GWT OF Sir Henry iieyman r Music & Its Masters Uniform with this Volume SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING BY PHILIP H. GOEPP i2mo. 407 pages. Ctoth, $2.00 This work, now in its third edi- tion, has demonstrated its great usefulness. Taking up the representative symphonies of the great composers, and illustrating his remarks with excerpts from the score, the author shows the individuality, the special intention of the master, and, where possible, the underlyinjf purpose of his art. As an aid in the study of the symphony, and as a companion at symphony concerts, the book is without a rival. Hy permission of V.. H. Scliroeder, Berlin WAGNER Page 134 . Music ^ Its Masters , Br O. B. BOISE (U- WITH SIX PORTRAITS Philadelphia & London J. B. LippiNcoTT Company 1902 Copyright, igOT By 7. -5. Lippincott Company ^c^ U ^ (uuau ^^WK^^ Electrotyped and Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company^ Philadelphia^ U. S. A. TO GEORGE W. STOCKLEY, Esq. ) i ♦> Preface I HAVE endeavored through showing the true nature of music, and the con- ditions that are essential to its growth in breadth and significance, to incite amateurs to a more respectful consid- eration of its claims. O. B. B. Berlin, March i, 1901. Contents CHAPTER PACK I. The nature and origin of music - - 13 II. Music's first era, and the influences WHICH were operative IN VARIOUS LANDS DURING ITS CONTINUANCE - - - - 26 III. Biblical mention of music - - - - 6i IV. Music from the invention of notation to DATE 80 V. Wagner and the music drama - - - 134 VI. What are the influencing factors in deciding musical destinies ? Who is to BE our seventh HIGH-PRIEST? - - 169 VII. A summary of music's ATTRIBUTES. WhAT CONSTITUTES MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE? - 1 88 Illustrations PAGE Wagner ... - Frontispiece Palestrina ... - - 92 Bach - - - - • - 99 Beethoven ... - - 106 ScHXJBERT - - - • • - 109 Schumann - • - • -114 Music &^ Its Masters CHAPTER I THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF MUSIC K GLANCE backward over the course of music's evolution suffices to show that, until in very recent times, it furnishes no pregnant data for the historian. The first era of music's evolution began be- fore the advent of historic man, for the earliest races of whom we know any- thing had a well-defined appreciation of its significance, but no noteworthy land- marks appear until after music came in touch with modern culture ; indeed, no great advancement is traceable until after the invention of notation. The first record of melodies produced is sup- 13 14 Music and Its Masters posed to have been made in the fourth century (a.d.), — viz., that of three Greek hymns, — to Apollo, Nemesis, and Calli- ope, — which, however, possess meagre means of proving their authenticity. From this shadowy period until harmo- nies enter the field, nearly a thousand years later, the historian finds no fruitful material, no verified accomplishments. The march of material events was amply recorded, but melodies were passed from mouth to mouth and ear to ear, necessarily changing their outlines in the process, for the line that connects memory and expression seems, in most of humankind, to run so near that which leads from imagination to expression, as to engender inaccuracy in trans- mission. (This crossed-line influence is recognizable in the productions of most composers. Memories become entan- gled in their fancies.) Although our modern melody has doubtless come Music and Its Masters 15 down to us through long lines of heri- tage, yielding to the prevailing influences of each successive stage in transmission, there is no statistical light on its line of development. It would be interesting to know in what form the first musical intuition manifested itself, and then to trace an unbroken chain of cause and effect from that first manifestation to date, but that knowledge would not materially benefit music, which is the only art whose career does not follow well-defined cycles, — the features of periods reproducing them- selves with the recurrence of conditions. In sculpture, poetry, and architecture we have seasons of reverting to the an- tique, and with good results. These arts dealt with tangible material, could be kept present to the eye and mind, and therefore developed quickly. We return to their ancient forms, so restful in their conformity to natural adjustment, i6 Music and Its Masters for relief from the tireless ingenuity of modern producers, and to find bases for new flights. Music is, however, so essentially in- tangible that it required ages to discover sufficient of its underlying principles to afford the foundation for an art. Noth- ing within our ken has been as slow in evolving, and yet nothing has shown such an unwavering tendency forward and upward. These characteristics, and its insidious influence upon man's nature, entitle it to be called the divine art. It is in course of evolution from its original germ, but the outlines of its early tech- nical forms have no significance for the nineteenth-century composer. For the above reasons statistics will be avoided when they are not essential in locating and verifying conditions. Some periods were too influential in broadening and defining the scope of musical expression to be ignored. I Music and Its Masters 17 shall endeavor to make my theories in regard to the origin and growth of music accord with its inherent qualities, as well as with man's devious and changing nature. The greater the music the more direct is its appeal to our imaginations, and the stronger its effect upon our emotions. Each intrinsically great com- position has its distinguishing mood or temperament, which is the sequential ex- pression and perpetuation of an emotion. This mood is first announced by the chosen themes, and then its varied phases and the cumulative intensity essential to sustained expression are secured through the logical manipulation of these themes. I would divide music into two classes, natural and artificial. The latter class is, as the name assigned to it implies, a mechanical combination of musical means, the result of purely intellectual processes, incited by will force, and not i8 Music and Its Masters by inspiration. It lacks all reason for being, and I shall dismiss it without fur- ther ceremony. It is to natural music, which springs from our imaginations, is formulated for purpose by intellect, appeals to the sympathies, and sways the emotions, that I shall devote my at- tention. The music of the barbarous races, although developed little beyond the initial stage, is adapted in its char- acter to their habits and sensibilities, and is among them quite as powerful an agency for stimulating the passions as is our nineteenth-century music among the people of this Western civilization. Their musical exercises are purely emo- tional, and therefore natural. Natural music is composed of two species, that which is earnest and edify- ing, and that which is entertaining only. These diverse growths are equally spon- taneous, and each develops form, sub- stance, and proportions in keeping with Music and Its Masters 19 the intellectual soil by which it is nur- tured. The world requires that music shall suit its varying moods. Some of Johann Strauss' s waltzes are quite as genuine music as are Beethoven's symphonies, and each in its own way contributes to the pleasure and benefit of mankind. Which would be the greater loss, were it blotted out of existence, is unques- tionable, for the resultant deprivation must be measured by the comparative numbers who would feel the lack of each. The great majority of the public, and even some of music's devotees, derive more pleasure from entertaining than from earnest (so-called classical) music. This is partly because earnest music is quite often abstruse, requiring well-di- rected mental effort to understand its full significance ; but a more generally prevailing reason for this condition (es- pecially when dance music is concerned) 20 Music and Its Masters is to be found in its cheering and exhila- rating effect. I think it pure affectation for musical persons to express a lack of respect for a good piece of dance music. A large percentage of those who do so are not sincere. They fear to discredit their appreciation of the classical, thinking wrongly that there would be something incongruous in liking both. The artist's ideals should embrace the whole gamut of human feeling, and music that strikes our sensibilities at any point in this line is genuine, whether it be a symphony, a love song, or a waltz. If music be the language of the emo- tions, its germs must be those sounds through which joy, grief, love, fear, rage, wonder, and longing find natural, unpre- meditated, and often involuntary expres- sion. The fact that the import of these sounds, whether produced by man, beast, or bird, is unmistakable, has led some Music and Its Masters 21 writers to accord music the honor of hav- ing been the initial means of intercourse between members of the human family, — the original language. This is hardly consistent, for life is mostly unrhythmic monotone, punctuated only here and there by episodes fruitful in musical germs. Scientific observation has established the fact that all of the higher species of living things have forms of vocal inter- communication. Like human beings, animals have forms of speech comporting with their degrees of intelligence and needs, but quite apart from these forms, they and man have mutually intelligible codes of emotional expression. These codes are not identical in less essential details, nor are they equally compre- hensive, but they spring from a common source. They vary in character accord- ing to the qualities of instinctive feeling, refined or coarse, that dominate the creatures that employ them. 22 Music and Its Masters The lowest grade of animal life which possesses vocal apparatus is susceptible of but three emotions — anger, longing, and fear — in such measure as to elicit expression. The higher grades feel joy, love, sorrow, anger, fear, and longing. Music has significance only when fraught with messages from the com- poser to the hearer. Therefore those sounds which most clearly voice strong emotions are the most pregnant musical germs. Isolated shouts of triumph, rage, and joy, or cries of pain, fear, and en- treaty, appeal to our sensibilities, but they do not suggest music, although its line of development from these primal elements is traceable. It began with the first intellectual recognition of the ade- quacy of tonal expression, when those sounds which had been involuntarily produced as the result of sensations, were placed by the human mind in the category of expressive means. Music and Its Masters 23 At this point our germs came under the influence of deliberate purpose. In- tellect took spontaneous shouts, cries, and moans in hand, and has gradually endowed them with continuity, life pulsa- tion (rhythm), and form ; has made them express sentiments surcharged with emo- tions, creating a definitely significant atmosphere {stimmung). This pervading atmosphere or mood, which is a vital element in successful musical effort, must be in no wise confounded with the situ- ations incident to and arising through the descriptive {program) composer's art. The first is personal, a heart mood ; the second is impersonal, a brain picture. From this first step in musical evolu- tion intellect has been more and more closely associated with emotion, as the composer's intentions have become more definite and ]\\s/orms more extended. Music's progress has not been uni- form, for it is most sensitive, and the 24 Music and Its Masters conditions have often been unfavorable. It has followed, to a great degree, the tidal fluctuations of refinement and fine sensibility in the masses ; for although its growth is dependent upon certain conditions, these necessary conditions, if confined within narrow limits, or when found only in isolated persons, will not suffice. It must breathe a free air, full of sympathetic feeling and impulse, and it must have a broad, deep soil in which to spread its roots, for it aspires heav- enward, up through the material into the ideal. The growth of music from its initial stage to an art is quite analogous, except in time consumed, to the growth of each talent to maturity, or of each musical con- ception to full expression. They all move on towards realization, impelled by art instinct and imagination. The com- poser of to-day has a legendary past, Music and Its Masters 25 full of romance and heart-throbs, and a warm, sympathetic present, to stimulate his fancy, but it required ages of joy, sorrow, love, and culture to quicken and refine man's stoical nature. The soil which nourishes our imaginations has been made fertile by the blood and tears of countless generations. CHAPTER II music's first era, and the influences WHICH WERE operative IN VARIOUS . LANDS DURING ITS CONTINUANCE i^^ I 'HERE are two distinct eras in B I the course of the evolution of music. The first ended and the second began with the invention and adoption of notation. This me- chanical device so revolutionized mu- sical production and taste, that we may properly concede to it the honor of having made possible the formulation of our art, for it chronicled the accom- plishments of each generation, thus furnishing its successors with suggestive models. These were virtually lacking in the first era, which accounts amply for the little advancement made during its continuance. 26 Music and Its Masters 27 That early career of music is shrouded in utter darkness, unbroken by a single luminous episode, and the lights which we are enabled to throw back upon it are entirely deductive. They are not sufficiently strong to bring details into relief, but they suffice to develop outlines which are ample for the purposes of my sketch. The fact that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Chinese devoted much attention to what some are pleased to call the science, or technic, of music is to me no indication of the condition of music existing at that time. Their libraries contained numerous volumes devoted to music, but their treatises considered melody (harmony was not known) from a purely mathematical stand-point. This vital element of music, which should be as free as air, was fettered by pedantry. I feel convinced that the evolution of music was seriously delayed by this too 28 Music and Its Masters early association with science. China has perpetuated this system of vassalage, the result being that her present temple melodies, which also serve as folk-songs, are utterly devoid of plastic grace and spontaneity. The fallibility of long lines of oral transmission casts doubt upon the Chinaman's claim that he inherits at least a portion of these songs, in their original form, from a period four thou- sand years back ; still, there is one feat- ure of the situation which, in a measure, substantiates it, — viz., the instinct for imitation that distinguishes this race from all others. Evolution involves removal from an elementary state, and we measure its ad- vancement through placing the present outlines and qualities, of whatever may be concerned, over against those that characterized some known previous con- dition. China has produced some great Music and Its Masters 29 scholars, and her civilization, such as it is, endures like the everlasting hills, and seems subject to little more change than they, but her people are not emotional, imaginative, nor susceptible to influ- ences from without. The great wonder is not that real art feeling has never manifested itself in China, nor that she has repulsed all attempts to introduce the fruits of European musical culture, but that the Chinaman, with his nature, should have ever evoked our muse. China has contributed nothing to the development of music, and we cannot draw one spark of light from her for our investigations. The Mongolian race treated their feeble first musical impulse as they still do the feet of high-caste female children, — viz., they wrapped it so tightly in pedantic cerements that it could not grow ; and, being an impulse, and not flesh and bones, it failed to endure the repression. 30 Music and Its Masters Although these ancient scientific trea- tises afford no clues to the actual spirit and form of contemporaneous musical utterances, they do bespeak the presence of interest and respect. As I have shown, this condition was of no service in China, but as the Egyptian and Greek people and culture were of a quite dif- ferent substance and mould, we may safely infer that their efforts were im- portant features in this preparatory era. The light which we are enabled to throw backward over the line of musical evolution is drawn from the following sources : i, the nature of music itself, and the first purposeful use of its germs ; 2, its present condition among barbarous peoples ; 3, profane history of ancient Egypt ; 4, its development in pace with that of the Aryan race ; and, 5, Biblical references (to which I shall devote a separate chapter). Music and Its Masters 31 NATURE OF MUSIC It is a gross misconception to regard music as merely a ''concord of sweet sounds," for that would be a barren art which had no contrasting features. Much great music is not beautiful, for it may be tragical, sombre, or may voice any of the moods incident to life. Euphony was doubtless one of the last developed qualities, for it springs from joy, love, or reverence. We must look among the coarser emotions for the germ which was first used in tone ex- pression. In that prehistoric time, at the begin- ning of what might be called soul ten- antry, man, whether created or evolved, being the first of his line, had no fruits of human experience to guide him, and his emotional status could therefore have differed little from that of the higher grades of soulless creatures. We learn 32 Music and Its Masters from history that since it began its an- nals animal nature has remained vir- tually unchanged, whereas man, because possessed of a higher grade of intellect and a definite recognition of Deity, in one form or another, has refined and broadened the scope of his impulses and understanding. As it is the first sub- jective, and not objective, manifestation of tone expression that we are seeking, we cannot do better than to scan this feature of animal life. Such manifestations result from the sequential co-operation of emotion, rea- son, and impulse. Animals have their growls, roars, and trumpetings of anger and defiance, and many of them have forms of expressing affection, but these latter are acquired through experi- ence, whereas they instinctively appeal to agencies outside themselves for relief from pain or want, employing means the efficacy of which they recognize. If Music and Its Masters 33 we turn to humankind, we find that the new-born babe will express its de- sire for food long before it becomes responsive to its mother's endear- ments. I, therefore, assume that pleading was the first purposeful, premeditated form of tonal communication, and, conse- quently, that it was the nucleus about which experience and culture have gath- ered such ample resources. (This term, tonal communication, applies equally well to our formulated art, for music is invariably addressed by its creator to some intelligence, whether it be a per- son, the world, or God.) This first developed element has never relinquished its prominence, for it is the mood which most often pervades the composer's tone pictures. We find it depicted, as prompted by each and all phases of human insufficiency, appealing to appropriate sources for relief, — the 3 34 Music and Its Masters oppressed entreating the tyrant, the lover the object of his affection, and the finite world, prostrate before Infinity, pouring its hopes and aspirations into the Divine ear. Now occurs a period of unmeasur- able time upon which we can throw no light. It extends from this first mani- festation up to that stage in evolution which produced forms of tonal expres- sion like those now employed by the lowest savage races. Some time during this unexplorable period, man having appropriated a fuller vocabulary from nature's store, and having adopted more sustained, and at the same time articu- late, forms, was led to feel pulsations, — incipient rhythm. Whether this primi- tive conception of metre was suggested by associated word successions, or was incident to the extension of tonal ex- pression itself, we can only conjecture, but rhythmic impulse is evident in, and Music and Its Masters 35 it is the main feature of, the crudest musical efforts. MUSIC OF THE SAVAGE RACES Science has long busied itself with race origin. It has approached the problem from every side, and has ac- complished so much towards its solution as to afford grounds upon which to base the assumptions that the diverse types of mankind, as they now exist, are each physically, morally, and mentally the outcome of conditions of which climate, soil, and degrees of isolation have been the most potent factors ; and that these branches which have spread out to cover the world spring from one common family