Clavier" stands foremost, a veritable panacea for all 
 moods, now sad, now joyful; now heroic, now sublime; a 
 friend at all times and under all circumstances, every number 
 expressing a special mood. Feelings are here expressed in 
 tones, which is the mission of music, and in doing so Bach 
 emancipated instrumental music from words, and stands as 
 the first and perhaps the greatest of all tone-poets. Even the 
 Italian opera-composers of his day did not nearly equal him 
 in this expression of individuality. These masterly preludes 
 and fugues were prophetic of the possibilities of the modern 
 grand piano. 
 
 Of his orchestral works, the Brandenburg Concertos and the 
 Suites deserve special attention; while his compositions for the 
 organ, of which instrument he was one of the greatest masters 
 who ever lived, are most admirable exemplars of their class. 
 
 The life of George Frederick Handel presents a sharp 
 contrast to that of the grand old cantor of Leipzig. He was
 
 2io Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 born at Halle, a little less than a month before Bach, on 
 February 25, 1685, the son of George Handel, a surgeon. The 
 father, a self-made man who had risen from obscurity, desired 
 the son to be a lawyer, and therefore forbade the boy's practice 
 of gratifying an innate desire for music. This desire, however, 
 could not be suppressed, and the picture of his nightly practice 
 by candlelight upon a small clavichord, which he had hidden 
 in the attic, is a familiar one. 
 
 On a brief visit to the court at Weissenfels in company with 
 his father he obtained access to the court chapel and began 
 to play on the organ. There he was discovered by the Duke, 
 who pleaded with the boy's father to give him musical instruc- 
 tion. As a consequence, he began the study of organ, harp- 
 sichord and composition under the Halle organist Zachau. 
 Without aid he also learned to play the violin and oboe, and 
 at the age of ten had actually written some sonatas for two 
 oboes and bass. 
 
 At eleven the youthful prodigy was taken to Berlin and 
 placed under the protection of Princess Sophia Charlotte, a 
 very accomplished musician, who often conducted excellent 
 concerts. There he met two Italian composers, Ariosto, who 
 at once became his friend and admirer, and Buononcini, who 
 treated him with disdain. This was borne with such dignity 
 by the boy, that he won the favor of Frederick III, who pro- 
 posed to send him to Italy. Handel thanked the Elector for 
 his kindly offer, but, despite the protests of his mother and 
 his first teacher, declined the proposal and entered the Uni- 
 versity at Halle, in 1702, as a law-student. Being at heart 
 a musician, he devoted most of his year in the university to 
 the study of music and to his duties as organist at the cathe- 
 dral. We have spoken of his work in Hamburg, whither he 
 was attracted in 1703 by the activity of German operatic 
 composers. There he met John Mattheson, a versatile 
 musician, litterateur and musical critic, who became Handel's 
 lifelong friend and admirer, and secured for him a number of
 
 Bach and Handel 211 
 
 pupils as well as the position of second violinist at the opera- 
 house, where he soon became conductor (harpsichordist) of 
 the orchestra. He brought out several Italian operas, and 
 his financial success with Almira enabled him, because of his 
 thrifty habits, to go to Italy in 1706. He visited in turn 
 Florence, Rome, Venice and Naples, where he remained some 
 time. The years thus spent were among the happiest of his 
 life, as he was not only surrounded by art treasures which he 
 loved, but was hailed everywhere as a welcome guest and an 
 accomplished musician. From this stay in Italy dates the 
 disappearance of the academic quality predominant in his 
 Hamburg compositions; his succeeding works show the in- 
 fluence of this more emotional environment, resulting in a 
 number of operas, cantatas, etc., some of which, under Eng- 
 lish titles, such as Ads and Galatea and The Triumph of 
 Time, reappear in his later life. 
 
 Through the influence of German musical friends he was 
 induced to leave Italy and take up his abode in Hanover. 
 Upon his arrival in 1710 he was made chapel-master to the 
 Elector George, who gave him permission to visit England 
 before assuming his official duties. This visit and its resultant 
 contact with the music of that country had a great influence 
 upon his future career. 
 
 We have already mentioned the development of Protestant 
 church music in England and its degeneration under the sway 
 of Puritanism, which was responsible for the destruction of 
 much of England's' best music. The same religious move- 
 ment retarded the development of dramatic music, but 
 after the Restoration, French opera having become popular, 
 English musicians began its study. One of these, Pelham 
 Humphreys, went to France to become the pupil of Lully, 
 and upon his return had as his pupil England's greatest 
 opera-composer and first representative musician, Henry 
 Purcell (1658-1695), whose opera Dido and JLneas was far in 
 advance of contemporary Italian operas in dramatic sincerity.
 
 212 
 
 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 He wrote many anthems and canticles for the Anglican 
 church. That he exercised some influence over Handel may 
 be seen from his " Utrecht Te Deum" and from the following 
 quotation from his music to Diocletian, which seems to fore- 
 shadow the great trumpet aria in The Messiah: 
 
 7O. From Purcell's Music to Diocletian 
 TRUMPET 
 
 Sound, Fame, thy bra - zen trum-pet 
 
 =n 3= ip=M: 
 
 
 sound. 
 
 sound, . 
 
 etc. 
 
 No sooner had Handel arrived in London than he began to 
 cast about for a libretto for an opera in the Italian style;
 
 Bach and Handel 213 
 
 and in February, 1711, he brought out Rinaldo, which was 
 completed in the incredibly short period of two weeks. After 
 a few months' stay he returned to Hanover and took up his 
 duties at the court of George, but, having tasted of the full- 
 ness of English literary and musical life, and having made 
 many friends among the aristocracy, he solicited and was 
 granted permission for a second visit during the following 
 year. Two other Italian operas quickly followed his arrival, 
 and his Te Deum and Jubilate in large choral form for the 
 celebration of the corrupt peace of Utrecht so endeared him 
 to the Jacobite English Cabinet and Parliament before which 
 they were performed, that he was granted an annuity of 
 $1000. This sum, added to his salary of $1500 as Hanoverian 
 chapel-master, gave him a handsome fixed income, and every- 
 thing was made so pleasant for him that he overstayed his 
 vacation. In doing so he incurred the displeasure of his 
 patron, who in the following year became King George I of 
 England. His frequent efforts for a restoration to the 
 king's favor finally met with success, and he even accompanied 
 the court on a short visit to Germany, where he wrote a 
 Passion on a modified Biblical text by the poet Brockes. 
 Upon his return to England he became musical director to 
 the Duke of Chandos, at whose home he wrote the twelve 
 celebrated "Chandos" anthems, his first oratorio, Esther, and 
 the pastoral play (serenata) Ads and Galatea. 
 
 An attempt made by the English nobility to establish 
 Italian opera resulted in his securing the directorship, and 
 during several years he wrote a number of operas, most of 
 which are almost unknown. The antipathy of the English 
 against all things foreign, and the intrigues of the Italian 
 opera-singers, finally caused the closing of the Haymarket 
 opera-house in 1728. Nothing daunted, Handel determined 
 to open a new opera-house. He went to Italy to secure his 
 singers, and on the return-journey stopped at his old home 
 in Halle, where he almost met Bach, who had expressed a
 
 214 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 desire for such a meeting. His new venture failed after four 
 years, costing him his fortune; but, with the aid of friends, 
 he made a third attempt. This also resulted in financial 
 disaster, due in great measure to the rancorous opposition of 
 rivals for public favor, Handel being unfortunately on the 
 unpopular side. His old enemy Buononcini was one of his 
 chief opponents; the rivalry between the two composers 
 was neatly taken off in an epigram penned by the Lancashire 
 poet Byrom: 
 
 Some say, compar'd to Bononcini, 
 That Mynheer Handel's but a Ninny; 
 Others aver, that he to Handel 
 Is scarcely fit to hold a Candle: 
 Strange all this Difference should be, 
 'Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee! 
 
 He almost lost his mind as a result of the repeated attacks of 
 his detractors, and sought a few months of peace and quiet 
 on the continent. Upon his return to England, he began his 
 career as a composer of oratorios, in which capacity he has 
 never been excelled, and as these were written and sung in 
 the vernacular they endeared him to friend and foe alike. 
 These works began a new era in the domain of oratorio, 
 being epical in character, not lyrical like those of his predeces- 
 sors. He generally uses stories from the Old Testament, and 
 excludes the chorale, thus removing them at once from the 
 sphere of pure church music to that of the concert-hall, the 
 Biblical narrator of events being often wholly eliminated, and 
 the meditative utterance being assigned to different dra- 
 matis persona. He raised the status of the chorus from a 
 humble helper to the main feature of the oratorio, using it to 
 describe dramatic events whose impressive power would have 
 been lost if delivered by a solo voice, while it is intensified by 
 the massing of many voices. No individual description, how- 
 ever emphatic and vigorous, can compare with the ponderous 
 utterance of the chorus in narrating the fate of a person or a
 
 Bach and Handel 215 
 
 nation, or in describing dramatic and thrilling events. To 
 Handel belongs the honor of making the chorus represent 
 much of the dramatic action. 
 
 Most of his oratorios reflect, in text and music, not only his 
 own indomitable nature, but also the spirit and character of 
 the country which had adopted him, and which at that time 
 was the only stronghold of freedom and independence. 
 
 His association with men of lofty ideas, grandeur of thought 
 and enthusiasm for liberty, had a tremendous influence upon 
 his work. Among his daily associates we must mention 
 Samuel Johnson, Richard Savage, Dean Swift, the Duke of 
 Chandos, Pope, Addison, Gay, Arbuthnot, and many other 
 poets, litterateurs and men of affairs. 
 
 No wonder that he was cosmopolitan in his art, and that he 
 chose to sing of the heroes of the Israelites, Greeks, Macedo- 
 nians, and even of the Persians; no wonder that he wrote 
 for almost every instrument and combination of instruments 
 then in use. 
 
 His work in the field of oratorio won back the friends who 
 had been alienated during the operatic feuds, and gave him 
 an assured position; for, with the changes of time, oratorio 
 came to be more fashionable than opera. 
 
 Though he loved the society of ladies, Handel remained a 
 bachelor. He gave much to charity, and be it said to his 
 honor during his lifetime the receipts of every performance 
 of his most popular work, The Messiah, as well as those of 
 many others, were devoted to charitable purposes. His 
 gifts to the Foundling Hospital in London were munificent, 
 as were his contributions to the establishment of a home for 
 indigent musicians. -He was devoted to his mother; he pro- 
 vided the widow of his first teacher, Zachau, with a pension, 
 and gave much from his own purse for various benevolent 
 enterprises. 
 
 When at work on the oratorio Jephthah, in 1754, he began 
 to have difficulties with his eyes which resulted in total
 
 216 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 blindness. Excitable though he had always been, Handel 
 bore this trial with gentle dignity, and never complained. 
 
 Was it the prophetic quality of genius that enabled him to 
 picture the grief of the blind Samson in that remarkable 
 utterance "Total eclipse" ? His appearance, when led to the 
 organ in his final years, caused a thrill of veneration in the 
 musicians who flocked to the concerts to hear his masterly 
 playing, which he continued almost up to the day of his death, 
 
 April 13, 1759- 
 
 His work in his adopted country was of such a high standard 
 that excellent English musicians like Doctor Arne and Pepusch 
 could not approach it, and were perforce content with the 
 composition of smaller works. 
 
 We have seen the difference of environment which charac- 
 terized the lives of the two great masters under consideration, 
 the one dwelling in comparative obscurity and working mostly 
 in and for the Protestant Church, the other spending the 
 greater part of his life among the glitter, pomp and circum- 
 stance of a great court; the former nearly always in straitened 
 circumstances and lacking congenial friends, the latter moving 
 among men of great mind and character, the foremost of 
 their day; both stricken by blindness in their old age, but the 
 one buried in an unknown grave, and the other at rest among 
 England's greatest in her hall of fame, Westminster Abbey. 
 
 That their environment influenced the character of their 
 works is indisputable. Those of Bach are born of religious 
 enthusiasm and are for the inner court of the heart, while 
 those of Handel demand the larger audience, the concert-hall. 
 Each worked out what was in him, and, side by side, they are 
 the two towering colossi that form the portal to modern 
 musical art.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND 
 THE RISE OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC. 
 
 DURING the Middle Ages vocal music reached a high degree 
 of artistic development. Instrumental music as an art did 
 not then exist, because of the limitations in tonal range and 
 power of musical instruments. Up to the beginning of the 
 sixteenth century these were used, in art-music, only for 
 doubling the vocal parts. We have seen that Willaert and 
 the Gabrielis were the first to recognize the tone-coloring 
 effectiveness of certain musical instruments, and that they 
 occasionally wrote madrigals for instruments as well as for 
 voices, the former to be "sounded" (sonate), the latter to be 
 sung (cantate), both written virtually after the same manner 
 and sometimes bearing the direction "da can tare e sonare" 
 (to be sung and played). 
 
 The origin of most musical instruments is shrouded in 
 obscurity, and was attributed to different causes among 
 different nations of antiquity. We know the story of Hermes, 
 who, when walking along the bank of the river, accidentally 
 kicked the shell of a tortoise to which some dried skin or intes- 
 tines were still adhering, which gave forth a vibrant sound 
 and suggested to him the idea and shape of the lyre. 
 
 The rebab and lute originated among the Arabs. The 
 former was played with a bow; the latter was plucked with 
 the fingers, and became the favorite accompanying instrument 
 of the Troubadours and Minnesinger. The crvd'd or chrotta 
 of the Welsh was a sort of violin with several strings and played 
 with a bow; in mediaeval times the names of such instruments 
 were derived from the Latin word fdcs (a cord made from 
 
 217
 
 218 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 animal intestines), such as fidula, viola, vielle, viole, and (in 
 England) fiddle or viol. During the Middle Ages we find this 
 instrument in two forms and played after two different man- 
 ners, one kind resting on the leg or between the knees (da 
 gamba) and the other on the arm (da braccia}, and made in 
 several sizes corresponding in pitch to the various ranges of 
 the human voice. This was due to the fact that they were 
 used mostly for doubling the voices; so they were grouped as 
 bass, tenor and soprano viols. Following the labors and 
 artistic demands of Monteverde, who recognized their individ- 
 ual quality, but four species survived the bass-viol and the 
 tenor viola da gamba becoming respectively our double-bass 
 and violoncello, the alto viola da braccia becoming our viola 
 (German, Bratsche), and the soprano viola the violin (Italian 
 violino = little viol). 
 
 We have spoken of the art of violin-making which flourished 
 in Italy, in the sixteenth century, Brescia producing Gasparo 
 da Said and the Magginis, and Cremona (then already cele- 
 brated for this industry) producing the Amatis, who gave 
 the instrument its present shape. By the families of Guar- 
 neri and Stradivari the violin was improved still more, until 
 it became the solo instrument of the orchestra. The in- 
 creasing excellence of its tone-quality caused it to be recog- 
 nized as capable of much more than its hitherto conceded 
 special fitness for playing dance-music. Its vocal quality 
 began to be appreciated and, after the invention of the solo 
 song, or Aria, it began to alternate and vie with the voices of 
 highly trained coloratura singers. This form of musical 
 utterance, first transferred to keyboard instruments and 
 then to the members of the violin family, was known as the 
 Canzone (French, Chanson}. The orchestral pieces of this 
 sort, composed by Giovanni Gabrieli and Monteverde, were 
 limited in length, because they were used only as interludes; 
 they were also called Sonatas, meaning "to be sounded" and 
 not "to be sung," as may be seen from the title "Sonata a
 
 The Development of Musical Instruments 219 
 
 cinque per istromenti." (Sonata in five parts, for instru- 
 ments.) 
 
 The town musicians in Germany, France and Italy early 
 instituted the practice of playing a number of dance-tunes in 
 succession ("en suite") for musical entertainment, entirely 
 dissociated from the exercise of the terpsichorean art. In 
 Italy these were called sonate da camera, or partite. French 
 musicians soon began to give them key-relationship and a 
 sort of organic connection; with the addition of a prelude 
 they were now called "ordres," or "suites," both by the 
 French and by Bach. At first their plan was more or less 
 incoherent, but early in the eighteenth century they began to 
 assume a definite arrangement, and there was a distinctive 
 difference between French, English and Italian Suites. 
 
