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@@ -1,38 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Musical Criticisms, by Arthur Johnstone - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Musical Criticisms - -Author: Arthur Johnstone - -Release Date: February 15, 2013 [EBook #42097] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSICAL CRITICISMS *** - - - - -Produced by Veronika Redfern, Adrian Mastronardi and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42097 *** Musical Criticisms @@ -119,49 +85,49 @@ CONTENTS. "Parsifal" 53 The "Ring" at Bayreuth (1904) 56 - =Chapter VI.--Tchaikovsky= + =Chapter VI.--Tchaïkovsky= Symphony No. 5 and other works 63 Symphony No. 4 67 Overture, "Romeo and Juliet" 69 Symphony No. 5 71 - Symphony No. 6 ("Pathetique") 75 + Symphony No. 6 ("Pathétique") 75 =Chapter VII.--Sir Edward Elgar= "King Olaf" 78 The "Enigma" Variations 81 Overture, "Cockaigne" 85 The "Dream of Gerontius," Birmingham Festival 89 - " " Duesseldorf 92 + " " Düsseldorf 92 " " Preliminary Article 95 - " " Halle Concerts, Manchester 98 + " " Hallé Concerts, Manchester 98 "The Apostles," Birmingham Festival 104 " Preliminary Article 108 - " Halle Concerts, Manchester 111 + " Hallé Concerts, Manchester 111 Overture, "In the South" 116 The "Coronation Ode" 117 =Chapter VIII.--Richard Strauss= - "Don Quixote," Rhenish Musical Festival at Duesseldorf 119 + "Don Quixote," Rhenish Musical Festival at Düsseldorf 119 "Don Juan," Preliminary Article 122 - " Halle Concerts 124 + " Hallé Concerts 124 "Till Eulenspiegel" 126 "Sehnsucht" 128 Strauss's conducting of Liszt's "Faust" Symphony, - Lower Rhine Musical Festival, Duesseldorf 129 - "Tod und Verklaerung" 131 + Lower Rhine Musical Festival, Düsseldorf 129 + "Tod und Verklärung" 131 "Also sprach Zarathustra" 133 "Ein Heldenleben," Liverpool Orchestral Society 136 Quartet in C minor, for Piano and Strings 139 =Chapter IX.--Chamber Music= - Dvorak. Quintet in A Major 142 + Dvoràk. Quintet in A Major 142 " Quartet, Op. 96 143 Beethoven. Razoumoffsky Quartet (No. 3) 145 Bach. Concerto in D minor for two Violins 146 Beethoven. Quartet in B flat major 147 - Tchaikovsky. Quartet in D major 148 + Tchaïkovsky. Quartet in D major 148 " Trio in A minor, Op. 50 148 - Cesar Franck. Quintet in F minor 151 + César Franck. Quintet in F minor 151 =Chapter X.--Piano Playing= Reisenauer 153 @@ -295,7 +261,7 @@ admitted that he made no serious attempt to succeed, and that here, as at Oxford later, the prospect of an examination proved to be the reverse of an incentive to work. Perhaps it was fortunate for him that he failed, for though he would have found a great interest in the natives -(and extended his _repertoire_ of tricks) he would have been repelled by +(and extended his _répertoire_ of tricks) he would have been repelled by the average Anglo-Indian; besides, his abilities did not lie in the direction of legal and political administration. In October, 1880, Johnstone came up to Keble College, Oxford, and he quickly had a small @@ -336,7 +302,7 @@ perfectly built sentences, which came so naturally to him that we have heard him discharge one of them the moment after opening his eyes in the morning. They can best be illustrated by his more familiar style in his writings and letters; the latter, indeed, give a fairly exact reflex of -his talk. A _flaneur_ of the best kind, he observed closely and +his talk. A _flâneur_ of the best kind, he observed closely and curiously; in spite of long spells of apparent idleness, the alert quality of his mind never showed the faintest trace of slackness. He described vividly and accurately; and he had a remarkable gift for @@ -373,7 +339,7 @@ memories can give the impression of what he wanted. It was a sufficiently rare ambition among the Oxford young men of our time, though often enough professed. He wanted art and beauty. This desire, of course, in others often was a cant; there were scholars and -verse-makers--more or less of the "aesthetic" type--sentimental and hard +verse-makers--more or less of the "æsthetic" type--sentimental and hard at bottom like most such persons, who cultivated beauty, and have usually come to nothing except prosperity. Johnstone was of another race to these; they never heard of him; he did not care for the main chance; @@ -419,12 +385,12 @@ perhaps, the strongest of all--was supplied by the French literature of the century, from the Romantic School onwards. It is no wonder, therefore, that the reaction from the High Church influences and surroundings of his youth was severe and complete, and that his highly -aesthetic nature demanded the fullest artistic and intellectual freedom. -The so-called "aesthetic movement," as we have before implied, left him +æsthetic nature demanded the fullest artistic and intellectual freedom. +The so-called "æsthetic movement," as we have before implied, left him untouched. He would have nothing to do with the attempt to symbolise and revive a civilisation that had utterly passed away, nor with the deliberate neglect of the modern world, and its most intense and living -art--Music. Johnstone had not much mediaeval sense, and was sparing in +art--Music. Johnstone had not much mediæval sense, and was sparing in his appreciation of Rossetti, to whom he became unjust. What he liked best was "Jenny," though he was rightly critical on the unsound streaks in its rhetoric. It was first brought home to him, as to others of his @@ -451,7 +417,7 @@ befriend in his secret, chivalrous and effectual fashion, finally married some one decent and respectable. Concealing the place and circumstance, he afterwards cast the incident of the "Fantine of Shotover" (we also conceal, of course, the name of the village) into a -kind of prose sketch or _poeme_, which he finished when he was about +kind of prose sketch or _poème_, which he finished when he was about twenty-six, re-wrote twice, and thought of printing. It is unfortunately not now to be traced. Its musical, exalted prose, if inexperienced in form, gave genuine promise in that kind of composition; but he never to @@ -465,14 +431,14 @@ ways, especially if he is also an artist and has strength of temperament. He may be personally entangled through his sympathies, and make ill worse. He may be superior, and spoil everything by clumsy missionary benevolence, hard of hand. It is something if he can get -behind the ordinary, blind, damnatory formulae of society. This however, +behind the ordinary, blind, damnatory formulæ of society. This however, is not so difficult to a free mind. What is harder is to do it, and yet to see the facts without mere theorising, without the cumber of rhetorical and literary sentiment that obscures them. A Scotch-descended brain is useful at this point. In our memory Johnstone rose to the occasion thus presented, and acted and judged with balance. But we are more concerned now with the road by which he arrived at his force of -sympathy. AEstheticism of the rootless academic kind had, it is evident, +sympathy. Æstheticism of the rootless academic kind had, it is evident, no hold upon him; he was too angry to be precious; but his motive power at bottom was that of the artist, as it was surely not that of the radical theorist or philanthropic organiser; although it was, if we use @@ -484,7 +450,7 @@ marred by some rough contact, and then marred more by social punishment, and seldom retrieved, even in part--as in the particular instance it chanced to be retrieved--by any fortunate and final escape. All this revolts the deepest of human feelings, which distinguishes us from most -of the beasts, namely the aesthetic feeling, which at this point happens +of the beasts, namely the æsthetic feeling, which at this point happens to coincide closely with the religious. A certain depth and rarity were thus super-added to the plain good feeling and kindliness of the man; and we can draw these facts from the jealous hiding-place of the past @@ -597,8 +563,8 @@ and but little French, so he was forced from the outset to express himself in a strange tongue and make shift to understand it. Early in October he entered the Conservatorium as a student, and engaged himself to take the year's course. His chief friend was M. Sidney Vantyn, now -Professor of the Piano at the Liege Conservatoire, and then in his last -year of study. They met in the class of Professor Eibenschuetz, one of +Professor of the Piano at the Liège Conservatoire, and then in his last +year of study. They met in the class of Professor Eibenschütz, one of the most severe masters there, who made no allowance for Johnstone's previous amateur training, and was rather harsh and discouraging. He knew no English and Johnstone's German was still elementary, so Vantyn, @@ -615,7 +581,7 @@ sketch of a _Valse de Concert_. This composition was what one would have expected from Johnstone--bright, original, thorough. At my request he completed the _Valse_ which I played shortly afterwards at a concert, where it met with a decided success. A little later it was sold to a -music publisher at Liege. He soon left Herr Eibenschuetz for Dr. +music publisher at Liège. He soon left Herr Eibenschütz for Dr. Klauwell, with whom he studied the piano and harmony." Among the other professors at the Conservatorium were Humperdinck, afterwards famous as the composer of _Hansel und Gretel_, and Gustav Jensen, the brother of @@ -674,7 +640,7 @@ brief--a period of _recueillement_ before embarking upon the new career which he had chosen. In the March following, 1889, he received an offer to go as tutor to the -young son of Prince Abamelek in Podolia, a province of Southern Russia. +young son of Prince Abamélek in Podolia, a province of Southern Russia. The following account of his journey is interesting:-- "I left Berlin on Thursday morning at 8.30; the stage through Galicia, @@ -750,9 +716,9 @@ forest, and the aspect of the whole country is _riant_. "I have not yet seen much of the _kirchliches Wesen_. The priest at Osipoffka, I gathered, is a man who has to get in a mass as often as he -is sober enough. The Abameleks do not receive him, and never go to +is sober enough. The Abaméleks do not receive him, and never go to Church while there. In any case, I do not think the Princess is -particularly _devote_. She is of Polish descent, and her family having +particularly _dévote_. She is of Polish descent, and her family having given up Western Catholicism, have never become, I suppose, enthusiastic as Russian orthodox. @@ -761,7 +727,7 @@ though not without promise of beauty, is at present in a somewhat gaping and lumbering stage. The younger one is much smaller, though only a little younger than her sister, also of better intelligence, if worse temper. She laughs with a curious _abandon_ and is full of -_calineries_, and is two totally different persons when pleased and +_câlineries_, and is two totally different persons when pleased and bored. "Master Paul has not the faintest resemblance that I can trace to either @@ -774,7 +740,7 @@ mouth like a cherry, make up a face which is no false promise of his vivacity of temperament. It changes in the hundredth part of a second from bubbling laughter to a sort of Last Judgment seriousness. -"He wags his little _tete de Polichinelle_ over his victuals, and +"He wags his little _tête de Polichinelle_ over his victuals, and converses with them in several languages. Sometimes his mother interrupts him and asks if he knows what he is saying, when he swears that he hasn't spoken for a quarter of an hour. _Pauvre petit bijou_ she @@ -789,9 +755,9 @@ until he had silently put down a bribe of two roubles, and who then shook him warmly by the hand. He was full of tales; he told of the English journalist, so aggressively and deliberately English that he would not uncover before the Tsar's portrait in a hairdresser's shop; of -the Prince Abamelek, who was always talking of taking him out shooting, +the Prince Abamélek, who was always talking of taking him out shooting, but never did so; of the Princess, who feared that her little Paul was -"trop jeune encore pour profiter de son esprit eminemment cultive"; of +"trop jeune encore pour profiter de son esprit eminemment cultivé"; of the social tyranny of Russian orthodoxy, which drove free-thinking persons of quality in the country to church and sacrament at all the Christian festivals; and, finally, of his shortness of funds which @@ -846,7 +812,7 @@ operations, watched the worst things, and even gave his help, which was more than once invited owing to his deftness and neatness of handling. In this way he got over any shrinking of the nerves. In Edinburgh he also managed to find some amusement. He was a foreigner in his -adaptiveness to restaurant life, and found a quiet French cafe to his +adaptiveness to restaurant life, and found a quiet French café to his taste, where he took his visitors. The odd stratification of Edinburgh society into the various aristocracies of the country, University, professions and commerce, and its broad Scotch democratic feeling, @@ -866,7 +832,7 @@ demanded nicety of expression. York Powell, writing to a friend in June, Above all, his musical opportunities were good and varied, and he took the fullest advantage of them. Music in Edinburgh had, for many years, maintained a high standard. The orchestral concerts were second only to -those conducted by Halle and Richter; the latter brought his own band +those conducted by Hallé and Richter; the latter brought his own band occasionally, and every solo player of eminence came there from time to time. He found many congenial friends, and was a frequent guest at the houses of Mrs. Sellar, the widow of the Professor of Humanity at @@ -962,7 +928,7 @@ road." Johnstone's interest in music was becoming more and more intense. In the intervals of his school work he composed a Gavotte which had a quaint origin. He was one day in a music publisher's shop in Edinburgh, when he -saw a gavotte on the counter which had won a prize of L5 or L10 offered +saw a gavotte on the counter which had won a prize of £5 or £10 offered by the firm for the best composition in gavotte form submitted to them. "And is this your prize gavotte?" said Johnstone, "Well, if I couldn't compose a better gavotte than that in the time it takes to write it down @@ -1049,9 +1015,9 @@ problems of life. The purely technical and executive side of these arts appealed less to him, and so, to take one instance, he soon outgrew his early enthusiasm for Swinburne, wondered "whether he ever actually gets there," and was even too severe in revulsion. Intentional obscurity -irritated him. Mallarme and his school he would not attempt to +irritated him. Mallarmé and his school he would not attempt to understand. His suspicions indeed were well founded, for at the last -Mallarme in his lecture on "La Musique et les Lettres" had arrived at +Mallarmé in his lecture on "La Musique et les Lettres" had arrived at forecasting a new future for music when the sound and rhythm of words would replace the more clumsy and material tones of instruments. @@ -1108,7 +1074,7 @@ a crowned saint; and I cannot believe in her story, perhaps from being too young. It may be that the remembrance of Ruth and other such works, while reading Fantine, misled me; that the escape from the high-pew and hassock flavour of Methodism to Hugo's 'prophetic soul of the wide -world' blinded. Yet, when a work like 'Les Miserables,' with the +world' blinded. Yet, when a work like 'Les Misérables,' with the prodigious activity of its dramatic impulse, takes in its sweep the story of Fantine, something may surely be expected, if ever a writer is to be adequate on such a subject, and, I cannot but think, rightly. The @@ -1121,7 +1087,7 @@ death are forgotten for the angel-benediction at her grave. And is it nothing to have achieved that this benediction should have been possible after such a life?... -"Yes, 'Les Miserables,' notwithstanding incidental impossibilities, +"Yes, 'Les Misérables,' notwithstanding incidental impossibilities, albeit ever in extremes, looms in my mind as incomparably the greatest thing in fiction with which I am acquainted, and the longer ago it gets since I read it and the more I read, the stronger this impression grows. @@ -1227,9 +1193,9 @@ treacheries committed by that governor--yet I sympathise with the temper that does this, and believe that it has its roots in a genuine and manly feeling, the feeling that I tried to suggest at the beginning. -"Hardy is a strong example of that curious, inverted Manichaeism so -characteristic of our time--a sort of mediaeval horror of the grossness -of matter, balanced by a most unmediaeval sense of the utter madness of +"Hardy is a strong example of that curious, inverted Manichæism so +characteristic of our time--a sort of mediæval horror of the grossness +of matter, balanced by a most unmediæval sense of the utter madness of insulting and despising matter, seeing that the tyranny of it is absolute. @@ -1242,11 +1208,11 @@ of in literature." About Zola he writes in a letter of July, 1893:-- -"Perhaps you have read 'Le Reve.' It and 'La Debacle' are the only two +"Perhaps you have read 'Le Rêve.' It and 'La Debâcle' are the only two of Zola's longer novels that could be recommended to a lady, and even -the latter with some misgiving. I cannot say that I think 'Le Reve' one +the latter with some misgiving. I cannot say that I think 'Le Rêve' one of Zola's best works. I am far from sure that the French critic who -said: 'Nous preferons Monsieur Zola a quatre pattes' was not in the +said: 'Nous préférons Monsieur Zola à quatre pattes' was not in the right. Nevertheless, there are passages in it stamped by Zola's unique greatness. With regard to its defects, I would rather say nothing at present, except one--the end strikes me as absurd, _franchement mauvais @@ -1279,7 +1245,7 @@ know a man at half a glance who has ever been under it." Referring to his correspondent's remarks that Russians seem to look at religious questions like intelligent children, he writes:-- -"Did you ever hear of the Soo-re-ye-vites, the sect of which Leo Tolstoi +"Did you ever hear of the Soo-ré-ye-vites, the sect of which Leo Tolstoi is a member? "Soorayeff was a peasant ignorant of reading and writing. He had read in @@ -1342,7 +1308,7 @@ rather those who misinterpret him, must answer. Every experience, in truth, whether moral, sensuous, or intellectual, that is, of real worth, contributes to the artist's dream. Johnstone posed so little and lived by this principle so naturally and unwittingly that he could not be -called a doctrinaire. But few men save up their vital impressions about +called a doctrinairè. But few men save up their vital impressions about everything so carefully, engraving them patiently on the memory, and dismissing the vast mass of experience that tells us nothing. Hence Johnstone was never quite naturalised in any abode, though he managed to @@ -1360,7 +1326,7 @@ faults, even in school-teaching! But the teacher does not take his class into the secret of his own doubts, hesitations, or revulsions; he gives his results, he gives what he thinks the truth. Or, if a figure from another calling be preferred, the critic _operates_, beneficently if -often without anaesthetics. Further, there was something to be said for +often without anæsthetics. Further, there was something to be said for the late specialisation of Johnstone's ruling talent. His nature was rich; his articles have the style of a man who has lived, as well as one who knows his trade. No youth, though ever so clever, could have made @@ -1430,7 +1396,7 @@ however, a part of his lecture on the scientific frontier between the two arts. He found time also, when the press of the season was over, for some byplay as a reviewer. He wrote in commanding style about books on conjuring, on billiards, and on cooking. He used to say that cooking was -his real gift. To go to a certain cafe and quote Mr. Johnstone's name, +his real gift. To go to a certain café and quote Mr. Johnstone's name, was to ensure a respectful and an even terrified service; and the well-drilled waiter would commend a particular sauce-bottle as that which his distinguished customer had used. But he remembered, with more @@ -1514,7 +1480,7 @@ in the neighbourhood as the 'famine child.' In the farm-house lives a young man named George, an orphan nephew of Vogelreuther, indebted to the famine for his upbringing. In the opening of the play George has made a good start in life, having been apprenticed to an architect in -Koenigsberg and done well. He is betrothed to the farmer's daughter +Königsberg and done well. He is betrothed to the farmer's daughter Gertrude, but some years before there had been a love affair between him and Heimchen, who had repulsed him hastily, not because she did not care for him, but because she did not believe in the honesty of his @@ -1532,7 +1498,7 @@ crisis is reached on the night of St. John's eve, when after an evening in which the whole neighbourhood, lit up with bonfires, is given over to punch drinking, dancing, and excitement. George is requested by the unsuspecting farmer to escort Heimchen to the railway station, she -having a night train to catch to Koenigsberg. The ending is intensely +having a night train to catch to Königsberg. The ending is intensely Ibsenesque in style. George, on the very day fixed for his wedding with Gertrude, is ready to fly with Heimchen, but, mindful of the immense obligations binding them both to the farmer's family, he insists that @@ -1556,8 +1522,8 @@ from which the quotation at the head of these notes is taken, have fired their blood, and Heimchen is unstrung by the painful meeting with her disreputable mother earlier in the day, when she had been obliged to buy back things that her mother had pilfered. At last she throws herself on -her knees before George and says, 'Du! Kuess' mich nicht! Ich will dich -kuessen. Ich will alles auf mich nehmen. Meine Mutter stiehlt. Ich stehl' +her knees before George and says, 'Du! Küss' mich nicht! Ich will dich +küssen. Ich will alles auf mich nehmen. Meine Mutter stiehlt. Ich stehl' auch'--and the curtain falls." * * * * * @@ -1674,7 +1640,7 @@ it blithe. They inspire respect, and no one who has not lived there many years can realise their number or the strenuous, positive, character of the place; the southern nature seems soft and vague in comparison. But the free talk of the real capitals, and their resources for witty -amusement, imply a large leisured class, an element of _flaneurs_ in the +amusement, imply a large leisured class, an element of _flâneurs_ in the population, which is hardly possible in a big North-English city. There is personal isolation in a curious measure--a want of rallying points for talk. The atoms repel each other and fly apart. Men go home to their @@ -1703,7 +1669,7 @@ outspoken, uncompromising, and even explosive (though he never attacked unless he thought there was provocation). These characteristics and his daring line as a critic, both in talk and print, caused him to be under-estimated by some otherwise intelligent persons. He might have -said, with Saint-Simon, that he was not "un sujet academique." He +said, with Saint-Simon, that he was not "un sujet académique." He disliked dons as a class; at Oxford and elsewhere they made him, of course wrongly, restive. He had not been through their mill, and they did not always care for or see his curious and original play of mind. @@ -1770,7 +1736,7 @@ openly threatened; there was no hope for him unless he managed to leave the country at once, and even then there was a fair chance that he might never reach the ship alive. Johnstone, being on good terms with the patriotic party, pleaded for his life and undertook to get him away; he -cycled behind him for the four miles from Athens to the Piraeus, and when +cycled behind him for the four miles from Athens to the Piræus, and when they reached the harbour kept the mob off until he was safely on board an Austrian Lloyd steamer. The ride was an exciting one, for it was expected that an attempt would be made to shoot the obnoxious @@ -1810,7 +1776,7 @@ the clean-shaved. At the beginning of the musical season in October, 1898, a considerable storm was raised in Manchester by the action of the guarantors of the -Halle concerts, who had offered the post of conductor to Dr. Richter, +Hallé concerts, who had offered the post of conductor to Dr. Richter, instead of renewing Dr. Cowen's appointment. It fell to Johnstone to write the two leading articles on the subject which appeared in the _Manchester Guardian_ of October 4th and 17th. His clear and judicial @@ -1827,7 +1793,7 @@ influence which became greatly extended in the years that followed. There is no doubt as to the kind of power that he exerted. He did not touch the actual administration of music in Manchester, in the College -of Music, or the Halle concerts, or elsewhere. He did not directly +of Music, or the Hallé concerts, or elsewhere. He did not directly advise, therefore, in the choice of programmes, players, or singers. But he went to every performance of the slightest note, whether popular or not, and wrote about it incisively and heedfully, always preferring to @@ -1878,7 +1844,7 @@ the music is of an inferior stamp. It should not be forgotten that the end and aim of such festivals is to foster a taste for music. But the taste for inferior music needs no fostering. If, therefore, the organisers of these festivals prescribe second-rate works for the -competitions, they simply destroy the _raison d'etre_ of these +competitions, they simply destroy the _raison d'être_ of these competitions. It is music as an art--not music as a sport or trade--that requires fostering. There is a danger that such concerts may degenerate into a vulgar pot-hunting business, and one would like to see everything @@ -1949,7 +1915,7 @@ seriousness, and worked during the Manchester musical season harder than ever. In the summer he went abroad, but not entirely for rest. He greatly expanded his knowledge, and also his musical reputation and that of his paper, by his visit to festivals at Bayreuth, at Oberammergau, -at Duesseldorf, and at Vienna. Forced to choose, we have hardly been +at Düsseldorf, and at Vienna. Forced to choose, we have hardly been able, within these limits, to quote from the contributions he sent home. The last of his foreign journeys was unlike all the others, which had been taken alone. The words quoted above from the letter of January, @@ -2145,11 +2111,11 @@ fine jewellery." His discernment of any new work of permanent value was quick and unerring; we may instance his early estimate of Elgar and indeed of Strauss too (for his position then was uncertain) as having been in advance of general musical opinion, though unquestioned at the -present day. Tchaikovsky's Pathetic Symphony was a more obvious +present day. Tchaïkovsky's Pathetic Symphony was a more obvious discovery; here he showed his critical power rather in quenching the popular enthusiasm (which he had at first assisted in creating) for this work when the public seemed to have lost all sense of proportion, by -reminding his readers that after all "Tchaikovsky and Dvorak are +reminding his readers that after all "Tchaïkovsky and Dvoràk are inspired barbarians and must not be put on the same level with Beethoven and Schumann." Mention too should be made of his appreciation of Liszt, whose services to music are too frequently ignored--the creator of the @@ -2203,7 +2169,7 @@ impossible. If Shakespeare is nothing but a bore, there seems to be an end of imaginative literature; and similarly, in music, any person whom Bach entirely fails to interest had better give up all pretence to being musical. For Bach is not one of the composers, like Berlioz, Liszt, -Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, or Richard Strauss, whom it is allowable to like or +Tchaïkovsky, Dvoràk, or Richard Strauss, whom it is allowable to like or dislike. Bach is the musical Bible--the foundation of the faith. Historically considered, both Bach and Handel are artists of the Reformation and the Renaissance. But if we fix attention on their @@ -2247,7 +2213,7 @@ Him." _November 29, 1901._] Under Dr. Richter's irresistible generalship the most arduous task ever -yet undertaken by the Halle Choir was yesterday carried through to a +yet undertaken by the Hallé Choir was yesterday carried through to a brilliantly successful issue. Bach's great Mass illustrates his tendency to throw all the weightier eloquence of a sacred composition into the chorus, a solo or duet being treated as a delicate interlude, some @@ -2303,7 +2269,7 @@ he was not a man of the world. He was a devout and pious man and a man of the people, and his religion was inward and personal. Again, Handel was cosmopolitan, whereas Bach was thoroughly German. Not that Bach was wanting in knowledge of Italian and other foreign music. He was a -perfectly comprehensive encyclopaedia of the musical knowledge that +perfectly comprehensive encyclopædia of the musical knowledge that existed in his time. But the basis of his character was too homely, simple and loyal to be modified by foreign influence. Thus while Handel became musically an Italian, Bach remained thoroughly German. All these @@ -2322,9 +2288,9 @@ performed often, the Passion music seldom. A long line of Christian aspiration and endeavour culminates in the "St. Matthew Passion" music. The Good Friday service, or mystery, of the -Passion dates back to mediaeval times. Musical settings of it are quite +Passion dates back to mediæval times. Musical settings of it are quite innumerable. They fall into three main groups, according to style. The -earliest are in the "Plain-song" of the mediaeval church. At the period +earliest are in the "Plain-song" of the mediæval church. At the period of Luther's Reformation the plain song gave way to the chorale style. Finally, there are many settings in the oratorio style. Of these Bach himself certainly wrote four, and probably five. By universal consent @@ -2415,7 +2381,7 @@ dancing. Dr. Brodsky is unsurpassable in the andante, where the powerful, composed, and majestic rhythm of the bass finds a poetic and delicately fanciful commentary in the solo part. Here one perceives the difference between Bach's and Beethoven's religious standpoint, between -the ages of faith and of strife, between the _ancien regime_ and the +the ages of faith and of strife, between the _ancien régime_ and the revolutionary period. For Bach the ancient faith is enough, while in the spirit of Beethoven there ferment, fume and rage the ideas of the French Revolution. The Hellmesberger cadenza played by Dr. Brodsky in @@ -2534,7 +2500,7 @@ movement is not called a march; yet it has a far more definite tramping rhythm than the movement that is called a march in the Heroic Symphony. In the finale the rhythmical emphasis attains a degree of reckless violence that has never been surpassed by any composer except -Tchaikovsky. A scherzo is always strongly rhythmical; but in the scherzo +Tchaïkovsky. A scherzo is always strongly rhythmical; but in the scherzo of this symphony one finds a kind of frenzied rushing, whirling movement that is rare in Beethoven's works. Another differentiating quality of the symphony is grotesque expression, which is strong in the @@ -2749,7 +2715,7 @@ its jejune story, which suggests that Beethoven, having objected to Mozart's "Don Giovanni" as scandalous, felt it his duty to compose an opera on a subject that should be "strictly proper," and despite its thin vein of invention--inevitably retains its hold on the musical -world. To call the success of it a _succes d'estime_ would be a misuse +world. To call the success of it a _succès d'estime_ would be a misuse of words. It focuses a certain range of poetic ideas that nothing else of its kind touches, and stands--with its Wordsworthian simplicity and moral goodness--among other operas like a Sister Clare amid a group of @@ -2818,7 +2784,7 @@ ecclesiastical style to be sung over a dead rat, the guying of the composer's own love-theme with a jig-like variation on a specially ugly instrument (the E flat clarinet) introduced into the orchestra for that purpose, and the use of the stern and majestic Plain Song theme of the -"Dies Irae" as a _cantus firmus_, to which the mocking laughter of +"Dies Iræ" as a _cantus firmus_, to which the mocking laughter of witches (rushing past through the air in a huge weltering broomstick cavalcade) makes a kind of fantastic counterpoint. It is well to bear in mind that the same talent gave us such miraculous gossamer fancies as @@ -2857,7 +2823,7 @@ produced during the nineteenth century by the world of art--a word that may here be understood in its widest acceptation, and thus as including architectural, musical, graphic, plastic, and literary art. In one of the earliest _critiques_ on his "Faust," which was first performed at -the Opera Comique in Paris in 1846, the opinion was expressed that he +the Opéra Comique in Paris in 1846, the opinion was expressed that he ought to have been a chemist, not a musician--a remark that gives extraordinary point to a piece of advice that Berlioz once gave to artists in general: "Always collect the stones that are thrown at you; @@ -2876,11 +2842,11 @@ subject of Faust that had no love-song or truly lyrical utterance of any kind for the tenor hero, but, on the other hand, had a song about a flea and a rat's requiem, ending with an "Amen" chorus in mock ecclesiastical style, to say nothing of a scene in Pandemonium and an _orgie -infernale_? Berlioz was a sort of a belated mediaeval. The very title, -"Damnation de Faust," is mediaeval. Shakespeare and the other poets of +infernale_? Berlioz was a sort of a belated mediæval. The very title, +"Damnation de Faust," is mediæval. Shakespeare and the other poets of Renaissance and later times recognise the fate of a soul as a matter _sub judice_ till the end of the world. But Berlioz had no more scruple -than Dante in anticipating the Last Judgment. Mediaeval, too, is the +than Dante in anticipating the Last Judgment. Mediæval, too, is the coarseness of the scene in Auerbach's cellar; and the _chanson gothique_, about the King of Thule, sounds as if it had come to the composer as a reminiscence from some previous state of existence, so @@ -2889,18 +2855,18 @@ spirit back to a musty and hierarchic world with walled towns and narrow streets, with terrorism and torture-chambers, with crusades and knight-errantry, with impossible heights of holiness and unimaginable depths of diabolism. But not to any of the defects or qualities rooted -in the composer's mediaevalism must we look for the popularity which the +in the composer's mediævalism must we look for the popularity which the work acquired in this country some thirty-four years after the original production in Paris and has retained ever since. What the general public enjoys is the superb peasants' chorus near the beginning, the -arrangement of the Racoczy March, which is the finest piece of military +arrangement of the Rácoczy March, which is the finest piece of military music in existence, the chorus and dance of sylphs, Margaret's Romance, and Mephistopheles' Serenade. Perhaps, too, a good many of them take a sort of unregenerate pleasure in the rat and flea songs, while at heart disapproving of such things, and of course they like the ballad of the King of Thule, because no one who is musical at all can entirely fail to perceive the charm of that wonderful melody. It appeals to plenty of -listeners who have no idea that there is anything Gothic or mediaeval +listeners who have no idea that there is anything Gothic or mediæval about it. @@ -2927,7 +2893,7 @@ orchestration, yet consider that, like Moses, he was not allowed to enter the promised land to which he had led his people; or, more literally, that Berlioz was not able to make really good use of his own discoveries, the importance of which is to be recognised in the music of -Wagner, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, and others who learned from Berlioz, rather +Wagner, Dvoràk, Tchaïkovsky, and others who learned from Berlioz, rather than in his own music. While admitting that later men, such as those mentioned, have used the Berlioz instrument to a more spiritual kind of purpose or with greater epic and dramatic significance, the open-minded @@ -2940,7 +2906,7 @@ fragments of larger works never carried out--impossible to be carried out. The best-known work by Berlioz--and the most perfect, on the whole, of the extended works--is the "Faust," which must not be judged as an operatic version of Goethe's "Faust," but rather as a musical setting of -the "Faust" story in the racy and drastic manner of the mediaeval puppet +the "Faust" story in the racy and drastic manner of the mediæval puppet plays, Goethe's drama being only used in so far as it affords suggestions for scenes of the well-salted and drastic animation that Berlioz loved. Berlioz was a typical French Romantic. His music is @@ -2952,7 +2918,7 @@ of spring which is one of the great, imperishable poetic themes has nowhere in music been better rendered than in the first pages of "Faust" (orchestra and tenor voice), and the ensuing peasant choruses are by far the best musical expression of that "sunburnt mirth" which outside the -world of art is only possible under a southern sky. The Racoczy March as +world of art is only possible under a southern sky. The Rácoczy March as orchestrated by Berlioz is not only the finest piece of military music in the world but is an immeasureably long way ahead of the next best piece. The energy, gaiety, and tumultuous eloquence of the final section @@ -2965,7 +2931,7 @@ Here the composer succeeds in expressing the diabolical without any direct suggestion of malice--simply by creating the rhythm and accent of laughter too monstrously whole-hearted and full-blooded for a mere man. Another miracle is the "Chanson Gothique" (about the King of Thule), -which is, as it were, the distilled essence of all mediaeval romances +which is, as it were, the distilled essence of all mediæval romances about lovesick maidens looking forth from their casements. In the latter part the composer falls a victim to his evil genius--the _macabre_,--and the terrible squint of the madman is perceptible in the "Ride to the @@ -3017,7 +2983,7 @@ working out of Faust's salvation (the difference between the two being really quite considerable),--and in the telling of this story he conveys lessons to the heart that are much too delicate for words. A good many composers have made "Faust" music of one kind or another. Spohr and -Schumann, Berlioz and Boito, Wagner and Liszt, all paid their tribute to +Schumann, Berlioz and Boïto, Wagner and Liszt, all paid their tribute to the inexhaustible interest of the theme, besides Gounod--most superficial and consequently best known of them all. Even in Gounod, however, there is a little genuine "Faust" music--a very little. It is @@ -3049,7 +3015,7 @@ doubt the best picture of a girl, from the man's point of view, that exists in literature. Inexpressibly beautiful is the contrast between the fancy-free and the loving Gretchen. There is nothing in all music more rich and rapturous than the ensuing love-scene, which reminds one -of the point in the first act of "Die Walkuere" where the doors swing +of the point in the first act of "Die Walküre" where the doors swing open and reveals to the enchanted gaze of the lovers the spring landscape bathed in moonlight. But Liszt is here more to the point than Wagner. Then comes Mephisto with his diabolical dance, turning @@ -3068,7 +3034,7 @@ the number of ideas, afterwards used by other composers, that it contains. The most glaring case is the transformation music just before the entry of the "chorus mysticus," which has been conveyed bodily by Wagner, with only quite unimportant changes, into the third act of "Die -Walkuere," after the words--"So streif' ich dir die Gottheit ab." But +Walküre," after the words--"So streif' ich dir die Gottheit ab." But dozens of other ideas in Wagner's "Tristan" and "Siegfried" and Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel" one here finds in embryo. @@ -3095,8 +3061,8 @@ influence of any musical age, and who has powerfully influenced all subsequent composers of genius, except two or three of the Latin races. In the early nineteenth century we made precisely the same mistake in regard to Mendelssohn and Schumann; now we are making it once more by -preferring Tchaikovsky to Strauss. But worse still is our mistake of -refusing to listen to Liszt, without whom neither Tchaikovsky nor +preferring Tchaïkovsky to Strauss. But worse still is our mistake of +refusing to listen to Liszt, without whom neither Tchaïkovsky nor Strauss could have existed as musical personages. Once more yesterday the superb Liszt Concerto in E flat was played and received with a kind of tolerance. Very fine playing, the audience seemed to think; but what @@ -3141,7 +3107,7 @@ unfortunately, there is also such a thing as conceit--that is, the illusory consciousness of powers that do not exist; and a man of genius who, without private means, had thrown up his employment and taken himself and his wife on a long journey to a foreign country in order to -win recognition in "la ville Lumiere" must, in the course of three +win recognition in "la ville Lumière" must, in the course of three fruitless years, have felt something worse than misgiving. That Wagner did so feel is a matter not of speculation but of history. He has described how, when meditating the subject of the "Flying Dutchman," he @@ -3174,7 +3140,7 @@ period. _May 11, 1903._] Whatever may have happened in former years, it was scarcely possible to -leave the theatre after the "Goetterdaemmerung" performance on Saturday +leave the theatre after the "Götterdämmerung" performance on Saturday with any disposition to satirise the management for the failure of the stage effects in the final scene. In the course of the week Wagner's greatest work had been presented with considerably brighter intelligence @@ -3190,7 +3156,7 @@ trilogy. The general impression was thus one of a great task nobly carried out, and the concluding fizzle, however tiresome and distressing to the stage managers, could but seem a trifling matter to any appreciative spectator. It is a terrible business, that _finale_ of -"Goetterdaemmerung." Conceived in a mood of frenzied protest, it bears a +"Götterdämmerung." Conceived in a mood of frenzied protest, it bears a peculiar stamp of extravagance and violence. It shows Wagner as an Anarchist of the Bakounine type, undertaking, as it were, to "grasp this sorry scheme of things entire" and "shatter it to bits" on the @@ -3200,7 +3166,7 @@ with scarcely any response from the world but the crackling of thorns under a pot, had produced in Wagner such bitterness of spirit as little men are saved from by their natural limitations, and it is that bitterness of spirit which finds expression in the smashing and burning -and drowning of the "Goetterdaemmerung" _finale_. Heroes and demigods, +and drowning of the "Götterdämmerung" _finale_. Heroes and demigods, renouncing a hopeless conflict with the ugliness and meanness of the world, involve heaven and earth in one red ruin. Such is the significance of a tableau not worth a tithe of the time, trouble, and @@ -3212,7 +3178,7 @@ who make cuts for their own convenience and sacrifice the composer's intentions to a performer's conceit would not be tolerated; and at the same time they gave the public the only possible guarantee for adequate rehearsal. For that privilege London has had to wait twenty-seven years -since the original production in Bayreuth, though "Die Walkuere" and +since the original production in Bayreuth, though "Die Walküre" and "Siegfried" were long ago taken up into the ordinary Covent Garden repertory. There can be little doubt that "Rhinegold" is in all important respects the most difficult part of the "Ring" to make @@ -3265,17 +3231,17 @@ II. In strong contrast with the embarrassment and falling back on the mere picturesque of the "Rhinegold" presentation was the rendering of "Die -Walkuere" on Wednesday. A dramatic interpretation of Wagner at all +Walküre" on Wednesday. A dramatic interpretation of Wagner at all comparable to the musical interpretation which we derive from the -Liszt-Buelow-Richter tradition is not for the present, or for some time +Liszt-Bülow-Richter tradition is not for the present, or for some time to come, to be expected. But, making allowance for the difference in standard between the musical and scenic arts, which is simply a phenomenon of our time, one may well be thankful for such a rendering of the music's proper scenic background and framework as was given at Covent Garden on all but the first of the four evenings in the -production of the present year. In the opening act of "Die Walkuere" the +production of the present year. In the opening act of "Die Walküre" the setting was adequate, and a strikingly well-balanced performance was -given by Mr. Van Dyck (Siegmund), Mr. Kloepfer (Hunding), and Mme. Bolska +given by Mr. Van Dyck (Siegmund), Mr. Klöpfer (Hunding), and Mme. Bolska (Sieglinda). At the end of the only scene in which the three figure together Sieglinda, dismissed by her husband, stands at the door of the bedroom; Siegmund, who has told his story, sits on the further side of @@ -3287,7 +3253,7 @@ coloured kinds of suspense the music interprets. Here the _ensemble_ was truly admirable, the stress and peculiar atmosphere of that moment big with fate being successfully caught. Throughout the act Mr. Van Dyck's suppleness and resource were finely exemplified, the sombre figure of -Mr. Kloepfer's Hunding contrasting effectively, while Mme. Bolska did +Mr. Klöpfer's Hunding contrasting effectively, while Mme. Bolska did much by intelligent acting and good singing to compensate for a certain lack of personal adaptation to the part. @@ -3326,7 +3292,7 @@ Wagner's finest individual creation. In a series of matchless scenes he shows us the development of the warrior-maid into a perfect woman, every phase of that