trunk. Even within the limits of historic time migrations have been caused either by climatic changes or by the dissensions incident to over-popu- lation. When the savages of the South Sea 36 Music and Its Masters Islands became detached, and whether of their own voHtion or through a dis- pensation of Providence, which caused the Pacific Ocean to isolate them from less pestiferous humanity, will never be known. It must, however, have taken place after the idea of at least limited tone expression had taken a firm hold on mankind and had become a transmit- tible instinct, for these savages evince little more disposition or capacity for originating than the more intelligent species of animals. I cite these people and their lyric status to mark the lowest ebb in things human and musical of which we have any knowledge. Their music and habits are alike crossed by the line which separates the human from the animal, and it is need- less to say which quality contributes the larger portion. Their songs are, like their language, ejaculatory, showing little exercise of reason in their forms, and Music and Its Masters 37 voicing the baser emotions solely. Rude rhythms are the only features that attest their origin in musical impulse. Music in its course of evolution had neces- sarily to pass through this primitive stage. In more congenial environments it passed on and out, but these bar- barians, being neither emotionally nor intellectually capable of imparting the impetus requisite to the development of finer and broader significance, have for thousands of years used their present crude forms. Their stage comes in touch with music's line of evolution at a period countless years before David sang. From a letter in response to my in- quiries as to the musical status of these barbarians, written by Count Pfeil, who has most closely observed their customs during twenty years spent in exploring the dark continent and these darker islands, I infer that their barbarism has 38 Music and Its Masters grades analogous to those that exist in the culture of civilized nations. In speaking of the two musical instru- ments in use Graf Pfeil says, ''They are the ' Tutupele' on New Britain and Duke of York, and a sort of pan pipe or flute on the Solomon Islands. The former may hardly be called an instru- ment. It is used in connection with the superstitious ceremonies of the Dult- Dult practice, and is supposed to herald the appearance of the spirits. Two pieces of wood are carved down till they sound two neighboring notes, such as c-d, g-a, or f-g. They are then placed over a little hollow dug in the ground, and are beaten with small club sticks. . . . " The other instrument is used by the Solomon Islanders. They assemble three or four men, each armed with his flute, of which the largest pipe is about three feet in length, with a two-inch internal diameter. There are five of these pipes Music and Its Masters 39 in each instrument. They are made of bamboo, and played by being raised to the lips and strongly blown into. The sound, especially when heard from a long distance, which robs it of its harshness, is not at all unpleasant, but has rather a melodious, though sad, character. The few men who play these instruments begin turning round and round, and others, wishing to join in the dance, gather round them, also moving in a circle. When a hundred dancers per- form, those on the outside run at a head- long speed, while those forming the centre spin, but very slowly. The dan- cers accompany the players by very curious half- whistling sounds, which sound like the twitter of birds. The louder and shriller the sounds the prettier they are thought to be. . . . " On the Duke of York, boys have a curious, cruel way of procuring music. They take a large beetle and break 40 Music and Its Masters off one of its legs. In the remaining stump they push a lot of elastic gum, of which they hold the other end. The beetle is now made to fly, but not be- ing able to get away from the boy's hand, keeps circling round and round it, emitting a loud whirring or humming sound. . . . *'A11 these races sing. Their songs are very monotonous, but are defined, like our own. You can ask them to sing such or such a song, and they will always sing it exactly as they sang it before. All songs are sung in a subdued voice, as the melancholy and suspicious char- acter of the people prevents all loud demonstrations of mirth. ... I have never heard their songs accompanied by any instrument, excepting at a dance, when, to my sorrow, combined vocal and instrumental efforts served as an accom- paniment to the dance." The North American Indians, despite Music and Its Masters 41 the demoralizing influences of traders, agencies, and fire-water, are noble men as compared with the cannibals just con- sidered. Many of their less amiable traits are doubtless the fruits of white Intruders' avarice, which has from the first set aside equity when dealing with the red man. They live having a future state in view in the happy hunting- grounds, which stimulates in them a strict, but not too comprehensive, moral consciousness. Those conditions of life which mould race characteristics have in the case of the North American Indian developed bodily activity, close observa- tion, bravery, and reasoning faculties, though crude. They lack delicate sensi- bility and imagination, but still in them we find nomadic manhood at its best, and their music mirrors their character. Their war, funeral, and joyous songs are alike monotonous to modern Aryan ears, for they are devoid of romance and 42 Music and Its Masters fine feeling, and are composed of repe- titions ad libitum, instead of progressive developments. Their climaxes are pro- duced through increased unction in de- livery rather than through sequential means. They mark the primary pulsa- tions of their songs through swaying the body, dancing, and through the use of rude instruments, and in so doing work themselves up to a remarkable state of exaltation. This result of their musical exercises must not be construed as indi- cating the presence of a strong, emo- tional element in the Indian character. They are, on the contrary, so stolid that few things can ruffle their equanimity. Their ecstasies are purposeful and self- induced. Their phenomenal capacity for reading and interpreting nature's chronicle of the movements of living things, and its continual exercise, have blinded them, in a great degree, to the beauties of Music and Its Masters 43 landscape. They devote themselves to the analysis of details instead of to the contemplation of the Creator's harmo- nious ensemble, and they consequently develop little sense for the beautiful. The fundamental manifestation of this sense is, in normally endowed man, an appreciation of the forms and colors of material things. Upon this sense we may build responsiveness to the intangi- ble and ideal, but without it we have no foundation for aesthetic taste. I can think of nothing more incongruous than an atmosphere of Bach fugues or Beethoven symphonies for a man who sees only tons of hay, feet of lumber, water-power, etc., while gazing upon nature's grand panorama. The music of the North American Indian is neither euphonious nor romantic, but it is distinctly more hu- man than that of the South Sea Islanders, and its varying tribal phases permit the inference that it has, in their keeping, 44 Music and Its Masters accumulated resources, however slight they may seem. The Indian's character and music throw light upon the course of evolution during the first era, inasmuch as they, contrasted with those of the cannibal races, tend to substantiate my claim that sound expression takes its cue from attendant culture, advancing in pace with it. PROFANE HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT At that remotest period upon which the historian can throw light (about 3000 B.C.) the Valley of the Nile was the scene of undertakings the fruits of which have ever since excited the won- der of the world. The Pyramids, the somewhat later-built Palace of Karnak, and Temples of Luxor and Ipsambul stand first among the phenomenal con- ceptions of human architects ; and the mechanical skill required in handling the Music and Its Masters 45 massive blocks and pillars of which they are composed would severely test the appliances of our practical and inventive age. These monumental buildings, their consistent environments, and the de- ciphered records of scientific and literary accomplishments in those earliest his- toric times, bespeak broad culture. As we possess no record of a race from whom the Egyptians could have drawn either stimulus or knowledge itself, their culture was presumably indigenous, and therefore of slow growth. The Palace of Karnak, for instance, marks the cli- max of accomplishment in a line of architectural endeavor which may have begun soon after the Nile commenced making her alluvial deposits. The persistent and audacious ambition which this long course of development attests, and the art feeling expressed in their works, endows Egyptian inter- est in music, as evinced through the 46 Music and Its Masters scientific treatises mentioned at the be- ginning of this chapter, with especial significance. They were more learned and less pedantic than the Chinese, and were, besides, emotional and imaginative, although sadly superstitious. Had that high enlightenment permeated all classes of the people, Egypt would have been an Elysium for our art, but it was, un- fortunately, confined to the upper social grades, which embraced the priests, and to a certain extent the warriors. The masses, in company with pris- oners of war and slaves from Central Africa, were mere servitors to the mon- archs and priests in executing their am- bitious schemes. Although their labor built up indubitable testimony to the greatness of their masters, the bur- dens imposed upon them century after century finally wore away their fealty ; therefore the decadence and downfall of great Egypt. There could not possibly Music and Its Masters 47 have been anything Hke art enthusiasm among a people so oppressed. Despite this vital lack, ancient Egypt did more, directly and indirectly, to foster music, and to give it an onward impulse, than all other agencies of the first era com- bined. This was somewhat attributable to the fact that then, for the first time, tone expression was associated with rhythmic texts ; still, I infer that their music was merely an accessory to eu- phonious declamation, — subservient to poetry, — for had their melodies pos- sessed independent import, those re- sourceful people would have found some way of recording them. These rela- tions between music and poetry were perpetuated in Greece ; indeed, our art was not accorded equality as a contrib- utive element in song until in quite modern times. There have been sev- eral distinct epochs in this relationship, — viz., that in which tone expression, be- 48 Music and Its Masters cause of its little understood capacities, was held in vassalage to her sister art ; music's equality (dating from the adop- tion of notation), during which she greatly extended and beautified her forms ; her ascendency, which characterized the vocal works of the early part of the present century ; and now the Wagner school, in which the two are again made to collaborate on equal terms. The ancient Egyptians employed pan pipes, flutes, horns, instruments of per- cussion, and small harps. Mural pict- ures of the fourth dynasty represent players blowing upon pipes of different lengths, and consequently of different pitches, which is a dumb declaration that at least some principles regulating the simultaneous use of tones had been recognized. Outside this pictorial record, we can find no intimation that anything analogous to modern harmony was known and practised by this people. Music and Its Masters 49 In the absence of specific data we are forced to predicate the condition of music in that stupendous, though exclu- sive, civilization, upon the elements of the atmosphere from which it drew its impulse. As the more prominent of these elements were profound religious feeling, scientific learning, insatiable am- bition, and a clearly pronounced lyric tendency, their melodies must have been coherent and expressive. ARYAN RACE As the instincts and capacities of the Aryan race have always been unique, it may prove instructive to glance at those features of its prehistoric existence in Asia which have been brought to light through comparative philology and mythology. In the first place, these sciences establish the fact that we of the West (Greeks, Italians, Germans, Eng- lish) and the Hindoos of the East are 4 50 Music and Its Masters of common origin. Our ancestors lis- tened to the same legends, ballads, and mythical tales while gathered as children about one and the same mother, and they have handed them down to this generation of the descendants of each so little changed as to furnish ample proof of family relationship. Many of the more important words of the various Aryan languages are suggestively simi- lar, and this in spite of the five thou- sand years of transmission, and of the diverse conditions incident to the growth of widely separated clans into great nations. The Aryans were worshippers of Nature in her more spectacular and heroic forms and moods, — in storms, fire, sunset, and dawn, but looked up- ward for their Supreme Deity. The sky, with its fathomless depths of blue and its star mysteries, was their Zeus. From this it will be seen that they were, Music and Its Masters 51 in a way, idolaters, but their idolatry was not degrading ; it was, indeed, en- nobling. They contemplated Nature, and in her processes saw the hand of an all-pervading, beneficent power, — a God. They worshipped the God thus, and in no other way, revealed to them through His works. Their conceptions of family and com- munity organization have served, and still serve, as models to civilized nations. They were paternal, the clans being large families with patriarchal heads, and elected councillors. They were pastoral, cultivating the soil and herding cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs ; but they were at the same time good warriors. They wore leathern shoes, garments woven from wool, and they had at least a rudimentary knowledge of the sciences. From all this I infer that the early Aryans were a race of freemen, not 52 Music and Its Masters subject to the class discrimination that ruined Egypt. Their appreciation of nature, and their reverence, ambition, and pertinacity fitted them to become the especial guardians of the arts, and their comparative class equality enabled them to fulfil the re- quirements of my theory that music can only flourish in a widely diffused inter- est and knowledge. It must breathe a genial and suggestive atmosphere. Our main business is with Aryan music after it came under the influence of Egyptian culture, but it may interest my readers to flash, for a moment, the light of analogy back upon its earlier period. We have found the early Aryans less learned than the Egyptian scholar class, but also less superstitious and less pedantic. They were normal human beings in their occupations, sus- ceptibilities, and social life. With such a picture in view it is quite natural for Music and Its Masters 53 our imaginations to hear its complement in expressive sounds, — peaceful lullabies, songs of praise and love, and sonorous rejoicings. In remote times the region which is supposed to have been the original home of the Aryans must have been fer- tile, for early poets were enthusiastic in describing its charms. The climatic changes that made the soil arid as it is to-day may have suggested, or may even have necessitated, migration ; still, what condition or combination of con- ditions induced the Aryans to abandon Central Asia can never be positively known ; but it is certain that they, like irresistible tidal waves, rolled westward and southward, destroying, carrying be- fore them, or absorbing and dominating all peoples and institutions in their course. One of the streams of Aryan migra- tion flowed towards the south and formed the Hindoo and Persian nations, and an- 54 Music and Its Masters other came into Europe by way of the Hellespont and took up its abode in Greece and Italy. Three others, the Celtic, Teutonic, and Slavonic, followed in the order named, passing to the north of the Black Sea, and occupied respec- tively Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. Of all the nations who have developed from these original nuclei, the Hindoos show least evidence of close intercourse with the world's great teacher, whereas the Greeks, perhaps because of their proximity to Egypt, were led to avail themselves of her tuition to the fullest extent. The ancient Hindoos were less scien- tific than the Chinese or Egyptians, and isolation has prevented them from ad- vancing with modern civilization. Their music is less the fruit of theories than it is of natural Aryan impulse. They do not look upon it as a science, but as ^ Music and Its Masters 55 matter of the emotions, the result of, and intended to quicken, the imagination. I have seen Hindoo melodies which ex- hibited a correct appreciation of rhythmic adjustment, still their accomplishments do not entitle them to a place among the potent factors in musical evolution. Now we come to the climax of our first era. Such a true conception of beauty, such perfect symmetry, and such far-reaching imagination and lofty as- piration as are present in, and have made ancient Greek art and literature luminous for all time, bespeak conditions that would have carried music to fruition during their continuance had she not been so intangible, and therefore neces- sarily slow in developing. Had her nature been less coy, we might have ancient Greek music as monumental as the Iliad or the Parthenon. The Greeks were quick to recognize the virtues of Egyptian learning, and 56 Music and Its Masters Greece soon became great Egypt's greater pupil. Still, we should accord Egypt first place among the factors that built up modern civilization and led to the formulation of musical art, for she originated the vital impulse. That period of Greek culture su- premacy dispensed no laurels to its mothers, wives, and daughters. Woman was regarded as an inferior being, and she took no honorable part in intellectual social life. Boys were exhaustively edu- cated, while girls were neglected. This was the one blot on the glory of those times, and we, besides deprecating the injustice it involved, must regret that these ancient art-workers denied them- selves that highest earthly source of inspiration, intercourse with the deli- cate enthusiasm, the keen perceptions, and art instinct of educated and loved womanhood ; for to what heights might their achievements have attained but for Music and Its Masters 57 this misconception of woman's nature and capacities ! One would think that Sappho's lyrics, which induced Plato to call her the "Tenth Muse," would have sug- gested the existence, in woman's purer and more sensitive nature, of a subtle vein of beautiful intellectuality, but such was not the case. Judging from what we have seen of early Aryan family life, this unpractical and debasing idea of suppressing woman must have been imbibed with Egyptian learning. Music was taught in the Greek schools, and youths were thus fitted to join in the sacred choruses, and to ap- preciate the significance of poetry. The immortal bards sang their creations, and they often remained unwritten for gen- erations. The drama developed from songs and dances. Music was a promi- nent feature of their symposiums, the lyre being passed from guest to guest, 58 Music and Its Masters each contributing of his best to the in- tellectual feast. Banquets were brought to a close by singing hymns. Music per- vaded each function of Hellenic life. Their choruses were unisons, and their instrumental accompaniments were either purely rhythmic (regardless of pitch) or they followed the voice, for the Greeks had no discoverable concep- tion of harmony. In contemplating the marvellous erudition and the poetic sense of ancient Greece, and the im- portant role played by music in the period of her glory, I can but feel that the failure to chronicle her melodies is a misfortune. They may not have been rich in variety of tone succession or in rhythm, but they doubtless were vigor- ous, expressive, and logically rounded, and they therefore mark the brightest point reached in the first era. Greece succeeded Egypt as the world's teacher, and her precepts gain Music and Its Masters 59 significance as advancing culture en- ables us to better comprehend the fine adjustment of imagination to nature which they embody. Her sculpture, architecture, and literature are the high- est models that we have, and those of our architects who appreciate the import of monumental buildings look to ancient Greece for appropriate inspiration. Is it not reasonable and logical to as- sume that the spirit of Greece's unwrit- ten musical forms has been preserved, passed from nation to nation, and from generation to generation, and that it underlies our