 Among the French writers who then excelled in this form, 
 and transferred it to the organ and other keyboard instru- 
 ments, must be named Couperin, Marchand and Rameau. 
 Francois Couperin (1663-1733) was a fine organist and player 
 upon the clavecin (harpsichord), and one of the founders of 
 harpsichord music, with its profuse embellishments. Louis 
 Marchand, his contemporary, likewise an excellent organist 
 and clavecin-player, was the man who, after accepting 
 Bach's challenge to a contest in organ-playing, fled instead 
 of meeting the great cantor. Rameau wrote excellently in 
 the suite-form for the harpsichord, on which he \vas a great 
 virtuoso. 
 
 While Handel also wrote fine suites for harpsichord, as 
 well as for orchestra, at the hands of Bach they reached their 
 height of excellence and dignity. 
 
 In addition to the suite, the overture, the sonata and the 
 concerto were favorite forms of composite instrumental 
 utterance. The overture, though originally part of the 
 music-drama, and therefore of Italian origin, was gradually 
 developed by Alessandro Scarlatti and Lully into an inde- 
 pendent musical form, containing three or four distinct
 
 22O Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 movements. The Italian form consisted of (i) a rapid, de- 
 cisively rhythmic movement, (2) a flowing movement in 
 song-form, and (3) a quick, and usually contrapuntal, Allegro. 
 The French form consisted of (i) a broad, sustained, strongly 
 harmonic movement, in majestic style; (2) a contrapuntal 
 Allegro with a display of varied instrumental color; (3) a 
 flowing melody like a canzonetta, and (4) a stately dance. 
 
 The sonata, a composition for a small number of instru- 
 ments, existed in two varieties; the sonata da chiesa, in form 
 a precursor of the French overture; and the sonata da camera, 
 a set of dances for a few instruments. 
 
 The concerto was originally a composition for a certain 
 set of orchestral instruments, playing in " concert" with each 
 other. In the course of time its name was also applied to 
 works for one or more solo instruments with orchestral ac- 
 companiment, the concerti grossi of Handel belonging to this 
 class. In smaller dimensions this form was also called sonata, 
 especially when the accompaniment was limited to the 
 harpsichord, and in both manners was worked out exquisitely 
 for the violin by Corelli (1653-1713); Vivaldi (1680 ?-i 743) 
 and Tartini (1692-1770) furnishing fine examples for the 
 display of virtuosity, and also exhibiting a deep study of the 
 musical resources of the instrument. Bach followed their 
 form in his Italian Concertos for the clavichord, and in many 
 concertos for various other instruments. 
 
 All these efforts were but preliminary steps to the advent 
 of the symphony, the culmination of instrumental music, to 
 which we shall return. 
 
 The beginnings of the organ may be seen in the Syrinx or 
 Pandean pipes of mythical lore. In ancient forms it was 
 used by Greeks and Romans. Of all musical instruments it 
 was the first to serve higher artistic purposes, largely because 
 of its association with the Church and its consequent use by 
 men of learning and musicianship. At first, its mechanism 
 was so clumsy that the organ at Winchester cathedral,
 
 The Development of Musical Instruments 221 
 
 England, in 950, although having 400 pipes and but ten keys, 
 is said to have required seventy men to blow it. The manual 
 of early organs had keys as broad as the average hand, 
 and they could be pressed down only by the elbows or the 
 fists. Its tones could therefore only give fundamental sup- 
 port to the singers, and the player was called an "organ- 
 beater" 
 
 The origin of the modern keyboard is shrouded in obscurity. 
 Though it still contains the original idea of leverage, its 
 adaptation to the hand progressed slowly. The arrangement 
 of the white keys was undoubtedly due to its use in sup- 
 porting the liturgic chant in the pure church modes, whose 
 representation upon the lines and spaces of the staff (un- 
 altered) corresponds with them, the intervening black keys 
 being adopted as needed. 
 
 Although organs were at first built only in permanent 
 positions in the churches, it was not long before movable 
 ones were made. In the thirteenth century, we find them 
 called ''positives" if their position could not be changed, and 
 "portatives" if they were so small that they could be carried, 
 as in processions, those having but one stop or set of small 
 pipes being called regals. We mentioned two of the latter class 
 as part of Monteverde's orchestra; and there is no question 
 that the use of these smaller organs contributed most to the 
 improvement of the larger ones, because they could be used 
 for "secular" and experimental purposes. While the making 
 of organs was originally in the hands of monks, at the begin- 
 ning of the Reformation their manufacture had become a 
 trade, and the builders had formed guilds. The resultant 
 competition aided the rapid development of excellence in 
 details of construction, such as the material of the pipes, 
 the adjustment of the reeds, sufficient wind-pressure, the 
 ''action," and the introduction of different manuals. 
 
 The earlier forms of organ music were those of the con- 
 trapuntal vocal style, and it was apparently not until the
 
 222 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 middle of the sixteenth century that the possibility of the use 
 of this instrument for other musical purposes was clearly 
 realized. It was Willaert who, by the combined use of his 
 two organs at the church of San Marco in Venice, recognized 
 its possible massive chord-effects and variety of tone-color. 
 Gradually other organists learned its adaptability for char- 
 acteristic but unvocal passages and intervals that could be 
 used to produce striking effects, and even transferred the 
 dance-forms to their instrument. 
 
 The fugue, the most elaborate contrapuntal form, was a 
 product of the work of Sweelinck (of the Netherland school), 
 who invented the idea of subject and answer; the contrapuntal 
 elaboration of the chorale, and the addition of harmonic ac- 
 companiment to church songs in their final development, 
 were likewise based upon keyboard possibilities, and not upon 
 those of voices. This opened an entirely new field for com- 
 position, and the advancement of harmony without abandon- 
 ing contrapuntal skill, resulting in the toccata and canzona for 
 organ and an independent use of the organ-pedals. 
 
 The leadership among organists now shifted from Italy 
 (Frescobaldi) to Germany, where two distinct organ schools 
 were formed, that of the South and that of the North, be- 
 tween which grew up the child of both, the Thuringian school. 
 
 The South German school, arising in a country predomi- 
 nantly Catholic, followed the Italians very closely, producing 
 Froberger of Vienna and Pachelbel of Nuremburg. 
 
 Jacob Froberger (?-i667) studied with Frescobaldi at 
 Rome (1637-41), became imperial organist and harpsichord- 
 ist at Vienna, and composed many excellent toccatas and 
 suites for both these instruments. Johann Pachelbel (1653- 
 1706) served as organist in a number of cities; his works had 
 an undoubted influence over Bach. 
 
 The North German school was formed by pupils of Swee- 
 linck, several of whom surpassed their teacher. Among them 
 were Samuel Scheidt, Heinrich Scheidemann, Adam Reinken.
 
 The Development of Musical Instruments 223 
 
 Dietrich Buxtehude, and a host of other organists in Protes- 
 tant churches, who helped to develop the true organ-style. 
 
 Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654), organist at Halle, was the 
 first to elaborate chorale ornamentation artistically upon 
 the organ, and wrote excellently in the vocal style. 
 
 Heinrich Scheidemann (1596-1663) was a famous organ- 
 ist who served for almost half a century at the Katharinen- 
 kirche in Hamburg. 
 
 Adam Reinken (1623-1722), the Nestor of German organ- 
 ists, who spent more than half of his long life as Scheide- 
 mann's successor, was the man who aroused the admiration 
 of Bach by his splendid extempore playing, an art of which 
 the latter became a still more proficient exponent. 
 
 Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707), a Dane, came from a 
 family of church musicians, and won international fame as an 
 organist and composer for his instrument. He had a pro- 
 found influence upon Bach. 
 
 The Thuringian or Central German school of organists, 
 midway between the other two, presented by the end of the 
 seventeenth century a character all its own. Among its 
 masters were several of the Bach family, Zachau, Bach's 
 teacher, as well as the venerable cantor himself and the im- 
 mortal Handel. 
 
 The precursors of the piano were many and various. Its 
 remote ancestor was the monochord of Pythagoras, which had 
 but one string stretched by means of varying weights to 
 varying tensions over a s6undboard, the pitch of the re- 
 quired tone being obtained by shifting a movable bridge 
 under the string. The clavichord consisted of a series of 
 strings to which a keyboard was applied; touching a key 
 caused a wedge of metal to strike and press against a string, 
 like the bridge of the monochord, the impact also producing 
 a tone. This instrument, which found a place in many 
 homes, was in the shape of a rectangular box which could 
 easily be carried around and placed upon an ordinary table.
 
 224 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Its volume of tone, which was metallic and rather weak, 
 could be graded by the touch; it was therefore liked by 
 Bach and his family, Haydn, Mozart, and even Beethoven. 
 
 The harpsichord, sometimes called clavicytherium, had as 
 one of its ancestors the psaltery or zither, an instrument long 
 in popular use, with a keyboard having one key to each 
 string, which was plucked by a quill. These strings being 
 longer or shorter, according to their pitch, gave the instru- 
 ment the shape of an extended bird's-wing, whence arose its 
 German name Fliigel (wing), which is still applied to German 
 grand pianos. The tone of the harpsichord was more sonor- 
 ous than that of the clavichord, and rather reedy in quality. 
 It was also an instrument for the home, but nevertheless 
 capable of use for concert purposes and in theaters, when the 
 number of strings to each key was increased to two, three or 
 even four. It was a favorite instrument of Bach, Scarlatti, 
 Rameau, Handel and many other virtuosi, and was the 
 standard throughout the eighteenth century. The spinet 
 and the virginal were only temporary steps, or variations, in 
 the development of the harpsichord and clavichord. 
 
 The origin of the pianoforte or forte-piano (its original 
 name) may also be traced to another popular musical instru- 
 ment, the dulcimer, which consisted of a rectangular box over 
 which metal strings were stretched, which were struck with 
 a small hammer. The piano-tone, as we know, is produced 
 in a similar manner, its quality depending somewhat on the 
 material with which the hammer is covered. Its improve- 
 ment was delayed because of lack of skill in the making of 
 proper soundboards and heavy drawn-steel wires that could 
 be stretched very taut. Its action is also much more com- 
 plicated than that of the harpsichord, because of the neces- 
 sary instant recoil ("escapement") of the hammer from the 
 string. At first the piano resembled the harpsichord in shape, 
 but later it assumed the form of the earlier clavichord, result- 
 ing in what we now call the "square" piano, the Clavicy-
 
 The Development of Musical Instruments 225 
 
 therium form of the harpsichord being again approximated in 
 the form which we call "upright." 
 
 While we speak of the pianoforte as an invention, it was, 
 like all such, the result of many experiments. The Italian 
 Cristofori, who died in 1731, was the first to make the 
 "hammer-clavier," the strength of whose tone was dependent 
 upon that of the blow of the hammer, enabling the player to 
 produce either a. forte or a piano at will. The instrument was 
 improved in various countries, the noted German organ- 
 builder Silbermann being especially successful. Several 
 specimens of his work were tested by Bach at the time of 
 his visit to Frederick the Great, at Potsdam, and although 
 he was very much pleased with them, he deemed himself too 
 old to change his style of playing from that required by the 
 harpsichord, of which he was a master. 
 
 The tuning of instruments of fixed pitch, with or without 
 keyboard, so that various tonalities might be used with an 
 equally agreeable effect on the ear, proved a problem for 
 several centuries. In the earlier organs it was not uncom- 
 mon to have separate keys and pipes for A flat and G sharp, 
 since both were out of tune when used outside of the tonality 
 of which they were integral parts. 
 
 The Pythagorean theory of intervals, upon which was based 
 the novum organum of Hucbald and other early attempts at 
 polyphony, rested on the assumption that the perfect fifth of 
 any tone, which forms a fourth with the octave of that tone, 
 was the foundation of scale-formation. Now, measuring by a 
 series of perfect fifths and octaves, such as we term the "circle 
 of fifths," the octave of the initial tone will come out almost 
 an eighth of a whole tone too sharp. As long as the church 
 modes were in use, this did not prove so objectionable, but 
 when the feeling for harmony demanded the triad rather than 
 the mode as its basis, the lowering of the Pythagorean third 
 became a necessity. This was first accomplished in the early 
 sixteenth century, by Zarlino, of whom we have already
 
 226 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 spoken, but its application, while excellent for diatonic harmo- 
 nies within a given key, met with other difficulties when modu- 
 lation was attempted, some of the altered tones proving too 
 sharp and others too flat. 
 
 It thus became necessary to make some tones of each 
 scale slightly untrue, so that, for practical purposes, their 
 " out-of-tuneness " would be scarcely noticeable. This alter- 
 ation was called the "temperament" of the scale, and was 
 applied in two ways, (i) by the " mean-tone" temperament, 
 which endeavored to make certain keys and those immediately 
 related to them as nearly in tune as possible, and (2) by the 
 "even" or " equal" temperament (the system now in general 
 use), which made all keys slightly "untrue." 
 
 Bach's " Well- tempered Clavichord" marks the consumma- 
 tion of this equal temperament and shows his hearty approval 
 of the scheme, which enabled the composer to use all keys, 
 whether closely related or not, equally well. 
 
 This opened the way for the piano works of Haydn, Mozart 
 and Beethoven, and that great mass of chamber-music litera- 
 ture which combines stringed instruments with the piano. 
 
 Another sign of broadening musical culture was an investi- 
 gation into the possibilities of other musical instruments of 
 decided individuality; and the study and utilization of their 
 characteristic effects and tone-qualities led to the instru- 
 mental solo as a distinct art-form. 
 
 At first these solo instruments were, as we have seen, those 
 of the violin family, but gradually the flute, the oboe, the trum- 
 pet and other instruments demanded and received recognition. 
 
 The flute, though in use in antiquity, did not receive artistic 
 recognition until the beginning of the eighteenth century. Its 
 ancient form, which required the use of a mouthpiece (bee) 
 like that occasionally seen on the fife, gradually passed away 
 and the transverse or cross-flute became the leading variety. 
 It was made in many different sizes, with a varying number 
 of holes and auxiliary keys, being perfected in modern times
 
 The Development of Musical Instruments 227 
 
 by Boehm, whose instruments can be played equally well in 
 almost all keys. 
 
 The oboe (or hautbois) and the bassoon belong, in some form 
 of double-reed instrument, to very early times, appearing 
 gradually in groups or families corresponding to the human 
 voices. All these were reduced in the eighteenth century to 
 three forms: the oboe (the soprano instrument), the English 
 horn or cor anglais (the tenor), and the bassoon (the bass). 
 After their individuality came to be recognized, they were 
 used as solo instruments, and as the reeds were gradually 
 made thinner, thus producing a more refined tone, they 
 finally arrived at artistic excellence. 
 
 The clarinet, with but a single reed, also belongs to the 
 family of wood-wind instruments, and was developed from 
 the chalumeau about the year 1700, though it did not take its 
 place in the orchestra until about 1750, the chalumeau being 
 preferred as late as the time of Gluck. 
 
 The French horn, trombone and trumpet belong to the same 
 musical family, whose common ancestor was probably the 
 horn of some animal, as was the case with the shofar. The 
 trumpet was early used for military purposes, and in time 
 took its place in the orchestra without much change. The 
 French horn, a variety of the trumpet, is a lineal descendant 
 of the mediaeval hunting-horn, and took its place in the 
 orchestra early in the eighteenth century, although its tone 
 was thought to be rather harsh. The trombone is a large 
 trumpet of low register; because of its ability to produce tones 
 of exact pitch it was used even in the sixteenth century in 
 vocal compositions for the purpose of tone-coloring. 
 
 The kettledrums form one among many varieties of percus- 
 sion instruments common to all nations of antiquity, and even 
 to savages, and were imported from the Orient during the 
 Crusades as a military instrument. 
 
 We have given this cursory view of the origin and develop- 
 ment of musical instruments, fit for artistic and solo purposes,
 
 228 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 and the consequent rise of instrumental music as an art, be- 
 cause increasing skill of the players was necessary before com- 
 posers could give expression to their conceptions, not only 
 through the large body of good performers in the orchestra 
 but also through smaller groups of superior players on similar 
 or different instruments, whose united skill rendered possible 
 the creation of the symphony and the more intimate forms 
 which we call chamber music.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE EARLY SYMPHONISTS. 
 
 THE development of orchestral instruments, and the skill 
 obtained by their players, paved the way for the arrival of the 
 early symphonists. The first of these was Franz Joseph 
 Haydn, sometimes called the father of the modern orchestra. 
 While Handel and Bach, except in rare cases, treated the 
 orchestra as a collection of instrumental voices, Haydn gener- 
 ally treated it as though it were a single organ-like instrument, 
 with many varying stops, thus producing a more massive tone- 
 coloring, the greater variety of combinations of instruments 
 in large numbers resulting in a greater volume of complex 
 sound. While it is true that in later life he learned much from 
 his pupil, Mozart, about the use of solo instruments and their 
 grouping, his is the honor of being the pioneer in the orchestral 
 world. He was the first great tone-painter, all preceding 
 efforts being but preparatory steps to the results obtained by 
 his genius. 
 