development being touched with a kind of demonic power that makes it impossible for anyone altogether to miss the point. In the -second act of "Walkuere" Brynhild comes forth on to the crags in her +second act of "Walküre" Brynhild comes forth on to the crags in her shining armour, with helm and shield and corselet of steel. In the leave-taking with her obdurate father, who, against his better judgment, has given way to the counsels of Fricka--that Mrs. Grundy of @@ -3338,7 +3304,7 @@ transformed, making the heroic life visible and rhythmic for us at every moment. She is the vessel into which Wagner has poured the very finest vintage of his genius. No blackguardly characteristics of the _Uebermensch_, such as develop so very freely in the Siegfried of -"Goetterdaemmerung," are allowed to deform the figure and melody of the +"Götterdämmerung," are allowed to deform the figure and melody of the superb heroine, who to the end glows with intense and untainted life. Adequately to render such a conception--adequately both for our eyes and ears--is no small achievement, and it is Miss Ternina's achievement @@ -3389,7 +3355,7 @@ successfully realised. So, too, were the fairy-tale terrors of the dragon's cave and the leafy splendours of the glade in which Siegfried holds converse with the birds. Where there is room for improvement in the Covent Garden staging of these dramas is, above all, in the -meteorological background of "Rhinegold" and "Goetterdaemmerung"; +meteorological background of "Rhinegold" and "Götterdämmerung"; secondly, in the "Ride of the Valkyries," which has not hitherto been done in a sufficiently spirited manner anywhere but in Paris; thirdly, in the final scene of conflagration and ruin. At present the final scene @@ -3407,7 +3373,7 @@ of "Rhinegold." Never have the musical splendours of the "Ring" been revealed to British audiences as in the past three weeks. The windy and cloudy eloquence of -the "Walkuere" music and the heroic pathos of Brynhild's leave-taking +the "Walküre" music and the heroic pathos of Brynhild's leave-taking have long been pretty thoroughly appreciated, but not so the songs of the forge in "Siegfried," where Wagner throws an almost fabulous kind of energy into the picture of the typical young man singing at his work, @@ -3418,7 +3384,7 @@ cuts or distortion. The brawny rhythm, the iron clangour, the fizz and tumult of the instrumentation--all these things came out as never before at a performance in this country. So, too, with the long love duet of Siegfried and Brynhild and the ravishing trio of the Rhine Maidens in -the last act of "Goetterdaemmerung." But, apart from such dazzling +the last act of "Götterdämmerung." But, apart from such dazzling moments, the performances were in their completeness and sustained excellence an extraordinary revelation of the composer's power in the use of musical symbolism. Just before the rise of the curtain on the @@ -3430,7 +3396,7 @@ history be found developing into a source of appalling mischief, so, as these dramas progress, do we find the symbol of Nibelung hatred developing from a comical snarl into those monstrous and multitudinous yells that rend the welkin and dismay the soul amid the gathering horror -of the "Goetterdaemmerung" tragedy. Persons who are in the habit of +of the "Götterdämmerung" tragedy. Persons who are in the habit of chattering about the _Leitmotiv_ as though it were a nostrum might with advantage take note of a few such points. The symbols of Nibelung hatred are not more effective nor anywise better done than the other symbols in @@ -3514,7 +3480,7 @@ possible for the consciousness of an adult person to be ravished away into the dream-world of another. Then comes further reflection and the inevitable question how it is done. Is it primarily by means of the music, which passes through the chambers of consciousness like the fumes -of an anaesthetic, or does the peculiar potency lie in the dramatic +of an anæsthetic, or does the peculiar potency lie in the dramatic symbols, for the elaboration of which the subtlest essences of a hundred arts seem to have been brought together? All the objections to "Parsifal" would seem to resolve themselves ultimately into distrust of @@ -3526,7 +3492,7 @@ and rich with the lustre of costly stuffs and the glitter of ecclesiastical embroideries and jewels. In the first and last acts it has the atmosphere of a Christian sanctuary, and the second act, passing in Klingsor's garden, seems to represent the pleasures of sin as -imagined by the most innocent of mediaeval monks. All this the orthodox +imagined by the most innocent of mediæval monks. All this the orthodox moralist regards with some distrust as tending to create a distaste for hard work and cold water. But let him remember the mischief done by the Puritans in the seventeenth century, and be careful how he lays about @@ -3553,7 +3519,7 @@ about on the stage, the older scholars on the first gallery of the dome, and the younger scholars at the top. All the multifarious choir-singing of boys and men was beautifully done; the only mistakes were made by Amfortas and Titurel. The conductor was Dr. Muck, of Berlin, whose -_tempi_ seem to have been considered too slow by some of the _habitues_, +_tempi_ seem to have been considered too slow by some of the _habitués_, though his interpretation was admitted to be in all other respects above reproach. @@ -3578,7 +3544,7 @@ extraordinary kind. All the action takes place up in the clouds, down in the waters, or where the forges resound in the fiery caverns of Nibelheim, and not one of the characters is a plain human being. Gods, goddesses, giants, dwarfs, and water nymphs make up the _dramatis -personae_, and the whole drama is more completely outside the range of +personæ_, and the whole drama is more completely outside the range of ordinary operatic art than any other musical and dramatic work. It is therefore natural that Bayreuth, which alone among theatres devoted to musical drama is not hampered by the operatic traditions, should @@ -3620,7 +3586,7 @@ trio of the first and last scenes was beautifully rendered, the swimming manoeuvre of the former scene being done probably better than ever before. Besides doing justice to the drama as an allegorical picture of life in the light of certain nineteenth-century ideas, the performance -was a specially good revelation of its amusing and naively entertaining +was a specially good revelation of its amusing and naïvely entertaining qualities. Regarding the show simply as an enacted fairy-tale, one could not but call it a mighty good one, and that aspect of the matter was almost certainly never before brought out so well. @@ -3642,7 +3608,7 @@ state approximately the order in which the special kinds of technique required by Wagner were developed. Of course the instrumental came first, for without it there could have been no attempt to bring the new art before the world. Here the most important influence, in addition to -the composer's own, was that of Liszt, Buelow, and Richter--the original +the composer's own, was that of Liszt, Bülow, and Richter--the original stalwarts of the Wagnerian school. Next arose a new race of dramatic singers, of whom Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Niemann, and Materna were early examples; and the key to the enigma of the music was found. But Wagner's @@ -3658,7 +3624,7 @@ framework having as its only purpose the advantageous display of musical embroideries. But a dramatic work with music as an integral part lay outside the range of all that was then believed to be possible, and long after the new race of dramatic singers had arisen the peculiar problems -of _mise-en-scene_ and stage management which Wagnerian drama presents +of _mise-en-scène_ and stage management which Wagnerian drama presents were left quite unsolved. However, no such battle had to be fought over the stage presentation as had been fought over the music. There was the Bayreuth theatre, with plenty of time and, latterly, plenty of money to @@ -3691,26 +3657,26 @@ who was simply perfect in the scene where that dignified lady sidles up to Loge to inquire whether the gold cannot also be used to make nice ornaments for ladies. -In regard to "Walkuere" and "Siegfried," which have long been in the +In regard to "Walküre" and "Siegfried," which have long been in the repertory of London, Paris, and other capitals, the superiority of Bayreuth is very much less certain--that is to say, of Bayreuth as represented by this year's performances. There was serious weakness in -two out of the three great protagonists, Wotan and Bruennhilde, and for +two out of the three great protagonists, Wotan and Brünnhilde, and for that weakness no degree of skill in the presentation of the finely fantastic and ever-shifting backgrounds could compensate, nor even the superb orchestral interpretation. The Siegfried of Mr. Ernst Kraus was, however, on the whole a very striking performance, as it was at Covent Garden in 1903. It was best in Acts i. and ii. of "Siegfried"--the forging of the sword and the slaying of the dragon, preceded and -followed by the wonderful forest _reverie_,--and it was least good in -the "Goetterdaemmerung" scene, where the hero tells the story of his youth +followed by the wonderful forest _rêverie_,--and it was least good in +the "Götterdämmerung" scene, where the hero tells the story of his youth to his hunting companions. Here a certain lack of resource in purely lyrical expression was a serious defect. But on the whole Mr. Kraus would seem to be the best Siegfried of the present day--best, at any rate, of those who can be induced to enact the part without mutilation. No excellence in the staging and general interpretation could obviate -or appreciably soften the unsatisfactoriness of "Goetterdaemmerung." The +or appreciably soften the unsatisfactoriness of "Götterdämmerung." The final drama of the "Ring" series remains a terrible monster among the dramatic works of mankind, with a dreary first and second act, in which little seems to occur besides the heaping up of gloomy storm-clouds. The @@ -3719,17 +3685,17 @@ produced on Thursday the utmost effect of which it is capable; but the atmosphere of these scenes in which the tragedy of the curse resting on the Ring is worked out remained, as before, almost intolerable; and, despite the ravishing Rhine-daughter music in the third act, the -romantic beauty of the "Erzaehlung" (story of Siegfried's youth), and the +romantic beauty of the "Erzählung" (story of Siegfried's youth), and the monumental grandeur of the funeral scenes, the last day of the trilogy left one with the old sense of oppression. As most persons are aware, the whole "Ring" drama began in the composer's mind with "Siegfried's -Death"--that part which is now called "Goetterdaemmerung,"--and the other +Death"--that part which is now called "Götterdämmerung,"--and the other three parts were written to lead up to it. Nevertheless the original nucleus remains the monstrous product of a disordered imagination, while the three parts, conceived as something secondary, form a series of masterpieces. Books, we know, have their fates, and the fate of this one is not the least curious. The experience of this year, while tending to -show that the supposed defects of "Rheingold," "Walkuere," and +show that the supposed defects of "Rheingold," "Walküre," and "Siegfried" almost entirely vanish in a rendering that is harmonious on all sides, leaves one with a greatly increased sense of the final drama's inherent unsatisfactoriness. @@ -3739,7 +3705,7 @@ drama's inherent unsatisfactoriness. CHAPTER VI. -TCHAIKOVSKY. +TCHAÏKOVSKY. [Sidenote: =Symphony No. 5 and other Works.= @@ -3750,15 +3716,15 @@ The experiment of devoting an entire miscellaneous concert to the works of one composer is nearly always hazardous. We doubt whether any other composer besides Wagner has ever withstood such a test quite satisfactorily. It was, of course, inevitable that the unparalleled wave -of popularity upon which Tchaikovsky's "Pathetic" symphony has been +of popularity upon which Tchaïkovsky's "Pathetic" symphony has been carried over the country during the past two years should have had the result of bringing other works by the same composer to the fore. That -result is in no way to be regretted. Tchaikovsky is a thoroughly +result is in no way to be regretted. Tchaïkovsky is a thoroughly interesting composer. His power and originality can scarcely now be disputed, and, whatever may be the verdict upon his art arrived at by those competent to judge when the excitement of novelty shall have passed off, one fact seems already to be quite clear, namely, that he -was a great master of the orchestra. Listening to Tchaikovsky's music +was a great master of the orchestra. Listening to Tchaïkovsky's music for a whole evening and comparing the new with former impressions may have revealed more defects and limitations than merits; but the experience confirms, to our mind, the view that the Russian composer @@ -3773,37 +3739,37 @@ outward form with absolute success. In short, he has consummate ability to express himself in music, and such ability is so rare that it is sufficient alone to make a composer very famous. There remain, of course, certain questions about the self thus expressed, and not till we -reach those questions do the defects and limitations of Tchaikovsky's +reach those questions do the defects and limitations of Tchaïkovsky's art come into view. The great prevalence of melancholy moods in -Tchaikovsky's music is a matter of common observation. When he desires +Tchaïkovsky's music is a matter of common observation. When he desires to shake off his habitually gloomy and brooding state, how does he set about it? Just as one would expect with such a disposition--by frenzied excitement, by the blare and glare of military pageant or by an orgiastic dance. His lighter music is bizarre or sardonic when it is not merely intoxicating. The enormous predominance of the rhythmical interest over every other kind of interest, such as that of melody or -harmony, in Tchaikovsky's music, can scarcely have escaped notice; and +harmony, in Tchaïkovsky's music, can scarcely have escaped notice; and rhythm is the lowest element in music; it is the element representing animal impulse, as shown by its preponderance in every kind of religious -music (Palestrina, for example). The music of Tchaikovsky rocks, tramps, +music (Palestrina, for example). The music of Tchaïkovsky rocks, tramps, jigs, whirls, and flies far more than it sings; and when it does sing it is either profoundly melancholy, bitterly sardonic, or merely bizarre. The composer has absolutely no serenity in his disposition, no -love of nature or of innocence, no naivete, no calmness or coolness, no +love of nature or of innocence, no naïveté, no calmness or coolness, no healthy activity, no religion, though much picturesque patriotism, and very little intellectuality--only just enough for the purpose of -expression. Such is the disposition revealed in the art of Tchaikovsky. +expression. Such is the disposition revealed in the art of Tchaïkovsky. Like Rubens, the painter, he cares for nothing but exuberant animalism--for Rubens' Madonnas and other quasi-religious pictures are all just as much studies of exuberant animalism as his Venuses and his -boar-hunts. Tchaikovsky, too, loves hunting; though his more special +boar-hunts. Tchaïkovsky, too, loves hunting; though his more special tastes are for fighting and military display, and for dancing. Such a character could not be otherwise than profoundly melancholy in the absence of strong excitement. At the same time, he was--again like Rubens--an artist of enormous power, and his creations have their value. The fifth symphony, which was given yesterday, affords a most interesting comparison with the sixth and last. Such a nature as, -according to our view, Tchaikovsky has revealed in his art would never +according to our view, Tchaïkovsky has revealed in his art would never be thoroughly dignified except in great grief or in some situation bringing his patriotism to the fore. This, we believe--added to the more complete maturity of the art,--is the explanation of that greatness @@ -3834,7 +3800,7 @@ perfection--namely, the little song "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt," which is worthy to rank with the best lyrics by Schumann, and indeed shows the spirit of that composer in one of his moods--that which produced "Ich grolle nicht"--very strongly. All the songs were interesting. In fact, -the lyrical power of Tchaikovsky is so striking that it may be placed +the lyrical power of Tchaïkovsky is so striking that it may be placed side by side with his mastery of the orchestra among those qualities which make him a great composer. All that has been said with more especial reference to the orchestral works applies with equal truth to @@ -3849,7 +3815,7 @@ joviality or innocent badinage. _November 25, 1898._] -The fourth symphony of Tchaikovsky, which formed the principal +The fourth symphony of Tchaïkovsky, which formed the principal orchestral work at yesterday's concert, is full of life and zest, affording an interesting glimpse of those powers which were destined to produce the "Pathetic" symphony. Composed some fifteen years earlier @@ -3870,7 +3836,7 @@ instrumentation, and device in general, is not only wanting in the tact of the mature artist, but shows the composer not under the influence of any strong feeling, and simply revelling in his powers of gorgeous orchestration, ingenious thematic work, and marshalling of tone masses -with a view to picturesque effect. Tchaikovsky is nearly always martial +with a view to picturesque effect. Tchaïkovsky is nearly always martial in one part or another of an orchestral work. In the great symphony the first movement has a ferocious section suggesting actual slaughter, while the greater part of the third movement is an elaborate military @@ -3888,7 +3854,7 @@ orchestrated in the most piquant style, the strings playing pizzicato throughout. Here again the composer is irresistible. The music is ballet-music, not worthy of a symphony, but it is so exhilarating that there has to be a "truce with grimace." And the finale? On a former -occasion we have declared our view that none of Tchaikovsky's music +occasion we have declared our view that none of Tchaïkovsky's music except his last symphony has dignity, but probably in no other quasi-serious work has he committed himself to such an astounding piece of rodomontade as is here used to conclude the symphony. The music @@ -3909,7 +3875,7 @@ the score. _December 14, 1900._] -The case of Tchaikovsky, with his one great Symphony overtopping by such +The case of Tchaïkovsky, with his one great Symphony overtopping by such immeasurable heights all his other compositions of whatever kind, is isolated. One is almost compelled to think of everything else in the light of the one great work. Here is something that dimly foreshadows @@ -3921,7 +3887,7 @@ foretastes of the bustle and excitement rendered on a gigantic scale in the scherzo, of the triumphal note in the March, of the final despairing wail. But all else is faint and fragmentary by comparison with the great symphony. The "Romeo and Juliet" overture, played yesterday, is probably -Tchaikovsky's best early composition, and it is certainly that which +Tchaïkovsky's best early composition, and it is certainly that which suggests the great last symphony in the most unmistakable manner. The poetic basis of the tone-picture is to a considerable extent the same in both. A warning prologue leads to the scenes of violence and bloodshed. @@ -3929,7 +3895,7 @@ Then follows a romantic love-story with a tragic ending. Everything in the overture is extremely well done--the fighting music is graphic and the love music is deeply fraught with feeling,--but it is not a bit Shakespearean in spirit. The peculiar neuralgic pathos which haunts -nearly all Tchaikovsky's works takes us into a fevered and unnatural +nearly all Tchaïkovsky's works takes us into a fevered and unnatural atmosphere very unlike Shakespeare's; and the fighting is gory and realistic in the haggard manner of Verestchagin. As with Berlioz's treatment of "Faust," one must not seek for any sort of fidelity to the @@ -3949,46 +3915,46 @@ mention details, for the whole tone-picture was superbly presented. _March 8, 1901._] -There is a great diversity of opinion as to the merits of Tchaikovsky's +There is a great diversity of opinion as to the merits of Tchaïkovsky's fifth Symphony. More than one London critic has expressed the view that it is equal to the much-better known sixth and last. Mr. Jacques declares in yesterday's programme that, though No. 6--the -"Pathetique"--appeals more strongly to the emotions, No. 5 is +"Pathétique"--appeals more strongly to the emotions, No. 5 is constructively the finer work. On the other hand, we have the opinion of the Russian critic Berezovsky--quoted together with the same writer's detailed account of the work in a recent English book on -Tchaikovsky--that No. 5 is the weakest of all the Symphonies. There is +Tchaïkovsky--that No. 5 is the weakest of all the Symphonies. There is something rather depressing in such extreme divergence of opinion. It -proves one of two things;--either Tchaikovsky is not one of the sane +proves one of two things;--either Tchaïkovsky is not one of the sane composers whose works stand in a certain clear relation to the musical needs of human nature; or else, for all our greatly increased musical culture, we are no quicker than were the men of Beethoven's day in our perceptions; and, in the absence of perception, we are even more tied down than were our predecessors by pedantic notions. The reception of -the great "Symphonic Pathetique" in this country disposes of the former +the great "Symphonic Pathétique" in this country disposes of the former alternative. No other instrumental work ever aroused so great a wave of genuine public interest, and even persons who are no great admirers of -Tchaikovsky ought, if they care for the musical life of this country, to +Tchaïkovsky ought, if they care for the musical life of this country, to take an interest in him, on account of the astonishingly sudden and powerful grip that he took of the public imagination. It is not to externals--such as instrumentation, counterpoint, form, and so forth--that we must look for the explanation. Glazounoff orchestrates no -less brilliantly than Tchaikovsky and has probably a greater mastery of -scholastic device, and the same is true of Saint-Saens. Yet neither of +less brilliantly than Tchaïkovsky and has probably a greater mastery of +scholastic device, and the same is true of Saint-Saëns. Yet neither of those masters ever did or could stir anything in the least like the -interest that Tchaikovsky stirs. We believe the secret of Tchaikovsky +interest that Tchaïkovsky stirs. We believe the secret of Tchaïkovsky lies first in his sincerity, his being in earnest, his intentness, his search after the true symbol of his idea or feeling, his rejection of mere fabricated music. In listening to Glazounoff one perceives the trotting out of device. "Note how cleverly," the composer seems to say, "how cleverly I introduce this theme in augmentation." Whereas -Tchaikovsky is always intent on his idea, and, when he uses device, it +Tchaïkovsky is always intent on his idea, and, when he uses device, it is with the air of a man deeply in earnest and grasping at a resource of expression. Thus the centre of gravity is with Glazounoff as often as -not in the device, with Tchaikovsky always in the message, and with that +not in the device, with Tchaïkovsky always in the message, and with that dim sub-consciousness of the musical soul we perceive the one to be a cultivated trifler, the other a man with something important to say. -That is the first and chief point. Next comes Tchaikovsky's gift of +That is the first and chief point. Next comes Tchaïkovsky's gift of rhythm--the quality in music for which the general public of the present day cares most. When a person of rudimentary musical notions says that he likes a good tune, it will nearly always be found that what @@ -3996,7 +3962,7 @@ he likes is the rhythm, and that the melody can be freely changed without his perceiving it. The same taste exists in the higher stages of cultivation. A hundred times commoner than a real sense of melodic beauty is the love of a powerful rhythm that carries the listener off -his feet. Now Tchaikovsky does that for the listener much more often +his feet. Now Tchaïkovsky does that for the listener much more often than any other composer. He first captivates by something in which his gift of rhythm plays a leading part, and, having captivated, he does not disappoint us by saying empty things. Further points are his @@ -4005,7 +3971,7 @@ like so much of Berlioz's harmony, but always develops logically and clearly his vastness of design; his warmth of colouring, and his picturesque force. Needless to say, that to explain sudden and signal success with the general public there must always be a mention of weak -points. Among Tchaikovsky's weak points that which has gained him most +points. Among Tchaïkovsky's weak points that which has gained him most popularity is his persistent habit of presenting his ideas in a sort of balanced and antithetical manner. He does not expect too much intelligence in the listener. First he says a thing, then he says it @@ -4025,7 +3991,7 @@ first quick movement to perceive how thoroughly the composer was worked up. The originality of it is absolute. One may go over all the orchestral composers from Haydn to Wagner and Brahms, asking oneself whether that theme could be by any one of them. Obviously it could not -be the work of anyone else except Tchaikovsky. On hearing that theme for +be the work of anyone else except Tchaïkovsky. On hearing that theme for the first time the listener pricks up his ears. "Here is a man with something to say," he thinks. Now there is nothing of that kind in No. 5. The thematic material has been obtained in an easy-going @@ -4054,7 +4020,7 @@ as ending with the March, as the composer originally intended it to end. _November 22, 1901._] "Eighth time at these concerts," says last night's programme, in -reference to the great Tchaikovsky Symphony, which is only eight years +reference to the great Tchaïkovsky Symphony, which is only eight years old. The performances in London are to be numbered by dozens, and whenever genuine orchestral concerts are given in this country the swan-song of the late Russian master has probably been heard more often @@ -4065,19 +4031,19 @@ the public have not lost interest in the Symphony. Nor do we dissent from the views of the public in this respect. There is astounding potency in the charm of the work and in the appeal that it makes to the imagination. For some time past we have been preoccupied with the notion -that it forms a sort of pendant to Dvorak's "New World" Symphony. -Dvorak has caught in his music the breezy, hopeful, democratic, +that it forms a sort of pendant to Dvoràk's "New World" Symphony. +Dvoràk has caught in his music the breezy, hopeful, democratic, optimistic, and free-thinking spirit of American life, with its upper side of furious go-ahead civilisation, and its under side of primitive humanity (Negroes and Red Indians) in which energy of feeling is out of -all proportion to intellectual faculty. Dvorak's slow movement is +all proportion to intellectual faculty. Dvoràk's slow movement is undoubtedly a hymn of such primitive humanity, with an undercurrent of meditation on the prairie by night, in which the movements of sap and the germination of seeds within the bosom of inexhaustibly fertile nature become, as it were, audible. It is something like the poetry that Walt Whitman would have written had he been a much better poet. In an -analogous manner Tchaikovsky has caught up and fixed in his "Symphonie -Pathetique" the soul of modern Russia. Just as the American Symphony is +analogous manner Tchaïkovsky has caught up and fixed in his "Symphonie +Pathétique" the soul of modern Russia. Just as the American Symphony is breezy, democratic, optimistic, and free-thinking, so the Russian is languorous and oppressed, aristocratic, pessimistic, and hierarchic. The absence of any slow movement, except the dirge at the end, is intensely @@ -4094,12 +4060,12 @@ exists in the entire range of music. Such a work will bear a good many performances, especially in a place where there is a Richter to interpret it. Of course neither the "New World" nor the Muscovite Symphony is for a moment to be compared with Beethoven. Fellows like -Dvorak and Tchaikovsky, belonging to the fringe of civilisation, have +Dvoràk and Tchaïkovsky, belonging to the fringe of civilisation, have something of the savage about them, whereas Beethoven inherited the central European culture and expressed in music the emotions of a completely civilised character. The part of the nineteenth century subsequent to the death of Wagner will probably be remembered for the -_avenement_ of the semi-savage in music. But, be it remembered, music is +_avènement_ of the semi-savage in music. But, be it remembered, music is an art of expression, and all thoroughly and richly expressive music is good music, no matter what the informing emotion or underlying idea. @@ -4219,7 +4185,7 @@ wonderful path that he struck out for himself, though Brahms and others have obtained a few hints from him. The originator of modern romantic variations was Schumann, whose "Etudes Symphoniques" revealed a fresh source of life in the form, that has proved less austerely inaccessible -than Beethoven's; Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and many others having obviously +than Beethoven's; Brahms, Tchaïkovsky, and many others having obviously derived inspiration from it. Mr. Elgar stands in a peculiar relation to the modern masters of variation-form. He seems to be much preoccupied with the curious idea of musical portraiture, which, again, owes its @@ -4245,7 +4211,7 @@ ape-like. The composer does well to let the identity of the original remain shrouded in mystery. The variations are grouped according to the usual principles of contrast, and they are all extremely effective. However much the composer may call his theme an enigma--Berlioz called -his variation-theme in an early symphony _idee fixe_--one can scarcely +his variation-theme in an early symphony _idée fixe_--one can scarcely escape the impression that it represents the temperament of the artist, through which he sees his subjects; for that, and nothing else, is what forms the connecting link between any series of portraits by the same @@ -4295,7 +4261,7 @@ blaring pageantry, and ending with annihilation--a work the powerful appeal of which lies precisely in the fact that it is the most powerful existing expression in music of everything most un-Christian and anti-Catholic--has been performed without public protest in a British -Cathedral. We here refer, of course, to the "Symphonie Pathetique." Dr. +Cathedral. We here refer, of course, to the "Symphonie Pathétique." Dr. Elgar is another composer whose music means something; but what chance is there for us to understand him? One quails before the task of discussing in a concert notice all the questions to which such a work as @@ -4405,12 +4371,12 @@ who share Cardinal Newman's point of view in regard to religious matters is perhaps an important question, but not one with which musical, or any artistic, criticism is concerned. For nothing is more certain about art than that it is subservient to a person's view of life. Artistic or -aesthetic criticism must be humble, and must abstain from trespassing on -the ground of faith and morals. Indirectly, indeed, aesthetics may have a +æsthetic criticism must be humble, and must abstain from trespassing on +the ground of faith and morals. Indirectly, indeed, æsthetics may have a bearing on these more serious subjects. For is it not written of religious doctrines, "By their fruits ye shall know them"?--and nothing else is in so complete a sense a "fruit" of a religion as a work of art -arising therefrom. Nevertheless, the function of aesthetics is not to +arising therefrom. Nevertheless, the function of æsthetics is not to commend or blame a view of life, but rather to enquire with what eloquence, with what sincerity, with what measure of convincing power the artist expounds his ideas and communicates his feelings, whatever @@ -4451,7 +4417,7 @@ the words "Novissima hora est," a new voice enters, that of the Priest (baritone), chanting "Proficiscere, anima Christiana." Among the supplications for the departed is a chant three times repeated, each of the two parts ending with a choral "Amen" that bears a tender echo of -the mediaeval "Cantus fictus." An extended section of chorus and +the mediæval "Cantus fictus." An extended section of chorus and semi-chorus bring the first part of the cantata to a peaceful and prayerful ending. @@ -4485,7 +4451,7 @@ epithet "Dantesque." Lower Rhine Festival, -Duesseldorf.= +Düsseldorf.= _May 22, 1902._] @@ -4527,7 +4493,7 @@ The performance of "Gerontius" yesterday evening had a good many features of special interest. Full justice was done to the instrumental part of the work by the magnificent Festival orchestra of a hundred and twenty-seven performers. Those peculiar qualities of the imagination -which make of Dr. Wuellner, jun., by far the best representative of +which make of Dr. Wüllner, jun., by far the best representative of Gerontius as yet found were once more demonstrated, and the part of the Angel was given by Miss Muriel Foster with the wonderfully beautiful and genuine voice that has long been recognised as her most remarkable gift, @@ -4633,7 +4599,7 @@ between. [Sidenote: ="Gerontius," -Halle Concerts.= +Hallé Concerts.= _March 13, 1903._] @@ -4741,7 +4707,7 @@ the vividness to formal or structural considerations. In this sense, then, we call Elgar's "Gerontius" a dramatic composition from beginning to end. To find fault with it for the absence of choral climax in the manner of Handel and Mendelssohn is as much out of place as it would be -with Wagner's "Tannhaeuser." On the other hand, we do not agree with the +with Wagner's "Tannhäuser." On the other hand, we do not agree with the criticism that "Gerontius" is Wagnerian music. In two places there is a brief and faint suggestion of "Parsifal," first in the _sostenuto_ theme for _cor anglais_ and 'celli that enters in the fifty-second bar of the @@ -4972,14 +4938,14 @@ be here and there extremely realistic, very much as the great religious painters have done. He works on a great scale; in the handling of musical symbols he is not dismayed by tasks that might well be considered impossible, and he thus reminds one of the compliment which -Erasmus paid to Albrecht Duerer--"There is nothing that he cannot express +Erasmus paid to Albrecht Dürer--"There is nothing that he cannot express with his black and white--thunder and lightning, a gust of wind, God Almighty and the heavenly host." [Sidenote: ="The Apostles," -Halle Concerts.= +Hallé Concerts.= _February 26, 1904._] @@ -5052,7 +5018,7 @@ morning," says the text, "they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun." Thereupon are heard the watchers singing an echo of the music from the great sunrise scene at the beginning. After a dozen bars the fluting notes of a celestial chorus begin gliding in, and then we have -an example of that _naif_ mediaevalism at which the second part of +an example of that _naïf_ mediævalism at which the second part of "Gerontius" here and there hints. A kind of unearthly exhilaration begins to sound in the music. The Resurrection has brought a new fact into a sorrowful world. It is a sublime adventure, at news of which @@ -5107,7 +5073,7 @@ _grandioso_ theme beginning in A flat minor, which was suggested by the Roman remains of La Turbie, is so striking that it has already acquired a good many nicknames. The "steam-roller" theme, it has been called; elsewhere, the "seven-league-boot" theme, the "Jack the Giant-killer," -and, among Germans, the "Siebentoeter" theme. In any case it is a most +and, among Germans, the "Siebentöter" theme. In any case it is a most extraordinary piece of musical expression, of a kind scarcely ever foreshadowed by any other composer, except once or twice by Beethoven, who first sought and found the musical symbol of great historic or @@ -5146,7 +5112,7 @@ song having the breath of a national hymn. It is the melody which occurs as second principal theme of the longer "Pomp and Circumstance" march, which I beg to suggest is as broad as "God Save the King," "Rule Britannia," and "See the Conquering Hero," and is perhaps the broadest -open-air tune composed since Beethoven's "Freude schoener Goetterfunken." +open-air tune composed since Beethoven's "Freude schöner Götterfunken." Moreover, it is distinctively British--at once beefy and breezy. It is astonishing to hear people finding fault with Elgar for using this tune in two different compositions. I find it most natural in a composer, to @@ -5167,7 +5133,7 @@ RICHARD STRAUSS. [Sidenote: ="Don Quixote," -Duesseldorf.= +Düsseldorf.= _May 26, 1899._] @@ -5212,12 +5178,12 @@ as frankly grotesque as in "Till Eulenspiegel." The long and important introduction stands in a relation to the rest of the work that, so far as I know, is unique. It is a preparation for the principal theme, successively emphasising all the different kinds of significance -supposed to be contained in that theme. First we have a naive, stilted, +supposed to be contained in that theme. First we have a naïve, stilted, and pompous phrase suggesting Don Quixote's absorption in the romances of chivalry. Succeeding passages touch upon the hero's pose of gallantry and the great predominance of imagination over reason which leads him into grotesque adventures. The psychological method of the composer -causes him to lay stress on the crisis forming the _point de depart_ of +causes him to lay stress on the crisis forming the _point de départ_ of Don Quixote's career--a vow of atonement for sins and follies. At last we get the theme in its complete form--a masterpiece of droll characterisation,--and immediately after it the prosaic jog-trot of @@ -5258,7 +5224,7 @@ _January 17, 1901._] "Don Juan," though much less eccentric than most of the other "Symphonic Poems" by Richard Strauss, is a typical example of his overwhelmingly rich and effective orchestration. It also exemplifies the peculiar -quality of his design, crowded with a Duereresque multiplicity of forms +quality of his design, crowded with a Düreresque multiplicity of forms and details, his indifference to symmetry and sustained rhythmical flow, and his systematic endeavour to render the musical medium less vague and more nearly articulate than it ever was before, by enlarging the range @@ -5268,7 +5234,7 @@ Two imaginary figures that originated in Spanish literature have become the property of mankind. If Don Quixote stands isolated, without any close analogue in the romance of other countries, Don Juan--a somewhat later creation--has much in common with several heroes of Germanic -legend, such as Tannhaeuser, the Wild Huntsman, and Faust. The closest +legend, such as Tannhäuser, the Wild Huntsman, and Faust. The closest parallel is between Don Juan and Faust. Both are rebellious spirits; but Faust is ruined by intellectual pride, Juan by sensual passion. As those two kinds of revolt belong to the persistent facts of life, neither Juan @@ -5307,7 +5273,7 @@ made of it his masterpiece. [Sidenote: ="Don Juan," -Halle Concerts.= +Hallé Concerts.= _January 18, 1901._] @@ -5351,7 +5317,7 @@ Juan's death is also very powerful. _February 14, 1902._] -"Till Eulenspiegel" was the great mediaeval _farceur_. His name is well +"Till Eulenspiegel" was the great mediæval _farceur_. His name is well known to students of folk-lore. In Flemish books it figures as Thyl Uylenspiegel, in English as Till Owlglass. Like other heroes of popular story, Till lies buried in more than one place, each of his tombstones @@ -5368,10 +5334,10 @@ popular spirit against too much high-flown sentiment. The legendary figure of Till has appealed with the most extraordinary results to that composer who first brought into the domain of the musical art the specific qualities of the South German imagination, as represented, for -example, by Holbein, Duerer, and Adam Krafft. Incisive, graphic, ornate, +example, by Holbein, Dürer, and Adam Krafft. Incisive, graphic, ornate, and with no less unheard-of power of characterisation is Richard Strauss in his music than those other masters in their graphic or -plastic achievements. His "Till" reminds one of Duerer's woodcut +plastic achievements. His "Till" reminds one of Dürer's woodcut illustrations to the Apocalypse, but, of course, with colour added. And what colour! and what characterisation in the colour! He controls the orchestra precisely as a good actor the tones of his own voice. He can @@ -5390,7 +5356,7 @@ Strauss goes a distinct point beyond Wagner in the articulateness of his musical phrases, and he knows better than any other composer that it is the special province of music to express what cannot be expressed in any other way--what is too delicate, or too indelicate, to be expressed in -any other way. The most wonderful quality of "Till" is its mediaevalism. +any other way. The most wonderful quality of "Till" is its mediævalism. Listen to those triplets, in four-part chromatic harmony for five solo violins with _sordini_, expressing the agony of terror into which Till is thrown by his own wicked mockery of religion. By such devices the @@ -5409,7 +5375,7 @@ questions, such as whether it is not, after all, on harmony rather than on tone-colouring that the essential quality of Strauss's music depends; whether the eminent South German composer would have found it necessary to be so persistently galvanic in his procedure had he not addressed a -musical generation that is too fond of taking opium with Tchaikovsky; +musical generation that is too fond of taking opium with Tchaïkovsky; whether it is with Eulenspieglish intent that he sets so many unsophisticated love-song texts to music that betrays contempt of mere lyrism, or whether he genuinely misunderstands the trend of his own @@ -5423,14 +5389,14 @@ and too highly flavoured "Sehnsucht" was admirably sung, and the fascination of it, not unmixed with horror, was such that it had to be repeated. Nothing about Strauss is more disquieting than his after-effect on the musical palate. Whether one likes his style or not, -any other sounds are tame by contrast with it, and a naif and mild +any other sounds are tame by contrast with it, and a naïf and mild composer such as Grieg (the Hans Andersen of music) seems almost bread-and-butter. [Sidenote: ="Faust Symphonie," -Duesseldorf.= +Düsseldorf.= _May 23, 1902._] @@ -5476,7 +5442,7 @@ sort of phosphorescent fever, here and there provoking a process of sharp self-examination. -[Sidenote: ="Tod und Verklaerung."= +[Sidenote: ="Tod und Verklärung."= _October 17, 1902._] @@ -5496,7 +5462,7 @@ state a definite opinion. Those who assert that Strauss is a mere eccentric will sooner or later find themselves in the wrong. He has in a few cases played tricks on the public, but he is nevertheless a master-composer, in the full and simple sense of those words--a -master-composer just as Mozart was. In "Tod und Verklaerung" we find him +master-composer just as Mozart was. In "Tod und Verklärung" we find him in a mood of absolute seriousness. The theme is a death-bed scene, the phantasmagoria of a sick brain during the last moments of earthly consciousness, the final struggle with death, and then a wonderful @@ -5517,11 +5483,11 @@ Poems by the same composer--earlier or later--is likely to be surprised at his comparative moderation and restraint in depicting the terrors of the struggle with death. It cannot be denied that Strauss is greatly preoccupied with such ideas. He has set the very article of death to -music on at least four different occasions ("Tod und Verklaerung," "Don +music on at least four different occasions ("Tod und Verklärung," "Don Juan," "Till," and "Don Quixote"). The hanging of "Till" is inconceivably drastic in its realism, and the last sigh of Don Quixote is the most unearthly thing in all music. Don Juan's death is purely -_macabre_; but in "Tod und Verklaerung" a certain suggestion of the +_macabre_; but in "Tod und Verklärung" a certain suggestion of the _macabre_ gives way to something very different--the suggestion of the soul rising to immortality; and thus is initiated the final section, dominated by the noble and beautiful "transfiguration" theme. Those of @@ -5562,8 +5528,8 @@ he gives one of them from time to time. It is not Lancashire any more than it is London that, among British musical centres, has displayed the readiest appreciation of Strauss--the great and typical modern. It is the part of the country served by the Scottish Orchestra, where "Tod und -Verklaerung" has before now been chosen for performance at a _plebiscite_ -concert. This seems very natural, for "Tod und Verklaerung" is the +Verklärung" has before now been chosen for performance at a _plébiscite_ +concert. This seems very natural, for "Tod und Verklärung" is the clearest, simplest, and least heterodox of Strauss's orchestral works, and much easier to understand at a first hearing than Beethoven's C minor Symphony. It has, in fact, been recognised as a classic nearly @@ -5572,7 +5538,7 @@ piece of eccentricity. We can only hope that after hearing "Zarathustra"--which certainly is rather a large order--some of our conscientious objectors may reconsider their position. The extraordinary thing is that it was better received than the far more generally -comprehensible "Tod und Verklaerung." This was no doubt, in part, due to +comprehensible "Tod und Verklärung." This was no doubt, in part, due to sheer astonishment, but also, we believe, to the perception that whatever else there may be in the work there is a certain grandeur of perception. It is scarcely possible to listen in a state of complete @@ -5657,7 +5623,7 @@ on the progress of music towards greater articulateness. It is not music, and does nothing whatever for music. It is a monstrous excrescence and blemish--a product of musical insanity, bearing no trace whatever of that genius which produced the lovely and perfect "Tod und -Verklaerung" and the superbly racy and pithy orchestral Scherzo "Till +Verklärung" and the superbly racy and pithy orchestral Scherzo "Till Eulenspiegel." The expression of such views carries with it the terrible consequence of @@ -5769,7 +5735,7 @@ CHAPTER IX. CHAMBER MUSIC. -[Sidenote: =Dvorak +[Sidenote: =Dvoràk Quintet in A Major.