present classical school ? I say spirit in speaking of musical trans- mission, for music's resources and out- ward forms were, in the Homeric period, and still are, in course of development. It would be a waste of space to dis- cuss the musical doings of other Euro- pean nations during this period. Those that did least to prepare the way have 6o Music and Its Masters been most active since our art took shape. As great as Italy's services have been since the sixteenth century (a.d.), she did little for music previous to that time. St. Ambrose, of Milan (384 a.d.), and St. Gregory, of Rome (590 a.d.), ordained rituals, prayers, music, etc., but there is no detailed record of their achievements, therefore no authentic Gregorian chants. CHAPTER III BIBLICAL MENTION OF MUSIC i^ I 'HE Old Testament is a chron- § I icle of the growth, movements, physical and mental habits, and religious status of the great Jewish race. Its religion with one Godhead, whose immediate presence was often felt, its music addressed to this presence, and its family, tribal, and racial organizations were all Jewish. The great moving lever of Jewish existence was a religion whose creed prohibited the making of "graven images," so painting and sculpture were not cultivated ; it recog- nized the direct agency of supreme will in moulding daily events, and prescribed oft-repeated praise and prayer, and thus created the atmosphere of exalted devo- 6i 62 Music and Its Masters tional feeling which we find recorded in many of the books of the Bible, and which climaxed in David's Psalms. The ancient Hebrews were in no measure a scientific people. Their one intellectual aspiration found vent in beautifying the worship of God. They were religious teachers, who have di- rectly or indirectly shaped the creeds of the civilized world. According to the conditions upon which I have thus far based my theories of musical evolution, early Jewish songs could not have been equal, in artistic merit, to the texts with which they were associated, for there was an utter lack, in this race, of such general culture and art sense as we found prevailing in an- cient Egypt ; but the Hebrews were a race apart, and their unique instincts may have made their music an excep- tion to all rules. Their song-impulse was confined to Music and Its Masters 63 one line, but it was so strong that it projected itself from conception, in religious enthusiasm, to a high grade of fulfilment without touching the low plane of their general culture ; neverthe- less, the above-mentioned shortcomings and the subsequent decadence of race nationality relegate Hebrew music to a low place as an influence upon the world's song. They had men who devoted them- selves to the playing of instruments as an accompaniment to song, and the Bible mentions more varieties of instru- ments than can be found in profane his- tory of those times. Worship was such an important feature of Jewish life, and praise was so essential an element in their worship, that the masses must have learned and sung those great lyrics which to-day represent the culmination of human awe, reverence, prayer, and thanksgiving. It is impossible to im- 64 Music and Its Masters aglne David singing his Psalms to crude or inadequate musical settings. Here we have a situation apparently full of vital contradictions. Most of the influences which have proven themselves necessary to the development of music were wanting, and still there is evidence that it had grown to be an expressive means. The Jews were actuated by profound religious feeling and by an exquisite sense of nature's forms. No poet has yet equalled David's simple but beautiful appreciation of the uni- verse, and of its influence upon man- kind. The Jews of Poland, Spain, and Ger- many have diverse musical settings of the Psalms, so there is no traceable line of inheritance from David. This line has been obliterated by the changes incident to generations of unassisted memory. That there may be rare ex- ceptions to this rule of change in form Music and Its Masters 65 during extended oral transmission was abundantly proven recently by a Ger- man Hebrew musician and scholar. He played me an unwritten Passover hymn which his father had always sung at that festival time, and told me that he had not long before been entertained by a Spanish Hebrew, who sang the same melody tone for tone. This gentle- man's hearing and memory are so ab- solute that there is no question to be raised as to this case ; but as far as my investigations have gone, it stands alone. The composer of the nineteenth cen- tury can nowhere else find such earnest and suggestive texts as in the Old Testa- ment. They voice the hopes, sorrows, despair, reverence, and joys of our hearts just as aptly as they did those of the Hebrew bards who wrote them thou- sands of years ago. Their natural and direct method of expressing the emo- 5 66 Music and Its Masters tions, and their incomparable elevation of spirit, make them appeal especially strongly to the musician, whose flights of imagination start from these emo- tions. We are denied the privilege of scan- ning the forms and substance of Biblical melodies or chants, and must content ourselves with tracing the more promi- nent features of the role which was as- signed to music during that older era, and the mechanical devices which were employed to enhance rhythmic precision and sonority. Some writers have endeavored to solve the problem presented by Hebrew music in the midst of incongruous conditions by attributing its develop- ment to the influence of presumable intercourse with prehistoric Egyptian civilization. This does not appear logi- cal, for Hebrew music seems to have been little, if at all, affected by the con- Music and Its Masters 67 tinued direct contact during the long sojourn of the IsraeHtes in Egypt. The Jewish and Egyptian characters were so diametrically opposed (as was evinced in their beliefs, habits, and aspi- rations) that their emotional forms of expression could not possibly have fol- lowed common lines. Intercourse with Egyptians did not impart even a scientific impulse to the Hebrew mind. It is therefore safe to conclude that my previously mentioned hypothesis — that the force of their im- pulses carried Jewish music and poetry to unique positions, as compared with those of their other arts and branches of learning — is worthy of credence. The first mention of music is made in Genesis iv. 21. Jubal, the son of La- mech and Adah, is described as the '' father of all such as handle the harp and organ." Jubal was of the seventh generation of Adam's descendants, and 68 Music and Its Masters the world was, according to Biblical records, in its second century of exist- ence. These ''harps and organs" were doubtless similar to those depicted in pictures painted in the fourth Egyptian dynasty. The first named were frames upon which one or, at most, a very limi- ted number of strings were stretched, and the "organs" were pan-pipes (a series of reeds of graded lengths, bound together, and played by blowing into them as they were passed back and forth across the lower lip). The pan- pipes were probably played in unison with the voice, whereas the primitive harp was used, with the existing instru- ments of percussion, to mark rhythms only. All historians agree in their deduc- tions as to the order in which the several classes of instruments made their ap- pearance on the musical stage. As rhythm is the heart pulsation of music, Music and Its Masters 69 it naturally took hold of the first singers of in any measure formulated melody, leading to swaying of the body, clap- ping of the hands, stamping of the feet, and quickly suggested the employment of other resonant means for marking its progress. Our drums were at first only hollow pieces of wood, our cymbals, triangle, and gong may have had double duties, — musical and culinary, — and our harp and piano were anticipated by single strings stretched to yield a sono- rous tone regardless of pitch. Next came the wind instruments, — at first single reeds blown to mark rhythms, then pan-pipes, and much later single pipes provided with finger-holes like the unimproved flute. Last of all came the instruments from which the tones are drawn by passing a bow over the strings. The idea of adapting the vibrating length of strings to a desired pitch, through pressing them down upon a finger- 70 Music and Its Masters board, is comparatively modern. These general classes took on numerous forms and were made from various materials. The existence of Jubal and his musi- cal line of descendants bespeaks a wide- spread interest in and use of song, but Genesis yields no further enlightenment, no texts, nor any other allusions to the subject of music. Exodus XV. furnishes the next men- tion. The treacherous quicksands of the Red Sea having swallowed up the Egyp- tians, Moses and the children of Israel join in a song of rejoicing and thanks- giving to God, to whose direct interposi- tion they ascribe their deliverance. The song as recorded is too circumstantial to have been spontaneous. Moses, in writing his account of the occurrence, doubtless embodied the sentiments which burst forth from the hearts of his people in the presence of the event in a more orderly and more amplified form. Music and Its Masters 71 The sentiments are lofty, and the effect produced by the singing of that vast chorus of just rescued was, beyond com- pare, the grandest focus of human enthu- siasm that the world has witnessed ; for Moses had six hundred thousand fight- ing men alone. " Miriam the prophetess," after the song, or during lapses in the singing, to incite the throng to renewed efforts, ''took a timbrel in her hand ; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dancing. And Miriam answered them. Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously ; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea." The timbrels were drums, prob- ably much like our tambourines in size and shape. The trumpet is mentioned three times in the nineteenth and twentieth chapters of Exodus in connection with the de- livery to Moses of the Commandments. 72 Music and Its Masters The last occasion is after the consum- mation of this universe-shaping cere- mony, — viz., ''And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the moun- tain smoking." The thirty-second and thirty-third chap- ters of Deuteronomy contain one of the Bible's most sombre lyrics. Moses, whose life has been devoted to the wel- fare of the Israelites, who has for forty years struggled to overcome in them the demoralization incident to centuries of bondage, sings there a parting song to his people, for they are about to enter into possession of the promised land, which happiness is denied him. Could a sadder picture be imagined than this good man, so little confident in the fruits of his past teaching, exhorting the Israel- ites for the last time ? It would make my sketch tiresome to burden it with the less important musical Music and Its Masters 73 events chronicled in sacred history, like the songs of Deborah, Hannah, etc., so I shall skip four centuries, the musical exercises of which seem to have been marked by no extraordinary occurrences, unless we accept the fall of Jericho as a musical phenomenon. At the end of this period we come upon David, who might appropriately be called the Isaiah of our art, for his songs voice the conception of a full, free, resourceful musical fruition, unmeasured as yet by even the greatest composers who have given them settings. I. Sam- uel xvi. makes the first mention of David's musical capacity, — viz., "And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. . . . And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand : so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil 74 Music and Its Masters spirit departed from him." David's first recorded ''psalm of thanksgiving" is in II. Samuel xxii. Its power, vivid im- agery, and conception of omnipotence have never been surpassed by the mind of man. It is musically suggestive and inspiring, but a composer capable of grasping its import might be awed into silence, for our art is still feeble to at- tempt such flights. A careful reading of verses five to eighteen, inclusive, will yield an understanding of my feel- ings in regard to this song. There is in much earnest music a sub- stratum of "ecclesiastical tone," for the deeper strings of cultivated human re- sponsiveness are attuned to worship. Our relation as creatures to God, the Creator, is the prime factor in inducing this condition, but next to it Biblical song most influences the trend of high musical aspiration. These influences are insidious, and their fruits do not neces- Music and Its Masters 75 sarily betoken design on the part of the composer, who may be not at all devout ; but he, having imbibed, in common with civilized mankind, the spirit of religion, it permeates, and to some extent char- acterizes, his highest efforts. As long as man continues to write music David will not cease to be one of the moving levers in shaping his con- ceptions. This ecclesiastical tone, when present, does not usually manifest itself in themes, nor in their contrapuntal de- velopment, but in the harmonic outlines upon which these elements rest. David is supposed to have written the larger number of the one hundred and fifty Psalms that have come down to us, and it may be interesting to trace some of the musical colors suggested by his more clearly manifested moods. They mirror the deepest recesses of his God-fearing and paternal heart. The thirteenth Psalm is a wail of sor- 76 Music and Its Masters row, which is saved from sinking to de- spair by David's memory of past mer- cies. This latter element is analogous in this case to the major harmonies in our modern minor keys, which lend sugges- tions of coming brightness to our darkest tone pictures. In the nineteenth Psalm, which begins, **The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handi- work," we find a spirit of contented con- templation, for which these quoted lines strike the key-note, and announce the theme with no uncertain sound. The twenty-third consists of pastoral similes, which follow each other with quiet but ever-increasing intensity. It is as full of restful confidence and self- contained energy as the slow movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. It is too sustained in its sequential progress to afford the contrasts so essential to composers of mediocre ability, which Music and Its Masters 77 may account for the desecrations of which it has been the subject. Nothing so tests the calibre of a musician as logically growing continuity. This Psalm would have found an ideal setting in Bach's lofty serenity. The spirit of exultation in the praise of the Almighty, which is present in even the sadder moments of David's song, flashing light through its doubts and sorrows, breaks into effulgent glory in the ninety-eighth Psalm, which has probably received more attention from composers than any other Biblical text. It has inspired much wonderful music, but a misconception of the spirit which prompted the last verse has become traditional. The psalmist did not invoke the floods to clap their hands, and the hills to be joyful together before the Lord, in order to propitiate God, but to express the joy he felt in anticipating the advent of 78 Music and Its Masters Him who should "judge the people with equity." To be consistent, the com- poser should set this sentiment in broad grandeur, as the culmination of his musical scheme. These examples will suffice to illus- trate, in a superficial way, the suggestive richness of David's Psalms. Isaiah, in chapter v. 12, says, ''And the harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts ;" in- deed, the prophet makes repeated refer- ences to music, but not in such manner as to endow his chronicle with special import to us. I will close this chapter with two in- stances from the New Testament. The first occurred in connection with the Lord's Supper, — viz., after the adminis- tration of the sacrament, and when they had sung a hymn they went out into the Mount of Olives. This quiet hymn will not cease to echo through the universe Music and Its Masters 79 until we are enabled to realize St. John's vision of heavenly music, which as de- scribed in Revelation (fifth chapter) would form a fitting climax to earthly musical effort. X CHAPTER IV MUSIC FROM THE INVENTION OF NOTATION TO DATE 1^^ I^HE sweep of events in this new § I era has been so grand in its cumulative momentum and high tendency, that one is quite as much embarrassed by its richness in data as by the poverty of the older period. At the opening of its second era music began to make history, and many painstaking and erudite men have de- voted the best years of their lives to collating her records ; we are therefore amply supplied with books of reference, which fact would seem to justify me in still further pursuing the path marked out by my individual impressions. My deductions and theories may not always 80 Music and Its Masters 81 follow beaten paths ; indeed, I am only led to discuss the well-known events of this era by the hope that these digressions may afford my readers new points of view, and thus, perhaps, incite them to acquire a more intimate knowledge of the nature of music. Before commencing our explorations I should like to emphasize the theory advanced in Chapter II., — ^viz., that the progress of musical evolution is more or less rapid as the quality of its culture environment is better or less well suited to its requirements. Great composers are not eccentric growths, but they are the natural fruits of the conditions into which they are born and in which they create. Acorns thrown upon bare rocks will decay ; planted in sands exposed to the violent winds from the sea, they grow into gnarled scrubs ; but if they fall into a soil possessing qualities calculated to 82 Music and Its Masters expand their inherent germs, they be- come noble oaks, differing in size ac- cording to the assertive vitality of their several germs and to the impulses which they receive from earth and sky. These conditions also mould their forms, for their branches reach out for sunlight and rain just as their root-tendrils seek more substantial, but no more necessary, sus- tenance. This quest gives direction to their growth. The forest giants are like our Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Wagner ; they, like these musical giants, tower above their fellows. Our musicians spread their roots out into the past (into the knowledge of what others have achieved), their aspirations are warmed into activity by the sunlight of widely diffused culture, and their creations take form from their surroundings. To illustrate my theory : if Beethoven were now living and composing music, Music and Its Masters 83 It would necessarily differ as much from that which he did produce, in form and means, as our life conditions and modes differ from those of seventy-five years ago, for such a genius would be quick to feel the presence of new elements in either his material surroundings or art atmosphere. Some of these new elements are helpful to the composer, while others tend to stifle his spontaneity or to dis- tort the outlines and too much brighten the colors of his tone pictures. In the first class I would put the universal in- crease of musical intelligence ; the me- chanical devices, which, as applied to the organ, piano, and most of the orchestral wind instruments, greatly increase their efficiency ; Berlioz's idea of color in- tegrity, which has revolutionized orches- tral writing ; the decrease of convention- ality in form ; the greater intensity in harmonic successions ; and the somewhat 84 Music and Its Masters Bach-like import with which the writer of to-day attempts to endow the bass and middle voices. At the head of the second class (harmful elements) I should place the immense practicality of our age, which intrudes its steam ploughs upon our rural pictures, and, with its unending procession of mechanical innovations, crowds poetic fancy into dark recesses, where she survives but does not thrive ; then comes the feverish haste to become rich or famous, which so dominates our generation as to disturb the contempla- tive moods of the artist, imparting some- times a suggestion of prosaic utility to his creations, and in other cases en- dowing them with incongruous form and colors ; and last, but not least, comes the modern habit of self-introspection, which, springing from a laudable desire to reason philosophically, smothers spon- taneity. Music and Its Masters 85 Beethoven would have rebelled against these adverse conditions, but he would nevertheless have been influenced by them. His spirit will defy time, but his models and methods have become anti- quated. A modern composer, however gifted, could not follow them without sacrificing his claims to recognition. We willingly allow Bach and Bee- thoven to transport us back into their times, and we draw refreshment from the natural atmosphere that pervades them, but would reject a modern product which embodied similar elements ; for they would, in