 The orchestra is the preferable medium of the tone-poet for 
 the expression of lofty conceptions and emotional moods 
 wherewith he would move the hearts and minds of his hearers. 
 
 This, to be sure, had been done to a degree in vocal compo- 
 sition by some of the Netherlander and early Italian masters, 
 such as Willaert, Palestrina, and the Gabrielis, but they were 
 limited by the apparatus at their disposal. 
 
 Bach, Handel and Gluck had a keen insight into the indi- 
 viduality of sound of such orchestral instruments as reached 
 artistic excellence in their time, and had written obbligato 
 solos for them, and used them for characteristic accompani- 
 ments, but these were merely incidental to their works. In 
 
 22Q
 
 230 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 the accompaniments of his Israel in Egypt Handel gave 
 suggestions of the "plague of flies" and the "plague of frogs," 
 but Haydn's orchestral representation of chaos makes us 
 realize the "earth without form and void" in a most impres- 
 sive manner. The praises of Spring had been sung by many 
 composers in various manners, but no one had given such a 
 picture of its arrival, accompanied by birds and flowers and 
 balmy breezes, as the genial "Papa Haydn," as he was affec- 
 tionately called by those who knew and loved him. In his 
 Seasons he not only paints the spring in all its primitive 
 beauty, but also the shady woods and bubbling brooks of 
 summer, the melancholy days of fall, and the fierce and bluster- 
 ing winds of winter, each with its own special delights which 
 are clearly set forth before us. 
 
 He was also the creator of the Sonata-form, upon which is 
 based so much of the best modern orchestral and chamber 
 music. With him, as with the later masters, the strings 
 are the backbone, nay, the whole framework of the or- 
 chestra, and Beethoven would be difficult to conceive 
 without the works of Haydn. 
 
 Receiving from Ph. E. Bach the sonata with a single theme, 
 in his hands it lost its stiffness and conventionality and, 
 transmuted by his genius, assumed the classical art-form of 
 to-day, with its two contrasting themes, a duality that is the 
 very foundation of the sonata and the symphony. 
 
 The predominantly religious spirit of Bach originated in 
 his devotion to the Lutheran church; Handel depicted the 
 heroes of the Israelites and other ancient nations; Gluck's 
 themes all dealt with Greek heroes and heroism; but Haydn 
 presents before our imagination the humble farmer with his 
 daughter, her sweetheart, and their friends, in their homely 
 duties and pleasures. 
 
 He was an intense lover of Nature and keenly susceptible 
 to all her varying moods, and above all was genuinely Austrian 
 in his love of life, of poetry and of humor, qualities that made
 
 The Early Symphonisis 231 
 
 him readily understood by the public, and find vivid expres- 
 sion in his minuets, which breathe the folk-spirit, in his orches- 
 tral rondos, which bubble over with the joy of life and its 
 humor. 
 
 Genius is usually accompanied by simplicity, but rarely 
 by humor. We get an occasional touch of humor in some of 
 Bach's works, such as his "Coffee Cantata," the first D-major 
 Prelude in the "Well-tempered Clavichord," and the Fugue 
 on the "Postilion's horn;" we also see it peep out occasion- 
 ally in Handel's works, as in the utterance of the giant Poly- 
 phemus in Acis and Galatea; in the works of Haydn, however, 
 it is very prominent, and of the most ingenuous kind, both 
 delicate and refined. His music enters the heart, and is 
 thoroughly human in its expression. 
 
 That this was largely due to his environment, as well as to 
 his natural gifts, is indisputable, and we will therefore briefly 
 glance at a few pages of his life-history. 
 
 Franz Joseph Haydn was born on the 3ist of March, 1732, 
 the second child of a family of twelve, whose father was a 
 humble mechanic. At the evening family gathering there 
 was always music, a common trait among the laboring classes 
 of Germany and Austria. On one of these evenings the village 
 schoolmaster, noticing the boy's ability to learn songs, urged 
 that he be sent to the near-by city of Hainburg to enter the 
 school-choir. There he was noticed by Reutter, precentor 
 of St. Stephen's cathedral at Vienna, who promptly engaged 
 him as one of his choristers. As such, the boy lived in the 
 parish-house, where he should have been happy and where 
 he was entitled to receive a proper general education as well 
 as superior musical instruction in return for his services. 
 For some reason, however, Reutter came to dislike Joseph, 
 and treated him badly, often chastising him without cause. 
 After his voice broke, and having been found guilty of some 
 boyish prank, Reutter turned him out into the street on a 
 cold, rainy November night in 1749, without money or a
 
 232 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 place to sleep. After roaming around all night, he met one of 
 the tenors of the choir, who took him home to his attic. The 
 two years that followed were full of hardship and poverty 
 for the boy, who managed, however, to make a precarious 
 living by playing in bands, or at weddings and baptismal 
 festivities, for the latter of which he occasionally wrote 
 special music. 
 
 He also played the violin in street serenades for which he 
 sometimes wrote the music, and at one of these, given in 
 honor of the wife of Kurtz, the actor, he was noticed by this 
 man, who, after some questioning, gave him some verses to 
 be set to music for use in one of his comedies. 
 
 In 1750, desiring to live alone, he rented a garret in the 
 house where Metastasio, the poet and librettist of the Italian 
 opera, lived. There he practised on an old harpsichord 
 which he had somehow acquired, wrote his first mass, and 
 attracted the attention of his Italian poet-neighbor, who 
 sought him out and secured him a pupil, Haydn receiving 
 free board in payment for the lessons. He also introduced 
 the young man to Porpora, the singing-teacher, whose valet 
 and accompanist he soon became, for which services he received 
 a small salary in addition to board at the upper servants' 
 table, besides a home and instruction from his employer 
 in singing and composition. The relationship between the 
 director of Italian opera in Vienna and the struggling young 
 musician are graphically described in George Sand's "Con- 
 suelo," both appearing, of course, under other names. 
 
 During the next few years he had various employers, 
 wrote the music for a comic opera The Crooked Devil, which 
 was an immediate success, and, in 1759, his first symphony 
 in D major. At the age of 29 he entered the service of the 
 noble family of Esterhazy, whose members had long been 
 known as patrons of music and art. With them he remained 
 thirty-three years, the greater part of that time as director of 
 music, and not only received a handsome salary, but had an
 
 The Early Symphonists 233 
 
 admirable opportunity for creative work, with a body of com- 
 petent musicians at his command for testing and producing 
 his compositions. 
 
 Under his direction the orchestra gradually increased from 
 17 to 24 members, who, as they loved their genial leader, 
 played for him con amore, and this friendly relation, added 
 to a life free from the cares of existence, bred in him the 
 contemplative attitude so necessary to the creative artist. 
 Having married a veritable Xantippe when but a youth, his 
 life was not altogether calm and sunny; finally he refused to 
 live with his wife, whom he nevertheless continued to support. 
 
 It was during his service with the Esterhazys that he 
 perfected the form of the sonata and the symphony. He 
 wrote a great many symphonies, which gradually came into 
 favor elsewhere and made his name widely known. 
 
 It is, therefore, not surprising that in 1790 he was invited 
 to come to London, whose musicians and musical public had 
 expressed their appreciation of his quartets and symphonies. 
 After some hesitation, Haydn accepted, and, after bidding an 
 affectionate good-bye to friends and admirers, and especially 
 to Mozart, who joked with him regarding his inability to 
 speak the English language, departed for England. The 
 twelve "Salomon" symphonies written during his visit there 
 are considered his greatest works in that form, and earned 
 him the admiration and esteem of all. While in London he 
 heard some of Handel's oratorios, and was so impressed by 
 their grandeur that he determined to write similar works. 
 
 After his contract had expired, Haydn returned to Vienna, 
 laden with honors and riches. In 1794, after repeated in- 
 vitations, he made another visit to England, which was even 
 more successful than the previous one, the enthusiasm of the 
 court and the musical public being extraordinary. The 
 financial results of this visit, added to the salary as musical 
 director which he still enjoyed, made him a wealthy man, free 
 from worldly anxiety, and gave him the time and freedom
 
 234 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 for his two most important works, The Creation and The 
 Seasons, which met with unprecedented and instantaneous 
 success. 
 
 The genuine enthusiasm exhibited by the English, not only 
 awakened in the aged musician a consciousness of his own 
 value and musical powers, but aroused his countrymen and 
 the Emperor, who began to appreciate the greatness of the 
 modest man who had lived so long in comparative obscurity. 
 
 During the last years of his life his fame continued to in- 
 crease, and he received honors and recognition from all sides. 
 But the greatest were those showered upon him by the city 
 of Vienna, which had a gold medal struck in his honor, pre- 
 sented him with "the freedom of the city," and through the 
 nobility and art-patrons arranged for a gala performance of 
 The Creation in celebration of his seventy-sixth birthday. 
 The court and the leading musicians then living in Vienna, 
 including Beethoven, were present at this performance, and 
 the whole audience rose to its feet to do him honor when the 
 aged Haydn was carried to his seat, surrounded by the noblest 
 of the land, the ladies of the court vying with one another in 
 making "Papa Haydn" comfortable. 
 
 One stirring incident which gave evidence of his patriotism, 
 occurred shortly before his death. When the French under 
 Napoleon entered his beloved city in 1809, and paraded 
 through the streets, he caused his piano to be moved to the 
 open window, and in his quavering voice sang his own setting 
 of what is now the Austrian national hymn. So great was 
 his renown, that when the French soldiers wished to silence 
 the daring singer, their officers placed a guard of honor around 
 the master's house. The excitement, however, was too 
 much for him, and he died on May 3oth. 
 
 The numerous symphonies preceding the final ones written 
 for London, were but so many steps in the development of 
 that art-form, which required much time and effort in the 
 upbuilding and attainment of his ideal. In the Salomon
 
 The Early Symphonists 235 
 
 symphonies, the period of experimentation was past, the idea 
 of dual themes and their relation and contrasts fixed, and 
 they therefore deserve to rank beside those of Beethoven and 
 Mozart. In perfecting the sonata-form he established the 
 technique of the form of the string-quartet a,s well as that of 
 the symphony. 
 
 The content of his works reflects the man in all his moods. 
 He was an affectionate son, bore without complaint his union 
 to a woman of violent temper, was ever ready to help the 
 needy with hand, or pen, or purse, and was always sympa- 
 thetic to the sorrowful and distressed. 
 
 His relations with Mozart are beautiful to contemplate. 
 'He was not only proud of his pupil, but did all he could to 
 secure the young man public opportunity and favor, and 
 early declared to the elder Mozart, "As an honest man I 
 assure you before God that I consider your son the greatest 
 of all composers." 
 
 Haydn's religion was a part of the man. His sacred com- 
 positions exhibit a lightness and gayety that is best ex- 
 pressed in his own words: "When I think of the Divine 
 Being my heart is so full of joy that the notes fly off as from 
 a spindle; and, as I have a cheerful heart, He will pardon me 
 if I serve Him cheerfully." No wonder he said to Mozart, 
 who worried about the aged master's going to England 
 without knowing the language, "My language is understood 
 by all the world." 
 
 The second of the early symphonists was Wolfgang Ama- 
 deus Mozart, born in Salzburg on Jan. 27th, 1756. His 
 father, an excellent musician, was a wise guide and friend to 
 the sensitive boy who often used to ask him, "Do you love 
 me?" and whose tears came instantly if a negative answer 
 was returned, even in fun. His inborn humility kept him 
 modest and serious, especially in the practice of his art. 
 
 In considering Mozart's career, which presents one of the 
 most brilliant phenomena known to musical history, we must
 
 236 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 not lose sight of the fact that, although extraordinarily 
 precocious and endowed with most unusual natural gifts, he 
 owed his wonderful artistic success in no small measure to 
 his father's strict and thorough discipline and to the stimu- 
 lating musical environment in which his life from earliest 
 youth was spent. He was one of the rare geniuses of the 
 world. Had some of the stories told of him not been so 
 thoroughly authenticated by reliable witnesses, we might 
 well think them vagaries of some fantastic brain. We know 
 that, at the age of seven, he went with his sister and father 
 on a concert-tour to the courts of Europe, being received 
 everywhere with enthusiasm. We are told that even be- 
 fore that time, at a string-quartet rehearsal at his home, he 
 asked for a violin and permission to join in, and that when 
 both requests were granted he began to play the second 
 violin part, and soon with such skill that the regular player 
 laid aside his instrument and allowed the boy to finish the 
 quartet. We know of his feat of writing from memory, 
 after one hearing, the celebrated Miserere of Allegri, that was 
 always sung on Ash Wednesday at St. Peter's church in 
 Rome. We know of the surprise which he gave the learned 
 brethren of the monastery of Bologna, when he finished their 
 allotted task of musical composition, which usually required 
 hours from other candidates, in less than forty-five minutes. 
 
 We know that he wrote the violin-part of a sonata for 
 violin and piano on the day that it was performed, and played 
 the piano-part from the blank page. We know that he 
 wrote and scored the overture to Don Giovanni in one night 
 and the following morning, rehearsed it in the afternoon, and 
 performed it that evening. 
 
 Being musically an exceedingly receptive child, he was 
 given his first clavier instruction at the age of four, and after 
 two years acquired not only considerable skill in playing the 
 instrument, but wrote some small pieces for it. including a 
 little sonata. The series of concert-tours, covering three
 
 The Early Symphonists 237 
 
 years, made by the boy and his sister under their father's 
 management, began with a trip to Munich and Vienna in 
 1762. The playing of the children created a sensation in 
 these cities. This was followed in 1763 by a visit to France, 
 where they gave two brilliant concerts at the court of Ver- 
 sailles; four sonatas for violin and harpsichord, published 
 in Paris, were his first printed works. 
 
 They proceeded to England, where they remained for more 
 than a year, and where the boy gave astonishing exhibitions 
 of prima vista reading which secured him the favor and ad- 
 miration of George III and his court. 
 
 Upon his return home at the age of ten, he composed his 
 "Missa Solemnis" (which was performed under his own 
 direction), his first symphonies and his first opera. 
 
 At the age of seventeen, still accompanied by his father, he 
 visited Italy, where his genius was promptly recognized, the 
 Pope conferring honors upon him, the Philharmonic Society 
 of Bologna admitting him to membership after an examination 
 which had deterred many musicians, and the city of Milan 
 giving his opera Mitridate a number of performances under 
 his own direction. 
 
 During a second visit to Paris, hoping to secure operatic 
 recognition, he witnessed the war between the Gluckists and 
 Piccinists; but, finding no opportunity to be heard, and 
 saddened by the death of his mother, who had accompanied 
 him on this journey, he returned to his home, and resumed 
 the position of concertmeister (leader of the orchestra) to the 
 Archbishop which had been conferred upon him in previous 
 years. His salary here being quite insufficient, he decided 
 to take up his abode in Vienna, where in 1782 he wrote the 
 opera Die Entftihrung aus dcm Serail, and married Con- 
 stance Weber, an opera-singer. 
 
 All his concertizing and operatic labors, while securing him 
 universal artistic recognition and beautiful presents, failed to 
 bring him the financial rewards necessary to relieve his constant
 
 238 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 struggles against poverty. We have already spoken at some 
 length of his later operas, which brought upon him the en- 
 vious animosity of Italian composers, who were then still in 
 operatic control in Vienna, and made his life a burden. 
 Finally discouragement, incessant work and poverty re- 
 sulted in his death on December 5, 1791. 
 
 Had he, during life, received but a small portion of the 
 artistic recognition showered upon him after death, we can 
 scarcely conceive what he might have accomplished in later 
 years, especially when we remember that the greatest works 
 of Bach, Handel, Haydn and Beethoven were written after 
 they had passed their fortieth year, while Mozart died at the 
 age of thirty-nine. 
 
 While Mozart adopted the sonata-form as designed by 
 Haydn, his genius and individuality enabled him to imbue it 
 with new elements, partly suggested by his close affiliation 
 with the Italian operatic style, thus giving, especially to his 
 " second themes," a more graceful cantabile character. 
 