= @@ -5779,7 +5745,7 @@ Music for pianoforte, combined with two or more bow instruments, is usually constituted on anything but democratic principles, the percussion instrument standing to the others in very much the same relation as Jupiter to his satellites. But the splendid quintet by -Dvorak given last night forms an honourable exception to this principle, +Dvoràk given last night forms an honourable exception to this principle, the Bohemian composer's well-known preference for bow instruments having apparently counteracted the usual tendency to make the pianoforte part too prominent. Throughout the quintet there is an endless wealth and @@ -5790,7 +5756,7 @@ tarantelle. The pianoforte part is sometimes of independent interest, and sometimes consists of beautiful accompanying passages constructed from chords in extended position. The second movement bears the name "Dumka," which, we believe, was first used as the name of a musical -movement by Dvorak, or at any rate first became familiar to the world in +movement by Dvoràk, or at any rate first became familiar to the world in general through his works. It is derived from a Slavonic root meaning "to think," and may be taken as something like the equivalent of "meditation." There are several peculiarly interesting and charming @@ -5807,7 +5773,7 @@ the rambling tendency. The finale is dominated by a dance theme in double time of enormous energy and vivacity. -[Sidenote: =Dvorak +[Sidenote: =Dvoràk Quartet, Op. 96.= @@ -5823,13 +5789,13 @@ in the Symphony, they are fine enough to make it a most interesting feature in the music of the wonderful Bohemian composer's American period. That music has taught some of us a rather important lesson. The value of folk-melody has long been recognised, but until these works by -Dvorak became known it was pretty generally thought that Negro tunes +Dvoràk became known it was pretty generally thought that Negro tunes formed an exception to the principle that all sincere, unsophisticated, -and original musical utterance has artistic value. Dvorak has taught us +and original musical utterance has artistic value. Dvoràk has taught us the danger of regarding any natural thing as common or unclean. He has shown that Negro melody may give rise to beautiful works of art no less -than Irish, Hungarian, or Scandinavian melody. Dvorak is the most -impossible to classify of all composers. He is naif and yet a master of +than Irish, Hungarian, or Scandinavian melody. Dvoràk is the most +impossible to classify of all composers. He is naïf and yet a master of complex and ingenious design; a scorner of scholastic device and at the same time a successful worker in the classical forms; the most original of the composers who became known during the latter half of the 19th @@ -5891,7 +5857,7 @@ Concerto in D Minor.= _January 15, 1903._] -The association of Lady Halle and Dr. Brodsky in Bach's Concerto for two +The association of Lady Hallé and Dr. Brodsky in Bach's Concerto for two violins yesterday brought together by far the largest audience ever yet seen at these concerts. The D minor, with two solo parts, is doubtless the finest on the whole of Bach's violin Concertos. The Largo, cast in a @@ -5928,23 +5894,23 @@ amid the utmost fire and freedom of the execution in the rapid parts. The Quartet, which occupies quite forty-five minutes in performance, is remarkable for an opening movement in which adagio and allegro sections alternate with wayward frequency, for the curious fourth movement in a -sort of Laendler rhythm, and for the Cavatina in E flat preceding the +sort of Ländler rhythm, and for the Cavatina in E flat preceding the Finale. It is capricious and multifarious, but has neither the abstruseness nor the occasional violence of the later Beethoven as revealed in the last Quartets and Sonatas. -[Sidenote: =Tchaikovsky +[Sidenote: =Tchaïkovsky Quartet in D Major.=] -Tchaikovsky's first Quartet is chiefly remembered in connection with the +Tchaïkovsky's first Quartet is chiefly remembered in connection with the Andante, which makes a peculiar appeal to the imagination. Though the thematic basis is evidently derived from folk-music, and the tones of the muted instruments are such as one associates with "soft Lydian airs" that merely play upon the senses without further significance, there is in this movement a strange mystical exaltation that is not often met -with in Tchaikovsky. It sounds like a dream of the shepherds who watched +with in Tchaïkovsky. It sounds like a dream of the shepherds who watched their flocks by night and heard the angels sing, or an illustration of some kindred theme in which a homely and pastoral note is associated with devout and joyous feeling. It is the movement that so greatly moved @@ -5955,14 +5921,14 @@ career to make stringed instruments speak with such free, ready, and natural eloquence. -[Sidenote: =Tchaikovsky +[Sidenote: =Tchaïkovsky Trio in A Minor.= _February 26, 1903._] Most astonishing are the comments that one hears and reads occasionally -on such "In Memoriam" pieces as Tchaikovsky's noble Trio, written in +on such "In Memoriam" pieces as Tchaïkovsky's noble Trio, written in honour of Nicolas Rubinstein--brother of the more famous Anton and a pianist of nearly equal eminence. The psychological basis of this Trio is of exceptional clearness; it is probably clearer than in any other @@ -5970,7 +5936,7 @@ composition of similar extension. Yesterday, Mr. Siloti played the pianoforte part at these concerts for the second if not for the third time. Frequenters have therefore enjoyed unusually good opportunities of becoming acquainted with the music, which we regard as on the whole the -best example of Tchaikovsky's chamber composition. As in Schubert's +best example of Tchaïkovsky's chamber composition. As in Schubert's "Wanderer Fantasie," the centre of the whole is the theme of the second movement--a beautiful and expressive strain that, in the composer's imagination, evidently symbolised the personality of his lost friend. @@ -6004,7 +5970,7 @@ obvious reference to Chopin. One can scarcely hear a better rendering than Mr. Siloti's of the pianoforte part, which is throughout of paramount importance. Like Dr. Brodsky, Mr. Siloti was an intimate friend of the composer, and as he is also an acknowledged master of -pianoforte technique and a highly accomplished musician, his Tchaikovsky +pianoforte technique and a highly accomplished musician, his Tchaïkovsky interpretations have a certain authority. Moreover, no living instrumentalist can charm a melody into life in a more suave and natural manner, and the lines of a composition always fall into their proper @@ -6016,7 +5982,7 @@ style, and gave all the rest of his part in a manner worthy of that fine entry. -[Sidenote: =Cesar Franck +[Sidenote: =César Franck Quintet in F Minor.= @@ -6026,7 +5992,7 @@ The Quintet, for pianoforte and strings in F minor and major, is a typical example of the composer's profound learning and immense technical mastery, of his lofty ideal as a musical artist, and of his quite marvellous originality. Judging by such a composition, one would -hardly claim the gift of melodic charm for Cesar Franck. He has little +hardly claim the gift of melodic charm for César Franck. He has little or no lyrism, and he seems to be chiefly interested in delivering music from the bondage of the tonic and dominant system, while calling upon each instrument for what is most characteristic in its technical @@ -6046,21 +6012,21 @@ but that the special kind of eloquence in the music belongs essentially to the particular combination for which it was written. The key system is disconcerting at first. The composer seems to insist that two chords so unlike tonic and dominant as F major and D flat minor (if anyone -thinks there is no such key he cannot have studied Cesar Franck) will do +thinks there is no such key he cannot have studied César Franck) will do just as well for the main props of an extended composition; and he has all the best of the argument. The technical interest of the work is of the keenest from beginning to end; but the poetic interest seems to develop slowly, the imaginative play being nowhere as definite as in the finale, which begins with strong passages of extreme nervous agitation -and culminates in a tumultuous _denoument_ with strong reiterated +and culminates in a tumultuous _dénoûment_ with strong reiterated insistence on the two chords aforementioned, above which the strings rush towards their point of repose in a unison of unparalleled energy and breadth. The subtle and heavy emotion of the slow movement reminds -one of Maeterlinck. Cesar Franck (1822-90) was a Liegeois who migrated +one of Maeterlinck. César Franck (1822-90) was a Liégeois who migrated to Paris, where he became the founder of the young French school--that school of which Mr. Vincent d'Indy is now the principal ornament. Another follower, much less truly distinguished than d'Indy but better -known in this country, is Gabriel Faure. Franck is the only great +known in this country, is Gabriel Fauré. Franck is the only great composer that Belgium has produced in modern times. The task of interpreting the wonderful Quintet was one of the most formidable that Dr. Brodsky and his associates ever took in hand. But they were equal to @@ -6089,13 +6055,13 @@ cannot be said that the performance fell short of Mr. Reisenauer's great reputation. In his rendering of Schumann's "Carnaval" not a point was missed, and the "Paganini" intermezzo, occurring in the middle of the slow waltz, gave a foretaste of the quite extraordinary technical powers -which were more fully displayed later on. The "Davidsbuendler" finale was +which were more fully displayed later on. The "Davidsbündler" finale was played with less noise and more subtlety than is usually bestowed upon this curious march, with the Grossvaterstanz creeping in unobserved, much as the "Marseillaise" creeps into the "Faschingschwank in Wien" by the same composer. In certain numbers the pianist showed a tendency to prefer pieces of a secondary and almost trivial character such as the -"Rondo a Capriccio" to which Beethoven has given the whimsical sub-title +"Rondo à Capriccio" to which Beethoven has given the whimsical sub-title "Rage over the lost penny stormed out in a Caprice." Not that this work is altogether frivolous. As in almost all Beethoven's music, the working-out sections contain much that is beautiful and interesting; but @@ -6110,7 +6076,7 @@ by the same hand first below the trill and then above it, was a thing to be remembered. There was not the least trace of those licences which even first-rate players commonly allow themselves in order to facilitate such manoeuvres. To the ear the effect was absolutely that of three -independent hands. The "Erlkoenig" transcription, on the other hand, was +independent hands. The "Erlkönig" transcription, on the other hand, was much less impressive. It was performed with an exaggerated _tempo rubato_, and was altogether too noisy. Of the Chopin Nocturne in D flat as rendered yesterday afternoon it is difficult to speak in measured @@ -6176,7 +6142,7 @@ be hoped that anyone who listened to them attentively will have grasped the rudimentary point that there is nothing in common between that clumsy dance of Western Europe called the Polka Mazurka and the elaborate figure dance the music of which has been so wonderfully -idealised in the Mazurkas of Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Wieniawski, +idealised in the Mazurkas of Chopin, Tchaïkovsky, Wiéniawski, Moszkowski, and Scharwenka. @@ -6209,7 +6175,7 @@ some struggle of the heroic soul. It has nothing entertaining and nothing to propitiate superficial taste. No wonder it was a failure at Leipsic in 1859, when that centre of enlightenment was given up to the Mendelssohn cult! After the composer himself, the first pianist to take -up the Concerto was Hans von Buelow, who with a performance at a +up the Concerto was Hans von Bülow, who with a performance at a Philharmonic Concert in Berlin won early recognition of its surpassing merit. Other performers who contributed towards the success of the work with the world in general were Madame Schumann and Mr. D'Albert. At the @@ -6267,7 +6233,7 @@ accompanied piece yesterday. It is the most considerable work of that curious composer, who made a great reputation as a pianist though he scarcely ever played in public, and some reputation as a composer though he never did anything more original than the pianoforte Etude "Si oiseau -j'etais," and for the most part rested satisfied with giving enfeebled +j'étais," and for the most part rested satisfied with giving enfeebled reproductions of Chopin's ideas thinly disguised by arpeggio accompaniments in extended harmonies and ornamental passages in double notes. In a few points, such as the use of _martellato_ octaves and @@ -6327,7 +6293,7 @@ is strongly stamped with the composer's individuality. Some of the variations, too, contain examples of graceful movement, but there is not much more to be said for them. They are not for a moment to be compared with the typical modern works in variation form, such as Mendelssohn's -"Variations Serieuses," Schumann's "Etudes Symphoniques," or the +"Variations Sérieuses," Schumann's "Etudes Symphoniques," or the variations on a chorale of Haydn by Brahms. The one really fine work of considerable scope for pianoforte by Grieg is the Concerto. All that was possible, however, to be made of the Ballade was made of it by Mr. @@ -6358,7 +6324,7 @@ certainly never matched in any other mortal. Both processes he performed with consummate ability. Mr. Siloti rendered the solo part with the restraint and the mature mastery of his resources that are characteristic of him. He tears no passion to tatters; he does not play -"in Ercles' vein"; the tricks of the "Oktavenbaendiger" delight him not; +"in Ercles' vein"; the tricks of the "Oktavenbändiger" delight him not; nor does he tickle and paw the notes in the velvety-ineffable style. Mr. Siloti is so considerate as not to obliterate the composer in any way. There is a certain largeness and gentleness in his manner. His technical @@ -6403,7 +6369,7 @@ frenzy that rages through the middle and latter parts of this piece awakens no sympathy. It has, nevertheless, a legitimate place in the Palace of Art, being nothing more than the logical development to the highest possible point of the _bravura_ style that originated with -Liszt. The latter of the two variations on "_La ci darem_"--that section +Liszt. The latter of the two variations on "_Là ci darem_"--that section which precedes the entry of the champagne song--is the most bewildering and repugnant part of the piece to the general public. For that reason, and also on account of its heart-breaking difficulties, the variation in @@ -6528,7 +6494,7 @@ magical effect of his performance in the G sharp minor Etude in thirds for the right hand. In playing the exquisite F minor Concert Etude by Liszt he deliberately kept the tone down to a minimum, to avoid the buzz and confusion as far as possible. Liszt's transcription of the -"Tannhaeuser" Overture was used for the display piece that audiences +"Tannhäuser" Overture was used for the display piece that audiences expect at the end of a recital. It is characteristic of Mr. Godowsky that his favourite amusement is making rearrangements of Chopin's Etudes--the "Godowsky Bedevilments," Mr. Huneker calls them. These @@ -6572,7 +6538,7 @@ weak, could be made interesting by his transcendental style of ornamentation--rather than the earlier Liszt who wrote things of such power and eloquence as the "Mazeppa" Etude. Mr. Lamond's mind seems recently to have been running on Liszt's Tarantelle Fantasias. He played -the "Venezia e Napoli" Tarantelle at the Halle Concert and the "Muette +the "Venezia e Napoli" Tarantelle at the Hallé Concert and the "Muette de Portici" Tarantelle yesterday--both pieces which are chiefly of interest as proving that Liszt could improvise effectively upon any conceivable sort of thematic material. It would have been much more @@ -6597,7 +6563,7 @@ perfect, though one might have expected that his Beethovenish tastes would have rebelled against the hothouse atmosphere of the composition. The opening performance of Schumann's "Carnaval" was powerful and distinguished, but too broad in style to be in keeping with the -sub-title "Scenes mignonnes." On neither of these recent occasions has +sub-title "Scènes mignonnes." On neither of these recent occasions has Mr. Lamond played anything of his own, though he has composed plenty of effective stuff for his instrument. He is beyond all question by far the most distinguished pianist of British extraction that has yet arisen. @@ -6641,7 +6607,7 @@ remarkable for such wealth of thematic development as one scarcely expects to find in a work composed so long before Beethoven's time, and the finale brings the work to a close upon a note of simple and hearty feeling. If strong contrast with the style of Bach was desired, the -Saint-Saens concerto was well chosen for the second example of violin +Saint-Saëns concerto was well chosen for the second example of violin music. Rich in colouring and surcharged with sensuous delights, the modern Frenchman's composition passes along on its triumphant career, like some fine lady, radiant in natural beauty and superbly attired, @@ -6671,7 +6637,7 @@ incapable of exaggeration--such are the most obvious qualities of Mr. Ysaye's art. He is not a genuine classic, like Joachim. Bach and Beethoven he plays in virtue of infallible artistic _savoir vivre_; but he is obviously in fuller sympathy with a Sonata or Concerto by -Saint-Saens, a Suite by Vieuxtemps, or a Fantasia by Wieniawski. Yet +Saint-Saëns, a Suite by Vieuxtemps, or a Fantasia by Wiéniawski. Yet that artistic _savoir vivre_ is so complete that it is nearly always impossible to find specific fault with his renderings of the classics. This was the case yesterday in the Bach Sonata, which headed the @@ -6680,10 +6646,10 @@ player, no less than of the pianist, Mr. Busoni--real kindred spirits of Bach and Beethoven. The Vieuxtemps Suite, too, was given with such beauty of tone that the superficiality of the composition was entirely disguised, the slow movement sounding almost as though Bach had written -it. In the concluding sonata--a late work by Saint-Saens--it is +it. In the concluding sonata--a late work by Saint-Saëns--it is scarcely necessary to say that the violin-playing was perfect. Perhaps some of the listeners remembered a performance by the same violinist of -Saint-Saens's Third Concerto at a Halle Concert not long ago. Again +Saint-Saëns's Third Concerto at a Hallé Concert not long ago. Again yesterday we were treated to such playing as bewilders the senses and seemed to place the transcendental cleverness of the French composer on a level with the real imaginative power of greater men. Mr. Ysaye was @@ -6734,7 +6700,7 @@ charming piece of light, racy, and popular music as Grieg's third Sonata. The one scrap of Bach that he played yesterday--the unaccompanied Prelude in E major--was not specially well done, and how he plays Beethoven, Mozart, or any of the great masters we do not know -at all. His most _recherches_ effects of tone Mr. Kubelik seems to hold +at all. His most _recherchés_ effects of tone Mr. Kubelik seems to hold in reserve for the encore pieces. In the allegretto movement of the Grieg Sonata--a most tenderly homesick and lovesick little northern Romance--he did not let his violin sing with all the sweetness of which @@ -6800,7 +6766,7 @@ eighteenth-century Frenchman), much modernised in the arrangement; a bagatelle called "L'Abeille," by Franz Schubert of Dresden--not, of course, the famous Schubert, but a violinist who died some twenty-five years ago; an arrangement by Marcello Rossi of the "Song without Words" -in F, by Tchaikovsky; and, finally, the Allegretto grazioso from the +in F, by Tchaïkovsky; and, finally, the Allegretto grazioso from the same Nardini Sonata, played as an encore piece. "L'Abeille"--a clever show-piece in perpetual motion triplets, played with a mute on the bridge--was encored and repeated. @@ -6958,7 +6924,7 @@ music of the love scenes is terrible. All that twisted, clever stuff can never have any but a chilling, afflicting, alienating effect on a soul in which any spark is left either of youthfulness or of sympathy with youth. Stanford's musical cleverness, exceeding that of any other -mortal except Camille Saint-Saens, has been his bane. His sense of +mortal except Camille Saint-Saëns, has been his bane. His sense of humour, too, is perversely adjusted. In connection with any but an Irish subject it is always liable to mislead him, and I have little doubt that it is the humourist quite as much as the don in him which nowadays makes @@ -7049,7 +7015,7 @@ which Braham regaled the London public during the early years of the century. The scene of his first triumphs was Covent Garden Theatre, where he was accustomed to appear in composite operatic entertainments, his own part being almost invariably written by himself. A few years -after the London _debut_ of Braham the penny-whistle melodies of Sir +after the London _début_ of Braham the penny-whistle melodies of Sir Henry Bishop sufficed to make him the most popular composer of the day. In 1810, when Bishop became director at Covent Garden, none of the institutions that have played an important part in the musical progress @@ -7057,7 +7023,7 @@ of the century as yet existed in this country. It is true the Festival of the Three Choirs had been held regularly for a very long time already. But there was no Philharmonic Society, no genuine opera, no Saturday and Monday popular concerts of chamber-music, no Academy or -College of Music, no Crystal Palace or Halle orchestra. The great choral +College of Music, no Crystal Palace or Hallé orchestra. The great choral associations, independent of Cathedral authorities, had not yet been formed, and England was far too much isolated from the rest of the world in regard to musical affairs. @@ -7130,11 +7096,11 @@ Even more important than these flying visits of master composers from abroad, for their influence on the formation of taste, were the more regular visits of distinguished Continental performers, some of whom, indeed, not only came regularly but came to stay. Of these the most -important were Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Halle, who in 1857 founded +important were Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Hallé, who in 1857 founded the Manchester concerts that still bear his name; Mr. August Manns, who became conductor at the Crystal Palace in 1855; and Dr. Richter, who has been our regular visitor since 1877 and is now, to the great credit of -the Halle Committee and their supporters, living in our midst. Scarcely +the Hallé Committee and their supporters, living in our midst. Scarcely less important among such foreign influences making for the welfare of musical art in this country is the violin-playing of Dr. Joachim, who has been our constant visitor ever since 1844. @@ -7169,7 +7135,7 @@ view to bringing educational opportunities more into conformity with the wants of the time. Among the work done for the improvement of musical education during the intervening period Mr. John Hullah's is worthy of specially honourable mention. After studying popular musical -education in France, and especially the Orpheon movement, Mr. Hullah +education in France, and especially the Orphéon movement, Mr. Hullah began classes at Exeter Hall for the musical instruction of schoolmasters, and thus originated the vast development of musical training in English elementary schools. In opposition to Mr. Hullah's @@ -7198,7 +7164,7 @@ stimulating, school-forming influences. In another age we make a somewhat similar mistake in regard to Mendelssohn and Schumann, and it is even possible to recognise the same unfortunate tendency at the present day in the public attitude towards Richard Strauss and -Tchaikovsky respectively, the former a rugged composer teeming with +Tchaïkovsky respectively, the former a rugged composer teeming with ideas and varied suggestions, the other a remarkable painter in tones but peculiarly restricted in the range of his ideas and emotions, taking care never to suggest anything, but only to attempt what he can render @@ -7228,7 +7194,7 @@ Wagnerian art in this country was Dr. Richter, who, by the performance of extracts at his orchestral concerts, gradually opened the ears of the public and brought home the music to their hearts. In that task he was well supported by Mr. Manns at the Crystal Palace and by Sir Charles -Halle in the Manchester neighbourhood. Hence the fact that though the +Hallé in the Manchester neighbourhood. Hence the fact that though the two impresarios who gave performances of the great "Ring" drama in London in the eighties incurred grievous loss, Mr. Schultz Curtius gave it in the nineties and prospered, and that the voice of senseless @@ -7340,7 +7306,7 @@ Wagner were impossible of performance. But it so happened, as if by a special Providence, that along with Wagner certain performing musicians, who were not so easily frightened, -had been ripening towards their life's task. From Liszt and Von Buelow +had been ripening towards their life's task. From Liszt and Von Bülow presently came demonstrations of the fact that Wagner's music was not so impossible as at first thought to be, though requiring a method of interpretation different from that of the "Pig-tails." In 1869 appeared @@ -7348,12 +7314,12 @@ Wagner's pamphlet "On Conducting," just three years after his first meeting with Hans Richter, and, whatever may be thought of the style of that pamphlet, it is beyond question that it marks the beginning of a new era in the history of orchestral music. Besides Richter, all modern -conductors of world-wide reputation--Buelow, Levi, Seidl, Weingartner and +conductors of world-wide reputation--Bülow, Levi, Seidl, Weingartner and Richard Strauss--were found in the same school. They learned from Wagner how to play Beethoven, and their method has revolutionised the musical world. -Now that Buelow is gone, the acknowledged leader and master of them all +Now that Bülow is gone, the acknowledged leader and master of them all is Hans Richter, the incarnate genius of musical interpretation. To Richter's influence and example, far more than to anything else that @@ -7393,7 +7359,7 @@ youthful colleague, and an alliance sprang up between the two men which only terminated at Wagner's death. Trial performances with orchestras brought together from the musicians -of Zuerich and Lucerne quickly convinced the Wagnerian circle of +of Zürich and Lucerne quickly convinced the Wagnerian circle of Richter's genius for selecting, training and conducting an orchestra, while the preparation of the "Meistersinger" score was carried out to the composer's complete satisfaction. Those who examined the fair copy @@ -7413,7 +7379,7 @@ Richter encountered apparently insuperable obstacles at every turn. Nevertheless, everything was carried through to a brilliantly successful issue, and the first performance of "Meistersinger," which took place at Munich in June, 1868, was really the first great triumph of the -Wagnerian cause. Though Buelow was at the conductor's desk, it is +Wagnerian cause. Though Bülow was at the conductor's desk, it is unquestionable that the labour of Hercules, which was necessary to bring the work to a first hearing, was performed in the main by Richter. @@ -7428,20 +7394,20 @@ first performance; he has conducted countless brilliant representations of the entire work, and on one occasion, at any rate, he enacted one of the characters. The qualities exhibited by Richter in connection with the production of "Meistersinger" caused him to be appointed -fellow-director with Buelow at the Royal Opera in Munich, and when Buelow +fellow-director with Bülow at the Royal Opera in Munich, and when Bülow resigned in the following year Richter stood alone in that post. The impatience of the King of Bavaria to have Wagner's immense "Nibelung" trilogy performed was the cause of a premature attempt to -present "Rheingold" before the extraordinary _mise-en-scene_ required by +present "Rheingold" before the extraordinary _mise-en-scène_ required by that work was ready. Rather than take part in an unworthy rendering, Richter tendered his resignation and quitted the brilliant post to which he had been so recently appointed. Thus early did Richter show the stuff of which he was made. He had absolutely nothing else in view. He simply had to look about for employment, and we next find him in Paris, working in combination with Pasdeloup, who was engaged in a scheme for bringing -out "Rienzi" at the Theatre Lyrique. The scheme came to nothing, but the -authorities of the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels, who had heard of +out "Rienzi" at the Théatre Lyrique. The scheme came to nothing, but the +authorities of the Théatre de la Monnaie in Brussels, who had heard of Richter's fame, invited him to come and superintend the first production of "Lohengrin" in French which they were preparing. @@ -7531,7 +7497,7 @@ of producing a true _piano_ and a true _forte_ (Wagner having pointed out that old-fashioned orchestras never played anything but mezzo-forte); mastery of Wagner's system of phrasing, his far-reaching investigations with regard to _cantabile_ passages, his treatment of -_fermate_, his distinction between the naif _allegro_ and the poetic +_fermate_, his distinction between the naïf _allegro_ and the poetic _allegro_; mastery and practical realisation of all Wagner's other ideas concerning musical interpretation or public performances, a subject in which Wagner took a far more deep, expert and fruitful @@ -7560,21 +7526,21 @@ originally named Nietzky, who gave up their title and estates and settled in Germany on account of Protestant convictions. Friedrich Nietzsche was born in 1844. He received a classical education, and at twenty-eight years of age became Professor of Classical Philology in the -University of Bale; but throughout life his love of art, and especially +University of Bâle; but throughout life his love of art, and especially of music, remained an absorbing passion. It appears that his musical instinct was first aroused by the works of Schumann, and that youthful enthusiasm led to serious musical studies. Later on he became the most ardent of Wagnerians, and finally the fiercest of Wagner's assailants. Nietzsche's earliest writings are academic monographs on various classical subjects, the brilliant scholarship of which led to his -appointment at Bale. The philosophical essays began to appear towards -his thirtieth year, during his professorship at Bale. There are verses, +appointment at Bâle. The philosophical essays began to appear towards +his thirtieth year, during his professorship at Bâle. There are verses, too, by Nietzsche which exhibit a genuine poetic faculty. The manner and order of Nietzsche's mental awakening is worthy of attention--first, the love of music, leading to a general interest in art; next, philological studies, originally undertaken, in the opinion of his sister Madame -Foerster-Nietzsche, as a relief from the feverish problems of modern -aesthetics, and pursued to such purpose that he became a master of Roman +Förster-Nietzsche, as a relief from the feverish problems of modern +æsthetics, and pursued to such purpose that he became a master of Roman and Greek learning. His writings also reveal a wide knowledge of Hebrew and Indian literature, besides thorough familiarity with all that is of first-rate importance in modern thought. His first intellectual master @@ -7583,7 +7549,7 @@ hopelessly insane. There is not the least trace of mental disorder in the previous family history. The stocks from which he was descended were on both sides of exceptional energy, ability, and character. There is also abundant testimony to the simplicity, amiability, and charm of his -personal character. His friends and colleagues at Bale seem to have had +personal character. His friends and colleagues at Bâle seem to have had no suspicion of the explosive energies which appear in his writings. His tastes were throughout life reserved and fastidious, and the ultimate breakdown of his mind can only be attributed to the sheer excess of @@ -7632,7 +7598,7 @@ contains a passage in which Christianity is called one of the purest examples of the striving after perfection to be found in the history of mankind, while the "Antichrist," the last essay in the volume now before us, is a new and more formidable version of the Voltairian "Ecrasez -l'Infame," a furious denunciation not merely of Christian dogma, but +l'Infâme," a furious denunciation not merely of Christian dogma, but also, and more especially, of the ethical principles that are the essence of the Christian system for the modern world. All these recantations thus appear with scarcely a hint of the antecedent @@ -7771,7 +7737,7 @@ everything German. He has, in fact, "reverted to type," and from 1876 onwards he figures as a feudal aristocrat in exile. In his general type of culture Nietzsche was very un-English. The -questions of aesthetics have never been treated in this country as +questions of æsthetics have never been treated in this country as anything but an affair of dilettantes--at best a superior kind of trifling; whereas for Nietzsche they were a matter of life and death. And if it is a point of conscience with cultivated Englishmen to take @@ -7794,7 +7760,7 @@ Excepting, perhaps, one or two recent cases, such as Dr. Parry and Mr. Hadow, our men of light and leading have had nothing important to say about music, whereas for Nietzsche, a scholar and critic of commanding reputation, music was the one art possessing genuine vitality in the -modern world, and the questions of musical aesthetics were anything but +modern world, and the questions of musical æsthetics were anything but an affair of dilettantes; they were the questions connected with a tremendous power for good or evil. @@ -7899,7 +7865,7 @@ his polemic is directed is Wagner the psychologist, the pessimist, the preacher of chastity and resignation--in a word, as Nietzsche understands him, the decadent. Christianity, according to Nietzsche, has made decadence into a religion, Schopenhauer has turned it into a -philosophy, Wagner into an aesthetic theory. Hence the constant polemic +philosophy, Wagner into an æsthetic theory. Hence the constant polemic against all three which recurs in all Nietzsche's writings. The "Genealogy of Morals" is devoted to the exposition of a favourite theory of Nietzsche's, that there have always been two antithetical codes of @@ -7951,18 +7917,18 @@ the original. Page 41, missing "on" added. (... a man of genius who, without private means, had thrown up his employment and taken himself and his wife on a long journey to a foreign country in order to win recognition in "la -ville Lumiere" must, in the course of three fruitless years, have felt +ville Lumière" must, in the course of three fruitless years, have felt something worse than misgiving.) Page 42, "aud" changed to "and". (... it is that bitterness of spirit which finds expression in the smashing and burning ...) -Page 58, "naively" changed to "naively" for consistency. (Besides doing +Page 58, "naively" changed to "naïvely" for consistency. (Besides doing justice to the drama as an allegorical picture of life in the light of certain nineteenth-century ideas, the performance was a specially good -revelation of its amusing and naively entertaining qualities.) +revelation of its amusing and naïvely entertaining qualities.) -Page 61, duplicate "which" deleted. (In regard to "Walkuere" and +Page 61, duplicate "which" deleted. (In regard to "Walküre" and "Siegfried," which have long been in the repertory of London, Paris, and other capitals, the superiority of Bayreuth is very much less certain--that is to say, of Bayreuth as represented by this year's @@ -7983,7 +7949,7 @@ Professor Hugo Becker, of Frankfurt, of the violoncello solo which throughout the work is identified with the person of the titular hero.) Page 129, "Symphony" changed to "Symphonie" for consistency. (="Faust -Symphonie," Duesseldorf.=) +Symphonie," Düsseldorf.=) Page 129, "like" changed to "likes". (Whether one likes his style or not,...) @@ -8025,361 +7991,4 @@ raised the most important of social questions ...) 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Musical Criticisms - -Author: Arthur Johnstone - -Release Date: February 15, 2013 [EBook #42097] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSICAL CRITICISMS *** - - - - -Produced by Veronika Redfern, Adrian Mastronardi and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - Musical - Criticisms - - SHERRATT & HUGHES - Publishers to the Victoria University of Manchester - Manchester: 27 St. Ann Street - London: 65 Long Acre - - [Illustration: AGED 26.] - - MUSICAL CRITICISMS - BY - ARTHUR JOHNSTONE - - WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR BY - HENRY REECE AND OLIVER ELTON - - MANCHESTER - AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS - 1905 - - - To Dr. Hans Richter - in Memory of his Friend and Admirer - Arthur Johnstone - - - - -FOREWORD. - - -The Editors desire to express their thanks to the Proprietors of the -_Manchester Guardian_ for their permission to reprint the articles -contained in this volume. - -They also wish to acknowledge the assistance they have received in -compiling the memoir from the family of the late Mr. Arthur Johnstone -and from his friends, and they are more particularly indebted to -Professor Sidney Vantyn for the long correspondence he placed at their -disposal. - -The letters quoted were for the most part written to Mr. Oliver Elton. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - =Memoir= i. - - =Chapter I.--Bach= - The Genius of Bach 1 - Mass in B minor ("Hohe Messe") 3 - The "St. Matthew Passion" 5 - A minor Concerto for two Violins 8 - - =Chapter II.--Beethoven= - Symphony No. 5 (C minor) 11 - Symphony No. 6 ("Pastoral") 13 - Symphony No. 7 14 - Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica") 16 - Symphony No. 2 18 - "Missa Solennis" 20 - "Fidelio" 21 - - =Chapter III.--Berlioz= - "Symphonie Fantastique" 24 - "La Damnation de Faust" 27 - The Centenary Celebrations 29 - - =Chapter IV.--Liszt= - "Faust" Symphony 33 - Pianoforte Concerto in E flat 36 - - =Chapter V.--Wagner= - Overture, "Faust in solitude" 39 - The "Ring" at Covent Garden (1903) 41 - The Bayreuth Festival 51 - "Parsifal" 53 - The "Ring" at Bayreuth (1904) 56 - - =Chapter VI.--Tchakovsky= - Symphony No. 5 and other works 63 - Symphony No. 4 67 - Overture, "Romeo and Juliet" 69 - Symphony No. 5 71 - Symphony No. 6 ("Pathtique") 75 - - =Chapter VII.--Sir Edward Elgar= - "King Olaf" 78 - The "Enigma" Variations 81 - Overture, "Cockaigne" 85 - The "Dream of Gerontius," Birmingham Festival 89 - " " Dsseldorf 92 - " " Preliminary Article 95 - " " Hall Concerts, Manchester 98 - "The Apostles," Birmingham Festival 104 - " Preliminary Article 108 - " Hall Concerts, Manchester 111 - Overture, "In the South" 116 - The "Coronation Ode" 117 - - =Chapter VIII.--Richard Strauss= - "Don Quixote," Rhenish Musical Festival at Dsseldorf 119 - "Don Juan," Preliminary Article 122 - " Hall Concerts 124 - "Till Eulenspiegel" 126 - "Sehnsucht" 128 - Strauss's conducting of Liszt's "Faust" Symphony, - Lower Rhine Musical Festival, Dsseldorf 129 - "Tod und Verklrung" 131 - "Also sprach Zarathustra" 133 - "Ein Heldenleben," Liverpool Orchestral Society 136 - Quartet in C minor, for Piano and Strings 139 - - =Chapter IX.--Chamber Music= - Dvork. Quintet in A Major 142 - " Quartet, Op. 96 143 - Beethoven. Razoumoffsky Quartet (No. 3) 145 - Bach. Concerto in D minor for two Violins 146 - Beethoven. Quartet in B flat major 147 - Tchakovsky. Quartet in D major 148 - " Trio in A minor, Op. 50 148 - Csar Franck. Quintet in F minor 151 - - =Chapter X.--Piano Playing= - Reisenauer 153 - Moszkowski 155 - Busoni 157 - " 159 - Borwick 161 - Siloti 163 - Rosenthal 165 - Paderewski 166 - Godowsky 169 - Lamond 171 - - =Chapter XI.--Violin Playing= - Ysaye 174 - Ysaye and Busoni 176 - Kubelik 178 - Kreisler 180 - - =Chapter XII.--Music in the Nineteenth Century= - Extract from a review of Mr. J. A. Fuller Maitland's - "English Music during the 19th Century" 182 - Centenary Article: "Music in England during the 19th - Century" 189 - - =Chapter XIII.--Hans Richter= 201 - - =Chapter XIV.--Nietzsche= - Nietzsche and Wagner 211 - Nietzsche in English 222 - -Note.