such case, be artificial, not the elements suggested by and char- acteristic of an emotional mood. Notation, which defined musical achievements, and thus fitted each stage of development to serve as a stepping- stone to formulated art, was unaccount- ably long in coming. There is no absolute certainty as to 86 Music and Its Masters who invented our present system of writing music, but the honor is usually accredited to Huchbold, of Flanders (840-930). He was a learned Bene- dictine monk and an ardent worker in the field of music. Huchbold certainly employed a form of notation at least suggestive of that now in use, but, ac- cording to some historians, Huchbold's own writings mention the device as if not original with him. He left examples of part writing, which, however, mark no improvement on the implied methods of the ancient Egyptians (suggested through the mural paintings referred to in Chapter II.), for his voices progress in parallel fourths, fifths, and octaves, and consequently have no independent sig- nificance. The earliest example of modern no- tation is to be seen in the Winchester Cathedral. It is the setting of a prayer, and is supposed to have been written in Music and Its Masters 87 1016 A.D. England also claims to have furnished the first example of contra- puntal composition, — a four-voiced canon with two free bassi, written in, or prior to, 1240. If this be authentic, it is a phenomenon, like ''thunder out of a clear sky," for there was not at that time, nor for three hundred years afterwards, any manifest scientific tendency in Eng- land's musical methods. This piece may have been a direct or indirect product of the Flanders school, of which Huch- bold was the progenitor. This learned priest, who strove to materialize and co-ordinate musical means (not its spirit), may be taken as an index of the intellectual bent of his time in the Netherlands, whose people, undaunted by human foes, or by the more merciless sea, which was a per- petual menace to their very existence, devoted much attention to the develop- ment of the arts and sciences and to 88 Music and Its Masters building up industries. Their intelligent and persistent enterprise walled out the North Sea and made it a tractable ser- vant, and created on those reclaimed marshes a civilization which for several hundred years represented the highest attainments of man. This earnestness of character and high culture were congenial elements to the growth of music, and there is abun- dant evidence that their complement, a distinct sense for sound expression, was not wanting, for Taine, in his " Art in the Netherlands," says, ''Other people culti- vate music ; to them it seems an instinct." It is not strange that this instinct, coupled with the perpetuated spirit of Huchbold, should have produced a formulated art at that propitious stage in music's evolu- tion. Music itself had become a ripe impulse, ready and waiting for just such conditions. The Flanders school ad- justed tone relationships and invented Music and Its Masters 89 counterpoint and canon. John Osteghem and his pupil Despres were the greatest masters of that initial school, which for nearly two centuries, beginning with the middle of the fourteenth, furnished all the European courts with singers, instru- mentalists, and composers. Their more elaborate music was writ- ten for the Church, and a damper was consequently put upon production by the Reformation, which greatly simplified religious observances and closed choir doors to the composers of ambitious works. Before the development of opera and the institution of the concert or- chestra and chorus, the Church was the sole patron of high musical endeavor. Fortunately, the Netherland musicians had forestalled the calamitous results of this religious revolution through the es- tablishment of conservatories of music in Venice and Naples. They trans- go Music and Its Masters planted their knowledge and high aspi- rations into sunny and Catholic Italy, where they flourished and bore fruit after their native land had ceased to be musically supreme. A new art is unavoidably over-con- servative. The natural laws, upon which it is founded, hold its devotees to literal conformity until experience has evolved a sense of their broader meaning. They are in reality but rigid outlines, drawn in accordance with fundamental art adjustments, the recognition of which saves the curved lines of our fancy's pictures from abnormity and chaos. They are quite analogous to the ana- tomical knowledge which is essential to the artist, who conforms to its general requirements and still endows his figures with individual character. The Netherland music of that period was more intellectual than emotional ; therefore, taking the comparative char- Music and Its Masters 91 acteristics of the two peoples into ac- count, we can but regard the migra- tion of the focus of musical activity to Italy as an extremely fortunate event ; beside the fact that this change of base avoided delay in evolution, or possible decadence. The emotional Italians would not have made music's foundation as deep or as broad, but they were well fitted to con- tribute grace and beauty to its super- structure. The sensuous element in music is almost w^holly a reflex of Italian temperament. We northern peoples, recognizing the power inherent in this quality, cultivate it with more or less success, but it is an exotic in our colder natures. Under the influence of Italian char- acter music soon began to assume more graceful lines, purer euphony, and richer significance. Science was further de- veloped, but it was treated as a means, 92 Music and Its Masters subject to individual conceptions. The success of this school transplanted from the Netherlands to Italy culminated in the production of Palestrina ( 1 524-1 594), the first high-priest of our finally clarified art. The inherent qualities of music, which were considered at some length in Chap- ters I. and II., make our art exclusive. They wall it about, forming an outer temple, an inner temple, and a holiest of holies. The first is accessible to all sincere and responsive adherents of the musical faith. The second is for those who minister, priests dedicated to the service. To the innermost sanctuary, which holds the presence of our musical goddess, Aaron-like high-priests alone are admitted, but the song incense which they bring forth diffuses itself, filling the inner and the outer temples to their farthermost recesses. It is primarily to the ministrations of these high-priests Hy permission of K. H. Schroeder, Berlin PALESTRINA Music and Its Masters 93 that we owe the widely diffused musical culture of to-day. It shall therefore be one of my tasks to trace the character- istic influence of each one of this line, whose creations will endure throughout time. In the course of music's refininor o she had necessarily become more and more exclusive, less accessible in her ever higher estate to coarse and un- cultivated mankind. This exclusiveness had from the first step in evolution been raising the walls of our now finished temple. Although most of Italy's early music, like that of the Netherlands, was written for the Church, Palestrina was the first composer to strike a clear ecclesiastical tone. The tendency had been towards brilliancy, with a seasoning of unbe- coming sentimentality, and Pope Mar- celli, realizing the inappropriateness of such musical settings, conferred with this rising genius, and commissioned 94 Music and Its Masters him, in 1563, to write a mass consistent with the spirit of worship. Palestrina's third attempt resulted in the great ''Pope MarcelH Mass," which is to-day as acceptable a model for church music as it was in the sixteenth century. I have chosen Palestrina as the first high-priest because he, like his succes- sors. Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Schu- mann, and Wagner, was a creator, and because his works, like theirs, exhale the incense of the holiest of holies ; an incense which, unlike all others, gains power with the passage of time. Palestrina's works are characterized by lofty purpose and by logically auda- cious methods. His voice leading was so smooth and melodic as to prompt one of the most erudite of living musi- cians, who was at first an anti-Wagnerite, to say that " Wagner began with Meyer- beer and ended with Palestrina ;" mean- ing in the latter comparison to pay the Music and Its Masters 95 highest possible tribute to the contra- puntal skill and musical methods of the writer of '' Die Meistersinger." Besides Palestrina, Scarlatti and Per- golesi were the only early Italian com- posers whose music outlived the gener- ation in which it was written. Scarlatti wrote operas, but it is through his piano- forte music that his name has been kept alive. Pergolesi, who appeared on the scene nearly two hundred years later than Palestrina, wrote operas which were received with wild enthusiasm. During the period of Italy*s supre- macy (i 500-1 700) many forms of com- position were originated, and many mechanical devices for recording and performing music were invented or per- fected. Among the former were the fugue, the oratorio, the latter of which was at first responsive (alternating music and reading), but soon assumed its present character, the mass, and the . "6 . 96 Music and Its Masters opera. (It is astonishing that Monte- verde's operas ''Arianna" and '' Orfeo," produced in 1607-8, embody to some degree Wagner's idea of consistent musical drama.) The organ, violin, and piano-forte were improved, the flageolet, clarionet, bassoon, music type, punches, and metal plates were invented, the first opera-house was built (in Venice), and the elements of modern orchestra (wind, stringed, and percussion instruments) were formally combined. Flanders' light had shone into France and England, had awakened the people of those lands to a sense of music's latent possibilities, and we find them working intelligently and with good re- sults ; but our present aim is to follow the main stream of musical develop- ment, guided by the successive " beacon- lights" of achievement, along its course. We will later trace these lesser tribu- taries. Music and Its Masters 97 At the beginning of the eighteenth century two lights of dazzling brilliancy draw our gaze from Italy to Germany. The direct influence of the Netherlands, which made a deep and lasting impres- sion on the slow, but earnest, intel- lectual, and song-loving Germans, had quickened their susceptibilities, and had made them responsive to the riper musi- cal development of Italy. The Teutonic character is less emo- tional and impulsive than the Italian, but it is more methodical, more roman- tic, and deeper. It is more like that of the Netherlanders, but in measuring their status we must not forget that at the period of which I write two hun- dred years had passed since the begin- ning of music's decadence in the north- ern first home. The Reformation, which had such a depressing effect upon that initial art, incited these less scientifically musical people to song. Luther, who 98 Music and Its Masters co-ordinated the modern German lan- guage, also struck a song tone, which set the hearts of his race into sympa- thetic vibration. The choral voices the deepest strata of German character, and its spirit echoes through their more earnest works, — in the substratum, mentioned in Chapter III., — so the Reformation marks the be- ginning of Germany's musical culture, which under direct and indirect guid- ance and incitement from Italy grew sub- stantially and broadened until the eigh- teenth century, when the appearance of Handel and Bach evidences a north- ward turn in the stream of develop- ment. The Italians had contributed the most potent 'qualities of their nature to this stream, and now the Germans added their deep feeling, intellectual force, and somewhat later their romance. As will be seen, Italy had not entered an inac- BACH Music and Its Masters 99 tive era, but Germany at this period took first place among the factors of evolution, a place she still holds. My theory in regard to the essential character of widely diffused interest in music finds full endorsement in the con- ditions which prevailed at that time, and still continue in Germany. Luther's chorals were written for and were sung by the people. Each worshipper found in them a conveyance for his devotional feelings. This feature of church ser- vice, this song essence, gradually per- meated every-day life and bore wonder- ful fruit ; produced a really musical nation, out of which our second high- priest, Johann Sebastian Bach, and his less German contemporary, George Frederick Handel, could arise. Before the advent of these giants Germany had written and performed numerous operas, and had in various ways manifested high aspirations, but lOO Music and Its Masters her musicians had composed no monu- mental works. Her early troubadours, of whom Wal- ther von der Vogelweide was the great- est, and the ** Meistersanger," of whom Hans Sachs, who lived 1494-1576, was the most gifted, left no record of their melodies. The very existence of these Meistersanger guilds for hundreds of years shows vitality of purpose and high aim. Spurred on to ever higher ac- complishment by friendly rivalry, these guilds doubtless contributed much to the lyric strain in the German nature, and therefore to the ultimate greatness of their ''Fatherland." The last of these guilds was disbanded at Ulm in 1836. Bach was the mightiest man who has composed music. A writer who saw him says, '' His black eyes, shining out of his massive head, looked like flames bursting from a rock." He was the de- scendant of a line that was both men- Music and Its Masters ioi- tally and physically stalwart. His re- motest traceable ancestor was a baker who migrated from Hungary to Saxony, and his son, Johann Sebastian's great- grandfather, was a carpet-weaver and musician. The two succeeding genera- tions devoted themselves exclusively to music, and they furnished half Thuringia with capable musicians. Their conscien- tious work, however, gave no premoni- tion of the coming sublime climax in their family achievements. Johann Sebastian Bach inherited an iron will, self-abnegation, and devotion to art. His conceptions soared so far above the existing traditions, and he did so little to attract public attention, that he was but slightly heeded during his lifetime ; indeed, it required a century after his death and the appreciation of a Mendelssohn to make the world realize that a veritable god had lived among men. The modest cantor of Leipzig*s ib*2* ' ' ' Music and Its Masters St. Thomas' school was obliged to struggle to support his large family, but he made no concessions to prevailing taste ; he did not depart from the lines of his ideal to secure popularity. He patiently submitted to whatever teach- ing-drudgery was necessary to earn bread for his children, but when seated on his organ-bench or when he took his quill in hand he admitted no other allegiance than that to art, and no other impulse than that which prompted him to serve her with his fullest powers. The force, dignity, simple loveliness, pathos, and grandeur which in turn characterize his conceptions are so won- derful, when considered as products of the eighteenth century, that they and his serene indifference to recognition stamp him a unique man, — a musical Messiah. Bach's versatility, facility, and physical endurance were as remarkable in their Music and Its Masters 103 way as was the quality of his creations. He wrote for organ, piano, violin, for voices unaccompanied and with organ or orchestra, and asserted his mastery in each and all of these fields. His pre- served writings would busy a copyist ten hours per day for fourteen years, and still Bach, in the absence of other outlets, found time to engrave much of his own music. It is to be hoped that the tardy appreciation of his character and works, which have at last filled the world with adoration, may penetrate the Beyond and warm his heart towards man- kind, who during his life so little fath- omed the depths of his emotions and failed to see the loftiness of his ideals. Handel was also great, unless com- pared with his greater contemporary. His best work was the oratorio *' Israel in Egypt." His style was a mixture of Italian grace and German vigor. He was a master of vocal resources, and 104 Music and Its Masters his works are therefore strong in sonority, and grateful to both singers and hearers. Handel wrote fluently, but with a less sustained earnestness than Bach, and his compositions have done more to foster chorus singing than have all other agencies combined ; for which reason the musical world is but discharging a just debt in assigning to him the place of honor on its vocal repertoires. Of these two masters, Handel wrote less involvedly. Bach depended upon the legitimate development of his themes, whereas Handel often resorted to tone masses, — was more harmonic than con- trapuntal. Soon after the middle of the eighteenth century the ever-rising flood of musical culture became highest in Vienna. This resulted quite as much from the city's contiguity to Italy, whose lyric springs had by no means run dry, as from the stream of northern influence. Musical Music and Its Masters 105 intelligence had by this time become so diffused that bright lights showed them- selves at many points on the horizon, but Vienna was made resplendent by a galaxy that illumined her musical life and prepared her for our third and fourth high-priests, Beethoven and Schu- bert. The most brilliant of this galaxy were Haydn, Mozart, and Gluck, each and all of whom bequeathed treasures to the world surpassed in value only by those with which our priestly line endowed us. " Papa Haydn" gave expression to his pure aspirations and childlike sim- plicity in symphonies, stringed quartets, and other ensemble works, and in large vocal compositions. The " Creation" and *' Seasons" are his most ambitious writings. Few of Haydn's works have great intellectual power, but they are as refreshing as rural scenes or well-told tales. Mozart and Gluck will be neces- io6 Music and Its Masters sarily discussed in Chapter V., so I will pass them now. Beethoven was our third high-priest, because his somewhat earlier appearance entitles him to precedence over his later coadjutor. The Vienna school had origi- nated or evolved the sonata form, had en- dowed music with more sustained and more clearly defined melody, richer har- monic color, and dramatic power, and had greatly enriched the orchestra ; so Beethoven began his work with far ampler resources at his command and more fertile traditions in which to root his art than had any of his prede- cessors. Beethoven was like Bach in many of his characteristics ; he was self-reliant, manfully tender, and forcible without violence. His best conceptions are so high and noble that they leave human frailties far behind and suggest the music of the spheres, but he was less KEETHOVEN Music and Its Masters 107 constant in his fidelity to art than Bach ; not because he yielded to pressure from without, but because of his impatient nature, which at times impelled him to follow routine rather than wait for in- spiration to outline his course. This resulted in lapses, which will, when awe has given place to discriminating judgment, lead the musical world to discard some of his now blindly ac- cepted works. This is to be desired, for those who profess to, or actually do, derive pleasure from all of Beethoven's works are either untrue to themselves, or they are incapable of responsiveness to his supreme moments, which pro- duced such wonders of tonal expression as **Fidelio" and the ''Eroica." It will not matter what forms music may assume in the course of her further evolution, Beethoven's more intensely individual creations will retain their monumental character, looking serenely io8 Music and Its Masters upon passing generations of mankind like the Pyramids, but even less perish- able than they. In scanning Beethoven's methods and the spirit which pervades his composi- tions, as compared with those of Bach, we must take cognizance of the different social and musical conditions which pre- vailed in their respective periods. Eu- rope was, at the beginning of the nine- teenth century, shaking off her pow- dered wigs and their attendant aus- terity. Culture was becoming more confident and audacious, and music re- flected the features of her new environ- ment in increased geniality and breadth of scope. Beethoven's methods were quite opposed to those employed by Bach. The former drew a grand sweep of outline, and then used counterpoint as a contributive element, whereas the- matic counterpoint was the substance of Bach's creations, — the tissue which By permission of E. H. Schroeder, Berlin SCHUBERT Music and Its Masters 109 gave them form. Each was a reflex of the noblest tendencies of his time. I approach Schubert, our fourth high- priest, whose ministrations, coming in conjunction with those of Beethoven, make their epoch the most remarkable one in music's career, with wonder for his achievements and regret for his half- lived