 As early as 1789 he abandoned the use of the harpsichord 
 for concert purposes and adopted in its stead the piano- 
 forte, then manufactured by Stein of Augsburg. The form 
 of scale-fingering fixed by Bach and his son, Philipp Emanuel, 
 enabling the performer to play scales with agility, coupled 
 with the light action of the piano, no doubt prompted Mozart 
 to make florid scale-passages the basis of his keyboard vir- 
 tuosity. 
 
 His compositions, especially in the slow movements, ex- 
 hibit an expressive song-style even greater than that of 
 Haydn. He had no sympathy w r ith most contemporary 
 pianists on account of their tendency toward velocity, and 
 although his piano works, owing to the development of the 
 instrument, have long been surpassed as such, their value as 
 pure music will always remain. 
 
 The third of the three great masters responsible for the 
 extraordinarily rapid development of instrumental music as
 
 The Early Symphonists 239 
 
 a separate division of the art, was Beethoven. Having re- 
 ceived the musical forms with their classic simplicity and 
 artistic finish from the hands of Haydn and Mozart, his 
 colossal genius enabled him to fill them with the character- 
 istics of his own individuality in thought and expression. 
 While the intention of the French and Italians had been the 
 " combination of sounds in a manner agreeable to the ear," 
 with Beethoven the art of music became the vehicle for the 
 expression of every emotion. 
 
 Ludwig van Beethoven was born at Bonn on the i6th of 
 December, 1770, of humble parentage, his mother being a 
 domestic and his father a tenor singer in the Electoral choir. 
 His musical education was taken in hand in his fourth year 
 by his father, a strict and stern master, who taught him 
 until 1779. At the age of eight he had learned to play both 
 the piano and violin very well, and at twelve had mastered 
 Bach's "Well-tempered Clavichord." At fourteen he be- 
 came assistant court organist at Bonn, and in 1787 made a 
 visit to Vienna, where he met Mozart, who, after hearing 
 him extemporize, exclaimed, "He will give the world some- 
 thing worth listening to!" 
 
 Like Haydn, Beethoven was a great lover of nature, and 
 it was during his country walks that he made the sketches of 
 themes for future works. (These "sketch-books" have been 
 gathered together and published by Nottebohm.) In 1792 
 he settled permanently in Vienna, where he received in- 
 struction from Haydn, who praised his work highly, and 
 also from Albrechtsberger, whose verdict was, "He will never 
 do anything properly." 
 
 At Vienna he soon became a member of the highest circles of 
 artists and art-lovers, and was in constant demand for musicales 
 and soirees, where he displayed his originality in extempore 
 playing. It was thus he met the Breuning family in Bonn, 
 through whom he became acquainted with the best German 
 and English literature, and also Count Waldstein, who became
 
 240 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 one of his best friends. Appearances as a concert pianist 
 soon followed, the first taking place in Vienna in 1795, when 
 he played his first piano concerto, and another shortly after- 
 ward in Berlin, before Frederick William II, to whom, in ap- 
 preciation of favors received, he dedicated two sonatas for 
 'cello and piano. He also met and defeated a number of 
 rival pianists in public contests, all of which helped to spread 
 his reputation as a musician and virtuoso. 
 
 About the year 1800, he began to have difficulty in hearing. 
 As early as 1816 he was obliged to use an ear-trumpet, and 
 by 1822 he had become totally deaf. In addition to this 
 heavy misfortune, he had domestic troubles with an ungrate- 
 ful nephew, left in his care by his brother Karl, who died in 
 1815. These unfortunate circumstances helped to create 
 within him a feeling of distrust that was visited even upon 
 his best friends, and, being very ignorant of business affairs, 
 he was continually in financial trouble. In his music he rose 
 above all this worry and affliction, for most of his compositions 
 of that time, extending to Op. 90, express either exuberant joy 
 or serene contemplation. The sonata-form in his hands re- 
 ceived new life and became the vehicle of his emotions instead 
 of a mere technical system. Sometimes his works reflect 
 the joy of living, at other times they express the most in- 
 tense passion, but they are always full of the virility of the 
 man who fights fate and fights alone. The years extending 
 from 1800 to 1815 are usually called his second period of 
 activity and were productive of six of his nine symphonies, 
 beginning with the "Eroica," his only opera, Fidelio, several 
 overtures, an oratorio, some of his best chamber music, his 
 piano concertos in G and E flat, and many sonatas. The 
 later years of his life, spent in Vienna, were full of all sorts 
 of worries, resulting in a despondency which nothing seemed 
 able to remove. Although his financial difficulties had prac- 
 tically ceased some time before, he thought himself constantly 
 in poverty and became almost unapproachable even to his
 
 The Early Symphonists 241 
 
 friends. He labored unceasingly on his compositions, and 
 his later works undoubtedly reflect the mental struggles of 
 this period. In December, 1826, he caught a severe cold 
 which developed into pneumonia, from the effects of which he 
 died in March, 1827, surrounded by many friends and mourned 
 by the entire world of music. 
 
 His greatest works, written during this final period, include 
 the matchless "Ninth Symphony," with its choral Finale, 
 the "Mass in D,' J and the later piano sonatas, all of which are 
 full of the most daring flights of the imagination. His 
 musical progress was marked by much abuse from contem- 
 porary dilettanti and musicians who decried his unconven- 
 tionality of expression, but whose own works are now forgotten. 
 
 Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven stand on an equal plane, 
 in their labors for the establishment and development of the 
 symphony, the highest musical art-form, for, although their 
 ideals were quite different, they all endeavored to express the 
 beautiful, and each succeeded in his own way. 
 
 Haydn created the form of the symphony, with the idea of 
 a second theme contrasting with the first, and of a "Durch- 
 fiihrungssatz " or "working out," as it is called, and thus 
 established a permanent model for future composers. Mozart 
 accepted the form as received from Haydn, but his themes 
 are more vocal and in the slow movements of his work he rises 
 to the very heights of refined, exquisite song a refinement 
 like that of the face of Apollo, free from passion and toil. 
 
 Beethoven was also capable of soaring into the heights of 
 beautiful song, but he has a deeper pathos and is more forcible 
 and impassioned in expressing his emotions. His was a strong 
 soul, storm-tossed but always finally triumphant, and this 
 characteristic stands out prominently in all his works. He 
 often approaches the romantic, for he lived at a time when 
 romanticism had begun to stir abroad, and when the soul-life 
 of man was beginning to receive recognition.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF ROMANTICISM. 
 
 WE have seen that the process of art is a gradual evolution 
 which is the result of a clearer perception of ideals. This 
 process may be divided into three periods, the symbolic, the 
 classic and the romantic, corresponding to similar periods in 
 the development of man. Symbolic art is limited and its 
 meaning is not always clear. It is often incoherent and 
 formless. 
 
 Classical art has as its ideals symmetry, proportion, and 
 unity, and results in a formal beauty, but slightly affected by 
 the workings of the inner spirit. 
 
 Eventually, however, the soul of man succeeded in asserting 
 itself, regardless of form, and the consequent free expression 
 of the emotions ends in romanticism. 
 
 The works of Handel, Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beetho- 
 ven form what is generally termed "the Classic School," while 
 those of Weber, Marschner, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin 
 and Schumann are usually designated as belonging to the 
 " Romantic School." 
 
 This new phase of musical art, resulting from the trend of 
 current thought and a deep emotional unrest, began in 
 Europe towards the close of the eighteenth century, and was, 
 like the Renaissance of the sixteenth century, antagonistic 
 to those things which, though once new, had become conven- 
 tional. The revolt against tradition, the longing to return 
 to what was conceived to be the natural, the untrammeled, 
 was so far-reaching, that it extended even to the prevalent 
 angular landscape gardening, and caused a return to the 
 exhibition of the natural tendencies of plants and trees. 
 
 242
 
 The Beginning of Romanticism 243 
 
 It was this same antagonism to tradition that caused the 
 revolt against the aristocracy in France. The question was 
 freely asked; "Should a man be king because his father was 
 a king?" and the prompt answer was, "No, a man should 
 be king only if he is a king." 
 
 This questioning, emotional unrest found expression in 
 literature and art, through the revelation of individual thought 
 and feeling, and the fearless investigation and description of 
 all that related to man's mental and emotional life. 
 
 The contemplation and expression of truth rather than of 
 beauty was the aim of these writers. They boldly declared 
 their point of view, and expressed a self-sufficient motive 
 for their deeds, by their statement that "everything belong- 
 ing to life and its experiences was a fit subject for art, so that 
 the soul might learn to understand itself and come to com- 
 plete self-consciousness." Their motto therefore was, "Noth- 
 ing that is human will I consider as foreign to me," and 
 this idea became the basis of the romantic movement. Music, 
 the most subjective of all the arts, became the medium for the 
 expression of the composer's individual emotions or moods, 
 of what he himself thought or felt. Romanticism thus 
 enlarged the realm of music by the acquisition of a portion 
 of the domain that originally belonged to poetry and espe- 
 cially to painting. 
 
 The student of pictorial art reciprocated by the appropri- 
 ation of terms belonging originally to musical art, and hence- 
 forth spoke of the "tone" of a picture, just as a musician 
 now speaks of the "color" of orchestration or harmony. 
 The romantic composers then endeavored to represent in 
 music a picture or a story, both originally deemed foreign to 
 its province. 
 
 This purpose in itself was not new, having already been 
 practised to a degree by several composers of the Italian 
 Renaissance and by some masters of the Flemish school, such 
 as Gombert and Jannequin, both of whom in their vocal
 
 244 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 compositions described scenes and occurrences. The latter 
 composer is undoubtedly the first who exhibited tone-paint- 
 ing tendencies to a marked degree, and may well be called 
 the earliest Romanticist. To be sure, many of his works of 
 this class are but imitations of nature, but even as such they 
 are representations of occurrences outside the domain of 
 music. His choruses, introducing the cries of the street- 
 venders of Paris ("Cris de Paris") and the approach of the 
 troops with their bugle-calls and clanking of swords ("La 
 Bataille"), are excellent examples of tone-painting, though 
 the medium at his command was entirely vocal and they were 
 written in the a cappella song-style. Among many similar 
 works we might also mention his "Songs of War and the 
 Chase," "Bird Songs," "The Lark and the Nightingale," 
 "Jealousy," "The Gossiping Ladies" (a five-part song), and 
 "The Stag-hunt" (a seven-part song). All these compositions 
 belong to the class that is now called "Program music," an 
 outgrowth of the romantic spirit. 
 
 The antagonism to things traditional may thus be said to 
 have begun in France, whose litterateurs and poets toward 
 the close of the eighteenth century caused the equilibrium of 
 society to be disturbed by their radicalism. They preached 
 "liberty, equality, fraternity" and enthroned reason above 
 all things terrestrial. 
 
 Their antagonism to conventionality was so rabid that they 
 even changed the names of the days of the week and the 
 months of the year, as being reminiscent of mythology, and 
 instituted a new era dating from the beginning of the great 
 revolution. 
 
 It was because of this antagonism to the artificial that the 
 "opera bouffe," which dealt with human foibles and follies, 
 and burlesqued everything conventional, found such a con- 
 genial home in France during that period. 
 
 This revolt against the conventional quickly spread to 
 England and Germany, whose bold literary spirits almost
 
 The Beginning of Romanticism 245 
 
 immediately adopted the new motto and began to express 
 themselves in the new manner. 
 
 Exponents of the art of music, such as Weber and Marsch- 
 ner and their librettists, being naturally very sensitive to the 
 emotional atmosphere of their environment and in close 
 sympathy with the general public, exhibited their appre- 
 ciation of the new mode of thought in their operas, which at 
 once met with public favor. 
 
 During this period of emotional unrest was born, in 1797, 
 Franz Schubert, usually called the father of romanticism in 
 music. He was one of nineteen children whose father was a 
 school-teacher in Lichtenthal, a suburb of Vienna, where the 
 family lived. The pay of a schoolmaster was then, as now, 
 comparatively small, and insufficient for the needs of a large 
 family. Therefore, as soon as they were old enough, the 
 sons of the house also taught school and helped to eke out 
 the slender paternal income. From his father Schubert re- 
 ceived his first lessons in playing the violin and piano, and 
 from the choir-master of the parish school some superficial 
 instruction in theory. Having a very good voice, he was 
 entered as chorister in the boys' school connected with 
 St. Stephen's Cathedral, the same where Haydn had been so 
 unhappy. As chorister, he was entitled to a home in the 
 school and a general education, which included instruction in 
 singing and in playing the piano and violin, and practice in 
 the school orchestra which he occasionally was permitted to 
 conduct. His music-lessons were rather limited in scope, 
 and, to the eager youngster, unsatisfactory because they did 
 not include information regarding theory, harmony and com- 
 position. As he had youthful dreams of following in the 
 footsteps of Beethoven, whom he revered, he bought Mat- 
 theson's "Complete Music-Director" and a text-book on 
 harmony and taught himself as far as he was able. Romantic 
 stories were his delight, and at the age of 13 he wrote a musi- 
 cal setting of "The Lament of Hagar in the Wilderness,"
 
 246 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 and a "Corpse Fantasy" in which he attempted to depict 
 the ghostly, shadowy effect produced by the light of the 
 candles around the bier of death. Everything fantastic, 
 supernatural, unexplainable or highly emotional, appealed to 
 him as demanding musical expression. His youthful oppor- 
 tunities for hearing music were limited to those furnished by 
 the church services, for he never heard a first-class secular 
 work until he was fifteen, and no opera until he was seventeen. 
 
 Nevertheless, as soon as he left this choir-school, at the 
 age of sixteen, to assist his father in teaching, his genius for 
 composition began to manifest itself. At seventeen he had 
 written his first Mass, which, despite his lack of musical 
 training, is one of the greatest ever written and is generally 
 conceded to be excelled only by that of Bach in B minor and 
 that of Beethoven in D major. 
 
 A sort of rage for composition seems to have possessed him, 
 and, as Schumann has said, almost everything he touched he 
 turned into rnusic. As an example of this, we might cite the 
 accredited story of an occurrence at the home of a certain 
 court official in Vienna. One morning, while waiting in an 
 anteroom of the office, where he had been sent on an im- 
 portant errand, Schubert found on the table a new volume of 
 poems by Miiller. Upon opening the book, he became so in- 
 terested in its contents that he forgot his mission, left the 
 anteroom, took the book home with him, and before night 
 composed that splendid series of songs entitled the "Mliller- 
 Lieder," sometimes called "Die schone Miillerin," which 
 usually begins the first volume of Schubert's songs. That his 
 desire for composition amounted almost to a mania is proved 
 by the fact that although he died when but 31, he left be- 
 hind him several masses and symphonies, many piano works, 
 a number of choral works and more than six hundred songs. 
 His genius so clarified his thoughts that scarcely an erasure is 
 found in his hundreds of manuscripts, which are so clear and 
 distinct as to be a delight to the eye. His inspiration was so
 
 The Beginning of Romanticism 247 
 
 continuous that the music came as fast as he could write. 
 As a consequence, many of his compositions sound like im- 
 provisations. 
 
 The songs, especially, seem to have been conceived in one 
 flash, a lightning-like understanding of the text. Immedi- 
 ately after his reading of a poem, his genius produced a suit- 
 able melody, with its harmonic coloring of accompaniment, 
 from the beginning to the end, so that his songs were what 
 the Germans call " durchkomponiert " (composed straight 
 through), and are, therefore, the first examples of the "art- 
 song," a form of which he is called the father. The real 
 folk-song, as we know, consists of several stanzas, each with 
 the same melody and accompaniment, but in the art-song, 
 though the musical settings of the stanzas may resemble 
 each other, they are not alike, but individually follow the 
 varying moods of the text. 
 
 Constant poverty during Schubert's childhood and manhood, 
 continuing even to his death, premature hard work and lack 
 of public recognition, and a naturally retiring disposition, 
 made him self-conscious and bashful, and because of the lack 
 of proper instruction in his youth under recognized masters, 
 he had no abiding faith in his own gifts and powers. At one 
 time he visited Beethoven, with some of his quartets, hoping 
 to receive corrections, suggestions or criticisms. Knowing 
 of the great master's deafness, he timidly wrote his request 
 on Beethoven's ever-present tablets. The great symphonist 
 looked through some of the works presented, was much im- 
 pressed, and began to compliment the bashful young man, but 
 he, awed by the near presence of the master whom he revered, 
 and unable to imagine that he had done anything which 
 deserved commendation, fled from the house, leaving his 
 quartets behind him. The same timidity, added to the 
 consciousness of his poverty, prevented him from declaring 
 his love to a young lady of noble birth of whom he became 
 deeply enamoured.
 