--The performances noticed were all given at Manchester, except -where otherwise stated. - - -PORTRAITS. - - Aged 26 _Frontispiece_ - - Aged 20 face p. 10 - - Aged 26 face p. 30 - - - - -MEMOIR. - - -ARTHUR GIFFARD WHITESIDE JOHNSTONE was born December 3rd, 1861, the -fourth son of the Rev. Edward Johnstone and Frances Mills. His father -was then taking the duty at Colton in Staffordshire, but in the -following year accepted the living of Warehorne in Kent; this he -resigned in 1866 and went to live at St. Leonards. Mr. Johnstone died in -1870, and the direction of Arthur's education fell entirely upon his -mother. Mrs. Johnstone gave her life to good works and to the care of -her children, one of whom was an invalid. Arthur looked on her as a -saint, and the thought held up his belief in humanity during the -somewhat long struggle when his powers and aims were uncertain, and when -he had to observe excessive dulness, dreariness, and meanness at close -quarters. He was also beholden to her for the gift that was at last to -determine his career. She was a good musician, and it was from her that -Johnstone inherited his fine taste and received his first instruction in -music. Later he studied under Mr. W. Custard, a local organist. The -atmosphere of his home was religious--extreme Anglican approaching to -Roman Catholic. Johnstone, though he became by reaction anti-clerical, -continued to appreciate the value of religion, chiefly through art and -music, as his letters and criticisms show. But his bent was secular as -well as artistic; a high Anglican school and a high Anglican college -were therefore not a pasture in which he could thrive. His spirit was -foreign to theirs. It says much for his strength of mind, that these -institutions left him able to admire certain forms of Christian art. - -In 1874 he went to Radley and remained there four years, doing neither -well nor ill, stifled rather in the ecclesiastical atmosphere of the -school, caring little for games, and out of sympathy with the public -school spirit. He therefore lived his own life, learnt to protect -himself by ingenious tact and reserve, and read irregularly what he -liked. Though not specially built for athletics he was by no means -lacking in bodily arts and dexterities. When quite young he was a first -rate billiard-player, a good skater, and at lawn tennis well above the -average. His chief accomplishment was an odd one which never left him. -During these early years he made a constant pastime of conjuring, and -devoted to it much of his leisure and some of his business hours. He -even gave elaborate entertainments in public, from the age of fourteen. -On one occasion when he was only seventeen he was able to apply his -skill to a really practical use. He was going by train to give a -performance and happened to enter a compartment where there was a gang -of card sharpers. They drew him into playing "Nap" with them; soon he -began losing and knew that he was being cheated. They were using the -ordinary conjuror's cards with plain white backs, of which he had a -supply in his pocket. He soon found an opportunity of replacing their -pack with one of his own, won back his losses with schoolboy -satisfaction, and changed carriages at the first stopping-place, leaving -the experts to solve the mystery for themselves. His self-possession in -public and private, the mature and slightly initiate air that became -less marked as he grew older, were probably due to these performances. -They served in his real education. The intellectual side of what is -usually common showman's art attracted him. The psychology of the -conjuror's victim, amused and angry, straining all his wits on the wrong -point; the festal atmosphere, or _Stimmung_, of inattentive youth and -good temper necessary for success, the real poverty of intricate -mechanical appliance compared with skill and patter--of these things he -would talk in youth with an Edgar-Poe-like elaboration and solemnity, no -doubt as well as any man in England. The best of these exhibitions was -when Johnstone was professing to explain to a few friends a trick of his -own doing. There came first, in long and well-cut sentences, a kind of -metaphysic of conjuring; an account of those principles of delusion that -were inapplicable in the present instance; exposure of the vulgar and -obvious methods, which seemed to the crowd the same as those subtler -ones which merely satisfied the conscience of the artist; and lastly, on -the verge of the "explanation," a long parenthesis or a touch of -coldness and abstraction, not to be interrupted, which ended, if at all, -not in any explanation whatever, but in a last performance of the trick. -Johnstone made a point of seeking acquaintance with the chief professors -of manual illusion who visited England. He well knew, of course, the -methods of signalling to counterfeit clairvoyance; and in one case, that -of "Little Louie," whose show at the Westminster Aquarium was the best -public marvel of the sort, he was convinced that the performers only -eked out by signalling and other tricks the failures of some genuinely -supernormal power of the "telepathic" kind which they themselves did -not fully understand. We say thus much about legerdemain, as it was long -our friend's quaint and picturesque substitute for the less original -forms of young men's amusement. It gave a good deal of pleasure to other -people, and he needed amusement, for his life was not to be easy. - -Johnstone left Radley at the end of the summer term 1878, and for the -next two years worked under Messrs. Wren and Gurney for the Indian Civil -Service, the limit of entrance then being nineteen years. It must be -admitted that he made no serious attempt to succeed, and that here, as -at Oxford later, the prospect of an examination proved to be the reverse -of an incentive to work. Perhaps it was fortunate for him that he -failed, for though he would have found a great interest in the natives -(and extended his _rpertoire_ of tricks) he would have been repelled by -the average Anglo-Indian; besides, his abilities did not lie in the -direction of legal and political administration. In October, 1880, -Johnstone came up to Keble College, Oxford, and he quickly had a small -circle round him. Among his friends were R. A. Farrar, son of the -well-known Dean, and G. H. Fowler, the biologist, of his own College; -Winter, of St. John's, the best musician among undergraduates; his -biographers; and, later, Prof. York Powell, who instantly detected his -ability and force of nature. Amongst the dons of Keble, Johnstone cared -for two. One was the Warden, the Rev. E. S. Talbot, now Bishop of -Southwark, who behaved with tact, and encouraged as far as he might a -mind of no pattern type, which would not bring the College any -regulation honours; the other was the Rev. J. R. Illingworth, the best -writer of the school, and since known as a philosophical preacher. -Ascetic, but thoroughly humane, Mr. Illingworth attracted Johnstone by -his honesty and fineness of temper. But these clergymen, after all, -dwelt in their own world, not in his. Until he met York Powell, -Johnstone had found no older man from whom he could learn without -cautions and reservations, and who struck him as a master-mind and a -perfectly free spirit. The two men signally valued each other's -conversation; they had many delicate qualities in common--the kind of -delicacy only found in Bohemians of experience who have kept their -perceptions at the finest edge. Powell materially helped Johnstone more -than once by letting persons of consequence know what he thought of his -younger friend. Even in Powell's record there was hardly any friendship -more completely unruffled. - -In youth, as an undergraduate, Johnstone was sallow, but healthy, rather -lean and light, with a large and well-moulded musician's head, like -Beethoven's or, still more, Rubinstein's, in the outline of the -overhanging brow. It is easy to recall that earnest face, that -delightful smile always characteristic of him, and, above all, the -fascination of his playing on the piano. His voice was clear and carried -well, with a sharp metallic ring when he was indignant, but was usually -pitched low, as if unwilling to be overheard. His manner was formed and -his talk was from the first what it remained: forcible, emphatic, and -undoubtedly over-superlative at times, cut into quaintly elaborate but -perfectly built sentences, which came so naturally to him that we have -heard him discharge one of them the moment after opening his eyes in the -morning. They can best be illustrated by his more familiar style in his -writings and letters; the latter, indeed, give a fairly exact reflex of -his talk. A _flneur_ of the best kind, he observed closely and -curiously; in spite of long spells of apparent idleness, the alert -quality of his mind never showed the faintest trace of slackness. He -described vividly and accurately; and he had a remarkable gift for -explaining any subject or point of view unfamiliar to his listeners, -careful that the slightest detail should not escape them. And, in turn, -he would quickly catch up and develop the ideas of his friends however -vaguely suggested or insufficiently thought out. Johnstone professed -Radical principles and was a member of the Russell Club, where the -advanced Liberals met for papers and debates; but his Radicalism was -social rather than political, and after the foreign experiences of his -later years his opinions tended in the direction of strong government -and Imperialism. At this time it amused him to be rather eccentric in -dress, though he afterward became trim and fairly modish. In 1882 the -intellectual undergraduate was capable of wearing a wide-brimmed, -light-brown, hard hat, descending over the ears and eyes and long hair -penthouse fashion. He had one of these "built for me, ground plan and -projection" on a special scale. He also had a tie which could be folded -into twenty-five different aspects or patterns, some of them striking; -it was a mosaic of squares, and the harvest of a long search; -twenty-five neckties in one. His collars were ultra-Byronic. Otherwise -he was not markedly strange in attire; though the real incongruity was -between these freaks of dress, and the keen intent grey gleam of his -eyes, and the look of held-in vehemence and sensibility. - -To what did this sensibility tend, what did it crave for? Not chiefly -for definite learning, or book-knowledge, or for abstract philosophical -truth. Johnstone's nature and gifts did not set towards scholarship -(except afterwards to musical scholarship) or to pure speculation. He -wanted, no doubt, to write, but he never cared to practise style as a -mere handicraft; "let us have," he would say, "something with blood in -it." He did not ask for religious solutions or consolations. Since -nearly all he printed was on musical subjects, only his letters and our -memories can give the impression of what he wanted. It was a -sufficiently rare ambition among the Oxford young men of our time, -though often enough professed. He wanted art and beauty. This desire, of -course, in others often was a cant; there were scholars and -verse-makers--more or less of the "sthetic" type--sentimental and hard -at bottom like most such persons, who cultivated beauty, and have -usually come to nothing except prosperity. Johnstone was of another race -to these; they never heard of him; he did not care for the main chance; -he was in profound earnest. Few young men looked at life with so -definite an aspiration to get the grace, enjoyment, and beauty out of -it, and so definite a conviction that not much of these things is -attainable. To such spirits, pre-appointed to suffer and wait, society -seems at first an irrational welter, out of which, as by a miracle, -emerge enchanting islets of grace, and wit, and cheer. The desire to -find beauty in things or persons, and the desire to find soul and -humanity, are the unalloyed, intense, and usually disappointed passions -of elect youth claiming its rights. It is the second of them that saves -a young man from the conceit and exclusive folly that may beset the -first. Johnstone's tastes, his reading, loves and friendships were -guided by these two passions, and by a third which took off from the -strain of them, and was equally imperious--the wish to study the world -and to be entertained reasonably. Classes did not exist for him, except -that he often felt he was more likely to be able to foregather with and -help men and women who were at a discount in the world. With such -warring elements and a spirit so hard to satisfy, it was no wonder that -his earlier years seemed planless, and in part were so. The instinct for -travel and odd experience lasted long. No one but his near friends had -much knowledge of this complex but essentially single nature. To them -there seemed to be more than a seed of nobility and fair example in such -a youth, so externally disappointing to parents, and guardians, and -shepherds of colleges. Out of it was gradually wrought a character full -of fire and aspiration, fundamentally austere and uncompromising in -loyalty and in artistic conscience, but masked under a certain -reticence. But this is to forestall by several years. - - [Illustration: AGED 20.] - -Johnstone had entered Oxford at a time of great intellectual ferment. -Looking back we can now see that it was during the years about 1880 that -the revolutionary flood ran highest. The authority of Darwin and Huxley -was unquestioned by many of the younger generation and all-embracing. -The vague Christianity and sentimental optimism of Tennyson was held in -little esteem beside the wider tolerance, the subtle analysis, the -ceaseless curiosity of Browning. Above all "the Bard," as Swinburne was -admiringly called, was the poet of the young men. Another very important -factor in the mental development of our generation--and for Johnstone, -perhaps, the strongest of all--was supplied by the French literature of -the century, from the Romantic School onwards. It is no wonder, -therefore, that the reaction from the High Church influences and -surroundings of his youth was severe and complete, and that his highly -sthetic nature demanded the fullest artistic and intellectual freedom. -The so-called "sthetic movement," as we have before implied, left him -untouched. He would have nothing to do with the attempt to symbolise and -revive a civilisation that had utterly passed away, nor with the -deliberate neglect of the modern world, and its most intense and living -art--Music. Johnstone had not much medival sense, and was sparing in -his appreciation of Rossetti, to whom he became unjust. What he liked -best was "Jenny," though he was rightly critical on the unsound streaks -in its rhetoric. It was first brought home to him, as to others of his -group, by the skilful and dramatic reading, in a singular clanging -voice, of his chief Keble friend, C. W. Pettit: a young man of high and -melancholy character who was found drowned, probably by accident, in the -Upper River, near Oxford, in the spring of 1882. A memorial stone with -Pettit's initials marks the place, in an unfrequented reach of the -stream, and the inscription, if not effaced, is now a mystery except to -some few who remember him. - -"Jenny" also struck upon what may be mentioned now as the deepest chord -in Johnstone's sympathies; it is heard sounding in the letters, quoted -below, that review the stories of Ruth, Fantine, and Tess of the -D'Urbervilles. His attitude in this matter was free from conventional -ethics, and was, therefore, essentially Christian; and the relations of -society to technically errant women, who have lapsed even once by -accident, preoccupied him bitterly, and that in no theoretical or -sequestered way. In his own gipsy experience, he witnessed at least one -instance where the issue only just escaped disaster. He was haunted by -the story, as De Quincey was by that of his lost companion in Oxford -Street. The girl whom Johnstone, though generally hard up, managed to -befriend in his secret, chivalrous and effectual fashion, finally -married some one decent and respectable. Concealing the place and -circumstance, he afterwards cast the incident of the "Fantine of -Shotover" (we also conceal, of course, the name of the village) into a -kind of prose sketch or _pome_, which he finished when he was about -twenty-six, re-wrote twice, and thought of printing. It is unfortunately -not now to be traced. Its musical, exalted prose, if inexperienced in -form, gave genuine promise in that kind of composition; but he never to -our knowledge, pursued the vein, and the prose in which he became expert -was, apart from his letters, purely critical and expository. Still, -enough has been said to show the force and unusual bent of Johnstone's -human sympathies. It is clear that a young man's truth of instinct and -strength of head are never more hardly taxed than when he is confronted -with a concrete story of this kind. He may become foolish in opposite -ways, especially if he is also an artist and has strength of -temperament. He may be personally entangled through his sympathies, and -make ill worse. He may be superior, and spoil everything by clumsy -missionary benevolence, hard of hand. It is something if he can get -behind the ordinary, blind, damnatory formul of society. This however, -is not so difficult to a free mind. What is harder is to do it, and yet -to see the facts without mere theorising, without the cumber of -rhetorical and literary sentiment that obscures them. A Scotch-descended -brain is useful at this point. In our memory Johnstone rose to the -occasion thus presented, and acted and judged with balance. But we are -more concerned now with the road by which he arrived at his force of -sympathy. stheticism of the rootless academic kind had, it is evident, -no hold upon him; he was too angry to be precious; but his motive power -at bottom was that of the artist, as it was surely not that of the -radical theorist or philanthropic organiser; although it was, if we use -accurate language, by no means less human than theirs. What was at work -was his sense of beauty; of physical beauty, first of all, or of grace, -in the victimised person, as the sign and vesture of an originally sound -and simple, or gay and innocently festal nature; beauty inbred, and then -marred by some rough contact, and then marred more by social punishment, -and seldom retrieved, even in part--as in the particular instance it -chanced to be retrieved--by any fortunate and final escape. All this -revolts the deepest of human feelings, which distinguishes us from most -of the beasts, namely the sthetic feeling, which at this point happens -to coincide closely with the religious. A certain depth and rarity were -thus super-added to the plain good feeling and kindliness of the man; -and we can draw these facts from the jealous hiding-place of the past -without undue violence to the shyness in which he wrapped them, as they -show his personal and special path of approach to the human tragedy, and -may even come to the notice of, and serve for the encouragement of -similar minds at a corresponding stage of discontent. We may now go back -to his early youth, when he was halfway through Oxford, and when some of -these ideas were germinating into necessarily crude expression, which -none the less has its interest. In a letter of 1881, he writes:-- - -"How can we escape from Swinburne? Does not modern society drive one to -his school, at least the sort of society that I am _supposed_ to have -been brought up in, whose moral atmosphere is a sort of perpetual -afternoon tea, where all the men are pale young curates and the women -district visitors, their excitements vulgar ritualistic tea-pot -tempests, the doctrinal significance of birettas, purificators.... Their -minds ever on the alert to quash the smallest expression of any delight -in natural beauty--'beauty is only skin-deep,' the damnedest lie that -was ever formulated (compare Browning's Paracelsus). I wish with Gautier -that I had been born in the days of the Roman Empire, when asceticism -was almost unknown and what there was of it entirely specialised, before -ever such an astounding classification as the World, the Flesh, and the -Devil had been made, or every natural beauty writhed, like the divine -feminine torso, in the accused grip of fashion." These are the -outpourings of a very young man only twenty. It may fairly be said that -Johnstone was always far more of an ascetic, personally, than he ever -admitted, and the articles on Bach and Sir Edward Elgar abundantly prove -the religious habit of mind induced by the training and associations of -his early years. A year later his views have become better balanced, as -shown by the following extract from a letter on the same subject. - -"I read most of the _Apologia_ a month or two back. As you say, Newman -stands quite alone in his sincerity and spiritual power, the only -orthodox thinker who is not an instance of self-deception resulting from -reiterated untruth. All the purest and most beautiful aspects of the old -faith seem to group round him. But the lights are almost out on the -stage where he poses so magnificently, a rough crowd is spoiling all the -scenic illusion, and garish sunbeams are coming in through the roof. - -"I was moved to tears the day before yesterday by the appearance in this -place [Tunbridge Wells] of a pretty face. - -"There she was, a radiant and triumphant vindication of human nature -among the myriad libels on the human form. - -"I love the wonderful human body. How utterly the most beautiful of -imaginable things in its strange dualism; perfect form expressed with -infinite subtlety in two mutually supplemental phases. The one--tall, -lithe-limbed, and athletic, with its shifting net-work of muscles -beneath the clear brown skin, boldly chiselled features and short crisp -hair--emblem of strength and swiftness and godlike protection, buoyant -and fearless; the other--a harmony of exquisite curves, white and -sensitive, and crowned with rippling hair, fulfilled of tender life and -wondrous grace--living type of fruitfulness. To say that either deviated -from the abstract perfection of form is merely to say the very idea of -sex is such a deviation; and is there not a certain divine -suggestiveness in this very fact? Their union is perfect Beauty--veils -of the great human Sacrament. And all this is faded clean out of modern -life. The belief in the body is dead. I believe some of us live and die -never knowing the likeness of the human form, just as some of us do -without ever seeing the sunrise. - -"The 'pale Galilean' has banished Beauty; and only here and there, -disguised almost beyond recognition, has it ventured with infinite -apology to return.... Yet let us not be all unthankful to the pale -Galilean and his lessons of suffering; there are too many of us who see -in their own instincts the very impress of impossibility to be -satisfied, who have to reflect with some bitterness, not '_il faut -mourir_,' but '_il faut vivre_' and gather up our scraps and skulk -along, hoping, perhaps, some day for a lowly place in some court in the -House of Life, if it be only that of a scullion. And then at what a -frightful cost have those lessons become part of the world's -inheritance! Surely it cannot have been for nothing." - - * * * * * - -Obviously, in all this outburst, if its literary and intellectual -origins are not hard to trace, there was no pose whatever; it was a mood -that Johnstone honestly and passionately lived through, or rather it -remained as a background to his nature. He was far from happy at this -period. He had many friends and varied interests, but he felt that life -was being wasted; in fact he had not "found himself," nor was he to do -so until his visit to Germany. No doubt Keble was not the college for -one of his temperament, and the English system of teaching the classics -made them, for him, dead languages indeed; but had their oral use been -encouraged (the practice of the late Professor Blackie) it is possible -that he might have taken a real interest in them. With one of his -friends he would speak constantly in Latin. - -During the next few years Johnstone was mainly engaged in scholastic -work, and the necessity of earning his own living prevented him from -taking his degree. In a letter of September 1885, he regrets that he -"had to live much in continuous utter rebellion against outward -circumstances. In the morning is much strife and crying; in the evening, -comfort of the pot. The Day of Rest brings loneliness in -crowds--'stalled oxen and hatred.' _Ca finira._" - -In the spring of 1887 he inherited a small legacy, which set him free, -for a time, from the drudgery of teaching, and enabled him to carry out -his long-deferred wish for a course of serious musical study at a -foreign conservatorium. At this period he knew absolutely no German, and -had only a fair knowledge of French, and was quite unconscious of -possessing the natural gift for modern languages, which he was -afterwards to turn to good account at the Edinburgh Academy and -elsewhere. In August he went to Kreuznach to acquire the elements of -German before proceeding to the Cologne Conservatorium, where he had -determined to study. The family where he stayed could speak no English -and but little French, so he was forced from the outset to express -himself in a strange tongue and make shift to understand it. Early in -October he entered the Conservatorium as a student, and engaged himself -to take the year's course. His chief friend was M. Sidney Vantyn, now -Professor of the Piano at the Lige Conservatoire, and then in his last -year of study. They met in the class of Professor Eibenschtz, one of -the most severe masters there, who made no allowance for Johnstone's -previous amateur training, and was rather harsh and discouraging. He -knew no English and Johnstone's German was still elementary, so Vantyn, -who knew English thoroughly, acted as interpreter between them. In his -recollections of those days M. Vantyn writes:-- - -"It was certainly evident that he had never had a musical training -before his arrival in Cologne. Johnstone's fingers were stiff and he had -to begin almost at the very beginning. And this he had the courage to -do. At that time I was one of the advanced pupils, I offered to help, -and for some months we practised together every day, more especially -with a view to developing the fingers. In April, 1888, he showed me a -sketch of a _Valse de Concert_. This composition was what one would have -expected from Johnstone--bright, original, thorough. At my request he -completed the _Valse_ which I played shortly afterwards at a concert, -where it met with a decided success. A little later it was sold to a -music publisher at Lige. He soon left Herr Eibenschtz for Dr. -Klauwell, with whom he studied the piano and harmony." Among the other -professors at the Conservatorium were Humperdinck, afterwards famous as -the composer of _Hansel und Gretel_, and Gustav Jensen, the brother of -the better-known song writer. - -At length, Johnstone was living in a world which brought out his best -qualities and stimulated his keenest interests. But he now realised that -he had come ten years too late for the attainment of any eminence, -either as executant or composer, and contented himself with considerably -extending his general knowledge of music. Nor did he ever confine his -attention to music alone; but he endeavoured to see as much as possible -of German methods of work, especially as regards the teaching of -languages. In reading the Cologne verdict on Johnstone's early training -it must be remembered that in his youth the piano was not well taught in -England, where the principles and importance of a good technique were -alike unknown. Of course, the principal and all his masters liked him -personally, but naturally their chief interest lay with young pupils who -promised to make a name in the musical world. The year's course at the -Conservatorium ended in July, and about this time he writes:-- - -"As regards intentions, I am quite resolved now (and quite contented) to -become a modern language teacher for life. During this year I have -obtained some insight into the musical profession, with the conclusion -that for all but the very few of quite the first rank it is a wretched -life. So I am after all going to take my degree, and shall reside next -term as a member of Balliol.... I could get a living by music now, but -that would be to sink into a drudgery yet worse than anything I have yet -had to do. I _will_ not teach beginners. Besides, I can make a much -better living in another profession." - -Johnstone returned to England at the end of August, 1888, in wonderful -spirits and in better health than he had ever before enjoyed, bursting -with ideas and enthusiasm for everything German. It was Gulliver's -homecoming after the voyage to the Houyhnhnms, and his friends had to -listen to criticism of a similar kind. There is no doubt that this year -brought real maturity to Johnstone. He gained a confidence in himself -and a grip on life, which even when the prospect seemed most hopeless -prevented him from ever again falling into his old moods of despondency. -In October he returned to Oxford. Some years back he had taken his name -off the books of Keble and migrated to New Inn Hall. The Hall had lately -been absorbed by Balliol, and so in the end Johnstone became a member -of the College which should have sheltered him from the beginning. In -Balliol he was tolerably well at home, though now senior to the men -around him. He forgathered with Farmer, who had just left Harrow for -Balliol and with the Master's support arranged a concert in the Hall -every Sunday evening. Once he gave a conjuring show, by Farmer's -request. Jowett shrilled in cherubic mirth, sent for Johnstone, listened -to his conversation, which flowed more easily than that of most of -Jowett's undergraduate visitors and was of another stamp; and continued -to treat him with politeness. Johnstone, whose classics had somewhat -rusted during his stay in Germany, read with Mr. St. George Stock, the -philosophical writer, then and since a well-known private teacher in -Oxford. In December he passed the necessary schools and took his degree; -his last experience of the old, disquieting city was pleasant, if -brief--a period of _recueillement_ before embarking upon the new career -which he had chosen. - -In the March following, 1889, he received an offer to go as tutor to the -young son of Prince Abamlek in Podolia, a province of Southern Russia. -The following account of his journey is interesting:-- - -"I left Berlin on Thursday morning at 8.30; the stage through Galicia, -Oswiecim, Cracow, Lemberg, Podwoloczyska was a bad twenty-four hours. -Just at the frontier the snow was immensely deep, standing in a wall on -each side of the train. It was like being let into Russia through the -works of a great snow fortification. The worst mistake I made was in -bringing no victuals with me. I noticed at the frontier examination that -my portmanteau was the only one not half full of food. The restaurants -at the large junctions are excellent, being all under the management of -Tartars, a race possessing the genius of cookery, but if you have to -wait as I did, more than twenty-four hours at an out-of-the-way country -station, you may find nothing obtainable but tea. Travelling in Russia -is in any case tiring; the distances are interminable, and every journey -has to be regarded as a sort of pilgrimage. On coming from Osipoffka -here, we had to leave about ten in the evening to meet the desired -train. - -"The start was rather amusing, for we were a considerable caravan with -children, servants, horses and dogs. All night we drove across the -Steppe, accompanied by several mounted men with torches, which they -lighted when the way was bad. - -"I had an outside place and was somewhat dazed and curried by the wind -and dust by the time we got to the station. Railway travelling is -interesting if you have got the courage not to go first class. The -carriages are on the American plan, with an opening down the middle. -Instead of dapper bagmen you find long-coated and long-haired Jews, -besides soldiers and students in curious costumes, while whole families, -travelling together, produce the effect of an emigrant convoy. Everyone -undresses with complete _sang-froid_. - -"The family always come for the summer to this estate. It lies in a -well-wooded district of Podolia, some hundred miles further north than -the region to which I first went. The house is very large, and the -garden magnificent. It is skirted by a river and there are primitive -boats and an excellent bathing place. They have also a steam-launch of -English manufacture, which is shortly to be got afloat. - -"The neighbourhood is a paradise of Gipsies. The river throws out arms -and endless windings, and the ground between is much broken and covered -with undergrowth. Here the Gipsies encamp. One sees them in the evening -bathing with their horses, and thus I had an opportunity of observing a -thing, the peculiar and suggestive appropriateness of which is remarked -on by Darwin in his 'Voyage of the Beagle,' namely, a naked man on a -naked horse. This is the true centaur; they become one thing. I am now -convinced that the Gipsies are the most physically beautiful of all -races. In England they are abject beggars, but here rather more -well-to-do than the average of the population; for they are not like the -peasants, more than half-starved by ecclesiastical regulation, and -obviously, in a country in such a stage as Russia is at present, they -have a better time. There are plenty of immense regions where they can -trap and fish quite unmolested, and the climate favours their mode of -life--doubly, I should imagine, the winter giving a short account of -defective constitutions. I suppose they are thieves, but to the casual -observer they are entirely admirable. Troops of splendid little brown -children go about in the evening singing or shrieking with shrill -laughter. Their music, by the way, is valued in Russia. There are -several troops who get large sums for attending various festivities. - -"It has gradually been borne in upon me that the climate of this region -is almost ideal. The sky is deep blue and far off, yet the heat is never -really oppressive, on account of a constant breeze which brings balsam -from the woods. For the landscape a finer contrast could scarcely be -found to the Southern Steppe, which is like the burnt and scraped -bottom of a pot. It has a character of its own, of course. From the fact -of being usually able to see to the level horizon in all directions, it -reminds one of the sea, while in summer the heated and quivering air -which rises from the ground produces marvellous atmospheric effects; but -there is always a wind, skin-drying and far from healthy. Here, on the -other hand, we are well watered and surrounded by deep and lordly -forest, and the aspect of the whole country is _riant_. - -"I have not yet seen much of the _kirchliches Wesen_. The priest at -Osipoffka, I gathered, is a man who has to get in a mass as often as he -is sober enough. The Abamleks do not receive him, and never go to -Church while there. In any case, I do not think the Princess is -particularly _dvote_. She is of Polish descent, and her family having -given up Western Catholicism, have never become, I suppose, enthusiastic -as Russian orthodox. - -"Of the children the boy is much the most interesting. The eldest girl, -though not without promise of beauty, is at present in a somewhat gaping -and lumbering stage. The younger one is much smaller, though only a -little younger than her sister, also of better intelligence, if worse -temper. She laughs with a curious _abandon_ and is full of -_clineries_, and is two totally different persons when pleased and -bored. - -"Master Paul has not the faintest resemblance that I can trace to either -of them. He is an exceptionally round-limbed and well-made child, with -low forehead and hair like dead-black fur showing a dead-white skin -between, tending to stand up though perfectly soft, and always with a -backward sweep, as though he had lately stood facing a high wind; beady -brown eyes, clear brown colour, delicate little nose and chin and a -mouth like a cherry, make up a face which is no false promise of his -vivacity of temperament. It changes in the hundredth part of a second -from bubbling laughter to a sort of Last Judgment seriousness. - -"He wags his little _tte de Polichinelle_ over his victuals, and -converses with them in several languages. Sometimes his mother -interrupts him and asks if he knows what he is saying, when he swears -that he hasn't spoken for a quarter of an hour. _Pauvre petit bijou_ she -calls him." - -In the autumn of 1889 his engagement as tutor ended, and he spent the -winter in Odessa to study the language. He put himself, as usual, under -conditions where it was impossible to speak any other language; entered -a Russian family; prepared his questions in Russian when he shopped; -and addressed in Russian the official who delayed his necessary papers -until he had silently put down a bribe of two roubles, and who then -shook him warmly by the hand. He was full of tales; he told of the -English journalist, so aggressively and deliberately English that he -would not uncover before the Tsar's portrait in a hairdresser's shop; of -the Prince Abamlek, who was always talking of taking him out shooting, -but never did so; of the Princess, who feared that her little Paul was -"trop jeune encore pour profiter de son esprit eminemment cultiv"; of -the social tyranny of Russian orthodoxy, which drove free-thinking -persons of quality in the country to church and sacrament at all the -Christian festivals; and, finally, of his shortness of funds which -forced him to find his way home in humble style. - -As an English liberal, Johnstone was naturally a welcome guest in the -society of the Reform party; and on his return to England he was to meet -Stepniak at the house of their common friend, York Powell, and to enroll -himself among the Friends of Russian Freedom. But he was more in -sympathy with the members of the Reform movement than with their -objects. While in Russia, such connections secured him a mild -surveillance on the part of the officials, and he had a little -difficulty in obtaining the necessary passport to leave the country; but -these vexations did not prevent him from holding that a paternal -government was required in Russia, and that his countrymen as a whole -were to blame for their harsh judgment of a civilisation merely because -it ran counter to their own political ideals. The late Bishop Creighton -arrived at precisely the same conclusion after his visit to Russia to -attend the Coronation in 1896. - - [Illustration: AGED 26.] - -On his way home he spent some months in Buda-Pesth, Vienna, and the -Tyrol, and made his first visit to Bayreuth and the Passion Play at -Oberammergau. - -Shortly after his return to England Johnstone accepted a mastership in -Modern Languages at the Edinburgh Academy, where his elder brother had -been a classical master for some years. He came into residence in -September, 1890, and Edinburgh was his home until he left that city for -Manchester, in January, 1896. On the whole he was happy there; for -though teaching foreign languages to boys is rather a thankless task, he -was cheered from time to time by the successes of his pupils in -examinations elsewhere, mainly those for entrance to Woolwich and -Sandhurst. He could even confess, after a long summer holiday on the -Continent, that "he was again thoroughly penetrated with the atmosphere -of gray old long-faced Sawbath-keeping Edinburgh." After all, Johnstone, -though he considered himself an Englishman, was, as may be gathered from -his name, Scotch on his father's side; his mother, too, had a strain of -Scotch blood. So perhaps that quiet self-contained manner and all that -it implied came to him from north of the Tweed. - -About this time, he was penetrated with the excellent purpose of -training his bodily nerve. He knew that he could never be noticeably -muscular, or anything more than wiry, with his light frame and high -tension. But he would say, "we ought to be able to see a man fall from a -high scaffolding on to the pavement, just before our feet, battered, and -to do whatever is necessary without turning a hair." Accordingly, though -himself most sensitive to pain and to the sight of it, he fraternised -with the young doctors and surgeons whom he met, accompanied them to -operations, watched the worst things, and even gave his help, which was -more than once invited owing to his deftness and neatness of handling. -In this way he got over any shrinking of the nerves. In Edinburgh he -also managed to find some amusement. He was a foreigner in his -adaptiveness to restaurant life, and found a quiet French caf to his -taste, where he took his visitors. The odd stratification of Edinburgh -society into the various aristocracies of the country, University, -professions and commerce, and its broad Scotch democratic feeling, -entertained him. He was in one emergency summoned as French interpreter -in the police court, and was pleased at having given satisfaction to -himself and the magistrate, as the case was a somewhat delicate one and -demanded nicety of expression. York Powell, writing to a friend in June, -1893, spoke of Johnstone as - - "a fine fellow, very interesting; a musician doomed for the sins of - others (for he is not a great sinner) to be a dominie in Edinboro', - where he is consoled by an old Frenchman who can talk and - understand; and they have, with one or two more, a little French - club. Each pays sixpence a night for expenses, and you have simple - refreshments and sound conversation." - -Above all, his musical opportunities were good and varied, and he took -the fullest advantage of them. Music in Edinburgh had, for many years, -maintained a high standard. The orchestral concerts were second only to -those conducted by Hall and Richter; the latter brought his own band -occasionally, and every solo player of eminence came there from time to -time. He found many congenial friends, and was a frequent guest at the -houses of Mrs. Sellar, the widow of the Professor of Humanity at -Edinburgh, and Dr. Berry Hart, the famous surgeon, where musical -amateurs met constantly; and he was a member of the "Rhyme and Reason -Club," where literary and artistic questions were discussed. - -His most noteworthy contribution to the Club was a paper on the -"Relation of Music to the Words in Songs," which he afterwards read at -the Manchester College of Music, and which well merits a summary here -(and some extracts). It shows how his mind was steadily working in the -direction of musical criticism. Its origin was a statement made in a -paper on Tennyson's songs, that poetry, if it be true poetry, is -self-sufficient, and the addition of music to it, however fine the music -may be in itself, is an intrusion and a disturbance for the true lover -of poetry. - -The first part of his paper is concerned with an examination into the -nature of music and its place among the arts. He goes on to deplore the -divorce between music and the songs of modern English poets, none of -which are capable of being sung, and traces this divergence back to the -days when Puritanism banished music from church and village green. -Burns, he adds, wrote genuine songs; but he is the only song-writer -since the days of Elizabeth, and worthy of being ranked with Heine. He -concludes by claiming for music "that it is not an inferior art, a mere -hand-maid to poetry, but a direct revelation of the principle of beauty -and on a footing of honourable equality with poetry. The songs of all -the really great lyrical poets are obviously and radiantly singable, and -meant to be sung, and in their authors' lifetime they were sung. So far -then from the finest lyrical poetry being impaired by association with -music, it is only the maimed poetry of decadence that does not admit of -such association, one unfailing mark of a lyric of the highest order -being that it rises to the true singing quality." In the following -passage Johnstone sets forth the ideal at which the composer of songs -should aim:-- - -"The great German song composers, such as Schubert, Schumann, Franz and -Brahms, working in profound sympathy with the 'Volkslied,' have arrived -at a conception of the song infinitely richer, more refined, and more -genial than is to be found elsewhere. With Franz and Schumann we find -that, in the best cases, the music positively furnishes a sort of -literary criticism on the text, with such exquisite exactness does the -composer appreciate the text and supply the appropriate musical -counterpart. - -"We often hear of the music being _wedded_ to the words of a song, and -it is very curious to find so wonderfully neat and perfect a metaphor -being used by people who are far from suspecting its perfection. This is -in fact, precisely what takes place when a good song is composed--the -music is _wedded_ to the verse, though the expression is often used by -those who think that the music has nothing to do but to express again, -more forcibly perhaps, whatever feeling is expressed by the verse, who -think, in other words, that the music is enslaved, not wedded, to the -poetry. - -"But music is not restricted to the expression of the feeling of certain -verses or of any other feeling or feelings. The poetry and the music -have each their independent character and their measure of independent -beauty, and this independent beauty and character is in no sense -destroyed by the union. The music has far more to do than merely express -again or emphasise whatever feeling is expressed by the verse. It may -accompany the verse, adorn the verse, brighten the verse, show up the -character of the verse in a new light, and, in turn, be much improved -by the association; but on the other hand, if destitute of independent -beauty, the music can never become beautiful by being _wedded_ to -something. - -"It will now have become clear, what according to the view of music that -I have endeavoured to explain, is the task of a song composer. He has -far more to do than to express again in tones the feeling of the song. -He has to furnish a composition that, in the first place, has life; and, -in the domain of art, to have life is to have beauty. - -"Secondly, it must have no incompatibility of temperament with the text, -but must be such as can once for all be wedded to the text with happy -results. - -"It is needless to say that a composer who takes this view, or has a -subconscious appreciation of the facts on which this view is based, will -not, if he cares for his text, be satisfied with the first outworn -rubbish that comes to hand, by way of musical setting. He will regret -whatever is totally wanting in naturalness and freshness. - -"He will not, like the composer of drawing-room ballads, capture some -wretched cadence, threadbare with much use, and trick it out, dragging -up the melody into long high notes, crowing and shouting as though he -had discovered America, whereas all he has really discovered is an old -shoe lying by the roadside that once, perhaps, belonged to a prince, but -after being stolen by the valet was given to a beggar, and so through a -succession of beggars, the last of whom left it by the side of the high -road." - -Johnstone's interest in music was becoming more and more intense. In the -intervals of his school work he composed a Gavotte which had a quaint -origin. He was one day in a music publisher's shop in Edinburgh, when he -saw a gavotte on the counter which had won a prize of 5 or 10 offered -by the firm for the best composition in gavotte form submitted to them. -"And is this your prize gavotte?" said Johnstone, "Well, if I couldn't -compose a better gavotte than that in the time it takes to write it down -I should think _even_ worse of myself than I do." "Why then," said the -representative of the firm, "go home and compose your gavotte, we will -publish it if we take it and give you the same money as this -prize-winner got." Johnstone went home and composed it, and the firm -carried out their promise. - -His few compositions were nearly always actually produced and completed -under some sudden pressure from outside. Left to himself, his critical -impulse was always stronger than his productive; he became dissatisfied -and dropped the thing he was working at. His friend, the well-known -singer, Fritz Hedmondt, having obtained from him a promise to arrange a -certain song, let matters drop until the concert date was fixed and the -programmes printed with the song announced "arranged by Mr. Arthur -Johnstone." He then forwarded the programme to Johnstone with the -observation that, of course, the thing had to be done. And it was done, -in twenty-four hours, and was a beautiful and original bit of -harmonization. He also set several songs, which, like the gavotte, met -with the approval of Prof. F. Niecks, and were the main subjects of a -fairly regular correspondence with Vantyn. In one of these letters he -gives an appreciation of the pianoforte piece he most admired. - -"About Schumann's Etudes Symphoniques I can only say this: For a long -time past I have privately held the opinion that the work is on the -whole, the finest composition for pianoforte solo in existence. This -will no doubt seem to you exaggerated, but such is my feeling about it. -The extraordinary wealth of imaginative beauty in those variations I -believe to be quite without parallel. Just think of that last variation -before the finale. There is nothing else in music which bears even the -faintest resemblance to it." - -Every summer he spent several weeks on the continent, and it was on one -of these visits that he first made the acquaintance of Nietzsche's -philosophy, which was then hardly known in England though beginning to -be talked of in Scotland under the influence of Dr. Tille of Glasgow. - -In December, 1903, he writes to Miss Sellar:-- - -"The author of _Schopenhauer als Erzicher_ is Friedrich Nietzsche. I -suppose you will no more agree with the point of view than with -Sudermann's; for, in fact, the point of view of the two writers is -practically identical, but I do not think you can fail to recognise the -extraordinary originality and force, and, above all, the magnificent -honesty of Nietzsche. - -"Have you not noticed that most serious-minded and well-intentioned -people in our day go about with a revised table of the virtues, saying -'truth' when they mean a certain group of optimistic delusions; saying -'courage' for readiness in accepting and energy in reiterating such -delusions, and persistency in closing the eyes to all those facts of -life which do not harmonise with them. - -"So far as my experience goes, the only people in our day who say and -admit the truth to the best of their lights are the disciples of -Schopenhauer--Ibsen, Tolstoi, Zola, Sudermann, Nietzsche. - -"No doubt you will regard this statement with my 'personal equation' -looming large. I mean you will consider there is no more in it than that -these are the teachers with whom I happen to agree. But I shall be -surprised if you do not admit Nietzsche's honesty and the -extraordinarily searching and luminous character of his thought." - -If Johnstone had been put through the mangle of the Honour School called -"Greats," it might have left him superciliously deaf to Nietzsche. As it -was, being without philosophic training, but deeply sensitive to any -new, articulate and daring voice, as well as perfectly at home in -German, he found in Nietzsche a liberating and refreshing power. And -then his personal experiences disposed him to accept the main thesis of -Nietzsche's philosophy that mankind, owing to the teachings of -Christianity, had sacrificed the future of the race to over-much care -for the weaker brethren. At the same time he kept his head, and signed -no vow of submission to Nietzsche. The review of Tille's translation, -well bears partial reprinting in this volume for its keen intelligence -and also as a quite early sketch of the Nietzschian system in the -English press. It was one of the first articles written by Johnstone for -the _Manchester Guardian_, and makes us regret, unwisely no doubt, that -his mind was to be absorbed more and more in music. - -Yet, in spite of that absorption, he was as deeply interested as ever in -literature and the drama, when dealing with the most serious issues and -problems of life. The purely technical and executive side of these arts -appealed less to him, and so, to take one instance, he soon outgrew his -early enthusiasm for Swinburne, wondered "whether he ever actually gets -there," and was even too severe in revulsion. Intentional obscurity -irritated him. Mallarm and his school he would not attempt to -understand. His suspicions indeed were well founded, for at the last -Mallarm in his lecture on "La Musique et les Lettres" had arrived at -forecasting a new future for music when the sound and rhythm of words -would replace the more clumsy and material tones of instruments. - -Browning and Meredith repelled him by their style, though they attracted -him by their subjects and method of treatment. Some of his letters on -literature can be quoted here, as this side of his gifts is little -represented in reviews. It will be seen that he talks less of the style -and form, than of the temper and insight of the three great romancers, -Meredith, Hugo, and Hardy. He is still intent, as they are, on the -special kind of subject, "man's inhumanity to women," which we have seen -absorbing him. Meredith was not widely read in Oxford in the early -eighties by the younger men, though he had always had a small and -impassioned public there since 1870. In our time he was rarely quoted. -He was too strong for tender youth; and any "scholar" or worshipper of -pure form or arbiter of elegancies could preach on Meredith's harshness -and quaintness, and wish that he were more considerately feeble. -Johnstone's tone when at twenty-five, in 1886, he writes of Meredith is -decisive enough, though his words would now be taken as a repetition of -the obvious. - -"Rhoda Fleming," he writes, "left me with increased wonder that its -author has not a more generally recognised position. He is the only -living English prose-writer with a real mind-kingdom of his own. The -story moves like fate--as inevitably, as cruelly (the white sacrifice!), -but just misses being dramatic. Why does he not write a play? He could; -perhaps something better than has been done for centuries." - -A year earlier he had written:--"When you say Hugo is 'so false' you -must mean not quite practical. Mrs. Gaskell's 'Ruth' is 'false' if you -like, as well as irrelevant. Its real tendency is the reverse of the -authoress' ostensible purpose. The woman becomes a partner in a union -perfectly unpolluted and humane, but unauthorised, and even this is made -inevitable. The Quaker element then turns it into tragedy, and the -climax is effected by a person who is a sufficiently remarkable instance -of a figure created by an apostle of mild propriety. He would have upset -the whole scheme of the Redemption by making the good Jesus sin the sin -of hate. This worthy, but rather Pharisaical Methodist--this large-boned -man of substance who makes responses louder than anyone else--this -nameless monster, whose foul-mouthed brawling on discovery of the -woman's history while under him as a governess, is made the insult in -answer to which her protector produces the _plea_ (which is the purpose -of the book); who, perhaps, takes his place as the best type in fiction -of the most hateful character that the varying conditions of climate and -creed ever yet conspired to produce on this, God's flowery earth--comes -duly in for his share in the comprehensive wash-brush at the finish. By -the simple expedient of turning his hair from black to white he is -qualified for service at the heroine's peaceful tomb, where he joins in -dropping the charitable tear. - -"The beautiful touches in this work are the seal of its futility, -arising as they do from the character of Ruth--an impossible incarnation -of all the virtues and graces--a sort of virgin mother, at last in fact -a crowned saint; and I cannot believe in her story, perhaps from being -too young. It may be that the remembrance of Ruth and other such works, -while reading Fantine, misled me; that the escape from the high-pew and -hassock flavour of Methodism to Hugo's 'prophetic soul of the wide -world' blinded. Yet, when a work like 'Les Misrables,' with the -prodigious activity of its dramatic impulse, takes in its sweep the -story of Fantine, something may surely be expected, if ever a writer is -to be adequate on such a subject, and, I cannot but think, rightly. The -'eternal Priestess of Humanity blasted for the Sins of the -People'--Fantine is just the thought dramatised. - -"Essentially hopeless and inexorable, surpassing the limit of horror -permissible in art.... And still the nameless agonies of the martyr's -death are forgotten for the angel-benediction at her grave. And is it -nothing to have achieved that this benediction should have been -possible after such a life?... - -"Yes, 'Les Misrables,' notwithstanding incidental impossibilities, -albeit ever in extremes, looms in my mind as incomparably the greatest -thing in fiction with which I am acquainted, and the longer ago it gets -since I read it and the more I read, the stronger this impression grows. -It seemed to me that the touches of truth in this 'false' work were -quite fearful in their power; such, for instance, of that gang of -convicts being jolted by in the van, 'their heads knocking together.' He -produces the physical effects of actual presence at what he describes. -Of course, it violates every possible canon from the 'Unities' -downwards; in fact, it might almost be made the basis of a new law of -multiplicities." - -Some years later, in 1892, he wrote his impression on reading Hardy's -masterpiece: "I have just finished 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles.' You may -have noticed a passage in Vol. I. running thus (chap. xvi.):--'Long -thatched sheds stretched round the enclosure, their slopes encrusted -with vivid green moss, and their eaves supported by wooden posts rubbed -to a glossy smoothness by the flanks of infinite cows and calves of -bygone years, _now passed to an oblivion almost inconceivable in its -profundity_.' - -"If a man speaks so of _cattle_ how must he feel towards his human -brothers and sisters! How strong must be in him that profoundest of -poetic passions, the '_carent quia vate sacro_' feeling! For, no doubt, -sometimes in these quiet country places a heart of such gold as Tess's -throbs away in complete obscurity its allotted number of pulses. Our -temper has altered from the time when this emotion was dismissed with a -'Let not ambition mock their useful toil,' etc., and Hardy has fully -realised the appalling paths of such tragedies in humble life. 'This -time,' he seems to have said, 'this time no mincing and no hedging. Let -the disdainful smilers and those others who shift all responsibilities -on to Providence look to themselves.' - -"There are passages of infinite pathos in this story: the 'too-late' -meeting of Tess with Angel Clare in the sea-side lodging, and the -terrific scene immediately after, when Angel is gone and she is left to -sob out her distraction; where Tess says to Angel, 'Why didn't you stay -and love me when I was sixteen with my little sisters and -brothers?':--the long letter she writes about a year after Angel has -left her, and where she practises the ballads that he had liked best, -while working in the field, 'the tears running down her cheeks all the -while at the thought that, perhaps, he would not after all come to hear -her, and the silly words of the songs resounding in painful mockery of -the aching heart of the singer.' And, earlier, the baptising by Tess of -her own infant, and--perhaps lying nearest of all to the fountain of -tears--those glimpses of her early innocence. 'Tess's pride would not -allow her to turn her head again to learn what her father's meaning was, -if he had any, and thus she moved on with the whole body to the -enclosure where there was to be dancing on the green' ... when one knows -against what fate the poor girl is going! But is it not all just a -little too cruel? To represent such adorable goodness, and sweetness, -and faithfulness as being rewarded with the actual _gibbet_--is not this -a little hard, even on Providence? The unsparingly tragic ending is not -the only thing, nor even the main thing that distinguishes this from -other stories dealing with the same sort of subject. - -"In George Eliot's Hetty we evidently have to do with a character quite -other than Tess's. The imputation of depravity attached to the fact that -Hetty, when scarcely more than a child, looked long in the glass and -thought how fine it would be to be a lady--this seems to me an -exceedingly miserable evidence of the somewhat crude vice of character -by which, notwithstanding George Eliot's immense genius, her sympathy -with the simple-hearted was, in certain cases, marred or destroyed. But -Hetty's character must be taken as it is revealed in action and -intention, and she abandons her infant, whereas the soul of Tess goes -out in an agony of endeavour to preserve hers, and, long after its -death, she exposes herself to ridicule by tending its outcast's grave. -In Hetty's dreams and schemes, again no thought of her parents and -people or hope of bettering their lot has place, while Tess at the -darkest moment of her _via dolorosa_--at Stonehenge, just before God -finally forsakes her--thinks of her sister 'Liza-Lu, and secures a -protector for those she is leaving behind. - -"Scott is, of course, without a trace of George Eliot's defect, and -always treats Effie Deans like a gentleman. By certain touches, too, he -indicates how deep is his concern for her, such as that crowd of -blackguards and urchins about the court-house, for whose holiday Effie -was so nearly murdered. But besides the fact that Scott has no true -grasp of feminine character, he makes Jeanie his heroine and never -really undertakes to tell Effie's story. And George Eliot, after -disposing of Hetty in a hurry, actually offers to interest us in the -love affairs of that preaching woman! In Fantine there are details -perhaps more intolerable to hear than this story of Hardy's, but the -general effect is less strong. For partly we distrust Hugo's rhetoric, -and besides, we are beguiled and consoled at the end, however -unreasonably, by his 'fortunately God knows where to look for graves,' -while in 'Tess' the concluding incidents come with a thunderbolt -inevitableness, and at the end nothing stands between us and the hideous -ignominy, the entire forgetfulness, the utter nakedness. But though her -life has become forfeit, perhaps that ignominy of the actual gibbet -might have been spared. In any case, there is nothing to be said at the -end of such a tale but-- - - "Tir'd with all these, for restful death I cry, - * * * * * - And maiden virture rudely strumpeted!" - -Yet let us not find fault, for terrible as it is to find a man who, -discarding the tradition that it is the office of poets to soothe and -amuse their fellow-prisoners with pretty fables and tales of the -governor's beneficence--a man who rejects this almost universal -tradition and appals his hearers with an account of malignant -treacheries committed by that governor--yet I sympathise with the -temper that does this, and believe that it has its roots in a genuine -and manly feeling, the feeling that I tried to suggest at the beginning. - -"Hardy is a strong example of that curious, inverted Manichism so -characteristic of our time--a sort of medival horror of the grossness -of matter, balanced by a most unmedival sense of the utter madness of -insulting and despising matter, seeing that the tyranny of it is -absolute. - -"He is perhaps the first Briton to write as a true man of the people on -such a subject, that is to say, to take it quite seriously. His story is -told with such passion that almost every particle of doctrinaire -affectation or easy pattern work is consumed and refined away, and he -has created in Tess the most inexpressibly pathetic figure that I know -of in literature." - -About Zola he writes in a letter of July, 1893:-- - -"Perhaps you have read 'Le Rve.' It and 'La Debcle' are the only two -of Zola's longer novels that could be recommended to a lady, and even -the latter with some misgiving. I cannot say that I think 'Le Rve' one -of Zola's best works. I am far from sure that the French critic who -said: 'Nous prfrons Monsieur Zola quatre pattes' was not in the -right. Nevertheless, there are passages in it stamped by Zola's unique -greatness. With regard to its defects, I would rather say nothing at -present, except one--the end strikes me as absurd, _franchement mauvais -et du placage litteraire_--a recrudescence of something that we have -left far behind, something dead that should have been left to bury its -dead. All the same there are, I think, truly great things in the book." - -Of Marie Bashkirtseff, September, 1891, he writes:-- - -"Concerning Marie Bashkirtseff, she seems to me to have had nearly every -gift except two, namely imagination and heart. Above all, a sort of -critical intuition, which prevented her from ever resting satisfied in -anything second-rate. She was a typical little Russian, small of -stature, dark of tint; in temperament sensitive, romantic, versatile; -unlike the northern Russians, who are prevalently tall and fair and have -a certain contempt for the unpractical. Nearly the whole Russian harvest -of folk-songs and cognate treasure comes from the south, from Cossacks -and little Russians, the true Muscovite being almost a songless bird. -Marie must have had in a high degree the incomparable grace and -distinction of her countrywomen, with that wonderful animation and -'fever of life' which makes the atmosphere of Russian society the -warmest and brightest in the world. As to your statement that 'some of -her failings, like her love of luxury and her desire to be attended to -at all costs, are pure vanity and wormwood,' I have always stuck up for -this barbaric element, and believe that largely on it depends the -prodigious formative power of a _free feminine influence_--that thing of -such rarity as to be almost non-existent in our puritanical society. I -know a man at half a glance who has ever been under it." - -Referring to his correspondent's remarks that Russians seem to look at -religious questions like intelligent children, he writes:-- - -"Did you ever hear of the Soo-r-ye-vites, the sect of which Leo Tolstoi -is a member? - -"Soorayeff was a peasant ignorant of reading and writing. He had read in -church 'God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in -spirit and in truth,' and by pure sympathy and unaided intelligence he -jumped to the conclusion that Jesus Christ meant what He said. Think of -the prodigious freshness of nature and the promise that this shows. - -"There are the five hundred sects of Great Britain all accepting the -same fundamental absurdities, and yet this simple man, never having -heard of criticism, is enabled to penetrate the viewless veil, woven by -the years and the churches over the face of the Son of Man, so as to -understand that Christ actually meant that God was a Spirit. - -"Suppose a missionary went among a savage tribe and tried to teach them -what Justice is; told them he himself was a son of Justice, and that -Justice was made manifest in him; lastly, that Justice is a spirit. -Suppose he came back after an absence and found the people teaching that -Justice was three persons and burning alive those who did not accept -this view!" - -In England, unless it were in London, Johnstone seldom felt at home; in -Scotland, still less. He liked to wander from one easy variegated -foreign city to another, where good music and good plays are quickly -accessible, and British convention is a mere figure in the comic papers. -He valued his friends in Edinburgh, but the place displeased him. He -would sit on Arthur's seat and hate the modern Athens steaming there -below him. Its curious old mossy layers of culture, professional and -academic, could hardly satisfy him, and he quickly got through the moss -to the stone. The ferment of the young "Celtic" writers and painters -seemed to come to little. He did not inure himself to the occasionally -inconsiderate manners of the Lowland Scotch, nor could he bring himself -to repay them steadily in kind. Some of the officials with whom he dealt -appeared to have been born, where they would die, in Gath. He would -hardly agree with, but he could understand the unqualified remark of his -old French associate, "Il n'y a pas d'amour dans ce pays." Probably he -was unjust to Edinburgh; but though his forbears were partly Scotch, he -was not, like Stevenson, born Scotch, and he never really saw the native -character from within. Teaching may not have been the best introduction -to it. He taught well, having the right sort of delivery and insistent -method. But it is disgusting to an artist to teach anything for bread, -except, perhaps, his own craft. The hard work, the pull on the nerves -and patience, can scarcely have strengthened Johnstone's health. - -Indeed, wherever he lived he had a touch of the exile. He dwelt really -in some region not of this earth at all, where the masters of music sit -in their Valhalla, where the hard waste matter that makes up most of our -life is eliminated, while the essence of its pain and pleasure is -distilled through art and presented in sublime purity of form. The saint -has his vision of personal goodness, the philosopher his of systematic -truth, the reformer his of a new society. The artist--for the term must -be extended to those who perceive as well as those who produce--has his -ideal vision, which varies in form with his special art. It follows that -the valuable part of actual life, to such a temper, is made up of such -stray hours of vivid experience and intelligence as, taken together, -give some notion of that other world. We had written "moments" instead -of "hours," but the former word would be misleading, with the false -suggestion of fleeting passive sensation, for which Walter Pater, or -rather those who misinterpret him, must answer. Every experience, in -truth, whether moral, sensuous, or intellectual, that is, of real worth, -contributes to the artist's dream. Johnstone posed so little and lived -by this principle so naturally and unwittingly that he could not be -called a doctrinair. But few men save up their vital impressions about -everything so carefully, engraving them patiently on the memory, and -dismissing the vast mass of experience that tells us nothing. Hence -Johnstone was never quite naturalised in any abode, though he managed to -be sociable and festive when the chances came. In Edinburgh, however, -for the reasons given, he stayed over long, and we may regret that he -was not sooner freed from teaching school. - -Practically, there was some compensation for so late an escape. The -teacher's attitude, as of one clearly laying down the law, remained in -much of his press work, and to its advantage. The public as a whole, -though it must not be told so, is like a large, impatient, grumbling, -half-ignorant class of schoolboys. Reviewing is therefore educational -work. Not that the dominie-tone is wanted; for that is the worst of -faults, even in school-teaching! But the teacher does not take his class -into the secret of his own doubts, hesitations, or revulsions; he gives -his results, he gives what he thinks the truth. Or, if a figure from -another calling be preferred, the critic _operates_, beneficently if -often without ansthetics. Further, there was something to be said for -the late specialisation of Johnstone's ruling talent. His nature was -rich; his articles have the style of a man who has lived, as well as one -who knows his trade. No youth, though ever so clever, could have made -them. He treats music as a means by which all the emotions, whether -large and solemn, or light and happy, or sombre, or perverse, are -transformed, often out of recognition, into their counterparts in sound; -so that the kinds of joy and pain given by music, like those given by -high drama but in a rarer measure, are stripped of any stinging personal -reference, while unweakened in force. The hearer is thus mysteriously -shown, as Rossetti says, the "road he came," and yet has no more, for -the time, to do with himself, save in so far as he is one of a thousand -men to whom the music interprets their experience, widely and deeply. -Therefore, to understand music, a man must have suffered. Johnstone had -met and weathered some of the suffering which an intense nature, even -under conditions easier than his, must absolutely meet with on this -earth, and must either give in to and go under, or must get over and -appropriate--there is no choice! He chose the latter way, being strong -enough, and so became a better musical critic. - -Besides, his bent for music was growing more marked during the last -years in Edinburgh. It was clear to his friends what his profession -ought to be, and his chance of adopting it came at the end of 1895. The -musical critic of the _Manchester Guardian_, Mr. Fremantle, died; and it -was hard to find a successor who would stamp his own mark and make the -critical judgments of the paper a power, in the musical capital in the -North of England. Johnstone had already written for the _Manchester -Guardian_ articles of sundry kinds; a review of the translation of -Nietzsche, part of which is reprinted in this book, and a notice on -Tolstoi; as well as on musical matters. York Powell was foremost in -commending his friend to the editor as a man of worth and high special -talent. An offer was sent to Johnstone, which he weighed with even more -than his usual deliberation. He felt the break with his friends in -Scotland, and he had misgivings, being a slow writer and not fond of his -pen, as to his power to work under journalistic conditions. As even his -letters show, he composed carefully and was a master of exact -expression; thus he felt some anxiety at having to work under the -pressure of a time limit, and that too at a late hour. He therefore -sent, without in any way jumping at the offer as an escape from -usherdom, a dignified reply that gave an impression of his quality. It -was not easy for his friends to make him decide with the necessary -haste. In the end he accepted the proposal, much to their relief, and -came to Manchester in January, 1896. There he stayed for the rest of his -life. - -In Manchester, Johnstone's existence and outlook were quite altered. He -had not to wait until the daily chare was over before he could turn to -music, which now took up his force and time for the working part of the -year. He had taught well, but others could have done that. Now, for nine -years, he gave himself to the work for which he was built, and which few -could do so well. Certainly no one did it in quite his way. The union of -temperament, knowledge, style, gave him an accent of his own. His lore -and his sensibility always grew and enriched each other. He did not -wholly limit himself to music, and before passing to this his chief -occupation, we may note his activity elsewhere. It was too much to hope -he would have any great distracting interest. Music is enough and more -for one man. But he spared some time for literature. He had a swift -preference even as a boy for all that was fresh, vehement, and strange -in modern drama and fiction. He was not at all like the complacent, -young, up-to-date college tutor, who reads the latest exotic writers, -but remains unaltered. Johnstone, if he liked a play or story at all, -was seized and shaken; a kind of enthusiasm which is a better preface to -a true judgment than any amount of accomplished and balanced coldness, -or the pseudo-"judicial" frame of mind. He was not so fond of poetry, or -so sure in his perception of it, caring too little for purely verbal in -contrast with accompanied or wordless music. We have reprinted above, -however, a part of his lecture on the scientific frontier between the -two arts. He found time also, when the press of the season was over, for -some byplay as a reviewer. He wrote in commanding style about books on -conjuring, on billiards, and on cooking. He used to say that cooking was -his real gift. To go to a certain caf and quote Mr. Johnstone's name, -was to ensure a respectful and an even terrified service; and the -well-drilled waiter would commend a particular sauce-bottle as that -which his distinguished customer had used. But he remembered, with more -pleasure than banquets, having slept on shelves with the Cretan rebels -in the mountains, and sharing and digesting their extremely dried fish. -He also wrote on weighty matters outside music; the chief of these were -English and German plays. The companies that travelled from the -Fatherland to the Germanic city of the British Empire, and acted in the -Schiller-Anstalt, often played pieces involving actual dialect. -Johnstone's familiarity with German, as well as his natural sympathy -with writers like Hauptmann (and Sudermann in a less degree), marked him -out as the right reviewer. Plays, like concerts, have to be noticed in -hot haste on the very evening; or, at best, if given on Saturday, by the -following evening; for so much expedition is the minotaur-public of a -daily paper supposed to stipulate. The work done on such terms is not -always the worst in substance, though only long wont can give the kind -of finish or varnish that is desired. The same remark applies to musical -reviewing; but Johnstone's distrust of himself was needless. The result -was more in accordance with the expectation of his friends than with his -own. Many of his articles were written at great speed, and as one of his -colleagues said, if it had been possible for him to wait till he felt he -could do justice to the subject, most of them would never have been -written at all. - -Before passing to his main labours as a journalist, we may here quote, -in illustration, part of the notice that he wrote on the _Johannisfeuer_ -of Sudermann. Our reprints in this book deal almost wholly with music, -and, as we have said, he thought of music as a comment, at several -removes and after strange distillations, on life and experience. But the -drama, which is a copy of life, not indeed a direct one, but subject to -the laws of theatrical art, also engrossed him, especially when it was -at once modern in form and homely and passionate in theme. - -The Bavarian peasants and their girls still jump through the dying -embers of their bonfires on the eve of St. John:-- - - _"For the truth is Mr. Parson, a remnant of heathenism stirs in the - blood of us all. It has persisted through all the centuries since - ancient Germanic times, and, once a year, it blazes up with the - fire of St. John's Eve. For that night the spooks of ancient - heathenism are unchained. Witches ride on broomsticks, instead of - being beaten with them, and pass through the air, with mocking - laughter, on their way to the Blocksberg. The Wild Hunt scours over - the forest and wilder desires over our hearts--all that is most - frenzied and most utterly doomed to nonfulfilment. No matter what - the order may be that for the time being reigns in the world, for - one single heart's desire to be realised, and to give us something - to live on, a thousand others must go to ruin, not only for the - ever unattainable, but others, allowed to escape from a hand that - held them too carelessly. Yes, those bonfires which blaze up--do - you know what they are? They are the spectres of our heart's - desires, the red-winged birds of paradise that we might have kept - by us for life but allowed to escape, the spooks of the old order, - of the heathenism that is in us. However satisfied we may be in the - light of day and beneath the reign of law and order, this is St. - John's Eve in the night sacred to Midsummer Madness. I drink to - your ancient heathen fires. Let them blaze high! Will no one clink - glasses with me?"--(Act. iii., sc. 3.)_ - -"So the title 'Johannisfeuer,' with its double meaning, literal and -symbolical, must be rendered into English--according as we wish to lay -stress on the former or the latter--'The Bonfires of St. John's Eve' or -'Midsummer Madness.' On seeing the remarkably fine performance of this -play the non-German spectator, impressed with the general worthlessness -of German drama since the Augustan age (that is, the age of Goethe and -Schiller), might well wonder how it is possible for a German writer to -produce such a thing--a play, simple and unpretentious in design, yet -fraught through and through with poetic beauty; a play written with -northern sharpness of characteristic and, at the same time, with Italian -warmth, eloquence, and keenness of sympathy with the moods of nature; a -play distinctly Ibsenesque in structure and largely also in style, yet, -for all its sombre colouring, not haggard and aghast, like nearly all -the products of the Scandinavian's demonic spirit. The scene is in a -farm in East Prussia, in a neighbourhood with a mixed population of -Germans, Poles, and Lithuanians. The name of the farmer's family is -Vogelreuther. Marikke, a Lithuanian gipsy girl, is a foster-child in -their house, having been picked up along with her mother and carried -home by Mr. and Mrs. Vogelreuther in their sledge during the famine -winter of 1867. In the house she is known as Heimchen (the Cricket) and -in the neighbourhood as the 'famine child.' In the farm-house lives a -young man named George, an orphan nephew of Vogelreuther, indebted to -the famine for his upbringing. In the opening of the play George has -made a good start in life, having been apprenticed to an architect in -Knigsberg and done well. He is betrothed to the farmer's daughter -Gertrude, but some years before there had been a love affair between him -and Heimchen, who had repulsed him hastily, not because she did not care -for him, but because she did not believe in the honesty of his -intentions. While busying herself with preparations for her -foster-sister's coming marriage, Heimchen discovers a manuscript book -belonging to George and containing verses and a diary. She cannot resist -the temptation to read, and she thus discovers that George had loved her -deeply and seriously, despite the difference in their standing. -Heimchen's mother--a besotted and thievish old woman--haunts the -neighbourhood, and has been recognised by her daughter. Heimchen has -been told that her mother is dead, but knows better. Meetings with the -terrible old woman re-awaken the gipsy instincts in Heimchen. George -loves her still at heart, and circumstances draw the two together. The -crisis is reached on the night of St. John's eve, when after an evening -in which the whole neighbourhood, lit up with bonfires, is given over to -punch drinking, dancing, and excitement. George is requested by the -unsuspecting farmer to escort Heimchen to the railway station, she -having a night train to catch to Knigsberg. The ending is intensely -Ibsenesque in style. George, on the very day fixed for his wedding with -Gertrude, is ready to fly with Heimchen, but, mindful of the immense -obligations binding them both to the farmer's family, he insists that -there shall be at least an explanation. Heimchen, instinctively grasping -the difference between a man's and a woman's love, foresees the regrets -that would result from the overthrow of George's plans. She changes her -attitude and forbids him to speak to the farmer. The St. John fires are -burnt out. The midsummer madness is over. It is now for her to return to -duty and dulness and the burden of a starved heart. For life she must -remain satisfied with her one night of bliss on St. John's eve. So she -stands alone and watches the departure of George's and Gertrude's -wedding procession. - -"The great scene of the play, in which Heimchen and George are left -alone together, is managed with wonderful stagecraft. Till the last -moment they seem to be adhering to 'good resolutions,' but a series of -incidents, all absolutely natural, occur to distract attention and cause -delay, till they hear the whistle of the train and know that it is too -late. The bonfires, the punch-drinking, and, above all, George's speech, -from which the quotation at the head of these notes is taken, have fired -their blood, and Heimchen is unstrung by the painful meeting with her -disreputable mother earlier in the day, when she had been obliged to buy -back things that her mother had pilfered. At last she throws herself on -her knees before George and says, 'Du! Kss' mich nicht! Ich will dich -kssen. Ich will alles auf mich nehmen. Meine Mutter stiehlt. Ich stehl' -auch'--and the curtain falls." - - * * * * * - -To return to the date of Johnstone's arrival at the _Guardian_ office in -Manchester, where he was made welcome. He found friends upon the staff, -and kept them in spite of his want of sympathy with some of the -political views of the paper. On politics he never wrote, except when -recording matters of fact on his mission to the Greco-Turkish war. But, -not to speak of living persons, he was brought for some years into close -contact with one of the best-equipped and finest-tempered journalists -of our time. William Thomas Arnold, the son of Thomas, and nephew of -Matthew Arnold, was one of the two or three men, senior to himself, in -his personal circle, for whom Johnstone had a profound regard both as a -man and as a master-craftsman. This regard was well-deserved. An -authoritative scholar in the history of the early Roman Empire, a critic -who cast original light on Keats and some of the Jacobean poets, at home -in Dryden, in the French literature both of the great century and the -romantic age, abreast also of criticism in both countries, and a sound -vigorous judge of acting and the drama, Arnold made time to share the -daily burdens and aid in sustaining the high uncompromising standards of -a newspaper whose many foes have never questioned its consistent and -iron courage during the last ten years. Arnold often stood to Johnstone -in the capacity of actual editorial chief for the evening. It is hateful -to be edited, even to the change of a comma, except where errors of fact -or risks of libel are in question. Political contributions are another -thing; a common line--the "view of the paper"--must be adhered to, and -self-sacrifice in detail, within large limits, is simply necessary. That -is warfare; you may resign your commission, but, if you do not, must -accept instructions. But in art and letters! The mutual respect of the -two men may be measured by the freedom that was left to Johnstone, and -by the spirit in which he, rightly the most sensitive of men in such -concerns and naturally irritable, took the occasional blue-pencillings. -His other colleagues also held Johnstone in regard, in spite of the -vehemence with which he went his own way. Sometimes he would come in -from the concert, like an instrument whose strings are still quivering -at full pitch, and this is not the mood for rapid committee work at -night. There might be one great explanation from time to time which -cleared the air. It was seen that he was thinking of his subject, and -not of his own vanity, and that he was immensely, indignantly, and -delightfully wrapped up in that subject. On the whole it was a good -training for him, and few strong men, beginning at the age of -thirty-four, would have shown themselves, despite occasional rubs, so -reasonably adaptive. It may also be said that few newspapers would have -stood so well by a writer who, whenever he felt it his duty to do so, -would promptly perturb the musical hive, careless whether drone or -hornet minded. Mr. John Morley, who ought to know, has expressed some -doubt as to whether journalism tends to special elevation of character. -There are cases where the doubt does not arise. When the critic, on -artistic, and therefore on public, grounds, and with due store of -knowledge, raises a fury by his condemnations, and when the editor, who -has to think of his paper and its standing, supports the critic, -believing him likely to be right, that is a good evening's work. The -scope therefore granted to Johnstone as a journalist by his editor was a -proof of sagacity, for he became a power in the musical community, not -only of Manchester but of the larger region the _Manchester Guardian_ -reaches. No doubt, though he was allowed as free a hand in expressing -his opinions as any other of his craft, and a much freer one than the -majority, he sometimes wearied of the necessary restrictions of a -journalist's position and their deadening effect upon the mind. An -outburst, expressive of a deep and recurring mood, occurs in a letter of -January, 1902, written on his return to Manchester, and describing a day -he had spent in London with York Powell. - -"There is now no one in this neighbourhood with whom I can _converse_. I -find myself permanently in the journalistic attitude, regarding it as -luck if I can say two per cent. of what I think about anything; so the -meeting with Powell was an oasis at the end of some very sandy months." - -This complaint was laid not against the paper he served, but against the -sparseness of the kind of society he liked best. To understand it some -curious features of life in Manchester must be recalled. He used at -times to come to a small society of friends, which lasted for eight or -nine years, and met during the business year at about monthly intervals, -at the members' dwellings, for free conversation. He is remembered as -having there discoursed on Tolstoy's conceptions of art with his usual -energy and elaboration. The stringent mad-logic of the great art-hater -had once attracted, but at last disgusted him, and he saw that even -Tolstoy's famed novels, with their show of godlike equity, really held -the seed of his later prejudices against science, art, and sexual love. -But such occasions when he could talk freely seemed to grow rarer. The -fault lay somewhat, no doubt, in his own radical solitariness of mind, -but also in the surrounding conditions. - -Huge Manchester, almost a metropolis, is full of force, full of mental -as well as commercial stir; it is not, no, it is not! a _social_ city. -If it ever learns how to amuse itself, it will really be that; it will -be a metropolis. The reasons of the defect are partly physical. It has -an air, a rainfall, a climate, and an aspect, that do not make for good -spirits. The suburbs lie far apart in a ring round the business crater, -which becomes dark and most unfestal after ten o'clock at night, and -which those who cannot drive think twice of crossing. Also there is an -unfused mixture of races and classes. Apart from Greeks and Armenians, -who stand apart from one another and from other nations, there are the -German and other Jews on one side, and the Germans who are not Jews -markedly on another side. There are the big Lancashire money-makers, of -the soil; the shopkeepers and the vast clerkly multitude; the -professional classes, or castes; and the hand-workers, rough, but in -essential breeding and wits perhaps the soundest of all. For social -purposes many of these elements do not count. It is the Germans, the -Jews, and the professional classes, with many of the intelligent -business men in a large way, who probably civilise Manchester, in the -stricter sense of the term. It is as civilised an English city as can be -found in England outside London, if the press, the libraries, the -university, the theatres, and the music, be all weighed together. But -its bent hardly lies towards society, in the sense of ringing, -collective, intellectually disinterested talk, or towards gaiety of the -more bearable kind. There is ample dining, dancing, and official -entertainment, but those are not enough for salvation. The vast number -of philanthropic, educational, religious, and political agencies, which -fill playtime with labour for the good of mankind or party, entitle the -city to be called great and progressive, but they do not precisely make -it blithe. They inspire respect, and no one who has not lived there many -years can realise their number or the strenuous, positive, character of -the place; the southern nature seems soft and vague in comparison. But -the free talk of the real capitals, and their resources for witty -amusement, imply a large leisured class, an element of _flneurs_ in the -population, which is hardly possible in a big North-English city. There -is personal isolation in a curious measure--a want of rallying points -for talk. The atoms repel each other and fly apart. Men go home to their -families or rooms and stop there. If they go out, it is often for some -"meeting" of an earnest description, not to amuse themselves; or, if -they wish to do this, they go to music, which is a somewhat solitary -pleasure. Talk, for the satisfaction of talking, is less common. There -are exceptions; but this is the impression given by long residence in -Manchester. The Germans, with their club and singing and cheerfulness, -have done their best for their adopted city. But it was hard for a -cosmopolitan person like Arthur Johnstone, at once deeply bent on art -and beauty of all kinds, and also demanding some kind of cheerful -foreign life in the intervals of work, to find his account quickly in -his new abode, and the opinion of it we have recorded above is largely -his own. - -For some time, therefore, he felt that Manchester was admirable rather -than refreshing. It had found for him the work of his life; he soon -became a force in his own calling; he had friends, new as well as old, -in the place; and he liked it better, as time passed, and as he managed -to find some of the intelligent festiveness that he wanted. Gradually he -touched several quite different circles, chiefly doubtless the musical, -but others also, journalistic, academic, and professional. Except with a -few, Johnstone made his way somewhat slowly in society. He could be -outspoken, uncompromising, and even explosive (though he never attacked -unless he thought there was provocation). These characteristics and his -daring line as a critic, both in talk and print, caused him to be -under-estimated by some otherwise intelligent persons. He might have -said, with Saint-Simon, that he was not "un sujet acadmique." He -disliked dons as a class; at Oxford and elsewhere they made him, of -course wrongly, restive. He had not been through their mill, and they -did not always care for or see his curious and original play of mind. -Their committee-trained caution of phrase was alarmed by his emphasis -and heavy-shotted superlatives, which merely amused his friends. There -were, of course, those among them who liked him well. In some houses he -had, apart from his musical gifts, a certain name for being "clever and -spiky." The latter epithet was only partially true, for he was -simple-hearted and good-natured the moment that the occasion arose. "His -sympathy," writes Madame de Navarro (Miss Mary Anderson), "never failed, -and his unaffected love and enthusiasm for the good, the true, and the -beautiful, could always be counted upon." All who had eyes saw this in -Johnstone, but all had not eyes. He was interested, absorbed, whelmed in -his subject, and thought instinctively more about ideas and purposes -than about persons, so that he sometimes ignored persons and therefore -dissatisfied them. He also said, what is true, that of the provinces, as -compared with the capital, "the favourite sin is cowardice." This, and -any semblance of snobbery, he openly despised. He liked to have power -and weight--and was right in liking it--in order to carry out certain -musical reforms. But he dismissed at once anyone who, as he put it, "may -be very well-informed, yet clearly cares nothing at all for things in -themselves, but simply and solely to be a person of consideration." So, -except as a musical critic, his measure, for good reasons, was not -invariably taken. He knew this fact, and felt it with some keenness, but -not from the side of disappointed conceit. He thought it was his lot in -life not to be able to talk freely and acceptably save to a very few -persons. He was sorry, but convinced that thus he was built. The old -Oxford sense of solitariness--and Oxford leaves dregs in the cup for -these her sensitive children--does not easily let go its victim. The -happiness and success of the latter years, however, were to leave him -markedly easier, mellower, and more communicative. He was, indeed, fully -entering on his own when he was cut down. But a larger and more various -experience than ever yet, both of thought and travel, was to be his lot -within the last eight years of his short life. - -In April, 1897, Johnstone made his appearance in a new capacity. The -dispute between Greece and Turkey over the treatment of the Christians -in Crete had reached an acute stage and war was expected to break out at -any moment. The _Manchester Guardian_, more than any other English -newspaper, had championed the Greek cause. Naturally the proprietors -wished to secure the best and fullest accounts of the operations and to -have them despatched in advance of other papers. Mr. J. B. Atkins was -chosen to accompany the army in the field, and Johnstone's knowledge of -modern languages and acquaintance with Eastern Europe marked him out as -a valuable colleague. He was posted at Athens to receive reports from -the front, to arrange all the details connected with their transmission, -and to review the progress of the war, work which he carried through -very successfully. His gift of tongues, which once caused him to be -congratulated in Germany on "speaking English so well," enabled him soon -to get a working knowledge of modern Greek; he was fortunate too in -finding a Greek gentleman, who, grateful for the attitude of the -_Manchester Guardian_, acted as his interpreter and showed him about the -city. The same friend was on intimate terms with the Royal family, and -introduced Johnstone to the King and the Duke of Sparta. At the close of -his stay at Athens, he hesitatingly asked if there was any return he -could make for the various kindnesses he had received, when this friend -of royalty named so modest a fee that Johnstone was staggered; "it was -the pourboire of a head-waiter," he said afterwards when describing the -incident, adding that he had never realised what true democracy meant -until then. Among his associates there was the correspondent of a -Viennese paper who had somehow incurred the dislike and suspicion of the -war-party, but, as Johnstone thought, unjustly. At last his life was -openly threatened; there was no hope for him unless he managed to leave -the country at once, and even then there was a fair chance that he might -never reach the ship alive. Johnstone, being on good terms with the -patriotic party, pleaded for his life and undertook to get him away; he -cycled behind him for the four miles from Athens to the Pirus, and when -they reached the harbour kept the mob off until he was safely on board -an Austrian Lloyd steamer. The ride was an exciting one, for it was -expected that an attempt would be made to shoot the obnoxious -correspondent on the way down to the port; some shots were actually -fired, but went wide of the mark. When the war was nearing the end -Johnstone's services were not so necessary at Athens, and he went to -join Mr. Atkins in camp; but he saw no fighting, for the day after his -arrival peace was declared. His colleague returned to England, and -Johnstone spent some weeks in Crete to investigate the stories of those -atrocities which had been the immediate cause of the war. He went _sac -au dos_ like J. K. Huysmans in 1870, but unlike him, roughed it with -good humour and looked upon hardships of this kind as a helpful and -valuable experience. A year later when congratulating a friend, who was -somewhat habit-ridden, on his marriage, he wrote, "The problem of -changing one's habits is emphatically one of those to be solved -'_ambulando_.' The forms of ambulation best adapted to the purpose are -serving on a campaign, doing time 'with,' and getting married;" -admitting, however, that the last, though less drastic, was more -permanent in its effect. - -Of the stay in Crete he always spoke as the best holiday of his life. He -was struck with the beauty both of the lowlands and the hills, and -predicted the day when the isle would be one of the great resorts of -Europe. The mountaineers redeemed for him the modern Greek race, which -his experience in Athens had led him to scorn utterly. He thought that -the citizen and official class were shifty and mendacious, and his -epithets were Juvenalian in vigour. The hillmen were of another race, in -body and spirit, and he loved sharing their hardy life. It is right to -add that he exempted the ordinary Greek soldier on the mainland from the -condemnation which he reserved for the officers. Some considerable time -he spent on the water, chartering a small steamer in order to coast up -near the seat of war. Before making his way homeward he went to -Constantinople, and the surface view, at any rate, of the Turk pleased -him well. He returned home in unusually buoyant health and wearing a -moustache, having fallen under the spell of Eastern prejudice against -the clean-shaved. - -At the beginning of the musical season in October, 1898, a considerable -storm was raised in Manchester by the action of the guarantors of the -Hall concerts, who had offered the post of conductor to Dr. Richter, -instead of renewing Dr. Cowen's appointment. It fell to Johnstone to -write the two leading articles on the subject which appeared in the -_Manchester Guardian_ of October 4th and 17th. His clear and judicial -summing up of the case left no room for questioning the right of the -guarantors to act as they had done, while his special knowledge of Dr. -Richter's immense services to musical art enabled him to write with -authority on the great chance now open for Manchester's acceptance. In -short, the point at issue lay between sentimental considerations and the -good of the community, and Johnstone very naturally declared for the -latter. Our reference to this controversy is intentionally brief, but -its importance at the time was considerable. Johnstone was now -recognised as a leader of musical opinion in Manchester, a position and -influence which became greatly extended in the years that followed. - -There is no doubt as to the kind of power that he exerted. He did not -touch the actual administration of music in Manchester, in the College -of Music, or the Hall concerts, or elsewhere. He did not directly -advise, therefore, in the choice of programmes, players, or singers. But -he went to every performance of the slightest note, whether popular or -not, and wrote about it incisively and heedfully, always preferring to -praise and interpret, but hitting very hard when he thought it -imperative to do so. He went to the prize exhibitions of the college -pupils, and reviewed them (omitting names) with a sympathetic ear for -promise. He lectured, often very well, at Mr. Rowley's Sunday gatherings -in Ancoats, and also in the History Theatre of Owens College. As a -lecturer, it may be observed, he suffered at times from having too much -to say and failing to compress it perfectly. But he held an audience of -unprofessional hearers with his sharply-cut and pungent style; and, in -one respect he was a fortunately un-English lecturer, for his power of -graphic gesture was quite noteworthy. These, however, were casual -activities; presswork took almost all his strength. He did a vast amount -of musical reviewing, and his room was stacked with the publications -that he simply found it useless to criticise. But the notices of actual -singing and playing were his main labour, as well as the pioneer -articles on unknown or imperfectly appreciated works. These were of high -value, and contain some of his best writing, being done at fuller -leisure. As to the quality of his published utterances we may say no -more; the articles we have saved for this book must speak for -themselves. But, without doubt, his judgment was looked for, and -welcomed or feared. He made it less easy for bad performers to come -again. He was generous, preferring even a slight excess, to oncoming and -unrecognised talent, or to remote and exotic kinds of talent which made -the fashionable multitude impatient. He became the worthy and articulate -voice of musical opinion in and beyond one of the English capitals of -the art. - -We could hardly illustrate the kind of power that Johnstone exerted -better than by quoting what Canon Gorton writes concerning his -connection with the Morecambe musical festival:-- - -"Our festival was born in 1891. From the first it was organised entirely -apart from any pecuniary object; it brought us some delightful music, as -we set our own test pieces, and its aim was essentially educational. Our -special correspondent from the _Manchester Guardian_ did not arrive on -the scene until 1899. We had grown accustomed to unstinted praise, the -judges exhausted the adjectives in the language in describing the -excellence of the singing, composers told us that they had never heard -their part-songs so perfectly rendered. We thought we were perfect. Then -came a bomb from the critic (April 27th, 1899). He was not in touch with -us or cognisant with our aim, nor did he allow for our limitations. Much -of the music seemed to him unworthy; the competitive or sporting element -annoyed him; he saw rocks ahead, rocks on which others had been wrecked. -He wrote: 'The array of talent is no doubt imposing, but far too much of -the music is of an inferior stamp. It should not be forgotten that the -end and aim of such festivals is to foster a taste for music. But the -taste for inferior music needs no fostering. If, therefore, the -organisers of these festivals prescribe second-rate works for the -competitions, they simply destroy the _raison d'tre_ of these -competitions. It is music as an art--not music as a sport or trade--that -requires fostering. There is a danger that such concerts may degenerate -into a vulgar pot-hunting business, and one would like to see everything -done, both as regards the music prescribed and the conduct of the -proceedings of the festival itself, to guard against that danger.' I do -not claim to know much about music, but I recognise good English when I -see it. I saw that 'our special correspondent' was a master of his -craft. I replied at once in the _Manchester Guardian_ rejecting his -interpretation of our motives, and still more the motives which brought -choirs to our Festival. I said that 'no chastening was joyous' and urged -that the critic should have patience, that we were then walking and that -some day we would run, and expressed a hope that he might be there to -see. I afterwards called upon him at the Reform Club, and this commenced -a friendship, the memory of which I shall always hold as a matter of -pride. He henceforth became for us 'the critic.' We not only awaited -his arrival, but in choice of music Mr. Howson (the choir-master) even -applied an additional test: 'This will test the choir, but will it also -satisfy Mr. Arthur Johnstone's taste?' The choir were conscious ever of -his presence. The judges were in the box giving their awards, but 'Mr. -Johnstone is in the grand circle, what does he think?' I heard him once -appeal to his wife; 'Am I not always open to conviction?' With his first -article in view, and with the knowledge of what subsequently he did for -us, I could but allow that he made good his claim, for he became the -most stalwart defender of our Morecambe musical festival--'a movement,' -he wrote in 1903 'that is one of the most genuine and hopeful things in -the musical England of to-day.' Again he complained that 'little or -nothing has been done by the teachers of music in Manchester to -encourage the musical revival that for a good many years had been going -on in the North of England, and more particularly in Lancashire.' Later, -he wrote a remarkable article in reply to the strictures of Mr. J. -Spencer Curwen. Mr. Curwen had questioned whether our festivals help -choral music in the long run, and proceeded to comfort us by saying that -'we were entering upon a dangerous path. The more success you have, the -nearer you will approach to the state of things which exists in Wales.' -To this belated warning Mr. Johnstone replied (October 5th, 1903): 'The -peculiar evils enumerated by Mr. Spencer Curwen as being fostered by -competitions were observed a good many years ago by those who are -organising meetings in North Lancashire. Indeed, one may say the -observation of these evils was the point of departure in Lancashire, and -we are, therefore, a little tired of these strictures on the choirs got -up to learn certain pieces, dispersing immediately afterwards; on -fragmentary performances, and the rest of the black things on Mr. -Curwen's list. It is evident that Mr. Curwen is entirely without -knowledge of the best Lancashire choirs formed by the influence of -competition in their own neighbourhood. These choirs have as strong a -principle of cohesion as any in the world. Their repertory is -exceedingly wide. Their organisers show immense enterprise in unearthing -the treasures of the old English and Italian madrigal writers and of the -finest modern part-song writers. Let Mr. Curwen go to Morecambe next -spring; his ideas on the subject of musical competition will be pretty -thoroughly revolutionised.' Yes, Mr. Johnstone was open to conviction, -sought nothing less than the truth, was at infinite pains to obtain -it--_O si sic omnes_. But the debt we owe to him was not merely because -he was a critic keen to discern the good, not merely because he proved a -fearless champion. He became a friend always ready to discuss methods of -development, and to place his exact and wide knowledge at our disposal, -and after we had formed our plans it was a great gain to Mr. Howson and -myself to test their wisdom by his opinion. He spoke frequently of the -capacity for conducting which the festival revealed, and inveighed -against the star system, whether among vocalists, instrumentalists, or -conductors--and of these last he had in his mind's eye several whom he -maintained we ought to rely upon. It does not fall to me to speak of him -as a friend, as a delightful companion, as a courteous gentleman--one -whom I married and one whom, alas! I buried in the prime of his powers." - -Johnstone took the position he had thus made with increasing -seriousness, and worked during the Manchester musical season harder than -ever. In the summer he went abroad, but not entirely for rest. He -greatly expanded his knowledge, and also his musical reputation and that -of his paper, by his visit to festivals at Bayreuth, at Oberammergau, -at Dsseldorf, and at Vienna. Forced to choose, we have hardly been -able, within these limits, to quote from the contributions he sent home. -The last of his foreign journeys was unlike all the others, which had -been taken alone. The words quoted above from the letter of January, -1902, were no longer to be true, though the desired companionship came -late. A solitary life in lodgings, and the absence of domestic ties to -one of his affectionate and home-loving nature (which lay behind his -gipsy habits) could not be compensated even by hosts of friends; but -brighter days were in store. In June, 1902, he became engaged to Miss -Lucy Morris, a Manchester lady who had won considerable distinction at -Cambridge; and henceforward the most human of interests gave fresh -inspiration to his life and work. - -Their marriage took place two years later, on June 28th, 1904, quietly -at Morecambe. The friend of both, Canon Gorton, married them, and -another friend, Mr. Howson, undertook the musical part of the ceremony, -which was performed by the Morecambe Madrigal Society and the church -choir. There never was a wedding with better music, and for once the -hackneyed description, "the service was fully choral," might have been -used with a real meaning. The honeymoon was spent on the Riffel Alp: -afterwards the travellers attended the Bayreuth festival, returning to -Manchester at the end of August, where they went to live at Tarnhelm -(named after the magic helmet of the "Ring") in Victoria Park. A few -more months of happiness remained to Johnstone. On Thursday, December -8th, he was taken seriously ill, but though in considerable pain he -attended a concert in the evening, and wrote a notice of the -performance. The next morning his condition was worse, and on Saturday -he was operated upon for appendicitis. But relief came too late, and on -Friday, December 16th, his sufferings ended. He had just completed his -forty-third year: he was in the plenitude of his intellectual powers, -and had entered upon the happiest and most useful period of his life. - -This cruel and sudden ending to Johnstone's career, at a moment when he -had reason to be reconciled to life and to forgive circumstance, when he -was wider in his critical sympathies and more thoroughly master of his -means of expression than ever before, and when his public influence was -strong, stirred the musical society of north-western England. North and -South are two different nations--neighbours that often carefully ignore -and misunderstand each other. This appears to be specially the case in -musical criticism. The London press said much too little. But the word -"provincial" has no application to the musical energies of Manchester. -It is like one of the great German towns, Munich or Frankfurt, being -wholly independent of the capital, of which it is not a colony. The mark -made by Johnstone in this region was attested in a measure that he would -never have foreseen. The _Manchester Guardian_, besides giving an -honourable obituary notice to its critic, received far more letters in -his honour, expressing sorrow at his early death and admiration of his -character, than it found space to print, although the most salient of -them filled its columns. They were written with knowledge, not by -laymen, but by persons with whom Johnstone had worked and had dealt -faithfully, sometimes stringently. The remark of Canon Gorton, "I began -my friendship with a quarrel," might be echoed more than once. -Johnstone's clean, hard literary thrust, or _punch_, free from noisy -hammering violence, was a not infrequent introduction to his -acquaintance. It was given with a will, but in a spirit thoroughly, and -to third parties amusingly, impersonal. The letters as a whole give a -clear notion of the intelligent professional view concerning him; of -his honesty, catholicity, and knowledge. He had been everywhere, he -counted, and when he had gone he was missed. - -One of Johnstone's brothers in the craft, Mr. Ernest Newman, after -referring to a dispute which had led to their friendship, spoke of him -as "the best and strongest Englishman of our time in this line." Dr. -Adolph Brodsky, after praising in especial Johnstone's accounts of -pianoforte performances, singled out his services in breaking down the -popular prejudice in England against Bach. Others wrote of his musical -erudition and his "laudable desire to prevent anything in the form of -charlatanism from finding a place in the musical assemblies of -Manchester." Canon Gorton, who, as we quoted above, wrote with gratitude -of the high stimulus given by Johnstone to those local efforts which -save music from being unduly centralised in the bigger cities, and his -pertinent remarks upon the rarity and value of great musical critics -claim quotation, as they bring home the public sense of loss in -Johnstone's death. - -"He held a high view of his office, and would make a sacrifice of self -rather than a sacrifice of truth. It is difficult to calculate the -extent of your loss. Musicians succeed musicians; they being dead may -yet speak. But the critic's words are ephemeral; they remain in the -files of the newspapers. For musicians there are schools; but what -school is there for critics? In music we need guides, men with a wide -horizon, a general culture, men unfettered by musical faction, with -definite ideals, with command of the English tongue, of courage and of -true instinct. Such an one, I take it, was Mr. Arthur Johnstone. Who -will fill his place?" - -Upon this precise statement of the case we could not try to improve. We -can only add some words upon the nature of the man apart from his -profession. In an estimate of Johnstone's character the foremost place -must be assigned to his love of truth in all things; this virtue was the -touchstone he applied to his friends and to all artistic work. M. Vantyn -happily quotes, as the most appropriate motto for him, Locke's words, -"To love truth for truth's sake is the principal part of human -perfection in this world and the seed-plot of all other virtues," adding -by way of comment, "In everything, in all intercourse, upon all -occasions, under all circumstances, whether in enjoyment, in work, in -serious intercourse, he was a gentleman in the strictest sense of the -word." Next we may place his wonderful sympathy with the oppressed in -every class. Even where there was much that roused his anger in the -sinner, as in the case of Oscar Wilde, he was indignant at the merciless -treatment he received, and pleaded for a minor punishment. Where his -sympathy could have free play he was tender in the extreme, he would -take infinite personal trouble, and give all that his modest means -permitted. He was fond of animals, he disliked the idea of killing them -in "sport," and was glad that most of his intimate friends shared his -view. But he was not unreasonable on this point; and, to take the real -test question, he was not absolutely opposed to vivisection under -stringent conditions. For all his early talk of the "joy of life" he was -more anxious to secure it for others than for himself. He was tolerant -under his armour, and would rebuke pointless severity by saying, "Well, -well, there is something wrong with almost everybody;" but he did not -extend this indulgence to the cruel and pedantic. His youthful -rebelliousness, apartness, and questioning of society did not all -vanish, but were taken up and transformed into a more flexible temper; -for they had never been the mere plant of nihilism and vanity, that a -selfish nature manures in its barren private garden. Some of his friends -valued, above all, his total lack of the small inquisitiveness, which he -resented more than anything in others. He was deep in his work or in -the minor preparations for the day, and did not trouble much about his -friends' affairs. But when anything was doing, he emerged at once. When -one of his old companions was in suspense over illness at home, and yet -could do nothing but wait, Johnstone planned for him and personally -conducted an elaborate series of distractions and amusements covering -about four hours--not an easy thing to do in Manchester--each of them -appearing to be improvised as it came. The trouble over, he relapsed -into thought and went his ways. There were many such incidents. A -picturesque and noble character of this kind, with its traits of -quaintness, claims thus much record, and the more so that reticence made -it less easy to discover. To the public the journalist is such a mere -spectral hand and pen, writing by lamplight, without a face or form -behind it, as we hear of in a certain class of old ghost-stories. -Johnstone had become more than this to many of his readers. But they -could not know him as a man. It is well, therefore, to lift so much of -his privacy as may enable them partially to do so. He went through the -world scornful of its common valuations, appraising for himself, -watching with a certain isolation, and always preferring (if he must -choose) liberty to happiness, and rightful pride to obvious advantage. -But he was all the more human for that. - -We may here say something about his piano playing. Johnstone, of course, -never professed to be more than an amateur. He was quite aware that the -difference in executive skill between the professional and the best -amateur is almost as great in music as in billiards; and that, to -paraphrase Matthew Arnold's saying, "Technique is three-fourths of -musical performance." As to the remaining fourth his playing stood on a -very high level. Even in undergraduate days the charm of his rendering -was considerable, always carefully thought out and individual. If he had -never heard a piece performed, his insight was remarkable, lighting -instinctively upon what one realised was the best way of playing it. His -touch was very delicate; he never forced the tone out of a piano, and -always avoided anything that might be called hard hitting. He liked best -playing something in the style of a Rubinstein barcarolle, where the -music should speak through a veil of sound. But his strength really lay -in a fine sense of rhythm, a rare gift even among great pianists. -Whatever piece he attempted he took at the proper pace, even if -occasionally a note might be missed or a passage blurred, rather than -give a false idea of it by playing too slowly; what was altogether -beyond his powers he left alone. On his return from the Cologne -Conservatoire his actual execution was at its best, the fingers strong -and lissom; and, being at the top of his physical health, his playing -was full of almost exuberant vitality. A weak circulation was always a -trial, and it was his habit to warm his fingers at a fire, when -possible, before sitting down to the piano. It was perhaps a small -talent, but singularly dainty and cultivated, for which our memory of -twenty-five years is profoundly grateful. - -We might expect that the qualities he aimed at in his own playing would -be those that most attracted him in the great pianists of his period. Of -course he admired at their full value those transcendent players, -Rubinstein, Sophie Menter, Paderewski, Rosenthal; but there are also -artists equally unapproachable in their own delicate way, such as -Pachmann, Godowsky, Reisenauer, Siloti, and it was from them he received -the greatest personal pleasure. - -As critic his first object was to explain the qualities and scope of the -music (in Pater's words, "to disengage its virtue"); to show, if a -classic, why it had attained its position, if modern, why it should -command serious attention. He never assumed too much musical knowledge -on the part of his readers, avoiding the use of technical expressions, -still more of stereotyped phrases. Bad work and slovenly performance he -could chastise unsparingly, but he never wrote harshly when he -recognised genuine effort, and he was very generous in his praise of -young performers, and often attended minor concerts at some -inconvenience to encourage rising artists. His style was clear and -precise, rather expository in tone; coloured when the occasion demanded, -and occasionally enriched with allusions to other arts. Thus the -elaborate tracery of Gothic architecture exhibited in Strasburg -Cathedral (a favourite figure) is employed to illustrate Bach and -contrasted with the formal classicism of earlier composers, and the -Palladian style of Handel; Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius" is compared to -some "jewelled _ciboire_ of the Middle Ages;" a pianist's playing of -arabesque passages reminds him of the "arrogance and costly unreason of -fine jewellery." His discernment of any new work of permanent value was -quick and unerring; we may instance his early estimate of Elgar and -indeed of Strauss too (for his position then was uncertain) as having -been in advance of general musical opinion, though unquestioned at the -present day. Tchakovsky's Pathetic Symphony was a more obvious -discovery; here he showed his critical power rather in quenching the -popular enthusiasm (which he had at first assisted in creating) for this -work when the public seemed to have lost all sense of proportion, by -reminding his readers that after all "Tchakovsky and Dvork are -inspired barbarians and must not be put on the same level with Beethoven -and Schumann." Mention too should be made of his appreciation of Liszt, -whose services to music are too frequently ignored--the creator of the -modern pianoforte technique, the brilliant and original composer, and -the generous friend of Wagner. - -In their choice of the articles of which this volume is composed the -editors have given special prominence to those on the works of Sir -Edward Elgar and Herr Richard Strauss, the two composers of our time -who, as Johnstone considered, would bear the largest share in -influencing the cause of musical development. Many of the articles were -written on the first production of important works, and, in Elgar's -case, further impressions are given of later performances of the same -work. Those on the great acknowledged masters, if they cannot add much -more to our stock of actual knowledge, are interesting as confessions -of a sound musical faith. It is also true that the sum of potential -energy in the works of these great masters is infinite; in this sense, -that they strike a new flash out of every fresh and apprehensive mind. -They can beget generations of critics, each with another thing to say. -Such criticism is not a mere absorptive or passive process; it is -re-creation: it puts into fresh terms, by the art of words, some of the -impressions that have been built up of sound without language; or it -tells those who have felt the same thing what they did not clearly know -or remember that they had felt. The power to explain music is rarer than -competence in judging books. It may be thought that amongst Englishmen -of our generation Arthur Johnstone had as large a share as any of this -re-creative genius. - - - - -Musical Criticisms - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -BACH. - - -[Sidenote: =The Genius of Bach.= - -_November 27, 1901._] - -In the minds of those who have specially at heart the welfare and -progress of musical art in this country nothing at the present time -looms larger than the church music of Bach. To acquiesce in the -prevalent indifference of the public to that music we feel to be -impossible. If Shakespeare is nothing but a bore, there seems to be an -end of imaginative literature; and similarly, in music, any person whom -Bach entirely fails to interest had better give up all pretence to being -musical. For Bach is not one of the composers, like Berlioz, Liszt, -Tchakovsky, Dvork, or Richard Strauss, whom it is allowable to like or -dislike. Bach is the musical Bible--the foundation of the faith. -Historically considered, both Bach and Handel are artists of the -Reformation and the Renaissance. But if we fix attention on their -essential musical personalities, we find a certain broad difference -between the two great eighteenth century composers, which is fairly well -suggested by calling Bach a Gothic and Handel a Renaissance artist. -Bach's "Passion according to St. Matthew" stands to Handel's "Messiah" -in something like the same kind of contrast that Strasburg Cathedral -presents to St. Peter's in Rome. On the other hand, in its course of -development music has been quite different from architecture and the -graphic and plastic arts, and modern music owes quite a hundred times -more to Bach than it does to Handel. Bach represents by far the greatest -stimulating influence that has ever existed in the musical world. His -stupendous industry, resulting in a body of first-rate work that may be -reckoned among the greatest wonders of the world (it is not possible for -a modern to know it all); his awe-inspiring union of very great talent -with very great character; the completeness of his human nature and the -absolute purity of his life and art--these things unite to make of -Bach's personality something truly august, something that administers a -quietus to the ordinary critical, fault-finding spirit. Glancing over -the huge library of his collected works and knowing the glories that a -few of them contain, one is fain to say, "There were giants in the earth -in those days." Yet "giant" is scarcely the word. For the astounding -sinew and sturdiness of the man were quite secondary in the composition -of his character to that quality, in virtue of which he worked on -throughout a long life as though in perpetual consciousness of something -higher than ordinary human judgment; not waiting for full appreciation, -which did not come till about a century after his death (very much as in -Shakespeare's case), but perfectly realising the great ethical ideal of -Marcus Aurelius--the good man producing good works, just as the vine -produces grapes. No greater praise can be bestowed on Handel than to -say that in his very best moments he is almost worthy of Bach, as, for -example, in the choral section "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity -of us all," or in the tenor of the recitative "He looked for some to -have pity on Him, but there was no man; neither found He any to comfort -Him." - - -[Sidenote: =Bach's Mass in B minor.= - -_November 29, 1901._] - -Under Dr. Richter's irresistible generalship the most arduous task ever -yet undertaken by the Hall Choir was yesterday carried through to a -brilliantly successful issue. Bach's great Mass illustrates his tendency -to throw all the weightier eloquence of a sacred composition into the -chorus, a solo or duet being treated as a delicate interlude, some -florid _obbligato_ for violin, oboe, or "corno di caccia"--the -eighteenth century name for the ordinary orchestral horn--being -intertwined with the melodic line in the manner of Gothic tracery. The -Mass is in six main divisions--the Kyrie, with three sub-sections; the -Gloria and the Credo, each in eight; the Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus -Dei, each in two sub-sections. The two choruses of the Kyrie--the former -a wailing supplication, the latter a mystical counterpart washed clean -of earthly passion--were sufficient to show that the choir had a most -thorough grasp of their parts, all the difficult and complex chromatic -harmonies coming out with admirable clearness and correctness. The first -chorus of the Gloria, with its joyous _vivace_ movement, breaks into a -style much more generally "understanded of the people." Here the choir -were on thoroughly firm ground. The ring of the voices was magnificent, -and the superbly effective contrast at the words "Et in terra pax" was -perfectly given. The first occasion on which we noticed any serious -defect in the choral singing was in the burst of jubilant melody at the -opening of the "Et resurrexit." The jar was only momentary and was -doubtless the result of an over-vehement attack. It can scarcely be -questioned that the most marvellous chorus in the whole work is the -Sanctus, which expresses in six-part harmony the mystical rapture of -celestial beings set free from all care, pain, and strife. The effect of -those persistent three-quaver groups in their garlanded similar motion -is like nothing else in this world. They create a harmony of -unparalleled richness, filling the ear with a feast of ravishing sound. -The contrast with such choruses as Handel's "Hallelujah" and "Worthy is -the Lamb" is extremely striking. Handel was always of the Church -Militant. He was always strenuous, affirming the faith as it were with a -note of triumph over its enemies. Such a rose of Paradise as this -Sanctus of Bach's is quite remote from all that Handel could do. For an -earthly choir, however, with lungs and vocal chords liable to weariness, -all this infinitely ornate and elaborate passage-work is very trying, -notwithstanding the absolute suavity of the musical expression, and in -the ensuing "Hosanna" there were occasional signs of exhaustion. But the -choir recovered their breath during the two succeeding solos, and gave a -magnificent performance of the concluding "Dona nobis pacem." - - -[Sidenote: ="St. Matthew Passion."= - -_January 25th, 1900._] - -It is possible to regard the "St. Matthew Passion" of Sebastian Bach as -the greatest work of sacred musical art in existence, and thus as -greater than Handel's "Messiah"; while at the same time thoroughly -acquiescing in the greater popularity of the "Messiah." Handel was a -mighty artist and a most lordly person; but he was a man of the world -and a Court composer, and his religion, though perfectly genuine, was -external and official in character. Bach, too, was a mighty artist, but -he was not a man of the world. He was a devout and pious man and a man -of the people, and his religion was inward and personal. Again, Handel -was cosmopolitan, whereas Bach was thoroughly German. Not that Bach was -wanting in knowledge of Italian and other foreign music. He was a -perfectly comprehensive encyclopdia of the musical knowledge that -existed in his time. But the basis of his character was too homely, -simple and loyal to be modified by foreign influence. Thus while Handel -became musically an Italian, Bach remained thoroughly German. All these -circumstances suggest reasons for the much wider popularity of Handel's -music by comparison with Bach's. The general public like the clear and -definite outline, the structural simplicity, that they find in the -Italian and quasi-antique style of Handel, while they are bewildered by -the subtlety, the complexity, the varied imaginative play, and the -rejection of set forms that they find in Bach. It must be remembered -that the average man of the world to a great extent determines the tone -of the general public; one may be thankful that there exists any work -of sacred musical art so splendid as "Messiah," which is to a great -extent intelligible to the average man of the world, and one may rest -satisfied that, for the present at any rate, the "Messiah" should be -performed often, the Passion music seldom. - -A long line of Christian aspiration and endeavour culminates in the "St. -Matthew Passion" music. The Good Friday service, or mystery, of the -Passion dates back to medival times. Musical settings of it are quite -innumerable. They fall into three main groups, according to style. The -earliest are in the "Plain-song" of the medival church. At the period -of Luther's Reformation the plain song gave way to the chorale style. -Finally, there are many settings in the oratorio style. Of these Bach -himself certainly wrote four, and probably five. By universal consent -the "St. Matthew Passion" is the finest of Bach's settings. The main -outlines of the scheme were fixed by tradition. Bach had the assistance -of a poet named Picander in arranging his text, but it was by Bach's own -judgment that all important points were settled. He divided the story -into two parts. The first comprises the conspiracy of the High Priest -and Scribes, the anointing of Christ, the institution of the Lord's -supper, the prayer on the Mount of Olives and the betrayal of Judas, and -ends with the flight of the disciples. In the second part are set forth -the hearing before Caiaphas, Peter's denial, the judgment of Pilate, the -death of Judas, the progress to Golgotha, the Crucifixion, Death and -Burial of Christ. Between the two parts there is a broad contrast, a -certain solemn stillness prevailing in the first and a passionate stir -in the second. Fifteen chorales are heard in the course of the work, -each forming a meditation upon the foregoing incident in the story. The -chorus is double, and there is immense power in the manner in which the -two main masses of sound are used, both to emphasise all that has poetic -value and to express the many elements composing the mighty picture. -Most of the solos are supported by the first choir. The utterances of -Christ are given by a bass voice with string quartet accompaniment. The -bass voice is in accordance with tradition. Most of the other -recitatives have an _obbligato_ accompaniment, in which a _motif_ -bearing figurative reference to some prominent image in the text is -worked out. The _obbligato_ is in most, though not in all, cases -assigned to a wind instrument, so as to contrast still further with the -music accompanying the words of Christ. The longest solo part is that of -the Narrator, who sings tenor. In the course of a long and masterly -discussion Dr. Spitta, the great biographer of Bach, contends that the -"St. Matthew Passion" is not, strictly speaking, either dramatic music -or oratorio music. One passage in the discussion may here be -quoted:--"Consider the passage where the Jewish people, prompted by the -High Priests and Elders, demand the release of Barabbas. The Evangelist -makes them reply to Pilate's question with the single word 'Barabbas.' -The situation is, no doubt, full of emotion, and an oratorio writer -might have let the tension of the moment discharge itself in a chorus. -But it would necessarily have been embodied in a form in which the -chorus could have its full value as a musical factor, in a broadly -worked-out composition with a text of somewhat greater extent. The -dramatic composer would have given it the utmost brevity, since it -stands midway in the critical development of an event. He would have to -consider the progress of the action as well as the expression of -feeling. A sudden roar of the excited populace--thronging tumultuously -about the governor--a sudden roar and brief turmoil of voices would be -the effect best suited to his purpose. Bach, composing a devotional -Passion, makes the whole choir groan out the name 'Barabbas' once only, -on the chord of the minor seventh approached by a false close." - -Dr. Spitta's point is that Bach's music interprets the feeling of devout -Christians, neither subordinating the purport of the text to a musical -poem, like a conventional oratorio composer, nor entering into the point -of view of the actor, like any other kind of dramatic composer. Dr. -Spitta's arguments on this point are quite convincing; and we do not -follow his practice of calling the work a "mystery" instead of an -oratorio, only because the former word would not be generally -intelligible, and because, in this country, we call any work of sacred -art for voices and instruments an oratorio, if it is not a Mass, and if -it is on too grand a scale to be called a cantata. - - -[Sidenote: =A Minor Concerto.= - -_March 14, 1902._] - -Anyone who knows his interpretation of Bach's A minor Concerto can -scarcely help associating Dr. Brodsky with that work very much as one -associates Joachim with Beethoven's, and Sarasate with Mendelssohn's -Violin Concerto. There is no other work that gives us so much of Bach's -musical individuality within the scope of a clear, simple, and widely -intelligible scheme. Bach made no music for the theatre, the casino, or -the fashionable ballroom. He seems to have written almost exclusively -for the church and for innocent, paternally safeguarded merry-making. He -was a good old patriarch who composed either to praise God or to help -the young people enjoy themselves--for if anyone imagines that Bach's -gigues, gavottes, sarabandes, and so forth were not meant for actual -dancing he is greatly mistaken. In such works as the Concertos one may -still trace the twofold impulse clearly enough, though all is idealised, -structurally elaborated, and otherwise adapted to a purely artistic -purpose. For in the first movement of the A minor Concerto--Dr. -Brodsky's special piece--we have something that brings the spirit into -the proper atmosphere. Bach takes us, as it were, to church, composing -our minds, as we go, with strong and able talk about subjects -appropriate to the religious season and the service that we are to -attend. The second movement is the service, and the Finale is the -afternoon walk or dance; Bach would probably have approved of Sunday -dancing. Dr. Brodsky is unsurpassable in the andante, where the -powerful, composed, and majestic rhythm of the bass finds a poetic and -delicately fanciful commentary in the solo part. Here one perceives the -difference between Bach's and Beethoven's religious standpoint, between -the ages of faith and of strife, between the _ancien rgime_ and the -revolutionary period. For Bach the ancient faith is enough, while in the -spirit of Beethoven there ferment, fume and rage the ideas of the -French Revolution. The Hellmesberger cadenza played by Dr. Brodsky in -the Finale is perhaps the best-written excursus of its kind in -existence. It passes in review the thematic material of the entire work, -with unfailing felicity of touch, and good judgment as to the amount of -development; and the extremely rich and florid figuration is all so -neatly spun out of elements contained in the body of the work, that it -seems to have grown where we find it hanging, and has no suggestion of -anything alien about it. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -BEETHOVEN. - - -[Sidenote: =C Minor Symphony, No. 5.= - -_October 22, 1897._] - -The opening of the first movement forms the subject of a celebrated -passage in Wagner's pamphlet on conducting, where he complains of the -manner in which the pauses on E flat and D used to be scamped, and of -many other defects which were usual in the performances of forty years -ago. He represents Beethoven rising from his grave and apostrophising -the conductor with a harangue that begins: "Hold thou my _fermate_ -[pauses] long and terribly." Wagner was a most exacting critic, but we -venture to think that he would have been fairly satisfied with last -night's rendering of the first movement. The contrast of the masculine -and feminine elements which are inherent in the first and second -subjects respectively was presented with all possible effect; the pauses -were as long and terrible as Wagner could have desired, and were -sustained with a perfectly equable tone-delivery; the beautiful -unaccompanied phrase for oboe--which on the recurrence of the passage -takes the place of the _fermata_, or pause, at the twenty-first -measure--was given with all possible force of expression; and many -other individual beauties of the rendering might be cited. The second -movement is less taxing for the performers than the rest of the work; it -was given in a manner well in keeping with the spirit of the symphony, -which is like some vast work of sculpture in bronze, such as the gates -of the Baptistery at Florence. Just such plastic force in the moulding -of mighty tone-elements and just such nobility of the imagination did -Beethoven possess as enabled Ghiberti to mould those wonderful gates, -concerning which Michelangelo said that they were worthy to be the gates -of Paradise. The scherzo, too, was an artistic triumph for the -orchestra. Not a point was missed in that wonderful and uncanny -tone-picture. A dance of demons it has been called; but it must be -remembered that many great artists have treated grotesque and grisly -subjects with an ineffably beautiful touch, such as we see, for example, -in Alfred Rethel's marvellous drawing "Death the Friend." Not that the -scherzo in Beethoven's C minor symphony breathes the spirit of that -drawing, which is restful and serene, while the scherzo is full of weird -mockery. The only point of the comparison is that in both works we find -a grotesque subject ennobled and beautified by a great artistic -imagination. Strange that the C minor symphony should often have been -quoted as an irregular and anarchical composition. Sir George Grove has -pointed out in his well-known analysis that the entire work conforms -most strictly to structural principles, and that its chief -irregularities are the linking together of the scherzo and finale and -the _reprise_ of the scherzo shortly before the concluding presto. - - -[Sidenote: =The Sixth Symphony.