life. That which was so beautifully said of Keats, ''Life of a long life con- densed to a mere drop, and fallen like a tear upon the world's cheek, to make it burn forever," would apply equally to Schubert. He was born into a period that had already manifested lyric ten- dencies, but he was an inexhaustible spring, from which limpid melody gushed in ever-increasing volume, filling his every musical scheme to repletion. Na- ture made Schubert the greatest musi- cal genius the world has seen, and had his life but reached completeness, he would, perhaps, have drawn from his no Music and Its Masters emotional well-spring greater sympho- nies than the '' C major" and the "Un- finished." Schubert was virtually the originator of the modern song, which has been, and always will be, a great solace to mankind. It is at the same time the most practical, because the most easily understood, means of educating musical instinct into sympathy with the spirit that pervades more elaborate forms. The associated texts make clear their musical import, and the appreciation of one really good composition places us on a vantage-ground from which we can better comprehend others. Schu- bert required the song as a ready outlet for his lyric productiveness, and wrote twelve hundred of them without redun- dancies and with always definite and distinguishing significance. Many gifted composers have put their most felicitous fancies into this fireside Music and Its Masters ill form, but, although some have sung more impassionedly, and others have placed their melodies in richer settings, no one has been so uniformly adequate as Franz Schubert. Schumann, Franz, and Jensen always please, and they often excite our wonder by the beauty and adaptability of their song concep- tions, but Schubert's songs do not ex- press, they embody, moods and senti- ments. His flow of melody was so fresh and strong that in instrumental compositions it often carried him to un- common length. The Germans call his C major symphony **The Symphony of Heavenly Length." This phrase quite aptly describes the work, for an idea of its proportions, and of the quality which prevents them from being prohibitory, are both voiced by the expressive ad- jective employed^ Schubert scarcely lived to maturity, but he dispensed such unalloyed benefits that his name will be 112 Music and Its Masters forever enshrined in the hearts of those who love pure music. During all this time culture had been making great strides, and a compre- hensive glance, at the time of Schubert's death, would have revealed all Europe aflood with musical enthusiasm. Orches- tras were multiplied and improved, grand chorus organizations were founded, and institutions for the education of musical aspirants were established under the patronage of various governments. Out of this condition come two bright lights that rivet our attention upon Can- tor Bach's old home as the centre of influence. Our stream of development, which was a rivulet as it flowed from Flanders, soon became a mighty river, and has now overflowed its banks and formed a great sea of culture. Mendelssohn was one of the most genial characters that we meet in the annals of music. His education and Music and Its Masters 113 temperament made the adequate adjust- ment of resources to the fulfilment of his schemes almost intuitive ; but his conceptions themselves, although in- variably round and poetic, usually lack the bold lines and the deep import that have distinguished the creations of our high-priests. Human characters, like forest-trees, seem to need exposure to trying winds, which if successfully weath- ered only strengthen their fibres and loosen the soil about their roots, so that they may spread out and extend down- ward to fresh and deeper sources of im- pulse. It may be that Mendelssohn's life conditions were too peaceful, that he was too much sheltered from care and adversity to fully develop the depth and nobility of his nature, which flashes out in some parts of '' Saint Paul" and "Elijah," and pervades the "Walpurgis Night." His happy disposition found its most 114 Music and Its Masters characteristic expression in inimitable scherzi and works of that less emotional class. Mendelssohn's elegance of style, richness of color, and his personality caused a wave of imitation to set across musical production, but it soon subsided, for only the most stalwart methods en- dure the dilution incident to their adop- tion by lesser talent without degener- ating to insipid weakness. Mendels- sohn's greatest service to the musical world was rendered in his persistent advocacy of Bach. Schumann, our fifth high-priest, had to encounter the difficulties of life in the open field, having had no social nor financial breastworks from behind which he could ignore the "arrows of out- rageous fortune." His path was strewn with thorns, and was unlighted by recog- nition until near its end. Schumann was not so consummate a master of counterpoint as was Mendelssohn, but I5y (jcriiii .f i:. II. Schroeder. Berlin SCHUMANN Music and Its Masters 115' his stronger individuality and deeper sensibility filled his fancies with epoch- making qualities. Our art had during the previous quarter century taken on more intensity, greater freedom in voice leading, and, last of all, a well-defined romantic vein. The first two appealed strongly to Schumann's nature, as is evidenced by his writings, for the pictures of his im- aginings are not peaceful pastoral scenes, but depict storms of passion and emo- tional struggles. Romance shows itself at times, but it is not a distinguishing element. Schumann wrote four sym- phonies, of which the last one heard is always the best. They rank among the few immortal works in this epic form, but entirely because of the individual character of their schemes and the rich- ness of their musical texture, for their instrumental colors are not adequate. He succeeded equally well in ensemble, ii6 Music and Its Masters chorus, and piano-forte music, and his songs almost rival those of Schubert, but strange to say, the orchestra seems to have been a closed book to our fifth high- priest. Schumann had, in his impatience to overcome the weakness of his fourth or ring fingers, employed a mechanical ap- pliance which permanently lamed his hands, thereby dashing his hopes of be- coming a piano virtuoso. This is the only recorded case in which violent methods have produced desirable fruits ; for they usually deaden the nerves only, and result in strength without facility, and tone without beauty ; in other words, in wooden pianists. In this case they produced entire disability, and forced Schumann into his proper sphere, — creation, — in which he accomplished last- ing good, whereas the benefits to art of even the highest grade of virtuosity are comparatively ephemeral. Music and Its Masters 117 His love for the piano-forte led him to study its capacities and limitations most thoroughly, the consequence being that his compositions for that instrument are more grateful to the fingers and ears of pianists than those of any other classi- cal composer. Schumann's music is more involved than Beethoven's or Schubert's, and his restless passion found expression in broken rhythms and in dissonant com- pounds, which, however they may at first impress us, gain natural and deep significance with close familiarity. He was the first composer to feel and apply the immense, expressive resources in- herent in rhythm. Schumann's quintet for strings and piano-forte is one of the greatest pieces of ensemble music that has been written, and his piano concerto in A minor is, to my mind, without a rival. Of his songs, the " Frauen Liebe und Leben" cyclus ii8 Music and Its Masters are, when the numbers are considered singly, and then in their respective rela- tions to his beautifully rounded concep- tion of womanliness, the most remark- able, although the ^'Dichter Liebe" is full of gems, and the " Spring Night" is a picture which is more suggestive of a magic wand than of a human intellect. Our fifth high-priest was not alone a musician ; he was a philosopher and the ablest critic the musical world has seen. He was so broad that he could be gen- erous as well as just, as was shown by his laudatory writings in regard to his rival, — Mendelssohn. He estimated Wagner's cruder stage correctly, and would doubtless have become an ad- herent of the new faith had he lived to see its riper fruits ; for he was always susceptible to manifestations of genuine creative ability and logical reasoning. The consideration of Wagner, the sixth in line, involves entering upon a Music and Its Masters 119 somewhat new field, and it will require so much space that I will give him, his forms, and his methods a separate chap- ter. Before undertaking that task it may be well to trace some of the tribu- tary influences which, following collateral lines, have helped to swell the tide of musical culture. It will facilitate the ac- complishment of this purpose to scan the achievements of each nation separately, mentioning only such individuals and events as were active agents in further- ing the cause. France evinced a very marked in- terest in music early in its second era, but her good intentions were several hundred years in crystallizing. The establishment of an Academy of Music in Paris (1672) was the first really note- worthy event in the history of French music. Tulli, who was its first director, was a very able man. He wrote operas, which were sung in French, and he 120 Music and Its Masters created the chrysalis from which our symphony was later developed. Although the next hundred years were not productive of great men, Paris had at the end of that period become attractive and congenial to such masters as Gluck, Cherubini, and Piccini. This shows that she had educated a genera- tion of intelligent listeners, and at least a portion of the executants necessary to the performance of grand opera. In 1 795 the Conservatory was founded, which event marked the beginning of that earnest, organized effort that has given the world so many rare instru- mentalists and vocalists. The finesse of the French school is delicious when applied with intellectual breadth sufficient to prevent its becoming finical. France has also produced numberless com- posers, but few who have attained to more than passing fame. Her people are quick in their perceptions, and deft Music and Its Masters 121 and dainty in all that appertains to aesthetics. They are enthusiastic lovers of such music as does not require them to think earnestly while following it, but they are emotionally volatile. Berlioz is the only French composer who successfully resisted the pressure of this environment. He was made of stern stuff, and followed the promptings of his muse without wavering, although she often dictated courses and methods that precluded immediate success with the public. In his Requiem Mass, which looks bizarre to a casual observer of the score, he uses each and all of the execu- tive forces, an immense orchestra with all possible accessories, auxiliary brass corps, chorus, and soli, with such keen appreciation of individual quality and such unerring judgment as to the ap- propriate role for each quality in the grand ensemble, that the effects he attains not only disarm criticism, they fill one 122 Music and Its Masters with awe. Still, if we scrutinize Ber- lioz's works closely, we find that he was more a Rubens than a Rembrandt, for while his diction was often more erratic than sequential, his sense of tone color was so acute that it led him to inaugu- rate the movement that is still in prog- ress for purging music of pernicious unisons reinforcements. Of the other notable French com- posers, Gounod is delightfully melo- dious, but is too sweet to be entirely wholesome, and Saint-Saens (half Ger- man in instinct and manner) is a .phe- nomenal master of instrumentation, and he is very ingenious, but one is seldom convinced that his compositions have grown from emotional germs. Mas- senet, Bizet, and others have written, or are writing, charming music, but it has little substantiality. Its charms are liable to effervesce, like the emotions of the Paris public. The French seem to reserve Music and Its Masters 123 all of their earnestness for the more tangible arts, and for science, to all of which they have contributed their full share. England's musical career has been unique. The people of that snug little island across the channel should be an enthusiastically happy race, for nature endowed their land with fertility and beauty, and centuries of skilful cultiva- tion have enhanced these virtues until Albion's rural loveliness is to-day un- equalled. They have exceptionally rich traditions, their prowess in arms and achievements in literature, science, pic- torial art, and industry furnish abundant grounds for their national pride, but it is a pity that their blessings have not made them more demonstrative, for stoical complacency is not good soil in which to grow an emotional art. For this reason recorded English composition, which be- gan so unprecedentedly well in the six- 124 Music and Its Masters teenth century with the invention of the madrigal, has not fulfilled the promise implied by that event. The English are a sturdy race, and their climate and out-of-door amusements have endowed their voices with uncom- monly mellow and tuneful qualities. It is therefore quite natural that their musi- cal activities should have been so largely centred in chorus singing, which they make peculiarly sonorous and artistically adequate. This choral virtuosity is not a recent growth, for it attracted Handel in the eighteenth century. It was also recog- nized by Mendelssohn. This love for song has been materially fostered by the Established Church, whose elaborate services have furnished composers with both incitement and outlet. Most of England's choral works are dignified and smooth, but they lack intensity. There is an element in English (and Music and Its Masters 125 American) musical life the evil influence of which cannot be easily over-estimated : it is the popular ballad. In them the best lyric texts in any language are associated with musical conceptions which are usually so devoid of artistic qualities and significance, that no one at all musical would endure them were it not for the halo cast about their imbe- cility by the poet's art, which they pro- fane. The Scandinavian countries, and Rus- sia, Poland, and Hungary, each with its distinctive folk-song treasury and ro- mantic traditions, have, during this cen- tury, awakened to great musical activity, and each of them has produced one or more composers who have made an im- pression on art evolution. The first named have given us Svend- sen, Grieg, and Hamerik, not to mention the artistic but less stalwart Gade, with their weird and at times grotesque 126 Music and Its Masters rhythms, melodic contour, and harmo- nies. The sensation produced by these Scandinavian song characteristics when first brought to the notice of the outside world, impelled these talented men to incorporate them into their art. This was a mistake, for great music is as broad as the universe, whereas the vein of national song is narrow and only lim- itedly fruitful. Had Svendsen escaped infection from this northern piquancy, he might possibly have fitted himself to wear high-priestly robes, for his en- dowments were of the highest, and his debut as a composer was startlingly brilliant. Russia's musical type is less pro- nounced than the Scandinavian. Her producers have therefore developed on cosmopolitan lines. Tschaikowski, who was beyond compare the most gifted composer that Russia has given to the world, may with the passage of time be Music and Its Masters 127 recognized as the natural heir of our priestly line. His emotional power, clean-cut individuality (originality), fine sense of rhythmic values and color com- binations, and his inexhaustible lyric invention place him at the head of sym- phonists of his time. An event which reflected honor on the empire of the Czar was the birth within her borders of that giant of all pianists, Anton Rubenstein. I speak of him as a pianist rather than as a com- poser, for while he often showed the possession of uncommon creative facul- ties, he was too diffuse, seldom focussed his tonal diction to such coherent strength as would make his writings comparable with his playing. Poland gave us Chopin, who is the one exception to the rules by which I have endeavored to trace the successive stages of musical evolution. All other composers have taken inherited forms 128 Music and Its Masters and means, and have moulded them into shapes comporting with the spirit of their individual conceptions, and even these conceptions were to a considerable extent reflections of their environment. Beet- hoven was a mighty genius, but he did not create an art type, and was therefore not, in a broad sense, original, whereas Chopin was radically so, his works seem- ing to owe no allegiance to schools, and seldom to nationality, but only to his poetic soul, of which they were the legitimate offspring. His fancies are sometimes more grace- ful than strong ; they even, now and then, verge on the sentimental ; so Cho- pin is not entitled to a place among the giants, although he revolutionized com- position for the piano, and wrote some things so beautiful that they excite ever fresh wonder. The small form seemed to best suit his spontaneous style ; there- fore op. lo and op. 25, and the preludes, Music and Its Masters 129 undoubtedly better represent Chopin's individuality than do any other of his works. Franz Liszt was born in Hungary, and in his less serious moments made use of the gypsy-like rhythms, twists, and spas- modic utterance of her national music. At other times he wrote universal music, which he made characteristic through breathing into it his own rich individ- uality. The Abbe Doctor was more feted and less spoiled thereby than any successful artist of modern times. He led a life of triumph from youth to old age, and through it all preserved a sim- ple modesty of manner, interest in new talents and accomplishments, and an in- describable intellectual fascination. Nothing afforded Liszt more pleasure than to give advice to, or to use his in- fluence for the benefit of, talent strug- gling to clarify its own conceptions, or seeking indispensable publicity. The 130 Music and Its Masters list of his proteges includes many who have made world records, like Raff, Bulow, Tausig, and Wagner. But for ** Meister" Liszt's early perception of Wagner's then undeveloped genius, we should have had no sixth high-priest to record, and no Bayreuth festivals. America has only recently entered the lists, for the conditions attendant upon a new civilization make artistic achieve- ment impossible. These conditions were emphatically bad in our land, and they yielded reluctantly to art requirements. The religious bigotry of a large portion of those who first came to America, seeking freedom of conscience (for those who thought and believed as they thought and believed), was deadly to art impulse. They looked upon any music not set to sacred words as a frivolity that would imperil their souls, and they exercised little judgment in selecting such music as they did use. This narrow view of Music and Its Masters 131 our art greatly delayed the advent of musical intelligence, and it called a species of *'psalm-smiters" into being, who, with inappropriate adaptations of secular melodies, and worse attempts at composition, debased both music and the services of the church, and sapped the vitality of art tendency when it first became manifest. America still harbors some of these vampires, but the day of art is breaking over our land, and these creatures of darkness will soon disappear. Our progress was at first slow, but there have been no backward steps, and the past fifty years have witnessed a magical advance in general intelligence and in creative capacity. Before closing this chapter I must re- turn to Germany and trace some of the subsidiary sources of her present su- premacy. The name ** Robert Franz," which 132 Music and Its Masters was years ago adopted by a timid young musician as his nom deplume, was formed by combining the first names of his ideal tone poets, Schumann and Schubert. His success was immediate, and he soon became so identified with this name that his own almost passed out of use. Robert Franz was a pure lyrist, and his songs must be given place little below those of his great models. He served to perpetuate the spirit of song, and placed the world under tribute by his Bach researches. Raff was a man of startling routine, and of no less astounding inequalities in merit. Some of his symphonies are replete with sensuous melody and fresh harmonic, contrapuntal, and instrumen- tal color, while others are incomprehen- sibly dull. '' Leonora" and " Im Walde" represent Raff at his best, and they are so strong and beautiful that they will keep their creator's name before the Music and Its Masters 133 musical world for many years. No one can predict how long Raff's mastery of methods and forms will exert a salutary influence upon composers. Schumann was Brahms' s musical god- father, and he predicted great results from the development of his godson's talent. There is much difference of opinion as to whether Schumann's proph- ecy was fulfilled, but many capable critics are on the affirmative side. Brahms has, in one way at least, shown the pos- session of absolutely great qualities, — viz., his productivity did not exhaust, but increased the vitality of his concep- tions. He was an artist with whom future generations will have to do, but he was not an epoch-maker. CHAPTER V WAGNER AND THE MUSIC DRAMA XT Is quite proper to devote a chapter to Richard Wagner, for his later works are not only ex- amples of the most skilful and purpose- ful employment of the contrapuntal and instrumental resources which he, in com- mon with his contemporaries, inherited from the past, but they show how auda- cious genius may safely pursue its pur- poses out beyond beaten paths into unexplored regions of tonal expression. Why may genius do this, which is so uniformly fatal to the less gifted ? It is because of its comprehensive grasp of logical sequence and its intuitive choice of adaptable means. Ripe genius is a definite talent which 134 Music and Its Masters 135 has been subjected to exhaustive dis- cipline, which is familiar with traditions, and takes full cognizance of pedantic forms, but is guided by an art feeling engendered by this knowledge, and not by the knowledge itself. It is a law unto itself. It conceives a picture, a poem, or a musical sentiment, and communicates it to us through means that are often as unfamiliar as is the effect of the whole original ; for it usually avoids the ruts of travelled ways, its clear view of the objective goal enabling it to follow the less fre- quented stream-side or mountain-top paths. Wagner was, in the last thirty years of his life, a ripe genius. He was the sixth of our musical high-priests, and he filled the art temple with a character istic song incense which will pervade its atmosphere as long as human passions continue to furnish art impulse. 