 248 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 He was very short of stature, being but five feet and one 
 inch in height, very broad and stout, and, because of much 
 youthful writing, very round-shouldered. He had thick, 
 broad fingers, black hair, bushy eyebrows, all combining to 
 make him a rather insignificant-looking man. His eyes, 
 however, were very brilliant and deep-set and when he spoke 
 of his art, his face became transformed. He always wore 
 glasses and was so helpless without them that he is said to 
 have slept in them. He was so poor, that when, after his 
 death, which occurred November 19, 1828, his household 
 effects, including his piano, were sold at public auction, they 
 brought the incredibly small sum of $120. 
 
 The second of the great German romantic composers was 
 Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, born in 1809. As the son of a 
 wealthy philosopher-banker, his life presents a vivid material 
 contrast to that of Schubert. He was brought up in an 
 atmosphere of artistic and literary culture, in which he en- 
 joyed the friendship of Weber, who adored him, of Goethe 
 and of Herder. He was given every opportunity afforded by a 
 thorough education, general as well as musical. Time and 
 space forbid anything but a cursory view of his life, and we 
 shall only endeavor to fix his place in the world of musical art 
 by a comparison of his works with those of others. 
 
 Like Schubert, he had a sort of mania for composition, 
 though not in the same degree. At twenty he had written 
 two symphonies, several quartets and operas, and the immortal 
 overture to Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream,'' 
 which is romantic and fantastic in the extreme and in which 
 he paints with an exquisite brush. His works, compared 
 with those of Beethoven, are as those of an extraordinarily 
 gifted young man, whom we know personally, compared with 
 those of a sorrowing god, whose intellectual and emotional 
 domain is difficult of approach and almost impossible of 
 entrance. Beethoven is like a wild, almost impenetrable for- 
 est, in which are heard sounds primeval; while Mendelssohn
 
 The Beginning of Romanticism 249 
 
 is like a handsome park easy of entrance, and full of beautiful 
 cultivated flowers. 
 
 His musical instincts were those of a man whose culture 
 united refined taste, consummate knowledge and great 
 artistic gifts. If we except his "Midsummer Night's Dream" 
 music, his was a slow, steady growth without the spontaneous 
 outbursts of a Schubert or the titanic flashes of a Beethoven. 
 He was taught the technique and form of his art in a most 
 thorough manner, and he was also taught a deep reverence for 
 law, duty and order, which, however, did not deter his im- 
 pressionable soul from a free entrance into the field of roman- 
 ticism which Schubert, Weber and Beethoven had explored 
 and adorned. 
 
 Nature, environment and education combined to give him 
 a fine appreciation of plastic beauty and musical form, and 
 this is visible in all his works, whatever be their emotional 
 content. 
 
 His various travels, and the physical and emotional impres- 
 sions thus obtained, are reflected in many of his works, such 
 as his "Italian" and "Scotch" symphonies, and his over- 
 tures, "Melusine," the "Hebrides," and "Fingal's Cave." 
 His visits to England and his consequent hearing of Handel's 
 great oratorios resulted in St. Paul, Elijah, and the "Hymn 
 of Praise." 
 
 Recognizing his lack of power to emulate Schubert's immor- 
 tal songs, he wrote his "Songs without Words," which reflect 
 various moods engendered by poetry or environment, and 
 which are charming contributions to piano literature. 
 
 In spite of his Antigone, (Edipus andAthalie, written by royal 
 commission, it must be conceded that most of his works show 
 a lack of epic force. But the exuberance of his lyric faculty, 
 blended with emotional variety, enabled him to express 
 himself in the most charming plastic forms. To appreciate 
 this we need but listen to his happy dissertation on Die 
 schb'ne Melusine, and the delightful introduction to his "Calm
 
 250 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Sea and Prosperous Voyage," which in itself is a fairy tale 
 expressed in tones. 
 
 A German writer has said, "He had not only a genius for 
 living but also for dying." His last work, Elijah, was also his 
 greatest, and he died when his fame had reached its zenith, 
 at the age of 38. 
 
 Of the romantic opera-writers in the first part of the nine- 
 teenth century, Weber, Marschner, Spontini, and Spohr, we 
 have spoken previously. Berlioz will be considered later; 
 but we must now take up the life of the third of the three 
 great early romanticists, Robert Schumann. 
 
 Born at Zwickau, Saxony, in 1810, the son of a bookseller, 
 he was brought up chiefly on the intellectual food furnished 
 by the exponents of romantic literature. Even while in 
 school, he gave evidences of his ability to express as much in 
 a few notes as a cartoonist can with a few lines. 
 
 His biographers have given so many interesting details of 
 the man, that we will occupy ourselves only with the musician 
 and his art. We shall, therefore, consider only his works and 
 their principal characteristics. 
 
 In these he has glorified every phase of life from youth to 
 manhood. His " Kinderscenen " lead us back into the days 
 when we believed in fairies and kobolds, into the days of chil- 
 dren's games and the bright blossoms of springtime, and our 
 first dreams of "castles in Spain." He transports us through 
 these scenes and memories into early student-life with its fan- 
 tastic ideas and associations, expressed in the " Kreisleriana " 
 and the "Davidsbiindlertanze;" through the scenes of early 
 manhood with "Carnaval" and " Liebesfriihling; " into the pure 
 joys of wedded bliss with " Frauenliebe und -Leben," and brings 
 us to-mature reflection in his "Dichterliebe," "Romanzen und 
 Balladen," perhaps the greatest of all his song-cycles. 
 
 Even in his earliest works we note his gift of condensed 
 thought, of expressing much in few tones. Every stroke of 
 his musical brush creates a small domain. In "W T arum?" he
 
 The Beginning of Romanticism 251 
 
 asks more questions in a few measures than many have 
 asked in pages upon pages. Schumann is the creator of this 
 miniature form of musical utterance. All his early works are 
 full to the brim with warm enthusiasm, vigorous idealism, 
 and the romantic desire to wander from the beaten path into 
 self-chosen solitude, peopled only with the creatures of his 
 fancy. His "Intermezzi," "Papillons," "Fantasie-Stiicke," 
 "Nacht-Stiicke," and "Faschingsschwank," are fine examples 
 of this spirit, and these alone would make his name immortal, 
 not only for their inherent excellence but also because they 
 made the piano an instrument for the expression of poetry, of 
 tone-painting. As he passed into robust manhood, his 
 genius required broader forms of expression, such as are to be 
 found in the "Fantasie" and G-minor Sonata, as well as in his 
 earlier songs, all of which show a deepening of the emo- 
 tional life. Most of the songs and song-cycles mentioned 
 above were written at or before the age of thirty. He had 
 in even greater measure than Schubert the gift of absorbing 
 the "locale" of a poem and of describing it as if it were a 
 personal experience. This gift is nowhere in greater evidence 
 than in "In der Fremde," where he paints with a few chords 
 the "lovely forest solitude," and in the "Mondnacht," where 
 he depicts the "silent kiss of Heaven given to Earth." Fa- 
 miliar poems, already popular as songs, received at his hands 
 a setting quite new and apparently strange, but often reveal- 
 ing what the poet had left unspoken. 
 
 When, after several years of waiting, he had secured Clara 
 Wieck as his bride, he began the composition of his greatest 
 works, which include the Piano Concerto, the quartets and 
 symphonies, as well as the "Frauenliebe und -Leben" and the 
 "Dichterliebe." In these he shows maturity, and the con- 
 clusion of his musical thought. The B ? Symphony, though his 
 first effort in this form, is like the fragrant breath of a pine 
 forest in which sunbeams are at play. It is, as it were, the 
 musical embodiment of a honeymoon.
 
 252 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 His greatest piano works are undoubtedly the Piano Con- 
 certo and the "Variations," both full of a delightful roman- 
 ticism that charms at the first hearing. 
 
 In middle life he began to exhibit an unaccountable moodi- 
 ness that was manifested in various ways, and was really the 
 prophetic foreshadowing of the catastrophe that overtook 
 him before the end. That he lived much within himself is 
 well known. It is related of him that he often visited friends 
 in the evening, and that on such occasions he would some- 
 times sit for more than two hours in silence, oblivious of his 
 surroundings, and would then rise and express the pleasure he 
 had received from his call. This moodiness to which we have 
 referred was undoubtedly the first symptom of that insanity 
 which later caused him to attempt suicide on two different 
 occasions and finally necessitated his confinement in an 
 asylum, where he died in 1856. 
 
 His art and the spread of his ideas caused an upheaval, not 
 only in Germany, but in all European music, such as we can 
 hardly realize. The younger generation of musicians en- 
 thusiastically followed in his footsteps, and there resulted a 
 real Schumann style of composition, which was distinctly a 
 new type of emotional utterance. 
 
 As a picturesque writer, a critic-composer, cultivated in 
 literature, philosophy, poetry and music, he was a new 
 force in the musical world. Shy and reserved, and there- 
 fore not fond of society, he talked little, but observed 
 and wrote much. His musical criticisms are models of that 
 form of writing, and his articles on serious young com- 
 posers and their early works, collected in his "Music and 
 Musicians," aided materially in their public recognition and 
 appreciation. 
 
 Schumann still has many followers, and his influence is 
 visible in many of the works of modern composers. 
 
 Through the romantic movement the art of music acquired 
 not only new material but new forms of expression.
 
 The Beginning of Romanticism 253 
 
 Schubert's creative genius, unhampered by his limited 
 knowledge of the academic rules of music, gave an imperish- 
 able legacy to the musical world. Realizing his imperfect 
 training in the larger forms, he expressed himself in the more 
 modest styles of the short piece for the piano and the song, 
 where his abundance of poetry and imagination had free rein 
 in a wholly new field. The effect of his labors in the romantic 
 field and especially in the creation of the art-song is inesti- 
 mable, and it has been truly said, "There has never been one 
 like him and there never will be another." 
 
 Mendelssohn, with his superb classic training, adhered 
 more to that form of expression; and his variety of emotion, 
 though apparently limited, is clearly visible in his earlier 
 works and his smaller pieces, which are essentially lyric. 
 
 Schumann, the admirer and follower of Schubert, although 
 he wrote much in the sonata-form, is at his best in his later 
 songs, and in the romantic shorter piano pieces, where he 
 shows a variety of original and free expression that is ex- 
 celled only by Chopin.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMANTICISM, AND THE ADVENT 
 OF THE GREAT VIRTUOSI. 
 
 THE romantic spirit which found an outlet in the songs of 
 Schubert, the operas of Weber and Marschner, the fantastic 
 piano pieces of Schumann, and the fairy-like elegance of 
 Mendelssohn, made its appeal to an eager, attentive and 
 sympathetic public, largely imbued with the same feeling 
 of unrest. It seemed as if the world had been waiting for 
 just that kind of musical utterance. 
 
 This appreciation on the part of the public was aided in no 
 small degree by the timely advent of a new school of vir- 
 tuosi of the violin, piano and other instruments. During the 
 seventeenth century, the perfecting of the organ had made 
 possible a virtuosity never before known, and such splendid 
 players as Sweelinck, Frescobaldi, Reinken and Buxtehude 
 are still remembered for their complete mastery of the in- 
 strument. 
 
 The works of Vivaldi and Corelli had already made great 
 demands upon the skill of ambitious violinists, while Dome- 
 nico Scarlatti, Rameau, Bach and Handel were not only 
 themselves virtuosi on the harpsichord, but created a new 
 style of playing which made great demands in the direction 
 of technique and coloring of tone, so that when the piano- 
 forte finally outrivaled the clavichord and harpsichord, the 
 works of these masters were found to be equally adapted to 
 the new instrument. 
 
 The slow movements of Haydn's sonatas for piano de- 
 manded a still greater coloring of tone. As they usually con- 
 sisted of some sort of fantasia, or theme with variations, it 
 
 254
 
 The Development of Romanticism 255 
 
 was the performer's task to impart to each of the different 
 sequences and changes a different tone-color, thus making 
 them more interesting. 
 
 Mozart gave us the Adagio upon the piano, as a song in 
 soulful style. Then came Beethoven, who ushered in a 
 new era in piano-playing, not only through his compositions 
 but through his own performances, in which he excelled all 
 others of his time. He embodied the spirit of romanticism 
 in his later piano compositions, treating the instrument with 
 a mingling of boldness, delicacy and poetry that taxes the 
 ability of the greatest artists of to-day. Chopin, Schumann 
 and Liszt demand little more from the pianist in certain 
 directions than did Beethoven in his sonatas and concertos. 
 
 Early in the nineteenth century there flourished a number 
 of other eminent piano virtuosi, exponents of the classical 
 style, some of whom had a decided influence upon the com- 
 posers for that instrument; and among these we must men- 
 tion Clementi, Field, Cramer, Berger, Moscheles, Hummel, 
 Dussek and Czerny. 
 
 Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), born at Rome four years be- 
 fore Mozart and outliving Beethoven, met during his youth 
 a traveling English amateur who became interested in the 
 boy and took him to England. At the age of 18 he created a 
 furore in London by his facile technique. Shortly after- 
 wards he published his first sonatas and in 1777 was ap- 
 pointed conductor of the Italian Opera in London. In 1781 
 he began to concertize, and startled the world with his play- 
 ing. On this tour he met Mozart in Vienna, and there, at a 
 pianistic contest between the two virtuosi, it was conceded 
 that his playing was the more brilliant but that Mozart had 
 the more beautiful touch and singing style. As a result of 
 this contest dementi's compositions became more musical, 
 decidedly influencing Beethoven, while his playing showed 
 more feeling. He made several other concert-tours, includ- 
 ing two to St. Petersburg, and was generally successful.
 
 256 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Most of his life, however, was spent in London, where he 
 founded a piano-manufactory and also spent much time in 
 teaching. Many of his sonatas are virile in the extreme. 
 His greatest pedagogic work is the "Gradus ad Parnassum," 
 a series of 100 piano-studies in all styles. 
 
 One of his famous pupils was John Field (1782-1837), at 
 the age of ten already a musical prodigy at Dublin. This 
 excellent virtuoso took even Paris by storm by his masterly 
 playing of Bach's fugues. At the age of 20 he accompanied 
 Clementi to Russia, and labored for many years as composer 
 and teacher. It was there that he conceived the form of the 
 Nocturne, an expression of his feeling for the romantic which 
 found general favor, and was later magnificently developed 
 by Chopin. 
 
 Another of dementi's celebrated pupils was Johann 
 Baptist Cramer (1771-1858), born at Mannheim in Germany. 
 He was also a precocious pianist, and at the age of 10 began a 
 tour of Europe, during which he met Haydn and Beethoven, 
 to whose style of playing he remained true in spite of the 
 surging waves of pianistic progress which agitated the musi- 
 cal world during the first half of the nineteenth century. 
 
 Another excellent pianist of the period was Johann Ne- 
 pomuk Hummel (1778-1837), for a while an inmate of 
 Mozart's home as his pupil, an intimate friend of Beethoven's 
 and the successor of Haydn at the home of the Esterhazys. In 
 composition he followed the style of Mozart; he had a decided 
 gift for improvisation, and was very successful as a teacher. 
 
 Johann Ladislaus Dussek (1761-1812), the first Bohemian 
 musician of prominence, was another virtuoso of the time of 
 Clementi. Many of his works, exhibiting his love and ap- 
 preciation of a " singing tone" on the piano, are very well 
 known. 
 
 Ludwig Berger (1777-1839), although an excellent player, 
 is more especially remembered as the teacher of Mendelssohn, 
 Taubert, Fanny Hensel, Herzberg, and many other pianists.
 
 The Development of Romanticism 257 
 
 The last two virtuosi representing the classical tradition of 
 the piano were Karl Czerny (1791-1857), a pupil of Beet- 
 hoven and a follower of the styles of Clementi and Hummel, 
 best known through his technical studies; and Ignaz Moscheles 
 (1794-1870), a Bohemian, a brilliant concert pianist, and for 
 many years a teacher at the Leipzig conservatory. He was 
 an intimate friend of Beethoven, after whose death he was con- 
 sidered the best representative of that master's style of play- 
 ing. As a composer he never advanced beyond the Clementi 
 principles, romantic works remaining to him as sealed books. 
 