= - -_February 24, 1899._] - -In dealing with this symphony, the conductor had occasion to show -qualities different from those that have been called forth by the -preceding works of the present Beethoven series. The third and fifth -symphonies are of a strongly exciting character, the second is also -distinctly exciting, at any rate in the finale, the fourth is a kind of -mildly celestial or seraphic utterance, and the first does not truly -represent the mature master in any of his moods. In previous -performances of the series it was the successful rendering of some -exciting element in the music, or the interpretation of a sublime -emotion, upon which the conductor seemed to lay a kind of stress. -Yesterday the case was quite different. The Pastoral Symphony is not -exciting, or sublime, or mysterious, those qualities being alien to the -genius of pastoral music or poetry. It is an expression of the emotion -stirred by simple and homely delights; and for its interpretation it -requires, in addition to the technical equipment, only a certain fresh -and healthy energy. Even the religious note near the end is of a simple -idyllic character. Once more the interpretation was, in our view, very -admirable. The conductor seemed fully to grasp the poetic import of each -section, and, under his guidance, the orchestra fully conveyed the -breezy delights of the opening movement, the soothing murmur of the -brook, the boisterous mirth of the ensuing allegro, the contrasting note -of the storm, and the final hymn of thanksgiving. It has been said that -Beethoven's music has an ethical bearing; and, as many persons have -great difficulty in understanding how any music can have an ethical -bearing, it may be worth while to suggest that the Pastoral Symphony, -following the tremendous emotions of the preceding symphonies, teaches -precisely the same lesson as the opening of Goethe's "Faustus and -Helena," where the sylphs, typifying simple, untroubled natural -influences, are busied about the person of the sleeping "Faust," pitying -the "unhappy man whether good or wicked," and seeking to soothe his -tormented spirit. According to the view of Goethe and Beethoven there is -no other healing for the unhappy man's tormented spirit but in the -simple, untroubled influences of nature. Such, in addition to its -musical beauties, is the ethical lesson of the Pastoral Symphony. - - -[Sidenote: =The Seventh Symphony.= - -_March 3, 1899._] - -One quality differentiating Beethoven's Seventh Symphony from the rest -of the nine is well expressed by Sir George Grove in his famous book -("Beethoven and his Nine Symphonies") when he calls it the most -rhythmical of them all. Beyond question the rhythm is on the whole more -strongly marked in the seventh than in any of the others. The slow -movement is not called a march; yet it has a far more definite tramping -rhythm than the movement that is called a march in the Heroic Symphony. -In the finale the rhythmical emphasis attains a degree of reckless -violence that has never been surpassed by any composer except -Tchakovsky. A scherzo is always strongly rhythmical; but in the scherzo -of this symphony one finds a kind of frenzied rushing, whirling -movement that is rare in Beethoven's works. Another differentiating -quality of the symphony is grotesque expression, which is strong in the -vivace, stronger in the scherzo, and goes all lengths in the finale. As -with the later works of many other great artists, it is hard to divine -the poetic intention of this symphony. One perceives a marvellous -design, for the most part grotesque in character; one perceives the work -of a gigantic imagination, smelting the stubborn tone-masses as in a -furnace and moulding them to its purposes with a kind of superhuman -plastic force. But what the mighty design illustrates is not, at -present, obvious. The grotesqueness of the first, third, and last -movements is all the more striking from the character of the slow -movement, which is absolutely remote from the grotesque. The quality of -the expression in that slow movement eludes all classification. It is -not exactly a funeral march, and not exactly a dirge, though it is -undoubtedly mournful in character. A kind of unearthly rhythmical chant -one might imagine it to be, accompanying some mysterious function among -the gods of the dead. There is perhaps no slow movement left by -Beethoven the beauty of which is more penetrating or more imposing. -After a fine and spirited rendering of the introduction and vivace, the -slow movement--inscribed "allegretto" in the score, though the composer -afterwards expressed a desire that the indication should be changed to -"andante quasi allegretto"--was played with fine expression, though -perhaps a trifle too quickly. The scherzo was entirely admirable. At the -opening of the finale the rushing semiquavers in the violin part were, -for some reason, not quite clear, though later in the movement, when the -music had become more complex, the same figure sounded clear enough. On -the whole, the rendering of the symphony well maintained the success -that had previously attended the series. - - -[Sidenote: ="Eroica" Symphony.= - -_February 1, 1900._] - -The fact that the leading theme in the first movement of the "Eroica" -Symphony is taken note for note from Mozart's youthful operetta, -"Bastien et Bastienne," is of no great importance. If an operetta -contained something that could thus be caught up into the seventh heaven -of art, its existence was thereby justified very much better than the -existence of most other operettas. The notion of bringing a charge of -plagiarism against Beethoven in reference to this theme is absurd beyond -expression. There is, after all, nothing in the theme but a certain -rhythmical arrangement of the common chord so simple that it might well -have occurred to two composers independently. Whether it occurred -independently to Beethoven or whether he heard Mozart's operetta at the -Elector's Theatre in Bonn while he was a boy and unconsciously -reproduced the theme, as is conjectured by Sir George Grove, is of no -importance. With Mozart the theme is little more than a piece of chance -passage-work. It leads to nothing; whereas with Beethoven it leads to -developments of extraordinary richness and significance, forming the -most important element in a tone-picture that greatly surpasses in -passionate and incisive eloquence, in fulness of matter, varied -interest, and plastic force anything that previously existed in the -world of music. It would be hard to mention any other of Beethoven's -themes from which results quite so tremendous have been obtained. It is -repeated between thirty and forty times in the course of the movement, -reappearing under an endless variety of forms, assigned to all sorts of -different instruments, changing in key, in tone-colouring, in loudness -or softness of utterance, producing an infinite variety of effects in -the harmony, combining in all sorts of unexpected ways with other -themes, and on every reappearance taking on new value, bringing fresh -revelation. To such great uses may an operetta tune come at last, if it -happen to be laid hold of by a Beethoven with an imagination like a -mighty smelting furnace, and a hand that can model like a great sculptor -in bronze. In Dr. Richter's interpretation of the "Eroica," the most -striking point is his treatment of the contrast between those musical -elements symbolising phases of virile energy and the strains of -consolation and reconciliation. Of the latter element a characteristic -example is the heavenly duet for oboe and 'cello that occurs just after -the terrific outburst of rage and defiance in the "working-out" section -of the first movement. It is a crisis of beauty and grandeur to which, -so far as we know, no other conductor can now do justice. But here, and -throughout the mighty first movement, we were reminded that Dr. -Richter's pre-eminence is really more unquestionable in Beethoven than -in any other music. His Wagner renderings are approached by others, but -his Beethoven renderings are not even approached. To the noble and -solemn strains of the Funeral March again complete justice was done; and -the same may be said of the scherzo--a movement full of radiant mirth -and containing in the trio the most beautiful horn music ever -written--and of the finale in variation form. - - -[Sidenote: =Symphony No. 2 in D.= - -_January 15, 1904._] - -According to Mr. Felix Weingartner, the advance from Beethoven's No. 2 -to his No. 3 Symphony is so great as to be without parallel in the -history of art, and this we regard as sound doctrine. The No. 3--the -"Eroica"--represents not merely a contribution of unparalleled -brilliancy to the symphonic music of the period, but an immense -enlargement of its previously known possibilities. Such a work naturally -dwarfs all that has gone before in its own kind; but it is very -desirable to avoid the mistake of certain commentators who, perceiving a -great gulf between No. 2 and No. 3, declare the former to be an immature -work, not thoroughly characteristic of Beethoven, but exhibiting him as -a mere disciple of Haydn and Mozart. While listening yesterday to the -wonderfully animated and expressive rendering one could scarcely fail to -be struck by the fact that it is all intensely Beethovenish; that it -goes beyond Mozart, quite as distinctly and persistently as Mozart in -his superb G minor Symphony goes beyond Haydn. We need a revision of the -current view in regard to these early Beethoven Symphonies. Only the -first is immature. No. 2 is stamped with the true Beethoven -individuality on every page, and is comparable with Mozart's G minor in -the richness of its organisation and the potency of its charm. The -enormous difference between No. 2 and No. 3 is not to be correctly -indicated by calling the former immature. It is a difference that -separates the Beethoven Symphonies from No. 2 to the end into two -well-defined groups. As was long ago observed, the odd-number -Symphonies, beginning with 3, are cast more or less in the heroic mould, -while the intervening even-number Symphonies are much milder in -character--creations of halcyon periods in which the composer would seem -to have been storing up energy for the titanic labours of 3, 5, 7, and -9. Bearing this in mind, we have no difficulty in assigning No. 2 to its -proper place. It is to be grouped along with 4, 6, and 8, and it may -thus be called the first of the "halcyon" Symphonies. Besides the -general character of the music there is one very special reason for not -accepting the view of No. 2 as an immature work. In the second subject -of the Larghetto, we have a very beautiful and original musical idea, so -thoroughly recognised by the composer as one of his best and most -characteristic that he returned to it many years later when composing -his last and greatest slow movement. Compare pp. 29 and 363 of Sir -George Grove's "Beethoven and his Nine Symphonies," noticing in -particular that the key-relation of the syncopated theme to the general -scheme of the movement is the same in the two cases. - - -[Sidenote: ="Missa Solennis."= - -_February 1, 1901._] - -Until yesterday Beethoven's "Missa Solennis" had not been heard at these -concerts, but it is not surprising that performances of such a work -should be few and far between. It is, beyond question, the most austere -of all musical works--a product of Beethoven's quite inexorable mood. At -the period when it was written the composer had become a sort of -suffering Prometheus. Even apart from his deafness, it is wonderful that -Beethoven's persistent ill-fortune, his isolated and unhappy life, -should not have discouraged him and checked the flow of his creative -energy. But that the mightiest of his compositions should have been -produced when he was stone-deaf--that is surely one of the most -perfectly amazing among well-authenticated facts! So far as we know, -there never was any other case in which deafness failed to cut a person -off altogether from the world of music. With Beethoven it only brought a -gradual change of style. As the charm that music has for the ear faded -away he became more and more absorbed, aloof, austere, and spiritual. -The warm human feeling of his middle-period compositions gave way to a -style of such unearthly grandeur and sublimity as are oppressive to -ordinary mortals. Of that unearthly grandeur there is no more typical -example than the "Missa Solennis." Not only in regard to the composition -but even in regard to a performance the ordinary language of criticism -is at fault. Who ever heard a "satisfactory" performance of the "Missa -Solennis"? A spirit of sacrifice is demanded of the performers; for the -music is written from beginning to end with an utter want of -consideration for the weaknesses and limitations of the human voice. Of -course that would be intolerable in an ordinary composer. Handel's -combination of German structural solidity with Italian courtesy, sense -of style, and delight in rich vocal rhetoric is the ideal thing. By -comparison with the reasonable and tactful Handel, Beethoven is a kind -of monster, from the singer's point of view, but a monster of such -genius that his terrible requirements must occasionally be met. - -The quartet was best in the astonishing "Dona nobis pacem" section, -where the composer seems to represent humanity as endeavouring to take -the Kingdom of Heaven by violence, protesting against all the oppression -that is done under the sun, and sending up to the throne of God so -instant a clamour for the gift of peace as may be heard amid the very -din of strife. For that prayer for peace sounds against the sullen -rolling of drums and menacing clangour of trumpets, the voices having -now a mighty unanimity, now the wail of this or that forlorn victim. One -looks in vain through the temple of musical art for anything to match -that tremendous conception marking the final phase of the "Missa -Solennis." - - -[Sidenote: ="Fidelio."= - -_October 28, 1904._] - -A most strange and unclassifiable chamber in the palace of musical art -is reserved for Beethoven's "Fidelio." A sort of despair is likely to -come over one who attempts to state how Beethoven stands in relation to -dramatic music. If one says that he was not a great dramatic composer, -there arise the questions--Did he not make the Symphony a hundred times -more dramatic than it ever was before? Did he not make music in -association with Goethe's "Egmont" that seems to belong for evermore to -that drama? Did he not individualise Leonora in music as well as Mozart -had individualised the much less exalted characters of Donna Anna and -Zerlina? Did he not achieve in his "Third Leonora" something that no one -has ever equalled or can ever hope to equal in the domain of the -dramatic overture? In fact he did all those things, and several more -that can be cited in apparent refutation of the statement that he was -not a great dramatic composer. And yet it is certain that he never -composed dramatic music as one to the manner born--not with the -unfailing adequateness to the theme of Gluck, the felicitous profusion -of Mozart, the glowing picturesqueness of Weber. No; in the mighty river -of Beethoven the symphonist's invention shrinks to a trickle in his one -opera. The water is incomparably limpid, and blossoms of the rarest -beauty and fragrance grow on the banks of the stream; but every page is -stamped, as it were, with the admission that writing operas was not -Beethoven's strong point: and beyond question he acted wisely in writing -only one. How mighty is the change when he takes the symbols of his one -musical drama and uses them for a monumental purpose, in the great -"Leonora" Overture! Beethoven is Shakespearean in the range of his mind -and in his attitude towards life, which he always approaches on the -purely human side, and without the preoccupations of the Court, the -camp, the cloister, the academic grove, or the church. But he is not -Shakespearean in his medium of expression, which is hard and -unyielding--a kind of musical bronze or granite. Yet "Fidelio"--despite -its jejune story, which suggests that Beethoven, having objected to -Mozart's "Don Giovanni" as scandalous, felt it his duty to compose an -opera on a subject that should be "strictly proper," and despite its -thin vein of invention--inevitably retains its hold on the musical -world. To call the success of it a _succs d'estime_ would be a misuse -of words. It focuses a certain range of poetic ideas that nothing else -of its kind touches, and stands--with its Wordsworthian simplicity and -moral goodness--among other operas like a Sister Clare amid a group of -fine ladies. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -BERLIOZ. - - -[Sidenote: ="Symphonie Fantastique."= - -_November 1, 1901._] - -The "Symphonie Fantastique" offers a more complete picture of the -composer's musical personality than any other single work. As a specimen -of youthful precocity it also stands alone. It was written at the age of -twenty-six, when the composer was still a student at the Conservatoire, -being persistently snubbed by a group of dons, who all--with the -possible exception of Cherubini, the Principal--were utterly his -inferiors in every kind of musical power, knowledge, and skill. The -experience of Berlioz at the Conservatoire of Paris was very similar to -Verdi's at a like institution in Milan; but the marks of genius in work -of the student period were far more distinct in Berlioz's than in -Verdi's case. We have said that, as a work of precocious genius, the -"Symphonie Fantastique" stands alone. No doubt other composers, such as -Mozart and Schubert, had shown genius of a higher order at an even -earlier age. But the "Symphonie Fantastique," as the work of a -'prentice-hand showing absolute mastery of the greatest and most complex -resources, has no parallel. The great fact that has always to be -remembered in regard to Berlioz is that he devoted himself with all the -energy of an enormous and highly original talent to one particular task -in music. That task was the winning of new material for the musical -medium, and what Berlioz accomplished in the world of tone was very like -what Christopher Columbus accomplished in the world of land and sea. -Berlioz too opened up a new hemisphere, and he did his work much more -thoroughly than the great navigator. This mighty achievement secures for -Berlioz a permanent place of the first importance in the musical -hierarchy. But to be deterred by respect for his genius from admitting -his faults is not the best way of using his magnificent legacy. Those -faults are none the less monstrous for being inseparable from his -individuality, and a thoroughly enlightened modern musician would -probably find it very difficult to define the attitude of his mind -towards the works of Berlioz's art. In a sense, everything in the best -of those works, among which the symphony played yesterday is -unquestionably to be reckoned, is justified. When one finds an artist -dealing with certain subjects as though to the manner born, and with -enormous power and resource, one must not condemn him because those -subjects are unpleasant or even horrible in the extreme. Such -condemnation is not living and letting live. Artistic power is -associated with qualities of the highest and rarest that human nature -produces, and it is always justified. The favourite subjects of Berlioz -may well prove a stumbling-block. "Orgy" very nearly became in his hands -a musical form. In at least three different works of his--"Symphonie -Fantastique," "Harold in Italy," and "The Damnation of Faust"--we find -a movement called by some such name, and, his appetite for horrors not -being satisfied with the "Witches' Sabbath" in the first of those three -works, he gives us another movement representing a procession to the -guillotine of a young man condemned for murdering his sweetheart. In -close association with this love of the lurid, spectral, and ghastly is -the bitterly ironical spirit which conceived an "Amen" chorus in mock -ecclesiastical style to be sung over a dead rat, the guying of the -composer's own love-theme with a jig-like variation on a specially ugly -instrument (the E flat clarinet) introduced into the orchestra for that -purpose, and the use of the stern and majestic Plain Song theme of the -"Dies Ir" as a _cantus firmus_, to which the mocking laughter of -witches (rushing past through the air in a huge weltering broomstick -cavalcade) makes a kind of fantastic counterpoint. It is well to bear in -mind that the same talent gave us such miraculous gossamer fancies as -the "Queen Mab" Scherzo and the chorus of Sylphs and that most tenderly -beautiful and vividly conceived idyll "L'Enfance du Christ." - -For the "Symphonie Fantastique" the orchestra had to be considerably -enlarged. In addition to all the usual instruments the score requires an -E flat clarinet, two bells (G and C), a second harp, an extra -kettledrum, and a second bass tuba. Everything had been rehearsed with -infinite care, and in all five movements the rendering was a display of -virtuosity such as only a very rare combination of favourable -circumstances would allow one to hear. No other composer displays a -very powerful and skilful orchestra to quite such immense advantage. As -Mr. Edward Dannreuther has finely and truly remarked--"With Berlioz the -equation between a particular phrase and a particular instrument is -invariably perfect." His violently wilful character manifests itself in -the harmony. His fancies devour one another, like dragons of the prime, -instead of progressing and developing in an orderly manner. But the -marvellous beauty of the tone-colouring and aptness of the passage-work -never fail. The parts of the symphony most thoroughly enjoyed by the -audience were, no doubt, the second movement in waltz rhythm (where the -most wonderful use is made of the two harps and the wood-wind) and the -march in the fourth movement, where the part symbolising the emotions of -the mob rather than of the victim is very brilliant and telling, with -suggestions of that Hungarian March which the composer afterwards made -his own. - - -[Sidenote: ="Faust."= - -_March 7, 1902._] - -No more original or more enigmatic figure than Hector Berlioz was -produced during the nineteenth century by the world of art--a word that -may here be understood in its widest acceptation, and thus as including -architectural, musical, graphic, plastic, and literary art. In one of -the earliest _critiques_ on his "Faust," which was first performed at -the Opra Comique in Paris in 1846, the opinion was expressed that he -ought to have been a chemist, not a musician--a remark that gives -extraordinary point to a piece of advice that Berlioz once gave to -artists in general: "Always collect the stones that are thrown at you; -they may help to build your monument." The remark that Berlioz ought to -have been a chemist, originally intended as a sneer, is a perfect case -in point. He _was_ a chemist, and it is his chief glory to have been -that in the world of music. He tested, analysed, combined anew, and -prodigiously enriched those elements of tone which are the material of -the musical artist. Of course he was far more than chemist. He was also -explorer, but always in search of material for his essentially chemical -experiments in tone. One can scarcely wonder that "Faust" was a failure -at first. Amongst the happy-go-lucky patchwork of the book is much -evidence of that coarse and satirical vein which was so strong in the -composer. How could the public be expected to approve of an opera on the -subject of Faust that had no love-song or truly lyrical utterance of any -kind for the tenor hero, but, on the other hand, had a song about a flea -and a rat's requiem, ending with an "Amen" chorus in mock ecclesiastical -style, to say nothing of a scene in Pandemonium and an _orgie -infernale_? Berlioz was a sort of a belated medival. The very title, -"Damnation de Faust," is medival. Shakespeare and the other poets of -Renaissance and later times recognise the fate of a soul as a matter -_sub judice_ till the end of the world. But Berlioz had no more scruple -than Dante in anticipating the Last Judgment. Medival, too, is the -coarseness of the scene in Auerbach's cellar; and the _chanson -gothique_, about the King of Thule, sounds as if it had come to the -composer as a reminiscence from some previous state of existence, so -marvellous is the power of the quaint and weird melody to transport the -spirit back to a musty and hierarchic world with walled towns and narrow -streets, with terrorism and torture-chambers, with crusades and -knight-errantry, with impossible heights of holiness and unimaginable -depths of diabolism. But not to any of the defects or qualities rooted -in the composer's medivalism must we look for the popularity which the -work acquired in this country some thirty-four years after the original -production in Paris and has retained ever since. What the general public -enjoys is the superb peasants' chorus near the beginning, the -arrangement of the Rcoczy March, which is the finest piece of military -music in existence, the chorus and dance of sylphs, Margaret's Romance, -and Mephistopheles' Serenade. Perhaps, too, a good many of them take a -sort of unregenerate pleasure in the rat and flea songs, while at heart -disapproving of such things, and of course they like the ballad of the -King of Thule, because no one who is musical at all can entirely fail to -perceive the charm of that wonderful melody. It appeals to plenty of -listeners who have no idea that there is anything Gothic or medival -about it. - - -[Sidenote: =The Centenary Celebrations.= - -_December 10, 1903._] - -Berlioz was the Columbus of music; he discovered the New World. By his -theory and practice of orchestration he so greatly enlarged and enriched -the resources of tone that all contemporary and subsequent composers -capable of understanding his message experienced an immense -exhilaration--a sense that new and hitherto undreamed-of possibilities -were opening out before them. The starting-point of his momentous -voyages was the idea of what is called "programme music." Like Wagner, -he perceived that after Beethoven symphonic music could do no more on -the old lines, but that music might learn to characterise much more -sharply than it had ever done before. His prodigious reform, -enlargement, and enrichment of orchestration was entirely carried out -under the influence of the desire for stronger and finer -characterisation, for a more varied and interesting play of emotion and -graphic suggestion. A good many musicians and music-lovers at the -present day, recognising the enormous merit of Berlioz's achievement in -orchestration, yet consider that, like Moses, he was not allowed to -enter the promised land to which he had led his people; or, more -literally, that Berlioz was not able to make really good use of his own -discoveries, the importance of which is to be recognised in the music of -Wagner, Dvork, Tchakovsky, and others who learned from Berlioz, rather -than in his own music. While admitting that later men, such as those -mentioned, have used the Berlioz instrument to a more spiritual kind of -purpose or with greater epic and dramatic significance, the open-minded -music-lover can scarcely deny that the compositions of Berlioz, -considered as absolute works of art, include a majestic array of -masterpieces. Such things as the "Te Deum" and "Messe des Morts" bear, -in their unparalleled vastness of conception, the stamp of an -imagination comparable only to Michel Angelo's. They are mighty -fragments of larger works never carried out--impossible to be carried -out. The best-known work by Berlioz--and the most perfect, on the whole, -of the extended works--is the "Faust," which must not be judged as an -operatic version of Goethe's "Faust," but rather as a musical setting of -the "Faust" story in the racy and drastic manner of the medival puppet -plays, Goethe's drama being only used in so far as it affords -suggestions for scenes of the well-salted and drastic animation that -Berlioz loved. Berlioz was a typical French Romantic. His music is -absolutely wanting in the ethical element that is so strong in Bach and -Beethoven. But he had a powerful and truly poetic sense of the -wonderful, the beautiful, the weird, and the characteristic. Over and -over again in his "Faust" he achieves typical excellence. That rapture -of spring which is one of the great, imperishable poetic themes has -nowhere in music been better rendered than in the first pages of "Faust" -(orchestra and tenor voice), and the ensuing peasant choruses are by far -the best musical expression of that "sunburnt mirth" which outside the -world of art is only possible under a southern sky. The Rcoczy March as -orchestrated by Berlioz is not only the finest piece of military music -in the world but is an immeasureably long way ahead of the next best -piece. The energy, gaiety, and tumultuous eloquence of the final section -(altogether Berlioz's own, of course), give us the musical symbol of "La -Gloire"--that important conception which has played a part in history -for three centuries. The scene on the banks of the Elbe is woven of -moonbeams and gossamer fancies that no other composer could have -handled. The rhythm of the Mephisto serenade is too good for this world. -Here the composer succeeds in expressing the diabolical without any -direct suggestion of malice--simply by creating the rhythm and accent of -laughter too monstrously whole-hearted and full-blooded for a mere man. -Another miracle is the "Chanson Gothique" (about the King of Thule), -which is, as it were, the distilled essence of all medival romances -about lovesick maidens looking forth from their casements. In the latter -part the composer falls a victim to his evil genius--the _macabre_,--and -the terrible squint of the madman is perceptible in the "Ride to the -Abyss" and the howling and gibbering of demons, which entirely lack the -significance of the demons in "Gerontius," and simply show us the -composer indulging his taste for the grotesque horrors of the old -miracle plays. The latter part of the composition should not be taken -too seriously. Even in the early part there is one example of the -composer's peculiar fondness for guying the offices of religion. But -this, too, should be lightly passed over and forgiven in consideration -of the feast that the work as a whole offers to the imagination and the -bracing salt wind of the composer's manly and affirmative genius. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -LISZT. - - -[Sidenote: ="Faust" Symphony.= - -_November 21, 1902._] - -The melancholy fact has to be recorded that the "Faust" Symphony fell -flat on its first performance in Manchester. There seems to be something -in our national temperament which makes it peculiarly difficult for us -to penetrate the secret of Liszt and learn to understand his -tone-language. In musical society on the Continent "not to like Liszt" -is regarded as a fixed characteristic of the Englishman, and those few -Englishmen who have learned to like Liszt remember the gradual process -by which their ears were opened, like the learning of a foreign language -after one is grown up. Some composers have a manner of utterance that -may be picked up half unconsciously; but for Britons, at any rate, -Liszt's is not of that kind. Patience, persistent study, reflection, -observation, comparison, besides an ear of some subtlety, are necessary -for the understanding of it, and we have not the habit of taking music -seriously (except in the abstract) or of giving it our whole attention. -So a thing like the "Faust" Symphony goes over our heads as if it were a -poem in some foreign language of which we only apprehend the rhythm. It -is a pity, for to those few who understand the poem is very great and -splendid. Like some ghostly Ancient Mariner, the spirit of the master -holds us "with his glittering eye," and speaks as one who is full of -matter and wisdom and is a master of life. His story is that old one -about Faust and Gretchen--not the Berlioz version ending with the -Damnation of Faust, but the original Goethe version which deals with the -working out of Faust's salvation (the difference between the two being -really quite considerable),--and in the telling of this story he conveys -lessons to the heart that are much too delicate for words. A good many -composers have made "Faust" music of one kind or another. Spohr and -Schumann, Berlioz and Boto, Wagner and Liszt, all paid their tribute to -the inexhaustible interest of the theme, besides Gounod--most -superficial and consequently best known of them all. Even in Gounod, -however, there is a little genuine "Faust" music--a very little. It is -to be found in the first few bars of the overture, in the Mephistopheles -Serenade, and, perhaps one might add, in the song about the King of -Thule, though Berlioz did that much better. Wagner's "Faust" Overture is -quite a great composition, and it is nearest akin to Liszt's Symphony. -But it is much too one-sided to vie in interest with Liszt's tremendous -composition, which seems to grasp the whole subject and tear the very -heart out of it, with a kind of imaginative power suggesting Victor -Hugo's, though the touch is more true. He begins with the solitary Faust -in his study, plunged in gloomy meditation, every phase of which the -music expounds (to him who listens closely enough)--intellectual pride, -reduced to impotence in the endeavour to solve the "riddle of the -painful earth"; the tranquillising of the spirit by mystical influences -seeming to emanate from a higher world; then the reawakening of pain in -the consciousness that had been hushed and charmed. Here the music, -passing up the chord with each note preceded by the semitone above, -sounds like a series of broken sighs. And presently we encounter -something quite new. A plaintive theme on the clarinet, answered by a -single viola, symbolises the vision of feminine companionship. Hope -reawakens, and the strength of Faust's nature asserts itself in the -splendid E major theme for full orchestra, destined to play the leading -part throughout the work. The movement is long, thoughtful, and no less -apt in invention than rich and glowing in tone-colour. In the second -movement, headed "Gretchen," we encounter quite a different atmosphere. -It is a worthy counterpart to the Gretchen episode in Goethe's poem--no -doubt the best picture of a girl, from the man's point of view, that -exists in literature. Inexpressibly beautiful is the contrast between -the fancy-free and the loving Gretchen. There is nothing in all music -more rich and rapturous than the ensuing love-scene, which reminds one -of the point in the first act of "Die Walkre" where the doors swing -open and reveals to the enchanted gaze of the lovers the spring -landscape bathed in moonlight. But Liszt is here more to the point than -Wagner. Then comes Mephisto with his diabolical dance, turning -everything into derision, till a light shines down from heaven, where -the soul of Margaret appears among the angels, and the "spirit that -denies," with his mask torn off, shrinks away, trembling and baffled. -Here the "chorus mysticus" gives utterance to the crowning idea of the -"Faust" drama--"The woman-soul draweth us upward and on." Such a work as -the "Faust" Symphony departs from the classical model inasmuch as it is -unified altogether by dramatic and characteristic and not at all by -architectural principles. It may also be regarded as three -character-sketches, which, with the help of some cross-reference, -together tell a story. Any person well versed in modern music, on -hearing this composition for the first time, cannot but be astonished at -the number of ideas, afterwards used by other composers, that it -contains. The most glaring case is the transformation music just before -the entry of the "chorus mysticus," which has been conveyed bodily by -Wagner, with only quite unimportant changes, into the third act of "Die -Walkre," after the words--"So streif' ich dir die Gottheit ab." But -dozens of other ideas in Wagner's "Tristan" and "Siegfried" and -Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel" one here finds in embryo. - - -[Sidenote: =Pianoforte Concerto in E Flat.= - -_November 13, 1903._] - -The attitude of the musical public in this country towards Liszt is at -the present day the most unsatisfactory and anomalous feature of the -musical situation. It is not possible to name any individual who has -done more than Liszt towards creating all that is best in the modern -musical world. He created the pianoforte technique without which the -later works of Beethoven could never have been performed, he inaugurated -a new era of symphonic music by his invention of the Symphonic Poem, and -he was the first to understand and interpret Wagner. But we persist in -making our historic and traditional mistake. We do not appreciate the -continuity of musical art, and we do not value the stimulating and -school-forming influences. It is the same now as a hundred and fifty -years ago, when we preferred Handel, who never influenced any other -composer to good purpose, and who essentially represented the end of a -development, to Bach, who is the greatest and most fruitful formative -influence of any musical age, and who has powerfully influenced all -subsequent composers of genius, except two or three of the Latin races. -In the early nineteenth century we made precisely the same mistake in -regard to Mendelssohn and Schumann; now we are making it once more by -preferring Tchakovsky to Strauss. But worse still is our mistake of -refusing to listen to Liszt, without whom neither Tchakovsky nor -Strauss could have existed as musical personages. Once more yesterday -the superb Liszt Concerto in E flat was played and received with a kind -of tolerance. Very fine playing, the audience seemed to think; but what -a pity the composition was not something worth hearing! Yet it is quite -the most brilliant and entertaining of Concertos. No person genuinely -fond of music was ever known to approach it with an unprejudiced mind -and not like it, and--what is more remarkable--the effect of the music -on all those who study it with a view to playing it is so great that it -invariably overcomes the ancient and deeply-rooted prejudice. But, for -the general public, it is not a more notorious fact that Handel's -"Messiah" is a great and admirable work than that the original -compositions of Liszt are horrible. Consequently, when a work by Liszt -is played they do not listen, but resign themselves to be bored; and so -even a work like the E flat Concerto, which is quite popular in -character and free from anything tormented or obscure, besides being the -most brilliant pianoforte Concerto in existence, falls on listless ears -and provokes only the half-hearted applause intended exclusively for the -soloist. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -WAGNER. - - -[Sidenote: ="Faust in Solitude."= - -_February 15, 1900._] - -Musical biography teaches that a hard struggle, not only for -recognition but for existence, is the normal experience of a great -composer. A few great players and singers make fortunes, but great -composers never, and most of them have had to endure stress of poverty -to the end of their lives. Yet it may be doubted whether any other great -composer ever sounded the depths of human misery, as Wagner did during -that first visit to Paris, undertaken in the hope of making his fortune -at the Grand Opera. It is generally supposed that genius is conscious of -its own powers and works on with serene confidence in the future. But, -unfortunately, there is also such a thing as conceit--that is, the -illusory consciousness of powers that do not exist; and a man of genius -who, without private means, had thrown up his employment and taken -himself and his wife on a long journey to a foreign country in order to -win recognition in "la ville Lumire" must, in the course of three -fruitless years, have felt something worse than misgiving. That Wagner -did so feel is a matter not of speculation but of history. He has -described how, when meditating the subject of the "Flying Dutchman," he -sent for a pianoforte to see whether, after the mean drudgery and abject -misery of those years, "he was still a musician." Wagner was not an -ordinary man. Everything about him was on a grander scale--his folly and -rashness no less than his talent. Though more sensitive than others to -the most trifling discomfort, he showed, under an accumulation of -miseries that would simply have crushed almost anyone else, a stupendous -energy and reaction. He had failed to get his "Rienzi" performed in -Paris. For three years he had continued his fruitless endeavours to -obtain a hearing at the opera; and a crisis of frightful despondency -ensued, when, to ruin and beggary and the sense of having made a fool of -himself, was added an attack of a painful skin disease which tormented -him at intervals all his life. Now it was precisely at that crisis that -he wrote the "Faust" Overture--his masterpiece in the strict sense of -the term; that is, the first work of his mastership or mature power. -Thus, instead of being crushed, Wagner is suddenly found drawing upon -the reserve force of his genius to produce a work that stands very -nearly on a level with Beethoven's third "Leonora" Overture. For the -Faust Overture is a tone-picture of the utmost energy, nobility, and -beauty, utterly defying comparison with any other except Beethoven, and -attaining to a kind of demonic eloquence that Wagner himself never found -again, till quite late in life, during the "Ring of the Nibelung" -period. - - -[Sidenote: =The "Nibelung" Dramas.