136 Music and Its Masters There is a class of pedants who still take satisfaction in calling Wagner's music artificial ; but these short-sighted critics cannot or will not properly sur- vey the field of his activity and its fruits. No human mind could, unless impelled by natural, sequential feeling and virile imagination, write even one of his later dramas without manifold exhibitions of weakness in redundancies and lapses in significance. The fact that Wag- ner's works, from the ** Meistersinger" on, show few, if any, such barren mo- ments, adequately evidences their natu- ral growth from musical germs. A great creator always incites a large number of lesser lights to imitate his methods, but few of them do so suc- cessfully. Wagner is not, however, answerable for the vague effects of his dramatic means, when they are trans- planted into Wagnerish overtures and symphonic poems. He evolved situa- Music and Its Masters 137 tions that made these means legitimate and significant ; isolated, they fall into bizarre artificiality. Although we can- not fail to be influenced by the elements which Wagner added to tonal resources, they, like all other elements, must be applied because most adaptable to the development of the musical scheme in hand, and not because of their new- ness. '* A prophet is not without honor save in his own country." This was strikingly exemplified by the attitude of profes- sional Leipzig towards Wagner during the earlier stages of his career. Leipzig was at that time regarded by the outlying world as the musical centre of the uni- verse, a Mecca with a magic balm, dis- pensed by a priesthood whose Mahomet was Mendelssohn. The town had been a prominent seat of learning since the first part of the fifteenth century, had possessed Bach as 138 Music and Its Masters cantor of its "St. Thomas' school/' had for a long series of years maintained its " Gewandhaus" concerts, and was the greatest of all book- and music-selling marts. These circumstances combined to make Leipzig stand out in bold relief on the world's map, but it required Mendelssohn's magnetism to make its attractions irresistible. The Conservatory faculty of those days included all the most prominent musicians domiciled in Leipzig, for the town was too small to furnish adherents for such contra-minded parties or fac- tions as exist in larger cities. Men- delssohn had enlisted his forces with well-directed regard for harmony, but their creed, although properly placing Bach as the corner-stone of musical faith, was too narrow in its tenets to admit those to communion whose fancy led them outside the pale of traditional Music and Its Masters 139 forms. They were even lukewarm to- wards Schumann, who had lived among them, had created a period,* and had contributed treasures to musical litera- ture so luminous with genius that, as the mists of prejudice clear away, they will eclipse forever all contemporaneous productions in the various forms which they followed. The rugged boldness of originality was in the esteem of the Leipzig pedagogue but an exhibition of crude ignorance. Those who could not or would not recognize Schumann's * Composers who originate forms or methods that recommend themselves to the musical world because they voice recognizable advance in art ex- pression, create periods. Mendelssohn was in his more earnest moods a modernized Bach. He did not originate forms, but adapted those of his great ideal to our nineteenth century habits of thought and feeling. He did this inimitably, but he was more finished than forceful or bold, and his impress on art was consequently not deep, although ex- tremely salutary. 140 Music and Its Masters great throbbing heart in his writings, be- cause he, in expressing his individuality, did not always follow prescribed for- mulae, would naturally have rejected Wagner, for his earlier works were not cast in classic moulds. Those of Wagner's creations which had been before the public previous to i860 were characterized by few depart- ures from Weber and Meyerbeer in scheme. Wagnerian harmonies were, however, too strong for the Leipzig critic, but the public flocked to hear them, and was pleased. Original ideas often find first recog- nition among the non-professional, be- cause musical leaders are so saturated with pedantry that sparks of genius cannot quickly kindle them to enthu- siasm. In 1862 the Gewandhaus directors made a great concession ; they invited Richard Wagner to conduct his *'Tann- Music and Its Masters 141 hauser Overture" at one of their con- certs. This was a fatal mistake, for his triumph was complete, and their influ- ence as opponents of the *' music of the future" was correspondingly weakened. I have discussed Leipzig at such length, not because it was Wagner's birthplace, but because from this town, with all its intolerance and smallness, started the only short road to success. Leipzig's endorsement was a universally accepted voucher. Wagner had found this direct path barred, and his wanderings in surmount- ing or circumventing obstacles lasted for a long series of years, but his faith remained steadfast, and he reached the goal of his ambition a far stronger man because of the difficulties he had overcome. His appearance at the Gewandhaus was only a station on his course to already assured success, and not his starting-point. 142 Music and Its Masters Wagner found opera a succession of solo, ensemble, and chorus pieces, strung upon plots often too slender to give them coherence. Texts had been made subservient to music, and that, in turn, to the singer's convenience and ambition for display. Operas were written as early as the thirteenth century, but Cherubini was the first Italian, and Gluck the first Ger- man, to produce works that have sur- vived. Cherubini was followed by Ros- sini, a man of genius, but too indolent to fully develop his gifts. Had his beautiful sensuous melodies been put into richer settings, had more earnest thought been added to his spontaneity, his operas would have taken their places among the undying creations. Flashes of genius ultimately tire. It is the steady light of genius, fed by knowledge and earnestness (as in Beet- hoven, Schubert, and Schum.ann), that Music and Its Masters 143 can hold the world's attention restfuUy, which means perpetually. Bellini, with '' Norma" and " Somnam- bula," and Donizetti, with "Lucia di Lammermoor" and **LucretIa Borgia," still hold a place on the operatic stage, but their grasp is weakening. Verdi was the best equipped of all Italian opera composers, and his '*Trovatore," with it rare gems, will crown his memory to the end of musical time. His later works, "Aida," ** Othello," and "Fal- staff," written under the influence of the Wagner period, are quite different from his earlier operas in instrumentation and in treatment of themes. In them he is more logical and stronger, but less sensuous. They furnish the first in- stances of Italian music dressed in for- eign garb ; of Italian music written under pressure from without. It has until recently been Italy's province to shed influence over the musical world. 144 Music and Its Masters I construe Verdi's concessions to Wag- ner as the strongest possible endorse- ment of the latter' s ideas. No other composer was in position to pay such tribute to Wagner's forceful and far- reaching art sense. The Italian composers of the new school are musical brigands, who for a brief space succeeded in taking tribute from the musical world. Their leader, Mascagni, made such a sensational raid with his *' Cavalleria Rusticana'* that young Italy jumped into the breach he made, and evidently thought to take possession of our temple, regardless of their lack of equipment and discipline. Although but few years have elapsed since this assault on art, its episodes have already been relegated to the realm of disturbing memories. " Cavalleria Rusticana," the first and best of its class, has some merits ; it is short, melodious, and dramatic, but Music and Its Masters 145 its melodies are often sentimental, and its dramatic points are usually made through the audacious employment of crude means. The direct influence of this work and its reception, conspired for harm to art. Gluck was a Teuton, and although educated in Italy and adopted by France, can with propriety be called the father of German opera. His *Tphi- genia in Tauris" and " Orpheus and Eurydice" will always be regarded as classic models of lyric writing. Gluck's schemes differed little from those of the Italian school, but his harmonic and instrumental methods were German. Mozart was a phenomenal combina- tion of inconsistencies. His routine and creative genius were of the highest order, his spontaneity and finish make his music delightful alike to amateurs and musicians, but he seldom seems to take matters seriously. ** Don Juan/* 146 Music and Its Masters the *' Requiem," and his string quartets are exceptions, for in these he is earnest and does his genius fuirjustice. Beethoven gave us '* Fidelio." He was equally endowed with Mozart, but was actuated in what he did by earnest, deep feeling. *'Fidelio," although built on the old and now discarded lines, will only take second place (musically) when some genius arises capable of writing symphonies to supersede Beethoven's nine. In ''Fidelio" we still have the string of well-defined pieces, but they are rich in harmonization and polyphony. Weber made a great impression on opera. His audacious use of the orches- tra and of modulation, opened up new fields of possibility, and there is a doubt as to whether modern German opera would have become what it is, had Weber not lived. He was gifted with an inexhausti- ble store of melody, was equal to all dramatic situations, however exacting, Music and Its Masters 147 and could court popular favor without belittling his art, — a very rare quality. Weber was at first Wagner's model, and ''Rienzi'* and '' Der Fliegende Hol- lander" bear a distinct Weber impress. Meyerbeer was a German, but early adopted Italian methods. He was an excellent business man, possessed ample means, and therefore secured deserved recognition early in his career, instead of having lived almost a life of deferred hopes, as is usually the good musician's lot. Meyerbeer is melodious, and is often dramatic, but unlike Weber, some- times belittles his art in catering to pub- lic tastes. His pageant and ballet music are the most characteristic and impres- sive features of his operas. Wagner expressed contempt for Meyerbeer, but evidently recognized the grandeur of the operatic pageantry of which he was the creator. We see evi- dences of this phase of Meyerbeer's in- 148 Music and Its Masters fluence until we pass the *' Lohengrin** stage. Many other good operas were pro- duced during the first half of this century, but as they were not potential factors in operatic evolution, I shall mention them only in passing. Adam wrote " Postillion ;'* Auber, **Fra Diavolo," ''Die Stumme von Por- tici,'* etc.; Flotow, "Martha" and ''Ales- sandro Stradella ;" Herold, '* Zampa ;** Kreutzer, '' Nachtlager von Granada ;'* Lortzing, " Der Waffenschmied," ''Der Czar und Zimmermann," etc ; Marsch- ner, ''Hans Heiling,'* "Der Templer und die Jiidin," and " Der Vampyre ;'* Nicolai, " The Merry Wives ;" Spohr, "Jessonda" and "Faust," and Schu- mann, "Genoveva." All of these operas are still given at least occasionally, and most of them are excellent musical com- positions. The situation at the time when Wag- Music and Its Masters 149 ner first manifested a defined tendency towards the music drama was as follows : Gluck had given the world his two great works, and they, together with " Fidelio,'' '' Don Juan," " The Magic Flute," '* The Marriage of Figaro," '' Der Freischutz," and ''Oberon" of the German, and **Trovatore," *' William Tell," ''Norma," "Lucia di Lammermoor," "La Som- nambula," "Robert le Diable," "Der Prophet," and " Die Hugenotten" of the Italian, were the most prominent and best examples of operatic writing. Although the first steps towards the emancipation of opera from inconsisten- cies were the result of conditions rather than of premeditation, Wagner had suffi- cient genius to appreciate the power in- herent in logical sequence : a power which, when compared with that resulting from eccentric modes, is as the progress of the ages to that of a leaf borne by the wind. Logical sequence moves onward 150 Music and Its Masters with irresistible momentum, whereas fragmentary diction is blown about by every wind of caprice. The condition which most influenced Wagner's conceptions was his relation as poet to his musical undertakings. He was in each instance first poet and then composer, and nothing could have been more natural than his early evinced disposition to guard his texts from dis- torted, disconnected renderings. This disposition grew, as through experience his grasp became more and more com- prehensive. There were no backward steps in his career. It was like his schemes, — consequent, — advancing un- waveringly from inception to full realiza- tion in *' Parsifal" and ** Tristan und Isolde." Wagner had courage adequate to sustain him in following his conceptions through ridicule, want, and almost utter friendlessness. No discourage- Music and Its Masters 151 ment could divert him from the even tenor of his chosen course. His early- operas, although their texts were treated with unwonted respect, gave little inti- mation of the revolution which was to be accomplished by their author, and it is extremely doubtful whether Wagner at this period had a shadowy conception even of that later Ideal, which time and experience developed, in which music and the pictorial element were not only to collaborate with, but were to repro- duce the situations and sentiments of his poems. This kind of tone painting, in which the composer endeavors to endow his musical phrases with definite significance, is justifiable and effective when they are so closely associated in performance with the motive text as to derive directness from its more tangible character. Such efforts must not be classed with so-called program music. 152 Music and Its Masters **DerFliegende Hollander," ''Rienzi/' and *' Tannhauser" might have been pro- duced through the co-operation of Weber and Meyerbeer, with Wagner's individu- ality as a flavor. In them the voices are given melodies in clear-cut form, and they contain pompous Meyerbeerisms almost approaching the bizarre. This Wagner flavor, which consisted largely of a disregard of harmonic laws and key relationships, as dictated by the pe- dantic school, caught the public, but it aroused the violent opposition of older musicians. They denounced Wagner as a crazy ignoramus and his operas as abominations. Viewed from a theoretical stand-point, there was that in Wagner's earlier works which in a measure justified his critics. He was not a good contra- puntist, and he consequently violated tenets of musical structure when con- formity would have been more adequate. Music and Its Masters 153 The relations borne by plastic musical diction to the elementary rules of tonal science are so little understood, and a clear understanding of these relations is so important, that I feel justified in re- iterating in different form what was said in a former chapter, — viz., that musical theory as a whole is but the codification of nature's adjustments. Extraordinary requirements license exceptional means and modes, but when composers aban- don the letter of musical tenets and substitute therefor the higher law of compensation, they enter upon a field in which pitfalls abound, and through which nothing but keen judgment, founded upon experienced erudition, can safely guide them. This law of compensation allows us to disregard elementary laws, when the nature of the situation in hand is such as to warrant and reconcile our musical sense to combinations or successions, 154 Music and Its Masters which would without this justification sound crude and faulty. The habit of what is called free writing is most per- nicious, for compensation must legiti- mize each irregularity or we lapse into incoherency. Wagner was a firm, but an equally thoughtful man, and while apparently undisturbed by the cyclone of criticism evoked by his compositions, saw his vulnerable points, and at once set about fortifying them. He studied counter- point exhaustively, taking Bach as his model, and memorizing many of that master's most characteristic works. He then gave the world '' Die Meister- singer" as the fruit of his labor, and therewith forever silenced honest cavil- lers who had based their adverse criti- cisms on his ignorance, for that work is a sublime example of contrapuntal vir- tuosity, and it marks the beginning of a new era in Wagner's development as a Music and Its Masters 155 musician. His orchestral settings having kept pace with his musical growth, had ripened, had become tempered, conse- quently " Die Meistersinger" is one of the most beautiful compositions of any time, and in it we have the clear an- nouncement of the new dispensation. There have been tons of literature printed, having as subjects **The Music of the Future," "Wagner," and **The Music-drama," some of the authors of which have been properly equipped (good musicians and liberally educated men), but more have been literary scavengers. The former class, having been on a war footing ever since Wag- ner became a bone of contention, are only just now beginning to discuss his creations dispassionately. Most of them were quite naturally arrayed against Wagner, for the most pungent flavor of the educated critic's writing is pedantry. He prefers traditions without originality 156 Music and Its Masters to originality which does not conform to traditions. Wagner's first works almost para- lyzed these gentlemen, and they were a long time forgetting and forgiving the shock. Their criticisms were terribly acrid, but, as I have before mentioned, were instrumental in creating the music- drama, inasmuch as through pointing out veritable faults and weaknesses they led Wagner to broaden his scholarship. These critics find it hard to lay down their arms, although the battle is over, and Wagner died in full possession of the field. The few who were from the outset in sympathy with Wagner were quite as intemperate in their laudations as were his opponents in their strictures. They were blind idolaters, and Wagner was their musical ''golden calf." The essence of the creed upon which the new dispensation is based is logical consistency. Poetry, music, and '' stage Music and Its Masters 157 business" are by it required to co-oper- ate in expressing sentiments and in car- rying the threads of dramatic schemes. Each of these arts is entirely essential to Wagner's creations. His texts are statues, which music, stage-setting, and action imbue with life. For this reason no one can hope to follow Wagner intelligently who starts without having made himself conversant with his poems. His later texts are heroic epics of no mean order. Their adaptability and musical suggestiveness are phenomenal. They could have been produced