 During the time of these classical piano virtuosi, highly 
 cultivated players of orchestral instruments also demanded 
 and received the attention of the musical public. Among 
 the violinists of the last part of the eighteenth century, the 
 successors of Tartini and Leclair, must especially be noted 
 Giovanni Battista Viotti (1753-1824), the connecting-link 
 between the old and new schools of violin-playing. A large 
 number of his pupils followed in his footsteps, from among 
 whom we may single out Pierre Rode (1774-1830), a violinist 
 of great power and renown in his day and the author of many 
 excellent works for his instrument. But the greatest violin- 
 ist of the early nineteenth century and possibly of all time 
 was Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840), born at Genoa, the child 
 of very poor parents. His gift for violin-playing amounted 
 to genius. During his career of thirty years he appeared 
 repeatedly in every city of Europe and was universally re- 
 ceived with the utmost enthusiasm, his production of unusual 
 effects upon his instrument earning for him the sobriquet of 
 "the child of the devil." His playing had a great and varied 
 influence that was directly felt, not only in the orchestra, but 
 also in the domain of composition and pianism. both Schu- 
 mann and Liszt being affected by it. His own compositions, 
 while not great artistically, on account of his limited musical 
 training, are clever show-pieces, sensational and at times pas- 
 sionate, and his caprices, together with the sonatas of Bach.
 
 258 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 form the basis of modern violin-playing. His tremendous 
 success was sought in vain by a host of immediate followers 
 and imitators, many of whom approached him in brilliancy 
 of technique, but none of whom possessed his distinctive 
 genius for the violin. 
 
 One of his most brilliant contemporaries, but one who was 
 not in sympathy with his sensational style, was Ludwig 
 Spohr (1784-1859), an excellent musician as well as a great 
 violinist, following in the footsteps of Rode. He was a friend 
 of Mendelssohn and one of the first to recognize in a small 
 measure the genius of Wagner. As a composer, he followed 
 the classical lines of Mozart, although he shows the influence 
 of romanticism in the display of considerable imagination. 
 
 Other virtuosi than those of the violin and piano were not 
 wanting during this time, and many might be mentioned 
 who distinguished themselves as artists upon the flute, oboe, 
 clarinet, horn and harp. 
 
 Their artistry was observed, appreciated and utilized by 
 another virtuoso, one who played upon the orchestra as a 
 whole, Hector Berlioz (1803-1864), the founder of the gran- 
 diose style, and the father of modern orchestration. He was 
 the first orchestral composer who really made an exhaustive 
 study of the technical capacity and musical personality of 
 the various orchestral instruments, and thus was able to 
 suggest many of their improvements. His extraordinary ap- 
 preciation of tone-color amounted to genius and enabled him 
 to conceive and produce marvelous orchestral effects. In his 
 larger works, such as the "Damnation of Faust" and the 
 ''Requiem," he reveals his extreme delight in the massing of 
 enormous groups of musical instruments of one kind, the latter 
 composition requiring 14 kettledrums and four brass bands, 
 as well as an augmented orchestra, an organ, and an enlarged 
 chorus, all being used not so much for the sake of tone-volume 
 as for that of tone-color. His autobiography is very inter- 
 esting as a revelation of the man.
 
 The Development of Romanticism 259 
 
 In his works he shows an absorption of the ultra-romanti- 
 cism of his time as regards musical form, looking upon it as 
 but the garment, the conventional covering, and not the 
 individual, and insisting that the musical content of a work 
 should be its architect, the designer of its form. 
 
 His compositions, being written in a pictorial style, follow- 
 ing a more or less definite series of events, were the first to re- 
 ceive the title of "program music," and as such form a portion 
 of the repertoire of every symphony orchestra. His musical 
 influence is most noticeable in Wagner and Liszt, who incor- 
 porated his broad, grandiose style in their orchestral works. 
 
 The transition from the classical piano virtuosi to those of 
 the romantic school was so gradual that there was apparently 
 no break in the line of their succession, the smaller piano pieces 
 of Schumann, the sonatas of Beethoven, and the larger piano- 
 forte works of Weber, being in a measure preparatory to the 
 advent of the great geniuses of the piano-style, Thalberg, 
 Chopin and Liszt, and to their contributions to its literature. 
 
 The revelation of the individual tonal possibilities of 
 orchestral instruments made by Berlioz, led each of these 
 three virtuosi to investigate and study for himself the tonal 
 possibilities of the piano, and to strive for the invention of 
 new effects upon that instrument, rivaling those of Paganini 
 on the violin. 
 
 It is difficult to determine which of these three, each igno- 
 rant of the other's efforts, first discovered and applied a new 
 piano technique, which demanded more flexible use of the 
 fingers, hand and arm, and which began to take into serious 
 consideration the pedal, sometimes called the "soul of the 
 piano." Although Liszt in his piano arrangement of Berlioz' 
 "Harold" Symphony makes demands upon the hands deemed 
 impossible in the old technique, the honor of first developing 
 a style that was distinctly original and easily recognizable by 
 the average listener as different from those which preceded it, 
 belongs to Sigismund Thalberg (1812-1871).
 
 260 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 His first composition in this new style was a "Fantasie" on 
 themes from Weber's opera Euryanthe, and revealed his power 
 as a virtuoso of a new order. All his piano works are based 
 upon his recognition of the tone-sustaining possibilities of the 
 piano, his knowledge of the voice leading him to transfer a 
 beautiful cantabile vocal style to that instrument. His series 
 of studies for the purpose of acquiring this cantabile are there- 
 fore called "1'Art du Chant sur le Piano." As a pianist he 
 was conspicuous for a wonderful technique characterized by 
 fluency, lightness and clearness of scales, sonorous chord- 
 passages, and a predilection for carrying a melody in the 
 middle of the keyboard while lightly investing it with arpeggios 
 and scales which formed a sort of ethereal atmosphere. At 
 one time he was a serious rival of Liszt, and had many followers 
 largely because of his greater repose in playing. His compo- 
 sitions belong to a style of "salon music" which aims solely at 
 creating pleasing diversion and entertainment. 
 
 Far greater were the contributions, not only to modern 
 pianism but to musical literature, made by Frederic Chopin 
 (1810-1849), the first great romantic poet of the piano. Born 
 in Poland of good family, his youth was overshadowed by 
 the popular grief over his country's loss of individual exis- 
 tence, a tragedy which made a great impression upon his sen- 
 sitive nature. Although his life was almost parallel with that 
 of Mendelssohn, and although they were both equally influ- 
 enced by a musical and literary environment, the effect was 
 wholly different. Moved by a national spirit which now 
 brooded in melancholy over his country's sorrows and now 
 rose in fiery revolt against existing political conditions, his 
 genius expressed itself in a new strain of romanticism. His 
 Op. 2, a set of variations on Mozart's melody "La ci darem la 
 mano," earned for him Schumann's inimitable criticism and 
 commendation, beginning with the words, "Hats off, gentle- 
 men! A genius!" While his thematic invention, considered 
 from the academic standpoint, was perhaps limited, in the
 
 The Development of Romanticism . 261 
 
 freer forms it was abundant and stands revealed in charac- 
 teristic rhythms and new harmonic combinations that are 
 fascinating. His Ballades are dramatic poems; his Noc- 
 turnes express the Byronic sentiment then abroad in the land; 
 his Mazurkas and Polonaises are expressions of turbulent 
 waves of patriotism. His pianistic style is nowhere more 
 distinctive than in his Studies and Preludes, which, though 
 frankly technical, are also fine examples of lyric and dramatic 
 poetry and sound like improvisations. His variety of expres- 
 sion in the same form is apparently inexhaustible; his piano 
 compositions in the smaller forms did as much for the advance- 
 ment of pianistic art as did those of Liszt, while his influence 
 on living composers, especially in Russia, is still felt. All his 
 efforts were of immeasurable benefit to the development of 
 Romanticism, because they popularized the revelation of senti- 
 ment upon the instrument most accessible to the public, the 
 piano, by their skillful employment of its varied possibilities. 
 
 A few words regarding the evolution of "salon music" are 
 necessary here. The desire to excel in some direction is felt 
 by every normally constituted human being. Because of this 
 desire, and possibly also because of the consequent distinction, 
 renown and financial rewards to be attained, many pianists, 
 encouraged by the success of the smaller works of the roman- 
 ticists, devoted themselves to the exploitation of their own 
 compositions, which, though romantic in form, lacked the 
 genius of their predecessors. Many of these efforts, however, 
 gave a .certain impetus to the progress of musical art; being 
 written more for the purpose of drawing-room entertainment 
 than for the serious concert platform, they received the title 
 of "salon music." 
 
 A number of other pianists flourished during the first half 
 of the nineteenth century, distinguished not so much for 
 musicianship as for technical brilliancy, for which the general 
 public, then as now, seemed to have an insatiable appetite. 
 Among these champions of the bravura style may be mentioned
 
 262 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Henri Herz, Ernst Haberbier, Ignaz Joseph Pleyel, Alexander 
 Dreyschock and Joseph Wieniawski, all of whom wrote a great 
 deal of "salon music" in the lighter style. They also aided 
 in popularizing the piano and in creating a general desire for 
 a more or less superficial study of this instrument on the part 
 of the multitude, thereby helping the cause of musical educa- 
 tion in general. 
 
 Among the pupils, admirers and followers of Mendelssohn 
 who nevertheless made paths of their own and formed the 
 Leipzig circle, must be mentioned Ferdinand Hiller, Sterndale 
 Bennett, Niels W. Gade, Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadas- 
 sohn. 
 
 Ferdinand Hiller (1811-1885), an excellent pianist and versa- 
 tile composer, a pupil of Hummel, was not only very successful 
 as an interpreter of Bach and Beethoven in Paris, but also as 
 conductor of the Gewandhaus concerts at Leipzig, where he 
 was closely associated with Mendelssohn. In 1850 he founded 
 the conservatory of Cologne and for many years made his 
 influence felt as composer, teacher and musical essayist. 
 
 Among the many English composers who acknowledged 
 Mendelssohn as their leader, we single out Sir William Stern- 
 dale Bennett (1816-1875), wno at the a e of 17 had already 
 achieved considerable distinction as pianist and composer. 
 Through the assistance of a London piano manufacturing 
 firm, he was able to spend several years in Leipzig, associating 
 there with Schumann and Mendelssohn, and later, upon his 
 return to London, was active in founding the Bach Society 
 and as the head of the Royal Academy of Music. 
 
 Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817-1890), born at Copenhagen, early 
 made his mark as a virile composer. At first he followed in 
 the footsteps of Mendelssohn, but later his strong romantic 
 spirit required the freer forms, and followed the style of 
 Schumann. 
 
 The influence of Carl Reinecke (1824-1910), who adhered 
 to the forms of expression of the early romanticists in spite
 
 The Development of Romanticism 263 
 
 of the ultra-romantic turmoil through which he lived, has 
 been and is still far-reaching. A classical pianist, noted as 
 an exponent of Mozart's style, a versatile conductor and a 
 composer of mildly romantic type, he was for many years an 
 interesting figure in conservative Leipzig. 
 
 Salomon Jadassohn (1831-1902), a Leipzig student and 
 later a pupil of Liszt, an attractive composer in the classic 
 forms, exhibiting superb contrapuntal skill, is best known 
 as a teacher of composition and instrumentation, and his 
 text-books for these branches of study are in world-wide 
 use. 
 
 The giant of pianistic virtuosity was the Hungarian Franz 
 Liszt (1811-1886), who developed the piano technique and 
 style of to-day on the foundations laid by Schumann and 
 Chopin. Instructed by Czerny and Salieri (one of Beetho- 
 ven's teachers), he achieved distinction in early youth. At 
 the age of 14 he had such brilliant success in concerts at 
 Vienna, that Beethoven publicly embraced and kissed him 
 in delight over the boy's musical gifts. Soon afterwards he 
 went to Paris; being refused admission at the Conservatory 
 by Cherubini on account of his foreign birth, he studied with 
 the best private teachers, and soon gratified his youthful 
 ambitions by the successful production of an operetta. He 
 then decided on a pianistic career as teacher and concert 
 artist. Friends among the Hungarian nobility secured him 
 entrance to the foremost literary and musical society of Paris, 
 which included Victor Hugo, Lamartine, Berlioz, Chopin and 
 Paganini. This aroused within him the desire to emulate 
 the beauties of literary style in the realm of tone-poetry. In 
 addition to this, fascinated by the tremendous success of 
 the "wizard of the violin" in the invention of novel tonal 
 effects and in brilliant technique, he determined to become 
 an equally able master upon his own instrument, his etTorts 
 resulting in what is called the transcendental school of piano- 
 playing.
 
 264 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 His unusually tall stature, accentuated by clerical dress, 
 his long arms ending in large hands for which technical difficul- 
 ties had apparently ceased to exist, his strong face with its 
 piercing eyes, all combined to make him a remarkable figure 
 wherever he appeared during his long concert career. He 
 used his virtuosity for the production of pianistic effects 
 never before achieved. His "arrangements" or "transcrip- 
 tions" of various works originally written for voice, organ or 
 orchestra, excelled all their predecessors in that class because 
 of their retention of the original tone-color. 
 
 While many of Chopin's works have either a conscious or 
 an unconscious "program," Liszt, like Berlioz, deliberately 
 furnished for many of his works either definite suggestions or 
 an actual literary "motto" to serve as a guide to the listeners' 
 imagination. In these he displayed a creative originality 
 that at least equals that of many contemporary composers 
 of the classical style and which had the added piquancy of 
 novelty of form as well as of content. 
 
 His orchestral compositions in the larger forms, to which 
 he gave the title of "symphonic poems," aroused a storm of 
 protest from the purists, who considered the structural liber- 
 ties thus taken as deliberate insults to the geniuses of the 
 classic style. The "symphonic poem," however, was necessary 
 for the expression of his virile romanticism, which, like that 
 of Berlioz, rebelled against the formal limitations of the past 
 centuries as inadequate to its needs. His apparent structural 
 lawlessness, which so offended many admirers of his pianistic 
 gifts, was after all but a natural outgrowth of the broadly 
 developed romantic spirit which brooked no interference with 
 its fullest artistic expression. 
 
 His influence on piano-playing and on music in general is 
 difficult to define, because of its breadth and variety. While 
 he was not a great creative genius, except in the smaller forms, 
 he possessed unusual powers as a musical decorative artist 
 who knew how to depict the heights of grandeur and the
 
 The Development of Romanticism 265 
 
 intimacy of graceful sentiment, thus preparing the way for 
 many other composers. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive what the life of Wagner would 
 have been without the championship and the valuable as- 
 sistance of Liszt and his immediate coterie of admiring 
 followers.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE ADVENT OF THE MUSIC-DRAMA AND THE RISE OF 
 NATIONALISM. 
 
 THE latter half of the nineteenth century is conspicuous 
 in the history of musical art by the rise and exploitation of 
 nationalism, and the efforts of the greatest musical revolution- 
 ary of all times, Richard Wagner. 
 
 A brief consideration of the status of operatic art and the 
 conditions existing in the first part of the nineteenth century 
 is necessary for a proper understanding of what is to follow. 
 
 In Italy Rossini had ceased operatic writing in 1830, but 
 Donizetti was still in the field. Mercadante had produced 
 his masterwork, 77 Giuramento, in 1837, although he did not 
 die until 1870. The works of Donizetti and Bellini were at 
 the height of their popularity. The one great Italian oper- 
 atic composer of the time was Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), of 
 whom we have already spoken. He, however, had not then 
 arrived at mature musicianship, and therefore, in company 
 with many other operatic writers of his country, aimed only 
 to please the public, which demanded the old familiar style 
 of opera, full of delicious music, semi-serious or humoristic as 
 might be, and with exquisite theatrical thrills but little real 
 dramatic treatment. The love of beauty of tone and of 
 virtuosity in singing was still dominant in the opera-going 
 public, and composers, desiring success, bowed to the general 
 demand. The Italians, proud of their glorious record of 
 previous accomplishments in musical art, had but little 
 knowledge of, and consequently little respect for, what had 
 been done in other countries. While the lighter form of 
 piano literature, as expressed in "salon music," was in great 
 
 266
 
 Advent of the Music-Drama; Rise of Nationalism 267 
 
 demand, chamber and orchestral music languished among 
 them for lack of appreciation. Except in isolated instances, 
 even church music was appreciated only when written in the 
 prevalent operatic style, the polyphony of Palestrina and his 
 successors having apparently lost its charm for the people. 
 Italian political conditions, following the general demand for 
 release from Austrian control and for national unity, no 
 doubt helped to create a desire for relaxation in the pleas- 
 ures afforded by the prevalent operatic style with its mod- 
 erate demands upon intellectual exertion. Verdi not only 
 surpassed all his predecessors in his gift of charming melody 
 and in dramatic enthusiasm, but, being also an earnest 
 student of his art, appreciated the best in the works of his 
 contemporaries in other lands, and kept his mind continually 
 open to musical suggestions. This is proved especially in 
 his later works, in which his treatment of the orchestra as a 
 complex dramatic voice compares favorably with that of any 
 other composer. 
 