only by a musician-poet who had his completed pictures in view while writing them. They contain a vast amount of a species of word-painting, — viz., the use of words the very sounds of which are expressive. I remember well the hilarity caused among the anti-Wagnerites by the '' Nibelungen" text, which was pub- lished some years before the operas 158 Music and Its Masters were performed. Satires and parodies were written ; Wagner was described wooing his muse arrayed In fanciful vestments suiting the character of the subject under treatment. That was a happy time for his opponents. Opera texts that were not sentimental lyrics were incomprehensible. The *' Call of the Walklire" was to them the climax of inanity ; but those who have heard its musical setting will readily understand how its performance hushed these scoffers into respectful silence. I men- tion this **cair' because most musical persons have heard it, and wondered at its adaptability. Wagner bestowed the utmost care upon each and every task which he un- dertook ; his effects are, therefore, less accidental than those of any other com- poser. He was in the habit of making three manuscripts, — viz., a sketch in which the outlines of form and charac- Music and Its Masters 159 ter were defined, then a score in which contrapuntal and instrumental material were developed, and, lastly, a manu- script in which, after ample weighing and filing, each detail of dynamic mark- ing, etc., was not approximately but precisely indicated. A Wagnerian cres- cendo or decrescendo must beo-in and end with the notes and dynamic force prescribed by the master, or we miss the full realization of his pictures. In securing instrumental color he was liable to mark the various parts played together differently, ranging from forte to pianis- simo, according to the combination and registers of the instruments employed. Wagner left little or nothing to the conductor's discretion. Nevertheless, there are few who have the keen, deli- cate perception requisite to understand- ing his aims, and still fewer who have it in their power to so control their forces as to secure their fulfilment. l6o Music and Its Masters We will now look at some of Wag- ner's methods of musical treatment. In the first place, we find the Overture re- placed by the Vorspiel (prelude or in- troduction). The former, in its inde- pendent completeness, complying more or less with the exactions of the sonate form, was quite in place when operas consisted of detached pieces ; whereas the " Vorspiel," which is analogous to the dramatic prologue, is better adapted to the newer form. It is composed of, or at least it introduces, the pivotal themes of the drama which it precedes. In the prelude to *' Parsifal," which be- gins with the communion theme, Wagner has accorded to it, and to the grail and faith motives, places of honor. They are, indeed, the foundation upon which the whole drama rests, and are the keys to its situations. We find the tradi- tional closing form (Coda) conspicuous by absence, the prelude leading up to Music and Its Masters 161 and closing in the opening tones of the first act. This omission is grateful, for all careful musical listeners must have been disturbed time and again by the iong-drawn, fanfare effects that custom has placed at the end of musical pieces. They are relics of barbarism to which even Beethoven's genius could not im- part logical significance. The composer who, having finished the development of his themes, having said what he had to say, appends a closing form com- posed of either new material or of old inconsequently presented, sacrifices sym- metry and vital force. If custom required poets to attach Hallelujah-Hosanna verses to their fin- ished poems, the result would not be intrinsically more incongruous than that produced by the average musical coda. A piece of music should end roundly, with a peroration, but this peroration must be adapted to the character and l62 Music and Its Masters length of that which has preceded it, must grow out of the themes from which the piece has been developed, and form an integral part of the whole. The oft- mentioned intangibility of our art seems to induce timidity among her devotees, and unfortunately this timidity is often greatest among those who are best fitted to introduce innovations. We will next consider the vocal treat- ments of Wagner's texts. Following his course from the beginning, we find the singer's parts grow less and less melodic, but the listener, if not the singer, has more than adequate com- pensation for this loss of lyric quality in the dramatic power gained. Revert- ing to our simile of the statue, the stage setting and orchestra provide an atmos- phere, and the singer breathes into the text the breath which launches it into life. In his later dramas Wagner makes Music and Its Masters 163 the vocal parts purely musical declama- tion. He endeavors to, and usually suc- ceeds in intensifying the elocutionary effects through changes of pitch and ex- pressive rhythm, but gives the singer's convenience and voice limitations little attention. The singer's parts are, there- fore, very difficult to learn and exhaust- ing to sing, and they afford so little op- portunity for display that only a love of art, strongly flavored with self-abne- gation, could induce singers to attempt them. My study of Wagner's works has greatly increased my respect for the intellects of Wagnerian singers. Any man or woman who can sing a leading part in one of the music-dramas ac- ceptably, must have been endowed with strong throat and lungs, and must have acquired a faultless vocal method. It is almost needless to say that the texts are set without any of those old- 164 Music and Its Masters time illogical repetitions in which com- posers indulged, in order that happy thoughts — good musical episodes — might be amplified. Wagner never lost sight of his central idea, and made everything bend to its fullest realization. His orchestra does not accompany, in the common acceptation of that term, but sings into its many-voiced melody the sentiments and moods suggested by the text. The principal means used in the attainment of this end is the "Leit Motif" Its auxiliaries are the countless shades of harmonic and in- strumental color which Wagner com- manded. These **Leit Motifs" (leading and characteristic themes) constituted Wag- ner's vocabulary. They expressed to him personalities, moods, or sentiments, as the case required, and they were consequently chosen to impersonate these in his schemes. They sometimes Music and Its Masters 165 consist of a few tones, and again of phrases. They appear in varied forms to suit changing conditions, but their impersonations are only made clearer through their elastic adaptability. These themes seldom appear in the vocal parts, but Wagner makes them, through adap- tation and Instrumentation, express each shade, from sunlight to storm, from love, trust, and worship, to wrath, fear, and hate, and in this way follows his text on parallel lines, — music by the side of and reinforcing poetry. Wagner's demands on the stage-car- penter and scene-painter are so great that none but large theatres with ample means can properly realize his ideas of pictorial illustration. He possessed re- markable talent for inventing scenic effects, and disregarded cost. Wagner originated the idea of having the stage overshoot the space allotted to the orchestra, the effect of which has l66 Music and Its Masters been good in most instances where ap- plied. It has two advantages over the common placing, — viz., it brings the singer nearer his audience, which facili- tates his task of making himself under- stood, and it has a grateful tendency to suppress obstreperous brass, who have a way, when placed in front of the stage, of making singers forgotten. I have seen singers struggle with tense mus- cles and swelling veins to make a vocal climax with no other result than an heroic spectacle. When a conductor allows his brass to bury the more modest elements of his orchestra under their clangor, he shows incapacity, — either a lack of control or a coarse conception of their mission, — and as this incapacity is quite common, any mechanical device which will insure moderation on the part of our assertive friends who play the trumpets and trom- bones is worthy of commendation. Music and Its Masters 167 Now let us see what can be done towards putting ourselves still more closely in sympathy with the master, and to better prepare ourselves to fol- low his creations intelligently. Follow- ing intelligently does not imply merely the recognition of episodes of especial significance or beauty, but much more : it implies the loss of no contributive detail and an easy grasp of the com- bined means. Exhaustive study alone can make this possible. Its importance must serve to excuse my reverting to the subject of texts. One should never take a book into an opera-house, but should make it superfluous through earnest and re- peated readings at home. We should at least so familiarize ourselves with the text of works worthy of hearing, that we can anticipate situations and keep in touch with each and every detail of action and shade of meaning. This i68 Music and Its Masters having been accomplished, and having made ourselves acquainted with the more important Leit Motifs, we shall be intellectually equipped to follow the master in the development of his music- drama on the lines and through the methods we have considered. I do not wish to claim that the most favorable conditions would enable us to fully understand intentions, or to dis- cover all points of beauty and strength in one hearing ; our study should, how- ever, have placed us quite inside the cold curiosity line. We would be entitled to a creative sense akin to that felt by a co-worker : our natures would have been made acoustically receptive and responsive. CHAPTER VI WHAT ARE THE INFLUENCING FACTORS IN DECIDING MUSICAL DESTINIES? WHO IS TO BE OUR SEVENTH HIGH-PRIEST? ^ J ^ OR reasons inherent both in 1 I music itself and in man's slug- gish and prejudiced percep- tions, really great composers have usu- ally to wait longer for recognition than do those of mediocre capacities. Mu- sic that is worthy of consideration is as individual as its composer's features or his unconscious habits. It is a tonal utterance of his most intimate nature, an inarticulate but clear expression of his strongest emotions, — a shadow-pic- ture of his very soul. The more intense the nature, the stronger the emotions ; and the deeper the soul of the com- 169 170 Music and Its Masters poser, the less quickly can we appre- hend the full import of his writings, for they are characteristic of him and for- eign to us. Each period-maker adds so much to art resources and so materially modifies art methods, that he may be said to originate a musical dialect, with which our ears and minds have to be- come familiar before his poetic schemes can assume for us sustained and clear significance. Because of this alien character of pro- nounced originality, high-priestly honors are usually posthumous, for they are bestowed only upon those who have convinced the musical world of their fitness through the life-long, patient, and intelligent use of supreme endowments. It is the musical world only that has the power to confer high-priestly honors, for that ofifice is not at the disposal of composers' friends or adherents, nor of parties or clans. One must have gained Music and Its Masters 171 universal recognition as a beneficent and radically new factor in art in order to secure the requisite suffrages, and that requires so much time that but two of our six high-priests lived to realize the honor. Even Beethoven did not live to feel full assurance of immortality, but Wagner did. He knew that his innovations had been accepted by the world, that his achievements broadened the foundations of art and opened new channels for musical thought, that his individuality shone brightly across the broad sea of modern culture, a "beacon- light" of resplendent brightness, and that he was a period-maker, whose im- press upon art was too deep to wear away, for he was a musician who abated not one jot or tittle of that which he thought was art's due. This working throughout life for post- humous honors is not so depressing as it would seem at first glance, for any 172 Music and Its Masters man, however modest, if blessed with supreme endowments, must feel his power, and be buoyed up by the cer- tainty of ultimate recognition. The art love, steadfastness, ambition, individu- ality, and imagination of truly great men are proof against the struggles and discouragements of the artist's existence. Time is then our final tribunal, the only adjuster of musical values who makes no errors in judgment. The individual judge gauges the merits of contemporaneous composers, guided by his or her personal impressions. Time gathers composite impressions made upon races of music-lovers during dec- ades, and her verdicts, based upon these impressions, are final. We are sometimes nonplussed, and even rebel- lious, when the success of our favorite composer, or of some especially sympa- thetic piece of music, proves ephemeral, but the fittest always survives, and the Music and Its Masters 173 fittest is the composer or work which, in addition to the indispensable technical and aesthetic qualities, is pervaded by the richest vein of altruistic individuality. If time be our final tribunal, then pro- fessional critics are the advocates who present the claims of artists at the bar of her court. These advocates differ widely in ability and in character. A few of them have great learning, acute perceptions, and honesty ; they will advo- cate no cause that is prejudicial to the interests of art, our muse having, as it were, endowed them with a super- re- tainer. Such advocacy embodies the highest and best of which the limitations of individuality admit. From this ideal standard professional critics grade down- ward until they reach assertive, preju- diced, and sometimes malicious igno- rance. In passing down the scale we first find capacity without the essential confidence in convictions (timid ability is 174 Music and Its Masters always a weak factor in adjusting affairs, whether artistic or material), then hon- esty and good-will unsupported by capacity, then capacity biassed by preju- dice or self-interest, and last and worst, the pettifogger. These classes show arrogance, and attract attention (tem- porarily) in inverse ratio to their abili- ties. If we scan the history of our tribunal, we find that the more assertive the advocate the smaller his sphere of influence. The great public is the jury in this court, and its decisions, although ulti- mately wise and just, are always so de- layed by the babel of pleas that dins in its ears, that I feel justified in devoting a little space to these ** moulders of opinion," and to facilitate my purpose will use a simile drawn from nature, which is less whimsical and more reliable than man. Music is like a sensitive plant, — it Music and Its Masters 175 flourishes only when each and every con- dition is favorable to its growth. For this reason those who find pleasure, edi- fication, and comfort in its subtle quali- ties should imitate the skilled gardener in his watchful and discriminating culture of flowers. A professional gardener is to horticulture what a critic should be to art. Each is supposed to bring trained faculties to his task, but the gardener, familiar with the principles that govern flower growth, studies the natures of his germs, and then adapts soil, tempera- ture, etc., to the requirements of each. He thus starts out with one material ad- vantage over his art confrere, in that his experience enables him to recognize the genera of his germs and to anticipate results. He deals with seeds, roots, slips, and bulbs ; the art critic with the mysteries of individuality, of which he most often judges from the impressions made upon his susceptibilities by a mo- 176 Music and Its Masters mentary contact of its outward mani- festations. These manifestations are seldom full and trustworthy indexes of creative capacity, especially in the cases of young composers, because of the unfavorable conditions that so often attend upon their development and presentation. Communities are gardens in which music thrives, barely exists (the most common condition), or entirely fails to take root. Propagation is the crucial test of vitalizing qualities. A community that can produce new varieties, really audacious talents, must possess a high degree of fertility. The composers to be found living and creating in any given place are therefore reflections of their musical environment, for the faculties of musical organisms are more sensitive even than music itself. Transplanted music will continue to exist under con- ditions that afford no incitement to earn- Music and Its Masters 177 est creation, nor the elements from which virility may be drawn. Beethoven's works interest communities in which his faculties would have remained latent. The legitimate functions of criticism are to seek out and to nurture true talent and to guide public discrimination in its initial judgment. Critics and reviewers are experts to whose expressed opinions the printing-press imparts degrees of convincing power not always comporta- ble with their merit, and spreads them broadcast for good or ill. Printed criti- cism, because of this cogent quality, and because it appeals, and may repeatedly appeal, — being in fixed form, — to so broad a radius of intelligence, should be the most powerful as well as the most active agency in creating the conditions essential to musical growth ; but a care- ful review of the past and present rela- tions of criticism to art culture would, to my mind, convince any unbiassed 12 178 Music and Its Masters thinker that the decisions of our court had been delayed and not facilitated by the average advocate, and that the pro- ductivity of our garden had never been increased by the ministrations of pro- fessional gardeners. Nevertheless, printed criticism has a momentary influence. We do not nec- essarily surrender when confronted by criticisms at variance with our own ideas, but the undue weight with which printed matter is endowed often causes even expert opinion to waver, protest to the contrary as it may. Printed news is not always authentic, nor are printed opinions on finance, political economy, sports, weather, etc., infallible, although usually written by specialists ; but these matters, being ma- terial, adjust themselves, and their edi- torial short-comings seldom do irrepara- ble harm ; whereas our sensitive art, the elements of which are emotional, and Music and Its Masters 179 the supersensitive organisms which are blessed with art productivity, are less capable of recovering from the shock incident to misconception and misrepre- sentation. Wagner was unique in this respect, for he endured years of calumny and injustice without flinching. His nature was dual, as if his art instinct had been grafted into an heroic character, like a noble oak, from which it drew vitality, and whose wide-spread roots imparted stability to its convictions without in- fusing into them any other suggestion of its stern elements. Were all talented composers as firmly rooted as Wagner, there would be less reason for protesting against ignorance and carelessness in print. The second question propounded in the headlines of this chapter can be dis- creetly considered, but it can receive no conclusive answer until time's verdict is i8o Music and Its Masters rendered. We can weigh the impres- sions made upon our individual sus- ceptibilities by the quaHties of the more prominent candidates for high-priestly honors, and compare these with like individual conceptions of ideal attributes, but the result of our speculations must necessarily partake more of the char- acter of a weather-vane, subject to the caprice of changing conditions, than of a finger-post, giving reliable direction to our anticipations. Of all the composers of recent times, Brahms attracted the largest following of musicians, and with right, for the volume of his worthy creations is larger than that produced by any of his con- temporaries. He wrote a vast number of songs, ensemble pieces for a great variety of instrumental combinations, accompanied and unaccompanied piano- forte pieces, and symphonies, overtures, etc., for the grand orchestra. His work Music and Its Masters 181 is usually characterized by rich har- monies, melodic voice-leading, trans- parent form, and a varying amount of spontaneity that at times fails to con- ceal evident effort. This effort makes itself felt in peculiar and even grotesque harmonic successions and rhythms, and it is traceable through all periods of his career. These, which to me are forced methods, are the only features that indi- vidualize Brahms's music. He is great- est when self-forgetful, and these unnatu- ral features bespeak self-consciousness. Schumann, who was, as I said in a pre- vious chapter, Brahms's musical god- father, was a genius with a clearly de- fined individuality, the complete and natural expression of which obliged him to invent means to supplement those that he had inherited from his prede- cessors. These invented means were peculiar harmonic compounds and erratic accents. Schumann usually employed i82 Music and Its Masters these devices with grateful results ; for he makes us feel that they are essential to the development of full significance in his tonal schemes. Genius has a magical power over resources and modes, often transforming eccentricities into felicitous, expressive means, and endowing that which would be chaotic in other hands with logical import. Brahms seems to have been dazzled by these extreme manifestations of his great prototype's individuality. He not only adopted, but exaggerated these, and made them the distinguishing feat- ures of his style. He was a masterly contrapuntist, had a clear sense of form, handled the orchestra well, although he never exhausted its resources, and was always a logical thinker. His skill in the treatment of themes was so astound- ing that he often imparted significance to trivial motives (vide the ** Academic Overture" and his sets of variations), but Music and Its Masters 183 he was not a great initial inventor (an originator of pregnant themes) nor was he a resourceful colorist. As I said before, Brahms was greatest when self-forgetful, for at such times the artificial element dropped out of his dic- tion and he became a masterful musician, possessed of all the qualities but one that have characterized our priestly line. This missing quality is to my mind the most essential of all, — viz., a natural, dis- tinguishing, and pervading individuality. Tschaikowski received brief mention while we were considering Russia's ser- vices to art in the fourth chapter. Be- cause of Russia's half-closed door her art has, until recent times, been very much isolated. For this reason Tschai- kowski's claims have not even now been fully laid before our tribunal. It is a peculiar but characteristic circumstance that America anticipated Europe by sev- eral years in her knowledge and appre- 184 Music and Its Masters ciation of this great creator. America is constantly eager for novelty, and has not learned to seek it at home ; Ger- many, and in a less degree the other European countries, feel complacency in their own achievements, and correspond- ing distrust and intolerance of foreign products. It was but six years ago that Germany was made aware of the fact that a great genius had lived, created, and died out- side of her sphere of direct influence, and almost without her knowledge. Tschai- kowski had naturally been known in a way to well-read German musicians, but it required such a blow as was struck by Professor Leopold Auer to draw from our tocsin a peal sufficiently vibrant to penetrate to the farthermost confines of the musical world and to herald the coming of a new hero. Never was an act of justice and love more conscien- tiously and adequately accomplished. Music and Its Masters 185 Auer showed rare judgment in the se- lection of his programme. His evident desire was to display as many features of Tschaikowski's versatile genius as possible. He therefore chose the schol- arly second, instead of the more asser- tively emotional sixth symphony. The violin concert, the " Nutcracker" suite, and the symphonic poem ** Francesca da Rimini" followed. I know of no other composer of any time whose works could furnish an equal variety of defined moods, each bearing the unmistakable stamp of his individuality. Professor Auer conducted the orches- tral works and played the concerto with a skill which drew its inspiration from the reverent memory of his lost friend. His exaltation infected the orchestral players, and finally the audience, mak- ing the evening memorable, and sending out waves of enthusiasm that have carried Tschaikowski's name and music i86 Music and Its Masters to the remotest corners of the musical world. In my previous mention of Tschai- kowski I accorded him virtues that ''place him at the head of symphonists of his time." He had, however, two frailties, one of which more or less per- vades his works, while the other shows itself but seldom. The former is a too great fealty to his themes as at first an- nounced, and the latter is an occasional tendency to be melodramatic. Plastic compositions must be true to the spirit, but not to the initial form of their themes, for pregnant themes possess many phases of suggestiveness, and the more of these phases a composer feels and displays, the richer the homogeneity of his creations. Were it not for these slight weak- nesses in Tschaikowski's work I should not hesitate to predict that time would make him her choice for our seventh Music and Its Masters 187 high-priest, and he may win the honor in spite of them, for his great quaUties are overpowering. There are no known candidates who are worthy of comparison with these two giants, Brahms and Tschaikowski, one mechanically and the other emotion- ally musical. CHAPTER VII A SUMMARY OF MUSIc's ATTRIBUTES. WHAT CONSTITUTES MUSICAL INTELLI- GENCE ? ' V I LTHOUGH some of the attri- W B butes of our art have received repeated mention in previous chapters, I feel that a short summary of their distinguishing qualities might serve to throw the outlines of my sketch into clearer relief. I shall seek this back- ground without resorting to technical analysis. Before undertaking this task I should like to emphasize the oft-announced fact that music is a thing apart. It, like language and the other arts, follows lines that lead from individuality to out- side intelligence. In the case of music, x88 Music and Its Masters 189 these lines start in the innermost recess of the composer's emotional nature, and connecting with lines that lead through our intellects into the equally secret chambers of our natures, bring to us sentiments intelligible, but too intimate to endure analysis. Civilized nations have long associated rhythms and moods, — i.e.y a marked four- quarter measure has always been char- acteristic of the march, etc., but rhythm, although it is music's heart-pulsation, is only the metre for musical thought. Scientists teach us that certain sounds are adapted to conjunctive use as chords because of the mathematical relation ex- isting between the vibrations, of which they are the audible results. They go on from this beginning through the gamut of musical learning, and close without having given us a key to inter- pretation ; so music is, and must re- main, an untranslatable language of the igo Music and Its Masters soul, producing effects and inducing emotions, using the intellect as a me- dium only. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, " Music which is translatable is neces- sarily of a low order." This sentiment is true, and it voices a fine sense of music's nature and limitations, remark- able in a layman, for there exists a dis- position to pull the creations of the great masters down to earth, and to make them tell tales of earthly experi- ences. Music's purity, strength, and beauty are always sacrificed through attempts to materialize it, for great music results from the natural development and the felicitous expression of characteristic musical thought, and not in the ingen- ious tonal illustrations of scenes or sentiments, which have been, or might better be, expressed in words, because of their material character. Music and Its Masters 191 Pure, complete conceptions cannot take form in other than sensitive na- tures ; sensitive to the influences of life's surroundings, receiving impres- sions from the bird's song, the flower's perfume, the storm's might, the moun- tain's grandeur, the rippling stream, the peaceful valley, and filled, at least for the time, with love for God and man ; nor could such conceptions pass to ex- pression through intellects that had not been tempered, refined, and broadened to grasp all the resources that tonal science offers. It is in artificial music only, — born of purpose and not of inspiration, — or in the work of unripe musicians, that sci- ence obtrudes itself In other words, when the means are noticeable, they have either been unskilfully employed, or the composer has been actuated by the ambition to display scholarly qualities regardless of aesthetic considerations. 192 Music and Its Masters How often we hear works in which any possible sparks of sensibility and spontaneity have been smothered be- neath loads of counterpoint and the- matic development, which are devoid of significance because not evolved in log- ical sequence ! Drawing and anatomy are to painting and sculpture, and gram- mar, rhetoric, and metre are to poetry, what musical science is to musical art, inasmuch as in each the capacity to pro- duce, or to appreciate what others have produced, is largely proportioned to one's knowledge of these structural laws. Temperament, natural endowments, culture, and habit play such important roles in creating individual conceptions of beauty that we can only consider as our criterion the judgment of people existing in our own environment. The first essential of beauty is sym- metry. A rose cannot be beautiful un- less gracefully formed and poised. The Music and Its Masters 193 Creator's hand may have tinted it incom- parably, may have distilled the daintiest fragrance for its portion, but these will avail naught if it has inherited ungrace- ful proportions, or if the world has dis- torted it during its period of growth. As the rose requires color and per- fume to perfect its charms, so each ani- mate and inanimate creation in this world requires its suitable accessories to symmetry. According to our standard, woman should have a lithe, plastic form, with fluc- tuating color and an all-pervading fra- grance of intellectual modesty ; whereas man should have a sinewy form, bold and strong, the color of perfect health, and the fragrance of intellectual fear- lessness. Each must possess clearly defined individuality. God's creations are never exact du- plicates, and still we have numerous beautiful roses and women and Apollo- 13 194 Music and Its Masters like men, each with appropriate attri- butes, and each satisfying the aesthetic taste of some one person or class of persons, because of the affinity to that object of the personal ideal which was implanted in this person or these per- sons by God, and which has been nur- tured by conditions of life. As in everything else that lays claim to beauty, so in music, symmetry must un- derlie all other attributes. The laws reg- ulating musical symmetry are so rigid, when viewed from one stand-point, and are so elastic when viewed from an- other and higher, that it is not at all strange that young composers stand aghast when they reach the neutral point of receptivity from which these apj)arently contradictory conditions first manifest themselves. But these condi- tions are not really contradictory, for prescribed form is but a properly pro- portioned and adjusted skeleton, an out- Music and Its Masters 195 lining framework, subject to such modi- fications as will adapt it to the character of our schemes. These modifications must not, however, involve the use of eccentric lines, or the omission of es- sential members of the body musical, for such action would result in malfor- mations. The composer, having articulated his form, clothes it in such melodic and harmonic material, moulded into such shape, as will realize his fancy's ideal. The outcome of exhaustive knowledge, directed with justifiable freedom, is mu- sical symmetry. The next attribute is, as in the case of the rose, color ; which in music is more or less attractive according to the rich- ness of the material applied and the ar- tistic skill and care bestowed upon its arrangement. There are several sources to which the tone painter may resort for what 196 Music and Its Masters might be termed primary colors, — viz., the human voice, the characteristic quali- ties of instruments, harmonic compounds, and rhythm, the combining and blending of these primary colors so as to produce the most effective shade for each episode, not only when considered by itself, but also in its relations to the whole pano- ramic succession of the finished picture, is the problem that so few solve. Most composers seem to feel quite satisfied if they succeed in startling us with uncom- mon combinations, however crude and irrelevant. Next comes sentiment, which is to music what fragrance is to the rose, and what intellectuality is to woman. All three would be hollow mockeries without this parallel endowment. A piece of music must express a human desire, a belief, or an emotion, otherwise it is but empty sound. These three attributes — symmetry, Music and Its Masters 197 color, and sentiment — are at the com- mand of all talented musicians, but the all-pervading individuality that so adjusts form, so arranges color, and gives such adequate expression to each shade of feeling as to create natural but unique tone pictures, is possessed by few com- posers of any given generation. So-called original music may be nothing more than the fruit of good taste displayed in the arrangement of laboriously sought peculiarities of means and modes, and it is therefore only outwardly individual ; but music whose themes spring from a pronounced indi- vidual feeling, which feeling moulds its form and makes each contributive detail conform to the spirit of the initial im- pulse, is truly original. Individual music is then radically original, but original music is not necessarily individual. A spark of individual genius, because of its clean brilliancy, sends out its rays igS Music and Its Masters into illimitable space ; whereas a whole bonfire of purposeful eccentricities cur- tains its flames with non-radiating ele- ments, illuminating but a small field. Now we must step backward beyond that point where science begins to shed her light upon natural laws. What agency produces life, starts and keeps in motion the machinery of our bodies, and places a soul behind our features ? The same agency must guide us in the conception of musical ideas, or they will lack all living elements. This power is God : God in us, — a well-spring of inspiration for those whose suscepti- bilities are sufficiently acute to feel its influence. Science can teach us to produce rich harmonic successions and instrumental colors, but it cannot impart the magical power of spontaneous and sequential growth that characterizes great compo- sitions, nor can it show us how to identify Music and Its Masters 199 the spirit which pervades such works. Any one can prepare himself to weigh the intellectual properties of a musical work, but the spirit which these proper- ties are supposed to clothe will not materialize for unsympathetic souls. Herein exists the reason for differences of opinion entertained by cultured and honest critics. Some works possessing all the attri- butes of greatness must be often heard before they begin to enlist our sympa- thies. Others, equally inspired, fail to awaken responsiveness in certain per- sons. Differently constituted natures cannot be expected to vibrate in unison, and as real music is soul vibration made audible, it seeks responsiveness in our natures, as any given tone lays hold of objects whose vibrations are sympa- thetic, causing them to emit consonant sounds. The impression made by music can 200 Music and Its Masters only be similar even — in character and intensity — where the hearers are equally endowed and cultured, and are equally conditioned mentally to surrender them- selves to its influence. As long as each member of the human family is distin- guished by individuality, so long will the impressions made by the intangible ele- ments in art be diverse. Suggestiveness is the highest quality with which a poet, an orator, a painter, a sculptor, or a musician can endow his productions. Its existence implies a clear conception, rooted in sentiment and adequately expressed through adaptable means, but well within the line of de- marcation which separates logical terse- ness from redundancy. Who can listen to Beethoven, Schu- bert, Schumann, or Wagner and not find himself in a dreamland, peopled not so much by children of the great master s brain, as by the offspring of his own Music and Its Masters 201 fancy ? These results are the fruits of suggestiveness. Routine often leads to diffuseness ; the lack of it always results in illogical and inadequate expression ; but routine directed by genius seldom fails to dis- cover the vital line which marks the boundary of completeness. On one side of this line we have inland waters, flowing from the author's fancy : on the other, and fed therefrom, the open sea of semi-conscious cerebration, with its capricious winds and tidal currents. If a writer succeed in enlisting our sympathies, the flow of his thoughts will impart the impetus requisite to carry us beyond this line ; but here his direct influence ceases, for the stream of his fancies becomes merged in the ocean of each of our lives* memories, hopes, and experiences, and each having received an impulse comporting with his recep- tivity and habits of mind, sails away 202 Music and Its Masters upon his course propelled by unfettered imagination. MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE. A symphony is like an epic poem ; its salient points rather than its rounded whole appeal to the average reader or listener. The striking episodes of un- familiar compositions in large form, are prone to come out into undue promi- nence, and so blind us to their true significance as phases of sequential de- velopment. The sustained effort, and experience demanded by a symphony, are the supreme tests of a composer. We therefore have no right to an opin- ion in regard to the merits or demerits of a large earnest work until study and hearing have, in our understanding, joined its episodes and given them importful continuity. Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Wagner were endowed with great talent, Music and Its Masters 203 which indefatigable energy advanced to genius. They worked upon a plane far above other men. We cannot hope to feel what they felt while creating, but we can work, the while knowing that as we approach their level in knowledge and experience our minds will better assist our understanding of their con- ceptions. Their joys, their sorrows, their triumphs, their every sentiment should find response in our hearts ; but the impression made by music can only be distinct after we have made ourselves acoustically receptive, after our natures have become attuned like aeolian harps to responsiveness when waves of melody strike upon them. Our minds can be sounding-boards, which gather and reflect upon our souls the tone pictures we hear. A wooden surface must be smooth, prop- erly formed, and perfectly poised, or it will not collect, focus, and reflect sound 204 Music and Its Masters effects. In the same way our mental sounding-boards must be properly pre- pared, or they will not collect details and reflect sentiments. This prepara- tion involves the use of all available means for shaping, refining, and poising. The earnest study of any branch of learning broadens, and the contempla- tion of the beautiful in nature and art quickens, the perceptions. Pedantry — another name for self-suffi- cient ignorance — will warp and so dis- tort our reflector as to mar its efficiency, making it unjust alike to the subject and to us. The ear should be capable of trans- mitting correctly, and if possible in de- tail. Some persons are endowed with absolute pitch. These fortunates, if they persist in careful listening, can be- come able to follow an intricate compo- sition, in its modulations, thematic de- velopment, etc., more easily, as well as Music and Its Masters 205 more accurately, through hearing than through reading the printed page. This ability marks a long stride towards sym- pathy with the composer, especially as its exercise involves undivided attention to the subject in hand. The absence of absolute pitch is no indication of lack of talent, and those who cannot acquire it have no reason for discouragement. Every ordinarily gifted student can educate his hearing to recognize intervals (seconds, thirds, etc.) and the tendency of chords, as based on the relations existing between the tones of which they are composed — to each other and to the key. We should strive to make ourselves good mediums. Refined creations can- not appeal to crude natures. The sav- age, although sometimes possessing poetic instincts, prefers his own music, with its monotonous weirdness, to that which more civilized communities can 2o6 Music and Its Masters offer. Our right to pass judgment upon others' creations will therefore depend largely on the distance we are removed from the savage in the process of evo- lution. THE END UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Fine schedule: 25 cents on first day overdue 50 cents on fourth day overdue One dollar on seventh day overdue. JUN 18 1. '■■/ JUN 1 Q,3R JAN 3 1948 L/BRARy USE M/\R 22 ]952 LD 21-100m-12,'46(A2012sl6)4120 8Apr'56PL MAR 3 1964 KlLito UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA UBRARY