 In France, where the composers of grand opera after 
 Rameau had all been foreigners, the general national spirit 
 and operatic taste found its gratification in the opera comique 
 (comedy-opera), which, especially in its refinement, was a 
 decided improvement over its Italian parent, the opera 
 boujfe (opera bnffa]. 
 
 This comedy-opera was at first full of Gallic wit and gayety 
 combined with brilliant flashes of poetic imagination. The 
 light operatic farces of Offenbach and Lecocq, though at 
 first received with great acclaim, were later found to appeal 
 to a class of people wholly different from those who had 
 been the devotees of opera comique. As a result the latter 
 took a more romantic turn, and it has retained this char- 
 acteristic to the present day. 
 
 Many composers contributed some of their best efforts to 
 the gratification of the national operatic taste, among whom 
 we have already mentioned Boieldieu, Auber, and Adam.
 
 268 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Even Meyerbeer contributed his Etoile du Nord and Dinorah 
 to the prevailing demand, and thus helped materially in the 
 artistic progress and development of opera comique. Among 
 others whose works were then very popular we may mention 
 Fromental Halevy (1799-1862), whose grand opera La 
 Juive was appreciated as much as his lighter r Eclair. In 
 these and many of his other works he gives evidence of a 
 decided vein of poetry and real musical and dramatic gifts, 
 although occasionally he loses his individuality by imitating 
 the theatrical methods of Meyerbeer. Another shining light 
 among French operatic composers of the time was Am- 
 broise Thomas (1811-1896), whose Mignon, Hamlet and 
 Francoise de Rimini, written during the second half of the 
 nineteenth century, still adorn the French stage. Victor 
 Masse with his charming Les Noces de Jeannette, and Flotow, 
 with his Viennese success, Martha, were also conspicuous 
 figures in the field of French opera. 
 
 Opera in Russia was in its infancy, but in Austria it was in 
 a comparatively flourishing condition. Vienna, its musical 
 center, still revelled in the prevailing styles of Italy and 
 France, with but an occasional hearing of German romantic 
 opera as represented by Weber and Marschner. In Germany 
 the jealousy existing between the many small principalities 
 prevented the rise of any musical figure of national impor- 
 tance. Various artistic circles which included the best mu- 
 sicians of neighboring states exerted individual efforts for the 
 realization and adoption of their musical and operatic ideals. 
 
 These circles had their centers in various places, extend- 
 ing even into Scandinavia, Poland and Russia, but the most 
 conspicuous and active were those of Leipzig, Berlin, Weimar 
 and Dresden. 
 
 While Italian opera was still in great popular demand, 
 these circles exerted themselves in promoting romantic opera 
 and the Singspiel. the national musical comedy, which en- 
 deavored to emulate and excel the French stvle. Native
 
 Advent of the Music-Drama; Rise of Nationalism 269 
 
 composers of more or less musical ability, most of whose 
 names are now wellnigh forgotten, labored in this field. 
 Among those who assisted in the upbuilding of romantic 
 opera we must mention Conradin Kreutzer, with his Nacht- 
 lager von Granada, Albert Lortzing with Czar und Zimmer- 
 mann and various other excellent works, Franz Lachner, 
 the symphonist, with Benvenulo Cellini, and Nicolai with the 
 Merry Wives of Windsor. 
 
 The operatic efforts of Gluck in the direction of dramatic 
 sincerity, during the latter part of the eighteenth century, 
 had borne an excellent, though not abundant, harvest in the 
 field of tragic opera, but he was still to a large extent academic 
 in his dramatic treatment, remaining almost uninfluenced 
 by the tide of romanticism then just beginning to flow. 
 
 Weber's operatic subjects were characterized more by 
 picturesqueness than grandeur, and by a light romantic 
 touch rather than profound imagination. Most of the works 
 of other contemporary German operatic composers were in a 
 measure modeled after the Italian form of what might be 
 called concert-opera, a succession of beautiful musical num- 
 bers having slight dramatic or musical connection. 
 
 The time was therefore ripe for the arrival of an operatic 
 Joshua who would heroically lead his forces, were they many 
 or few, against the mighty hosts of tradition and custom, 
 and against the laissez-faire sentiment of the mentally and 
 musically indolent. 
 
 Such a mighty leader was found in the person of Richard 
 Wagner, concerning whose works, theories, aims and wide- 
 spread influence volumes have been written and are still 
 being written, though his autobiography and collected let- 
 ters give us a fairly clear insight into the man and his ideals. 
 A few biographical data must suffice here. 
 
 He was born at Leipzig on May 22, 1813. the ninth and 
 youngest child in a family whose father held a small civil 
 office, and who died a few years after Richard's birth. His
 
 270 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 mother's subsequent marriage with Ludwig Geyer brought 
 the boy under the powerful influence of a man of wide cul- 
 tivation and excellent abilities as an actor, playwright and 
 portrait-painter, whose home was in Dresden. While at 
 school in that city, Richard was an ardent student of German 
 poetry and the tragic drama. After the death of his step- 
 father, who desired the boy to become a painter in spite of 
 his apparent lack of talent for drawing, his mother informed 
 him of her last conversation with Geyer, who had finally ex- 
 pressed his belief that the boy might, after all, have a gift for 
 music. In 1827 the family moved back to Leipzig, where 
 Richard attended the gymnasium and later the University, 
 delving much in mediaeval lore and becoming deeply inter- 
 ested in the orchestral works of Beethoven. With the ex- 
 ception of a dramatic libretto which was a mixture of Hamlet 
 and King Lear, all his youthful endeavors were in the direc- 
 tion of instrumental music; a sonata, a polonaise and a 
 symphony in classical style all being written before he was 
 1 6. Of the first performance of this symphony he says some 
 delicious things in his autobiography. At the theater he was 
 much impressed with Beethoven's music to Egmont, and de- 
 termined to write similar dramatic music for his own tragedy. 
 In his eighteenth year he had an intimate acquaintance with 
 Beethoven's works, "having copied the scores, slept with 
 the quartets, and even whistled the concertos." 
 
 From early manhood his leaning toward the drama, com- 
 bined with physical circumstances, seem to have united in 
 preparation for his great operatic career, for at the age of 
 20 he became chorus-director at the opera-house in Wiirz- 
 burg, where his elder brother was stage-manager; there he 
 wrote his first opera, Die Feen, an outburst of youthful, 
 romantic bombast. There followed a number of brief en- 
 gagements in various cities, as conductor of persistently 
 unsuccessful theatrical companies, and consequent periods of 
 professional idleness, during one of which he wrote the opera
 
 Advent of the Music-Drama; Rise of Nationalism 271 
 
 Das Liebesverbot. In 1836 he married the actress Wilhelmine 
 Planer, and in the following year obtained the more lucra- 
 tive opera directorship at Riga. After two years' stay, dur- 
 ing which he worked upon his Rienzi, he decided to go to 
 Paris, whose serious style of historic opera appealed to him. 
 On his way by sea to Boulogne his vessel encountered violent 
 storms, and as a result the legend of the Flying Dutchman, 
 incorporated by him into a dramatic libretto, clamored 
 within him for musical expression. At Boulogne he met 
 Meyerbeer, who gave him letters of introduction to the 
 manager of the Grand Opera in Paris, which, however, failed 
 to secure him a musical hearing. During his stay in the 
 French capital he managed to eke out a precarious living by 
 all kinds of clerical hackwork, arrangements of popular 
 melodies for various instruments with piano accompaniment, 
 and some newspaper essay-writing, which afforded him op- 
 portunity to formulate and publish his own musical ideas 
 and theories in a manner that attracted considerable atten- 
 tion. Although he mingled a little in musical and literary 
 society, thus meeting Berlioz, his restless mind and active 
 genius were constantly occupied with Rienzi, and with the 
 serious study of German mediaeval legends. Driven to des- 
 peration by poverty and the apparent impossibility of secur- 
 ing a hearing, he finally sold his libretto of Dcr Jliegcnde 
 Hollander to the French Opera, which produced it two years 
 later with a musical setting by Dietsch. As soon as his 
 Rienzi was finished it was sent to Dresden, where it was 
 produced with such brilliant success, in 1842, that it secured 
 him a court appointment. The next year Der fliegcnde Hol- 
 lander was produced successfully in Berlin, making a deep 
 impression because of its seriousness, but not achieving popu- 
 larity because it was generally deemed too gloomy in char- 
 acter and not brilliant enough when compared with the 
 kind of opera then in vogue. Nevertheless, people listened 
 to this new and strange voice in the operatic world, which
 
 272 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 upset so many previous conceptions and usages. Demands 
 for performances in other cities followed and helped him 
 financially to his feet. While in Dresden he was active in 
 many directions, all tending toward the setting of higher 
 standards at the opera, and at orchestral and choral con- 
 certs, his interpretation of Beethoven's ninth symphony 
 securing him general artistic recognition. This activity, 
 while gaining him some friends and admirers, also raised 
 against him an army of cavillers and revilers, composed of 
 those whose musical equilibrium he constantly disturbed. 
 His impetuosity, his unsparing criticism of existing con- 
 ditions, his ardent idealism, his uncompromising attitude, and 
 his unconventional musical utterance, as exhibited in Tann- 
 hauser and Lohengrin, all combined to make him a con- 
 tinual annoyance to those who revelled in musical con- 
 ventionality and felt satisfied with things as they were. 
 
 His friends among the musicians of the day were very few. 
 Some, like Schumann, who evidently but partly understood 
 him, at first acknowledged his originality, his orchestral tech- 
 nique and instrumentation, but later deplored his "lack of 
 knowledge of musical structure and his triviality." Others, 
 like Spohr, acknowledged that much in his works was new 
 and beautiful, but contended that much was disagreeable, 
 too, and therefore like "an attack upon the ear;" above all 
 they complained of the "absence of rhythm" in his works, 
 and his "'ignorance of musical periods," which were "evi- 
 dences of his lack of musicianship, and proved him to be but 
 a talented amateur." Still others hated him because they 
 were jealous of him and feared his future influence. Liszt at 
 Weimar, with a few conductors, operatic singers and a num- 
 ber of personal followers, warmly defended him against the 
 assaults of even the powerful critics. His antagonism to 
 conventionality, and his sympathy with revolutionary ideas 
 in general, finally involved him in the political disturbances 
 of the day. In order to avoid arrest he fled, in 1849, to
 
 Advent of the Music-Drama; Rise of Nationalism 27^ 
 
 Switzerland, where he labored for several years on his great- 
 est works. 
 
 In the meantime Tannhauser and Lohengrin slowly made 
 their way into the hearts of the people, in spite of severe and 
 general abuse on the part of the critics. Tannhauser was 
 termed "odd stuff," even by some who admired his genius; 
 the great narrative in the third act of that opera was called 
 "empty" and "pointless," and Wagner was strenuously 
 urged to change the plot so that the story would end in a 
 happy marriage between the hero and Elizabeth. In spite 
 of all sorts of friendly and unfriendly pressure, intended to 
 drive him back to conventional ideas, he would not yield his 
 principles, and uncompromisingly remained steadfast to his 
 ideal of opera as a serious art-work, a music-drama. 
 
 His life at his quiet villa in Zurich, Switzerland, was very 
 sad and musically very lonely. His letters to Liszt are mostly 
 full of complaints of poverty and distress, and of extravagantly 
 expressed thanks for the receipt of money obtained from 
 concerts at which excerpts of his operas were given. If ever 
 man had a good angel, Wagner had his in the person of Liszt, 
 whose untiring efforts in his behalf were responsible for that 
 rise and extension of the Wagner cult which had such a tremen- 
 dous influence in securing a proper understanding of his ideals. 
 We cannot refrain from quoting from a letter he wrote to Liszt 
 during his early stay in Zurich, while at work on Siegfried. 
 In this letter he begs Liszt to secure for him in some way "the 
 wages of a middling mechanic." He says, " I must do genuine 
 work, or perish. I am fit only to write operas, and should only 
 deceive people if I accepted a position. My friends must get 
 me some small yearly allowance. . . . Let some one buy my 
 Lohengrin, skin and bones. Let some one commission my 
 Siegfried. I will do it cheaply, for I must have firewood and 
 a warm cloak for my wife, her old one being too shabby." 
 
 Although a fugitive from Dresden, he kept himself constantly 
 in the public mind by his literary work, by means o r essays
 
 274 Familiar Talks on trie History of Music 
 
 and books, among which " Judaism in Music," and "Opera 
 and Drama," created a great deal of discussion, the latter also 
 making considerable propaganda for a better understanding 
 of his operatic intentions. 
 
 His life during his stay in Switzerland was an endless 
 succession of periods of suffering through poverty, and a 
 similar succession of periods of the highest creative exaltation. 
 The first was alleviated now and then by the financial assist- 
 ance that came through Liszt's efforts, and the other by the 
 joy of writing, and the occasional news of successful perform- 
 ances of his works. The great trilogy Der Ring des Nibe- 
 lungen (consisting of the introductory Das Rheingold, Die 
 Walkure, Siegfried, and Gollerdammerung), and Tristan und 
 Isolde, were conceived and almost entirely written during his 
 absence from his native land. 
 
 His reputation as a conductor and able musician of ad- 
 vanced ideas, however, was gradually extending during this 
 time and caused his being called to London in 1855 to conduct 
 a series of Philharmonic Concerts. Because of his success, 
 he yielded to the temptation of giving concerts in Paris and 
 Brussels, which proved a financial failure. In 1861 his politi- 
 cal banishment was revoked and he was at once invited to 
 Vienna to superintend the rehearsals of Lohengrin, which he 
 had never heard. 
 
 Several concert-tours as "visiting conductor," which took 
 him to the most important continental cities, followed, at all 
 of which he had great success; however, this did not eliminate 
 his financial difficulties, and therefore did not enable him to 
 finish the operas under way. But all such troubles came to 
 an end in 1864, when he was called to Munich, by Ludwig II 
 of Bavaria, with the promise of the financial support necessary 
 for carrying out his operatic projects. The artist, who had 
 been so unwaveringly faithful to his ideals, there at last 
 received his triumphal reward. Most of the critics who had 
 derided him for many years, in season and out of season, now
 
 Advent of the Music-Drama; Rise of Nationalism 275 
 
 began to realize his lofty seriousness of purpose in erecting 
 a new style of opera upon the foundations of the Greek drama 
 and the ideals of Monteverde. They now began to acknowl- 
 edge that his artistic nature had justly revolted against the 
 prevalent Italian operatic practices, in plot and action as well 
 as music, and had selected the moral symbolism of the vague 
 myth as the ideal for his inspiration because it would also 
 enable him to use the complex, suggestive voice of the orchestra 
 for the creation of the proper musical and dramatic atmosphere 
 in which his characters were to move and have their being. 
 
 Every method of musical utterance from the polyphony of 
 Bach to the grandiose style of Berlioz, though expressed in 
 modern orchestral terms, was used by him with consummate 
 skill for the expression of his limitless fancy, and his apparently 
 most daring harmonic and vocal innovations are but extensions 
 of previous practices, made necessary by his demands. As 
 he regarded the singers, both principals and chorus, simply as 
 elements requisite to the development of his complete dra- 
 matic ideal, their prominence became decidedly limited, and 
 the conventional operatic aria, with a subordinate orchestral 
 accompaniment, is therefore wholly absent from his works. 
 
 Wagner's style has affected all those who have come after 
 him, both in the operatic and the orchestral world, with one 
 notable exception, that of Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), 
 whose powerful artistic personality and strict adherence to the 
 classical forms presented a veritable bulwark for the conserva- 
 tives, against which the most violent assaults of the ultra- 
 moderns have been made in vain. Schumann's extravagantly 
 complimentary opinion of his first compositions as those of a 
 "modern musical Messiah," proved at first a rather serious 
 handicap. His works are rich in their content and difficult 
 of performance, but because of their limited adaptability for 
 display are not heard as often as they deserve. In the midst 
 of the rushing romantic, operatic, and orchestral waves which 
 surrounded him, he refused to consider the clamor for either
 
 2 76 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 dramatic expression or sensuous beauty. Nevertheless, he 
 had great creative gifts and a deep imagination, and his close 
 alliance to Bach and Beethoven, but lightly touched by exter- 
 nal influences, made him a unique figure in the world of art. 
 
 The death of Wagner in Venice in 1883, laden with honors 
 and with the satisfaction of a great work accomplished, created 
 an artistic void difficult to fill. His mighty genius at first 
 dwarfed the efforts of all composers with operatic tendencies 
 to such a degree that an outlet was necessary in a different 
 direction, and it came in the expression of "nationalism." 
 
 This in itself was of course not a new thing, and had always 
 existed to a degree in folk-songs. Several causes, however, 
 contributed during the last 50 years to the development of 
 distinctly national musical characteristics. Some of these are 
 political; others result from the exploitation of national pride 
 in certain racial or local traits of musical utterance, in rhythm, 
 peculiar scale-formation, or style. 
 
 French music, for instance, is distinguished in general more 
 by its style, which is graceful and elegant in both melody and 
 harmony, and brilliant in effect, than for peculiar rhythm or 
 tonal successions, but it is nevertheless expressive of much 
 that is new in musical structure, in all its departments. 
 Among its modern exponents of the art we need but mention 
 Saint-Saens, Guilmant, and Widor, the organists, Massenet, 
 Chabrier, Godard, d'Indy, Charpentier, whose opera Louise 
 is continually gaining in favor, and Debussy, whose works are 
 at present attracting much notice because of their charming 
 peculiarities. 
 
 The Italians have for more than three centuries used the 
 opera as their favorite means of musical expression. They 
 were therefore very prompt in recognizing the lofty ideals 
 of Wagner, based upon those of their own Monteverde, and 
 rapidly assimilated his style without, however, abandoning 
 their own distinctive national traits. This is evident from the 
 later works of Verdi and those of our contemporaries which
 
 Advent of ike Music- Drama; Rise of Nationalism 277 
 
 have been previously mentioned. In spite of their love foi 
 expression in the operatic field, they did not wholly forsake 
 the realm of orchestral and chamber music, nor that of the 
 concerto for a solo instrument. As evidence of this we need 
 but mention Sgambati, with symphonies and a piano con- 
 certo, Martucci, with one symphony, a piano concerto and 
 chamber music, and Floridia, with a very acceptable sym- 
 phony. 
 
 Although England produced no great creative composers 
 since the days of Purcell, nevertheless a number of most 
 excellent musicians who, however, show few distinct national 
 traits or style, have endeavored to reestablish the former 
 musical glory of their country. Among these we may men- 
 tion Sir Arthur Sullivan, whose light operas, in his own in- 
 imitable style, have delighted the world; Mackenzie, Parry, 
 Cowen, Stanford, Goring Thomas, and Sir Edward Elgar. 
 
 That the nations just mentioned have no very distinctive 
 musical traits is undoubtedly due to the fact that they have 
 for centuries practised and absorbed each other's best forms 
 of expression, and have thus become almost equally cos- 
 mopolitan in their methods of musical utterance. This can- 
 not be said, however, of the nations or peoples whom we will 
 next consider, and who, either through musical isolation, 
 religion, or racial inheritance have retained marked char- 
 acteristics. 
 
 While the earlier Scandinavian composers were musically 
 the children of Germany, in the last half century they have 
 begun to come into their own. Their music is now distinctive 
 because of its frequent use of the minor mode combined with 
 fantastic rhythms, and a dreamy but serious emotion which 
 extends even to their dance-music. Among the composers 
 exhibiting these national traits we must mention Johan Hart- 
 mann, with symphonies and concertos; Asger Hamerik, also 
 with symphonies and other large works; Sinding. with a 
 symphony and many smaller works, especially for the piano;
 
 278 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 and above all Edvard Grieg, with a wealth of compositions 
 in almost every form. 
 
 The Bohemians and Hungarians present a musical dialect 
 quite different from all others, especially in its scale-struc- 
 ture and peculiar rhythmic and dynamic expression, and in 
 its abrupt changes of tempo. At times it is quite barbaric in 
 its grandiose splendor, but with an underlying poetic vein 
 that is easily recognizable. 
 
 Among Bohemians stand in the front rank Smetana, their 
 first great opera-composer, and Dvorak, with a wealth of ex- 
 tremely fanciful characteristic literature to his credit; after 
 these Naprawnik, a fine pianist and conductor, who labored 
 in every field of musical art. 
 
 The greatest composer of the Hungarians, who, though at 
 times cosmopolitan, nevertheless retained many of his national 
 traits, was Franz Liszt. His fame and influence as composer 
 and pianist, and as the teacher of the leading pianists of 
 to-day, and also as the foremost apostle of Wagner, is un- 
 doubtedly the brightest jewel in the musical crown of his 
 native land. A partial list of contemporary pianists will 
 prove how far-reaching this influence has been. Rubinstein 
 and von Bulow were both powerfully affected by his delinea- 
 tion of the functions of piano-playing. Tausig, excelling even 
 his teacher in technique, Klindworth of Berlin, Raff, Cornelius, 
 von Bronsart, are but a few of his pupils who achieved dis- 
 tinction and formed the Weimar circle, whose artistic im- 
 pulsion has been felt around the world. 
 
 Russia, with its millions of inhabitants of many widely 
 dissimilar tendencies, and therefore presenting distinctive 
 traits in folk-music, has been, is, and will probably continue 
 to be a veritable mine of varied national musical character- 
 istics, which nevertheless have much in common. In listen- 
 ing to the works of genuinely Russian composers, based 
 upon the folk-song and its spirit, we are at once impressed 
 by their peculiar type of melodic beauty which alternates
 
 Advent of the Music-Drama; Rise of Nationalism 279 
 
 constantly between the major and minor modes, expressed in 
 similarly temperamental rhythms and supported by almost 
 barbarously glittering or deeply melancholy harmonies. 
 These very contradictions furnish distinctive colors for the 
 musical pallette of their tone-painters, who have been quick 
 to make use of them in all art-forms from the song to the 
 opera and the symphony. Their style, technically speaking, 
 is not yet fully established, owing largely to the comparative 
 youth of their national musical expression, which began less 
 than a hundred years ago and had to force its way through the 
 established conventionality of foreign composers who flour- 
 ished among them. The names of Tschaikowsky, who is 
 considered but mildly Russian by his countrymen, Borodin, 
 the friend of Liszt, Moussorgsky, a very prolific writer, 
 Rimsky-Korsakoff, Arensky, Glazounoff, Scriabine and Rach- 
 maninoff, added to the Polish ones of the Scharwenkas, Mosz- 
 kowski and Paderewski and that of the Finnish composer, 
 Sibelius, may be found on many programs throughout the 
 world, proving that Russian national music is everywhere 
 appreciated and in demand. 
 
 In addition to the expression of nationalism in musical 
 art there has now arisen what might be called the "personal" 
 expression. This is shown in the almost individual musical 
 dialect of some of our most modern composers, enunciated in 
 the structurally elastic forms with which we have become 
 familiar. The emotional basis of their works is usually found 
 in some literary phrase or romantic poem. 
 
 The foremost of present-day composers who present such 
 an individual musical dialect are Debussy and that restlessly 
 creative genius, Richard Strauss. Whether their methods of 
 expression will survive through the coming years is a ques- 
 tion for the future historian.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 HAVING followed, in a general way, the historical course of 
 the development of the art of music in the Old World, we will 
 now turn to our own shores, and briefly consider what we 
 have thus far accomplished. We have seen that European 
 nations, in their musical development, learned constantly 
 from contact with their near neighbors, so that for centuries 
 their musical status was nearly on a par. We know that 
 throughout the first fifteen centuries of the Christian era all 
 the arts were under the protecting care of the Catholic Church, 
 and that music, which occupied such a prominent place in 
 its services, was cultivated during that time almost for that 
 sole purpose. We have noted the advent of the Chorale in 
 the time of the great Reformation and have spoken of its 
 transplanting to other countries, notably to England. The 
 struggles between the followers of the Established Church of 
 England, which to some seemed to savor of Catholicism, and 
 the people who believed in the simplicity of religious worship, 
 as well as the history of alternate religious oppression and 
 revolt, which finally resulted in English emigration to our 
 shores, are familiar to all. 
 
 Our early English settlers, the Cavaliers and the Puritans, 
 belonged to two distinct classes, differing widely in their 
 ideas. The contrast between these two classes, resulting 
 from their difference in early environment and education, is 
 visible even to-day in their descendants. The Cavaliers, 
 mostly members of the established church of England and 
 arriving here some fourteen years before the Puritans, largely 
 in search of adventure, were interested in music merely as a 
 
 280
 
 Conclusion 281 
 
 source of entertainment and pleasure and therefore played 
 and sang mostly the ballads of the countryside and court. 
 The Puritans, or Non-Conformists, who left their homes 
 because of a desire for religious freedom and came to the New 
 England coast, belonged to that religious sect which had de- 
 stroyed musical instruments and hymn-books and had driven 
 the musicians and choirs out of the Anglican churches be- 
 cause they deemed the contrapuntal music which was in vogue 
 a frivolous art. In their antagonism to this kind of music 
 they had reverted to melodic simplicity and singing in unison. 
 Their sacred music, their hymnology, was very limited in 
 extent, because the invention of new tunes was prohibited, 
 and even the versified Psalms were sung by them with a vague 
 fear of their possible frivolity. After their arrival in America, 
 their hardy and hazardous pioneer life afforded but little 
 opportunity for the cultivation and study of the peaceful 
 arts. Furthermore, they were wholly out of contact with the 
 musical progress of the world, except as they learned of it 
 through their imported clergymen. As the music-books grew 
 gradually fewer and fewer, so that the hymns were passed on 
 orally from one generation to another, some of the church 
 tunes became so corrupted that often no two people in the 
 same church could agree on the correct way to sing them. 
 Much has been written about the struggles for improvement 
 in church music, which took place during colonial times, 
 between the educated clergy, who were continually emigrating 
 to this country, and their pioneer congregations. Time and 
 space forbid more than a mere mention of the names of some 
 leaders in this movement, but a study of its history will be 
 found both profitable and interesting. In addition to their 
 pulpit advocacy of musical betterment in the churches, some 
 of the colonial clergymen published, and scattered abroad 
 among the members of their congregations, pamphlets ad- 
 vising the removal of restrictions upon church singing. 
 Among these must especially be mentioned John Cotton.
 
 282 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 whose calm and logical treatise (published in 1647) was re- 
 sponsible for the first steps in musical improvement, and 
 John Cleves Symmes, whose arguments finally resulted in 
 the establishment of singing-schools for children, and later 
 for adults. Instruction-books for use in these singing-schools 
 soon followed, for in 1712 the Rev. John Tufts published a 
 book on "The Art of Singing Psalm-Tunes" which contained 
 28 tunes and a "method" of singing. This was followed by 
 others written by James Lyon, Francis Hopkinson, and Flagg, 
 a bandmaster in Philadelphia. The instruction received by 
 the children and adults in the singing-schools created a desire 
 for further study and practice, which in turn resulted in the 
 formation of the volunteer church choir and the choral society. 
 The entrance of the church choir, however, was not obtained 
 without long and serious struggles within the churches which 
 often caused permanent divisions of congregations. In order 
 to appreciate with what giant strides we, in this country, 
 have since moved in our development, we should remember 
 that such was the status of music in America during the first 
 half of the eighteenth century, when Bach and Handel were 
 at the zenith of their glory. 
 
 The work of the first American composers was naturally in 
 the direction of church music. Among the pioneer musicians 
 who thus labored for their art should be mentioned, first of 
 all, William Billings (1746-1800), a friend of Samuel Adams 
 and Dr. Pierce of Brookline, Mass., both of whom stood with 
 him in the choir. He was a singing-school teacher of note 
 and a self-taught musician, whose original ideas and rules for 
 composition are so nai've that we cannot refrain from quoting 
 a few of them, as contained in the preface to the first collection 
 of his own compositions, published in 1770. He says: 
 "Nature is the best conductor"; "Hard rules never made a 
 melody, any more than the twenty-four letters of the alphabet 
 made poetry"; "You must first have music in nature, art 
 can only polish it"; "Some say that consecutive fifths and
 
 Conclusion 283 
 
 octaves are forbidden, but I would rather permit them than 
 spoil the melody. I have felt the slavish restraint of such 
 rules; there is a poetic license, why not a musical license? I 
 will not be confined by such rules, nor will I make any such 
 rules for others who study with me." Among contemporaries 
 of Billings must be mentioned Oliver Holden, who wrote the 
 hymn tune "Coronation," Andrew Law, Jacob Kimball, 
 Daniel Read, and Timothy Swan, all of whom contributed to 
 literature of church music. 
 
 The first of the choral societies, resulting from the work 
 done in singing-schools, which assumed importance, was the 
 Stoughton Musical Society, an outgrowth of Billings' labors; 
 but the most famous one is the Handel and Haydn Society, 
 organized in Boston in 1815 with a chorus of almost 100 voices. 
 
 The one man whose efforts connect the singing-schools 
 with the work of the choral society of to-day was Lowell 
 Mason (1792-1872). His publication of a number of his 
 compositions in a collection of church music, after receiving 
 the indorsement of the influential Handel and Haydn Society, 
 proved so successful that he decided to become a professional 
 musician. Being a man of the people and a born teacher, he 
 devoted himself to musical convention work, and thus taught 
 the principles of music to thousands upon thousands of young 
 people, and fostered in them the love of singing. 
 
 Efforts in the direction of the organization of instrumental 
 players followed those of the singers and resulted in the 
 establishment of the Boston Philharmonic Society, whose 
 chief promoter was Gottlieb Graupner; with a small orchestra 
 of 12 and a chorus of 100 (ten of whom were ladies) he con- 
 ducted, in 1812, Handel's Judas Maccabaus, and, with the 
 assistance of the Handel and Haydn Society, presented, in 
 1815, Haydn's Creation, the first really notable event in our 
 musical development. 
 
 The success of these attempts stimulated musical people in 
 other cities and resulted in the organization of the Musical
 
 284 Familiar Talks on the History of Music 
 
 Fund Society in Philadelphia in 1820, and in a series of suc- 
 cessive orchestras in New York City, which led finally to the 
 formation of the New York Philharmonic Society, whose 
 earnest work began in 1842 and has continued until the present 
 time. 
 
 Performances of opera in this country, though sporadic, 
 were not wholly absent even in colonial days, for the English 
 form of Ballad Opera was in vogue in New York as early as 
 1750. Although New Orleans supported a company of French 
 singers as early as 1791, it was not until 1825, when our various 
 wars were over and the country had become prosperous, that 
 a really artistic opera company, having among its principals 
 Manuel Garcia and his celebrated daughter Mme. Malibran, 
 came to New York. Their success induced other foreign 
 managers and singers to make occasional visits to our shores. 
 
 While many foreign musicians strove earnestly for the 
 improvement of musical culture in this country during the 
 latter half of the nineteenth century, the man whose name 
 shines most effulgently among them was Theodore Thomas 
 (1835-1905). To him more than to any one else we owe the 
 general elevation of taste for the better class of music, and our 
 high ideals of orchestral and choral performances of the works 
 of the great masters. He was a marvelous force in our musical 
 progress, which he regarded with an almost paternal love. 
 He is responsible for the establishment of the widely cele- 
 brated Cincinnati May Music Festival, whose conductor he 
 remained until his death, and which stimulated other cities 
 to serious efforts in the same direction. Many others have 
 followed in his footsteps, but as we still enjoy the benefit of 
 their best endeavors, their names are sure to be known to all 
 music-lovers. 
 
 Our present opportunities for hearing the greatest artists 
 of the world in concert and in opera, are enjoyed by thousands 
 upon thousands every year, and are so thoroughly appreciated 
 and so well supported financially, that America has become
 
 Conclusion 285 
 
 the Mecca of every pianist, violinist and singer, and our taste 
 for what is best in musical art may well be considered to be 
 on a par with that of any other nation. 
 
 Our many music-schools, some of which, like the one with 
 which the writer has the honor to be connected, offer, through 
 their faculties of native and foreign artists, instruction equal 
 to that of the best European institutions, are rilling the land 
 with well-qualified teachers, whose labors are certain to result 
 in an ever-increasing musical public. 
 
 Since some of our native artists and teachers have already 
 begun to fill important places abroad, and since even in the 
 domain of composition we may boast of men, such as the late 
 Edward MacDowell, whose works are known to all the world, 
 we may well say that the rising sun of our musical future is 
 brilliant with justifiable hopes, which may even include that 
 of an American school of composition.
 
 A 001 117481 
 
 UCLA-Coll9 Library 
 
 ML 161 G15f 1913 
 
 L 005 692 561 3