= - -_May 11, 1903._] - -Whatever may have happened in former years, it was scarcely possible to -leave the theatre after the "Gtterdmmerung" performance on Saturday -with any disposition to satirise the management for the failure of the -stage effects in the final scene. In the course of the week Wagner's -greatest work had been presented with considerably brighter intelligence -and more adequate resource than ever before in this country, and it -was piteous that there should be a slight humiliation at the end. It -may be doubted, indeed, whether the "Ring" in its entirety has ever -been better done, for the amazing excellence of the orchestral -performance was to some considerable extent matched by the singers, -and the dramatic realisation of the composer's intentions was good -everywhere except in certain parts of the prologue, and showed -positive genius at certain points in each of the main dramas forming the -trilogy. The general impression was thus one of a great task nobly -carried out, and the concluding fizzle, however tiresome and distressing -to the stage managers, could but seem a trifling matter to any -appreciative spectator. It is a terrible business, that _finale_ of -"Gtterdmmerung." Conceived in a mood of frenzied protest, it bears a -peculiar stamp of extravagance and violence. It shows Wagner as an -Anarchist of the Bakounine type, undertaking, as it were, to "grasp this -sorry scheme of things entire" and "shatter it to bits" on the -off-chance that Nature might afterwards "remould it nearer to the -heart's desire." A lifetime of noble endeavour and great achievement, -with scarcely any response from the world but the crackling of thorns -under a pot, had produced in Wagner such bitterness of spirit as little -men are saved from by their natural limitations, and it is that -bitterness of spirit which finds expression in the smashing and burning -and drowning of the "Gtterdmmerung" _finale_. Heroes and demigods, -renouncing a hopeless conflict with the ugliness and meanness of the -world, involve heaven and earth in one red ruin. Such is the -significance of a tableau not worth a tithe of the time, trouble, and -expense devoted to it. - -By engaging Dr. Richter for the 1903 production the Covent Garden -authorities made it clear that this time the nonsense of star performers -who make cuts for their own convenience and sacrifice the composer's -intentions to a performer's conceit would not be tolerated; and at the -same time they gave the public the only possible guarantee for adequate -rehearsal. For that privilege London has had to wait twenty-seven years -since the original production in Bayreuth, though "Die Walkre" and -"Siegfried" were long ago taken up into the ordinary Covent Garden -repertory. There can be little doubt that "Rhinegold" is in all -important respects the most difficult part of the "Ring" to make -effective. Epic rather than dramatic in character, it presents to the -actor an unfamiliar kind of task. He finds himself representing some -creature that is scarcely individualised at all, and taking part in the -interplay of elemental forces rather than of human passions. This goes -far towards accounting for the fact that last week the "Rhinegold" -performance fell very far below the level of all the rest. The -representative of Alberic in the first scene seemed to take very little -interest in the love-making with the Rhine maidens. He had apparently -adopted the guide-book view of the dwarf as a creature merely of greed -and hate, and had overlooked the "fruitful impulse"--to borrow Mr. -Bernard Shaw's expression--which drives Alberic towards the Rhine -maidens; for his acting was quite feeble and pointless, nor was it -possible for him to carry out the stage directions that require Alberic -to climb over the rock-work and rush after the Rhine maidens with the -"nimbleness of a Cobold," the rock-work being much too insecure and the -Rhine maidens too restricted in their movements. In that first scene the -rise of the curtain reveals something like the glazed side of a huge -aquarium tank, and it was apparently to the general effect of the -picture as first displayed that all the attention of the scenic artists -had been given. Nibelheim, with the clanking sounds of the Nibelungs at -their smiths' work, was fairly well rendered, but here again Alberic's -part was ineffectively done, and there was far too much fairy-tale -prettiness and variety in the aspect of his crowd of slaves. At Bayreuth -these victims of sweating and improper labour conditions are represented -with horrifying truth as a huddled crowd of little earth-men, driven -hither and thither by the cursing and lashing of their master, and, -instead of being to some slight extent adorned and differentiated, -uniformly grimy and abject. Stage prettiness was never more out of place -than in the Covent Garden presentation of the scene. The setting was -best in the final scene, where the Gods march over the rainbow bridge -into Valhalla. In the rainbow there was a curious predominance of -"greenery-yallery" tints to the exclusion of the primary colours, but it -took its place well enough in a fairly effective stage picture with a -prehistoric building on the heights to the left. Here the only point of -inferiority to the Bayreuth presentation was in the meteorological -background. After the magnificent orchestrated thunderstorm the sky is -supposed to clear and the Gods to enter their new abode amid the glow of -a most radiant sunset. But the secrets of atmospheric effect and cloud -pageantry seem to remain for the present exclusively in the hands of -Bayreuth and Munich, and these things, though they belong to the -framework rather than the essential drama, seem to have loomed large in -Wagner's imagination when he conceived the "Ring," and so to have a -certain importance. - - -II. - -In strong contrast with the embarrassment and falling back on the mere -picturesque of the "Rhinegold" presentation was the rendering of "Die -Walkre" on Wednesday. A dramatic interpretation of Wagner at all -comparable to the musical interpretation which we derive from the -Liszt-Blow-Richter tradition is not for the present, or for some time -to come, to be expected. But, making allowance for the difference in -standard between the musical and scenic arts, which is simply a -phenomenon of our time, one may well be thankful for such a rendering of -the music's proper scenic background and framework as was given at -Covent Garden on all but the first of the four evenings in the -production of the present year. In the opening act of "Die Walkre" the -setting was adequate, and a strikingly well-balanced performance was -given by Mr. Van Dyck (Siegmund), Mr. Klpfer (Hunding), and Mme. Bolska -(Sieglinda). At the end of the only scene in which the three figure -together Sieglinda, dismissed by her husband, stands at the door of the -bedroom; Siegmund, who has told his story, sits on the further side of -the stage, the central place being occupied by the beetle-browed -Hunding. It is a moment big with fate in Wagner's peculiar manner. -Nothing certain is known or decided, but glances full of inquiry and -rapturous or sinister surmise pass between the three, whose variously -coloured kinds of suspense the music interprets. Here the _ensemble_ was -truly admirable, the stress and peculiar atmosphere of that moment big -with fate being successfully caught. Throughout the act Mr. Van Dyck's -suppleness and resource were finely exemplified, the sombre figure of -Mr. Klpfer's Hunding contrasting effectively, while Mme. Bolska did -much by intelligent acting and good singing to compensate for a certain -lack of personal adaptation to the part. - -The majestic Wotan of Mr. Van Rooy was much in evidence throughout the -rest of the drama. A rare loftiness of conception stamps nearly all that -Mr. Van Rooy does. On the other hand, he is somewhat wanting in -suppleness, here and there, sacrificing the _ensemble_ to some extent to -his own rigorous and ultra-heroic impersonation. This is particularly -noticeable in softer scenes, such as the leave-taking with Brynhild. -Only in scenes where Wotan is wrathful or oppressed by the "too vast -orb of his fate" does Mr. Van Rooy succeed completely. His finest moment -is in the muster of the Valkyries, where those terrible warrior maidens -hold converse in music as wild and tumultuous as goes up from some great -parliament of birds, till Wotan stamps with his foot, and the whole -covey of them rush for their horses and go wheeling and galloping away -into the clouds. - -To the Brynhild of Miss Ternina it is not easy to do justice. No doubt a -specialist in voice-training might have some objection to raise against -the manner in which this or that note was produced, and as to her -impersonation in the earlier scenes, where Brynhild brandishes her spear -and sings "Ho-yo-to-ho," the doubt might be raised whether it is rugged -enough. But on the whole this artist seems to present a case of almost -providential adaptation to the task of impersonating Wagner's greatest -heroine. From whatever point of view her impersonation be regarded, it -seems better than one could reasonably expect. A most richly endowed and -harmonious personality is the basis of it. Fully matching Mr. Van Rooy -in breadth and dignity of conception, she greatly surpasses her -distinguished colleague in tact and cleverness, whether the matter in -hand be the management of draperies, the humouring of a horse, or any -such secondary matter upon which the proper development of a stage -picture may depend. Vocally, too, Miss Ternina is fully equal to the -tremendous task, and her Brynhild is thus a truly wonderful revelation -of Wagner's art at its best. For Brynhild is beyond all question -Wagner's finest individual creation. In a series of matchless scenes he -shows us the development of the warrior-maid into a perfect woman, every -phase of that development being touched with a kind of demonic power -that makes it impossible for anyone altogether to miss the point. In the -second act of "Walkre" Brynhild comes forth on to the crags in her -shining armour, with helm and shield and corselet of steel. In the -leave-taking with her obdurate father, who, against his better judgment, -has given way to the counsels of Fricka--that Mrs. Grundy of -Valhalla,--the insignia of her Valkyriehood begin to fall off, in -anticipation of the humanising process that is to be completed when -Siegfried, in the ensuing drama, removes the steel corselet for the -bridal feast. Before our eyes, therefore, and step by step Brynhild is -transformed, making the heroic life visible and rhythmic for us at every -moment. She is the vessel into which Wagner has poured the very finest -vintage of his genius. No blackguardly characteristics of the -_Uebermensch_, such as develop so very freely in the Siegfried of -"Gtterdmmerung," are allowed to deform the figure and melody of the -superb heroine, who to the end glows with intense and untainted life. -Adequately to render such a conception--adequately both for our eyes and -ears--is no small achievement, and it is Miss Ternina's achievement -which well deserves to be reckoned, along with Dr. Richter's orchestral -interpretation, among the glories of the present production. - - -III. - -"Siegfried is a revelation of sensuous life in its natural and joyous -fulness. No historical dress obscures his form, nor are his movements -obstructed by any force external to himself. The error and confusion -arising from the wild play of passion rage around him and involve him in -destruction. But till that destruction is compassed nothing in -Siegfried's environment can arrest his own impulse. Not even in presence -of death does he allow himself to be swayed by any other influence than -the restless stream of life flowing within himself. Fear, envy, and -vindictiveness are alike alien to his nature, and so, too, is any desire -for love arising from reflection. His every movement is determined by -the direct flow of vital force swelling the veins and muscles of his -body to rapturous fulfilment of their functions." - - * * * * * - -Such, according to his creator, is that central hero of the "Nibelung" -dramas whom critics still for the most part hopelessly misunderstand, -though the best of the actors who have to represent him seem long ago to -have mastered his secret. It is a familiar fact that the cultivated -instinct of a good actor will often go right where all current criticism -goes wrong, and no figure of the world's drama, ancient or modern, -exhibits the point in a more remarkable manner than Siegfried. To any -actor, indeed, with the necessary personal and vocal endowment the part -may well make a strong appeal. It is devoid of all subtlety, simply -requiring him to know his words and his notes and not to allow the -native hue of his resolution to be sicklied o'er with the pale cast of -thought. Mr. Kraus, the Siegfried of the Covent Garden performances, did -well in most essential respects. - -But much more remarkable than any particular impersonation was the -catching of the proper tone and atmosphere in nearly every important -scene of the three main dramas. The glowing forge in the depths of the -primeval forest at the opening of "Siegfried," the play of the sunlight -through the moving branches that so terrifies the dwarf accustomed to a -subterranean environment, the highly realistic smith's work--all these -accessories in the picture of the godlike youth were well done, and the -peculiar early morning exhilaration of that first act was quite -successfully realised. So, too, were the fairy-tale terrors of the -dragon's cave and the leafy splendours of the glade in which Siegfried -holds converse with the birds. Where there is room for improvement in -the Covent Garden staging of these dramas is, above all, in the -meteorological background of "Rhinegold" and "Gtterdmmerung"; -secondly, in the "Ride of the Valkyries," which has not hitherto been -done in a sufficiently spirited manner anywhere but in Paris; thirdly, -in the final scene of conflagration and ruin. At present the final scene -is much too elaborately done. All that smashing and falling of timber is -a mistake. A chaotic design painted on a sheet of canvas can be let down -at the right moment with better effect to the eyes of the spectators, in -addition to the immense advantage of producing no noise or dust, costing -little, and being completely under control.[1] The present method of -rendering the scene is too costly, too noisy, and too dangerous. The -Valhalla building should be recognisably the same as in the final scene -of "Rhinegold." - - [1] This suggestion was adopted in the performances at Covent Garden - in 1905.--ED. - -Never have the musical splendours of the "Ring" been revealed to British -audiences as in the past three weeks. The windy and cloudy eloquence of -the "Walkre" music and the heroic pathos of Brynhild's leave-taking -have long been pretty thoroughly appreciated, but not so the songs of -the forge in "Siegfried," where Wagner throws an almost fabulous kind of -energy into the picture of the typical young man singing at his work, -summing up all that is finest in that enthusiasm of labour which is -perhaps the best part of our inheritance from the nineteenth century. -These songs were, in the recent production, allowed to develop without -cuts or distortion. The brawny rhythm, the iron clangour, the fizz and -tumult of the instrumentation--all these things came out as never before -at a performance in this country. So, too, with the long love duet of -Siegfried and Brynhild and the ravishing trio of the Rhine Maidens in -the last act of "Gtterdmmerung." But, apart from such dazzling -moments, the performances were in their completeness and sustained -excellence an extraordinary revelation of the composer's power in the -use of musical symbolism. Just before the rise of the curtain on the -first act of "Siegfried" one hears that whine or snarl of the Nibelung -dwarf, entering on the minor ninth along with the hammering theme. It -sounds merely comical and trivial. But just as a personal fault, first -observed as something funny, may in the experience of life or study of -history be found developing into a source of appalling mischief, so, as -these dramas progress, do we find the symbol of Nibelung hatred -developing from a comical snarl into those monstrous and multitudinous -yells that rend the welkin and dismay the soul amid the gathering horror -of the "Gtterdmmerung" tragedy. Persons who are in the habit of -chattering about the _Leitmotiv_ as though it were a nostrum might with -advantage take note of a few such points. The symbols of Nibelung hatred -are not more effective nor anywise better done than the other symbols in -the "Ring," but they are shorter and more peculiarly orchestrated, and -so easier to follow. - -As to Dr. Richter's interpretation of these gigantic scores perhaps -enough has been said. The modern executive musician can approach no -greater task than that in the performance of which the foundation of Dr. -Richter's reputation was laid when the work was heard for the first time -twenty-seven years ago in the composer's presence, and we have been -fortunate in hearing his authoritative rendering once more. If Wotan had -understood his business anything like as well as Dr. Richter, Valhalla -would never have come to grief. - - -[Sidenote: =The Bayreuth Festival.= - -_July 23, 1904._] - -Apart from the Wagner Theatre and the undertakings connected therewith, -Bayreuth is a decayed "Residenzstadt," with an "Old Castle" of the -fifteenth century, a "New Castle" of the eighteenth, and other not very -carefully preserved relics of the Court which Franconian Margraves long -kept here. Of country residences and "pleasaunces" too, designed in the -over-fantastic manner of the South German potentate, there is more than -one in the neighbourhood, and no doubt such things help to create an -atmosphere that is favourable to artistic enjoyment. The smoke of modern -industrial enterprise is not unknown here, but in the fulfilment of the -part of its destiny which is connected with Wagnerian drama Bayreuth is -aided by the leafy dells and dingles and the stately avenues of the -Hofgarten, if not by the fantastic waterworks of the "Eremitage." - -The Festival, which stands as a concrete symbol of Wagner's artistic -mission, is just now at the zenith of its prosperity. It is twenty-eight -years since the theatre was opened and twenty-one since Wagner's death, -and the only thing which Bayreuth now fears is American piracy. One kind -of calumny after another has been silenced, and in years past the -institution seems to have done nothing but gain in solidity and dignity. -It has formed an international public with a somewhat higher average of -intelligence than is to be found anywhere else; and if there are certain -weak and wrong-headed elements in the internal organisation, they are -not so bad as to ruin the combined result of the brilliant and -exceptional talent with which nearly every department--musical, -dramatic, scenic, architectural, mechanical, and administrative--is -worked. One might make a long list of the points in which the Wagner -Theatre is somewhat better than any other of the kind. For example, the -situation and approaches are more agreeable, the exits and entrances are -more convenient, the ventilation is much more satisfactory, the acoustic -is much finer, the distractions during the performance are fewer in -consequence of specially good arrangements, structural and other, and -by reason of the early start and long intervals the audience is less -fatigued; the stage machinery works better, and the discipline behind -the scenes is more thorough. The orchestra, besides being more -advantageously placed, is larger, and has a higher average of executive -ability. Apart, therefore, from the special Wagnerian enthusiasm, there -is much to attract persons who take any kind of interest in musical -drama, and as a matter of fact the audience commonly includes dozens of -well-known musicians from different parts of the world whose own -tendencies are anything but Wagnerian. - - -[Sidenote: ="Parsifal."= - -_July 24, 1904._] - -On the second day of this festival "Parsifal" was given for the 122nd -time in Bayreuth, where, since the original production in 1882, it has -formed the principal feature of every festival except that of 1896. Any -attempt to describe impressions of the performance has to be preceded by -a shaking of oneself free from that hypnotic influence which Wagner's -art in its latest phase exercises. The curtain falls on the first act, -the lights are turned up, and one emerges quickly into the light of day -to find oneself once more in the midst of a chattering but well-behaved -international crowd that wanders about the open sandy space girdled with -plantations on either side of the theatre. It is not quite the same -experience as a child's on awakening from an importunate dream, because -the feeling that it was not one's own dream but another's is peculiarly -strong, together with a sense of utter astonishment that it should be -possible for the consciousness of an adult person to be ravished away -into the dream-world of another. Then comes further reflection and the -inevitable question how it is done. Is it primarily by means of the -music, which passes through the chambers of consciousness like the fumes -of an ansthetic, or does the peculiar potency lie in the dramatic -symbols, for the elaboration of which the subtlest essences of a hundred -arts seem to have been brought together? All the objections to -"Parsifal" would seem to resolve themselves ultimately into distrust of -something that is so dreamlike, and dreamlike in a manner so -inexpressibly soft and luxurious. It is all rhythmic with the slow, -musically ordered movements of the Grail's knights, who are so holy as -to feel sin like a bodily pain; it is solemn with hieratic pageantry, -and rich with the lustre of costly stuffs and the glitter of -ecclesiastical embroideries and jewels. In the first and last acts it -has the atmosphere of a Christian sanctuary, and the second act, passing -in Klingsor's garden, seems to represent the pleasures of sin as -imagined by the most innocent of medival monks. All this the orthodox -moralist regards with some distrust as tending to create a distaste for -hard work and cold water. But let him remember the mischief done by the -Puritans in the seventeenth century, and be careful how he lays about -him with the iconoclastic hammer. Whatever else "Parsifal" may be, it is -certainly the most marvellous theatrical show in the world, and, as the -ultimate achievement of a man who for a lifetime had been considerably -in advance of any other person in knowledge of theatrical art, it -deserves to be treated with a measure of respect. - -What Bayreuth accomplishes at a "Parsifal" performance, in the smooth -and harmonious working of infinitely complex scenic resources, is -without parallel, and the almost miraculous stage management was last -week at its best. The slow transformations of the first and last acts -were carried out in faultless correspondence with the musical -suggestions. The sudden collapse of Klingsor's garden into ruin and -desolation was also perfectly done, and in all the elaborate evolutions -of the knights' retainers and scholars there was never the semblance of -a false move. A specially admirable feature was the fine co-ordination -of the dangerously complicated musical scheme in the latter part of the -first act, where the conductor has to keep together a body of singers -and players who are spaced out at four different levels--the orchestra -below the stage, the knights seated at the love-feast or manoeuvring -about on the stage, the older scholars on the first gallery of the dome, -and the younger scholars at the top. All the multifarious choir-singing -of boys and men was beautifully done; the only mistakes were made by -Amfortas and Titurel. The conductor was Dr. Muck, of Berlin, whose -_tempi_ seem to have been considered too slow by some of the _habitus_, -though his interpretation was admitted to be in all other respects above -reproach. - - -[Sidenote: ="The Ring."= - -_July 28, 1904._] - -This year's festival includes two complete presentations of the "Ring" -tetralogy, of which the first began on Monday. It seems to be generally -admitted here that the performance of the Prologue ("Rheingold") given -on that day was the best that has yet been achieved. Dr. Richter was at -the helm for the first time this year, and the generalship that has been -one great factor in Bayreuth's reputation ever since the opening of the -Wagner Theatre in 1876 soon became perceptible in the plastic force of -the orchestral rendering and the consummate knowledge with which -everything was disposed in such a manner as to give each performer the -best possible chance of doing justice to himself and his part. Moreover, -"Rheingold" is, of all the Wagnerian dramas, the one best adapted to -display the art of Bayreuth advantageously. The staging is of the most -extraordinary kind. All the action takes place up in the clouds, down in -the waters, or where the forges resound in the fiery caverns of -Nibelheim, and not one of the characters is a plain human being. Gods, -goddesses, giants, dwarfs, and water nymphs make up the _dramatis -person_, and the whole drama is more completely outside the range of -ordinary operatic art than any other musical and dramatic work. It is -therefore natural that Bayreuth, which alone among theatres devoted to -musical drama is not hampered by the operatic traditions, should -establish pre-eminence in the staging and dramatic presentation of -"Rheingold." There is no part for a prima donna or leading tenor, and -everything depends on a kind of extraordinary character-acting created -by Wagner, along with those richly animated figures from Norse mythology -which so effectively represent the natural forces and psychic impulses -of his greatest and most characteristic poem. The most important person -is Loge, the tricksy Fire God, who is far from sure that he did wisely -in joining the firm of Wotan and Company. - -In the great revival of the "Ring" here in 1896 the impersonation of -Loge by the late Vogel of Munich was a brilliant feature. Vogel was at -the time recognised as the best Loge, and his mantle has now fallen on -Dr. Otto Briesemeister, who, with a much less effective costume than his -predecessor's, dances very cleverly through his long and important part. -But among the stage performers it was Mr. Hans Breuer, the -representative of the dwarf Mime, to whom the principal honours of -Monday's performance fell. Already in 1896 Mr. Breuer was the Bayreuth -Mime, and he seems to have been steadily improving his presentation ever -since. It is now beyond all expression brilliant. Mime (or Mimmy, as the -name has been well Anglicised) is perhaps the best invented of Wagner's -purely grotesque figures--better individualised than his master, the -sinister Alberich, representing gold as a world-power, for whom Mimmy is -compelled to do smith's work. From beginning to end the part presents -unfamiliar problems to the actor, for never before was the attempt made -to give a musical vehicle to such whining and cringing and snarling. But -those problems have all now been solved by Mr. Breuer in a manner -suggesting finality. He has penetrated to the very marrow of the -composer's conception, and he gives us a figure that glows with -imaginative power at every moment. Almost equally good in its very -different way is the mighty elemental brutality of Mr. Johannes -Elmblad's Fafner--another case of an actor completely identified with -the particular part,--and the second giant (Mr. Hans Keller) fairly -matched his colleague and Messrs. Breuer and Briesemeister in expressive -pantomimic interpretation of the music. The enchanting "Rhine Daughter" -trio of the first and last scenes was beautifully rendered, the swimming -manoeuvre of the former scene being done probably better than ever -before. Besides doing justice to the drama as an allegorical picture of -life in the light of certain nineteenth-century ideas, the performance -was a specially good revelation of its amusing and navely entertaining -qualities. Regarding the show simply as an enacted fairy-tale, one could -not but call it a mighty good one, and that aspect of the matter was -almost certainly never before brought out so well. - - -[Sidenote: ="The Ring."= - -_July 30, 1904._] - -Too much ridicule has been expended on those who, in the days when the -works of Wagner were new to the world, declared them impossible of -performance. After witnessing one complete series of the dramas forming -the programme of this year's festival I am profoundly impressed by the -newness of the art that has been worked out, mainly in this place, under -stress of Wagner's peculiar requirements. The stage manager and the -singing actor, no less than the orchestral player and the conductor, -have been compelled to acquire a new technique. It is even possible to -state approximately the order in which the special kinds of technique -required by Wagner were developed. Of course the instrumental came -first, for without it there could have been no attempt to bring the new -art before the world. Here the most important influence, in addition to -the composer's own, was that of Liszt, Blow, and Richter--the original -stalwarts of the Wagnerian school. Next arose a new race of dramatic -singers, of whom Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Niemann, and Materna were early -examples; and the key to the enigma of the music was found. But Wagner's -art is complex. Including, as it does, all the elements of the tragedy, -which Aristotle describes as having music for one of its parts, together -with modern scenic presentation, it is indeed somewhat more complex than -any other known art, and that is why it has taken so long to master the -technique of it. To the civilised world of no more than twenty-five -years ago it was still inconceivable that both the drama and the music -in one work could be important. A play with a little incidental music -was a familiar thing, and so was an opera with a conventional dramatic -framework having as its only purpose the advantageous display of musical -embroideries. But a dramatic work with music as an integral part lay -outside the range of all that was then believed to be possible, and long -after the new race of dramatic singers had arisen the peculiar problems -of _mise-en-scne_ and stage management which Wagnerian drama presents -were left quite unsolved. However, no such battle had to be fought over -the stage presentation as had been fought over the music. There was the -Bayreuth theatre, with plenty of time and, latterly, plenty of money to -work out the scenic and mechanical problems; and very slowly they were -worked out. The improvement since 1896, when I last saw the "Ring" here, -is enormous, and from the mighty trilogy as now presented that old sense -of awkward, cumbrous, and unmanageable material has to a great extent -disappeared--not, indeed, to the same extent in all the four parts -(prologue and three-fold drama). The change and improvement is most -startling in "Rheingold," which, with all its mythological and -thaumaturgical paraphernalia, used to be thought peculiarly clumsy and -full of bad quarters of an hour, despite the genius that scintillated -here and there. Now that the staging has been perfected, it no longer -embarrasses the performers or distracts the spectator's attention, and -one has unimpeded enjoyment of the story, with all its rich imaginative -play and its Aristophanic quality, as it is interpreted by a group of -actors and actresses who have thoroughly mastered their peculiar -business. "Rheingold" one now perceives to be a comedy big with tragedy. -Notwithstanding the undertow of forces making for monstrous mischief, it -is as thoroughpaced an Aristophanic comedy as anything having Norse -instead of Hellenic characters and imagery could be. The scene in which -the different uses of gold are explained by Loge, with exquisitely -humorous interpolated comments by Fricka (the Mrs. Grundy of Valhalla) -and others, is worth the attention of any philosopher; and yet that and -other passages of similar merit used to pass unnoticed. Together with -the mention in my former message of Messrs. Briesemeister's, Breuer's, -and Elmblad's achievements as Loge, Mimmy, and Fafner respectively, -there should have been some reference to the Fricka of Mme. Reuss-Belce, -who was simply perfect in the scene where that dignified lady sidles up -to Loge to inquire whether the gold cannot also be used to make nice -ornaments for ladies. - -In regard to "Walkre" and "Siegfried," which have long been in the -repertory of London, Paris, and other capitals, the superiority of -Bayreuth is very much less certain--that is to say, of Bayreuth as -represented by this year's performances. There was serious weakness in -two out of the three great protagonists, Wotan and Brnnhilde, and for -that weakness no degree of skill in the presentation of the finely -fantastic and ever-shifting backgrounds could compensate, nor even the -superb orchestral interpretation. The Siegfried of Mr. Ernst Kraus was, -however, on the whole a very striking performance, as it was at Covent -Garden in 1903. It was best in Acts i. and ii. of "Siegfried"--the -forging of the sword and the slaying of the dragon, preceded and -followed by the wonderful forest _rverie_,--and it was least good in -the "Gtterdmmerung" scene, where the hero tells the story of his youth -to his hunting companions. Here a certain lack of resource in purely -lyrical expression was a serious defect. But on the whole Mr. Kraus -would seem to be the best Siegfried of the present day--best, at any -rate, of those who can be induced to enact the part without mutilation. - -No excellence in the staging and general interpretation could obviate -or appreciably soften the unsatisfactoriness of "Gtterdmmerung." The -final drama of the "Ring" series remains a terrible monster among the -dramatic works of mankind, with a dreary first and second act, in which -little seems to occur besides the heaping up of gloomy storm-clouds. The -fierce animation of the retainers' muster in the Hall of the Gibichungs -produced on Thursday the utmost effect of which it is capable; but the -atmosphere of these scenes in which the tragedy of the curse resting on -the Ring is worked out remained, as before, almost intolerable; and, -despite the ravishing Rhine-daughter music in the third act, the -romantic beauty of the "Erzhlung" (story of Siegfried's youth), and the -monumental grandeur of the funeral scenes, the last day of the trilogy -left one with the old sense of oppression. As most persons are aware, -the whole "Ring" drama began in the composer's mind with "Siegfried's -Death"--that part which is now called "Gtterdmmerung,"--and the other -three parts were written to lead up to it. Nevertheless the original -nucleus remains the monstrous product of a disordered imagination, while -the three parts, conceived as something secondary, form a series of -masterpieces. Books, we know, have their fates, and the fate of this one -is not the least curious. The experience of this year, while tending to -show that the supposed defects of "Rheingold," "Walkre," and -"Siegfried" almost entirely vanish in a rendering that is harmonious on -all sides, leaves one with a greatly increased sense of the final -drama's inherent unsatisfactoriness. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -TCHAKOVSKY. - - -[Sidenote: =Symphony No. 5 and other Works.= - -_January 21, 1898._] - -The experiment of devoting an entire miscellaneous concert to the works -of one composer is nearly always hazardous. We doubt whether any other -composer besides Wagner has ever withstood such a test quite -satisfactorily. It was, of course, inevitable that the unparalleled wave -of popularity upon which Tchakovsky's "Pathetic" symphony has been -carried over the country during the past two years should have had the -result of bringing other works by the same composer to the fore. That -result is in no way to be regretted. Tchakovsky is a thoroughly -interesting composer. His power and originality can scarcely now be -disputed, and, whatever may be the verdict upon his art arrived at by -those competent to judge when the excitement of novelty shall have -passed off, one fact seems already to be quite clear, namely, that he -was a great master of the orchestra. Listening to Tchakovsky's music -for a whole evening and comparing the new with former impressions may -have revealed more defects and limitations than merits; but the -experience confirms, to our mind, the view that the Russian composer -must be allowed to take rank along with Berlioz and Wagner as a -consummate and original master of the orchestra, regarded as a medium of -expression. He grasps the modern orchestra as if it were one instrument. -He sweeps over it like a mighty virtuoso with unerring touch. He knows -the suggestions and potencies that lie in the timbre of each pipe, -string, and membrane, just as a man knows the articulations of his -native language. To any musical strain that is in his mind he gives -outward form with absolute success. In short, he has consummate ability -to express himself in music, and such ability is so rare that it is -sufficient alone to make a composer very famous. There remain, of -course, certain questions about the self thus expressed, and not till we -reach those questions do the defects and limitations of Tchakovsky's -art come into view. The great prevalence of melancholy moods in -Tchakovsky's music is a matter of common observation. When he desires -to shake off his habitually gloomy and brooding state, how does he set -about it? Just as one would expect with such a disposition--by frenzied -excitement, by the blare and glare of military pageant or by an -orgiastic dance. His lighter music is bizarre or sardonic when it is not -merely intoxicating. The enormous predominance of the rhythmical -interest over every other kind of interest, such as that of melody or -harmony, in Tchakovsky's music, can scarcely have escaped notice; and -rhythm is the lowest element in music; it is the element representing -animal impulse, as shown by its preponderance in every kind of religious -music (Palestrina, for example). The music of Tchakovsky rocks, tramps, -jigs, whirls, and flies far more than it sings; and when it does sing -it is either profoundly melancholy, bitterly sardonic, or merely -bizarre. The composer has absolutely no serenity in his disposition, no -love of nature or of innocence, no navet, no calmness or coolness, no -healthy activity, no religion, though much picturesque patriotism, and -very little intellectuality--only just enough for the purpose of -expression. Such is the disposition revealed in the art of Tchakovsky. -Like Rubens, the painter, he cares for nothing but exuberant -animalism--for Rubens' Madonnas and other quasi-religious pictures are -all just as much studies of exuberant animalism as his Venuses and his -boar-hunts. Tchakovsky, too, loves hunting; though his more special -tastes are for fighting and military display, and for dancing. Such a -character could not be otherwise than profoundly melancholy in the -absence of strong excitement. At the same time, he was--again like -Rubens--an artist of enormous power, and his creations have their value. -The fifth symphony, which was given yesterday, affords a most -interesting comparison with the sixth and last. Such a nature as, -according to our view, Tchakovsky has revealed in his art would never -be thoroughly dignified except in great grief or in some situation -bringing his patriotism to the fore. This, we believe--added to the more -complete maturity of the art,--is the explanation of that greatness -which has been generally recognised as distinguishing the "Pathetic" -symphony among the composer's works. Alone among the larger works of the -composer it has dignity. The feeling that it embodies is tremendously -deep and sincere. It is an utterance of a strong semi-primitive nature -with robust appetite, but also with an immense capacity for -feeling--personal feeling, and family, tribal or patriotic feeling. In -the symphony given yesterday, on the other hand, we have a feast of -gorgeous tone-colour, orchestral figures of astonishing scope and -ingenuity, here and there motifs that are poignantly expressive, -vastness of design, superhuman energy; but the dignity of the work is -marred by the perpetual intervention of riotous and frenzied rhythms. -The other orchestral works given were all of minor importance. Perhaps -the best was the "Romeo and Juliet" overture, dealing with a subject -certain sides of which were naturally congenial to the composer's -temperament. He seized on these sides with unerring self-knowledge and -made an eloquent musical picture out of them. "The Variations on a -Rococo Theme" and "Pezzo Capriccioso" are two ingenious and bizarre -pieces, both very cleverly scored, which enabled Mr. Carl Fuchs to -display his admirable mastery of the violoncello as a solo instrument. -They were both very finely played, and, especially the latter, aroused -considerable enthusiasm. As far as the interpretation was concerned the -symphony, too, must be unreservedly commended. There was only one work -in the entire concert which, to our mind, bears the stamp of -perfection--namely, the little song "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt," which -is worthy to rank with the best lyrics by Schumann, and indeed shows the -spirit of that composer in one of his moods--that which produced "Ich -grolle nicht"--very strongly. All the songs were interesting. In fact, -the lyrical power of Tchakovsky is so striking that it may be placed -side by side with his mastery of the orchestra among those qualities -which make him a great composer. All that has been said with more -especial reference to the orchestral works applies with equal truth to -the songs; they are either melancholy, like the first, third, and last -given at yesterday's concert, or sardonic, like "Don Juan's Serenade." -Brightness, happiness, confidence, resignation, reverence, sense of -mystery are qualities as alien to the composer's nature as simple -joviality or innocent badinage. - - -[Sidenote: =Symphony in F Minor.= - -_November 25, 1898._] - -The fourth symphony of Tchakovsky, which formed the principal -orchestral work at yesterday's concert, is full of life and zest, -affording an interesting glimpse of those powers which were destined to -produce the "Pathetic" symphony. Composed some fifteen years earlier -than the "Pathetic," the fourth symphony represents the composer in a -very different mood, though with nearly the same technical powers. It is -perhaps natural that the earlier work should be more cheerful; but, -considering that the composer was thirty-eight years of age when he -produced that earlier work, the music sounds curiously youthful. The -difference between the style of the symphony given yesterday and the -"Pathetic" is almost entirely of a kind that eludes analysis. It can -only be stated broadly that in the "Pathetic" there is a depth and -energy of feeling to be found in none but truly great works of art; also -that there is mature style, appearing especially in the marvellous tact -with which so much rich, highly coloured, and dangerous material is -disposed. On the other hand, the earlier symphony, while strongly akin -to the "Pathetic" in rhythmic and melodic invention, figuration, -instrumentation, and device in general, is not only wanting in the tact -of the mature artist, but shows the composer not under the influence of -any strong feeling, and simply revelling in his powers of gorgeous -orchestration, ingenious thematic work, and marshalling of tone masses -with a view to picturesque effect. Tchakovsky is nearly always martial -in one part or another of an orchestral work. In the great symphony the -first movement has a ferocious section suggesting actual slaughter, -while the greater part of the third movement is an elaborate military -pageant. The work given yesterday leads off with martial strains, which -recur several times in the first movement and again in the last. The -first movement also exemplifies the composer's practice of bringing in a -good deal of development immediately after the statement of a theme, -instead of waiting for the development section. Though every musical -element is telling, the movement is too prolix. In the andantino it soon -becomes apparent that the composer's mind is running on his national -folk-melody, the second theme especially having a very strong flavour of -Russian national music. The movement is short and very charming. Next -one passes from song to dance, the scherzo being a kind of Cossack dance -orchestrated in the most piquant style, the strings playing pizzicato -throughout. Here again the composer is irresistible. The music is -ballet-music, not worthy of a symphony, but it is so exhilarating that -there has to be a "truce with grimace." And the finale? On a former -occasion we have declared our view that none of Tchakovsky's music -except his last symphony has dignity, but probably in no other -quasi-serious work has he committed himself to such an astounding piece -of rodomontade as is here used to conclude the symphony. The music -enters like a voluble showman, beating a drum at the head of a -procession, and assuring the crowd that never in this world has anything -been seen quite so wonderful as that particular show. The show then -proceeds, seeming to be concerned with national exploits which are all -illustrated by the comments of the same voluble showman. A meritorious -rendering was given of this amusing and in some respects instructive -work. Many of the wind-instrument passages are very trying for the -performers, especially in the case of the bass trombone, which in the -last movement sometimes has to play as fast as the flute; but the -players struggled manfully with these difficulties and did justice to -the score. - - -[Sidenote: ="Romeo and Juliet" Overture.= - -_December 14, 1900._] - -The case of Tchakovsky, with his one great Symphony overtopping by such -immeasurable heights all his other compositions of whatever kind, is -isolated. One is almost compelled to think of everything else in the -light of the one great work. Here is something that dimly foreshadows -the stupendous battle-picture in the first movement. There we note some -faint suggestion of that power to represent a heart full of the most -awful foreboding, amid scenes of gaiety and gallantry, which gives its -peculiar character to the celebrated 5--4 movement; and there are -foretastes of the bustle and excitement rendered on a gigantic scale in -the scherzo, of the triumphal note in the March, of the final despairing -wail. But all else is faint and fragmentary by comparison with the great -symphony. The "Romeo and Juliet" overture, played yesterday, is probably -Tchakovsky's best early composition, and it is certainly that which -suggests the great last symphony in the most unmistakable manner. The -poetic basis of the tone-picture is to a considerable extent the same in -both. A warning prologue leads to the scenes of violence and bloodshed. -Then follows a romantic love-story with a tragic ending. Everything in -the overture is extremely well done--the fighting music is graphic and -the love music is deeply fraught with feeling,--but it is not a bit -Shakespearean in spirit. The peculiar neuralgic pathos which haunts -nearly all Tchakovsky's works takes us into a fevered and unnatural -atmosphere very unlike Shakespeare's; and the fighting is gory and -realistic in the haggard manner of Verestchagin. As with Berlioz's -treatment of "Faust," one must not seek for any sort of fidelity to the -spirit of the original. It is better to rest satisfied with the striking -and eloquent picture, founded on external features of a well-known poem -but belonging essentially to the composer's own dream-world. The -overture was splendidly played yesterday. Dr. Richter's interpretation -most fully revealed the beauty of the introduction, where the composer -had succeeded in finding a note of pathos unlike his usual narrow and -egotistic or merely tormented vein. Specially remarkable was the fine -precision of the percussion instruments in the sections representing the -strife of the Montagues and Capulets; but it is scarcely necessary to -mention details, for the whole tone-picture was superbly presented. - - -[Sidenote: =Symphony in E Minor.= - -_March 8, 1901._] - -There is a great diversity of opinion as to the merits of Tchakovsky's -fifth Symphony. More than one London critic has expressed the view that -it is equal to the much-better known sixth and last. Mr. Jacques -declares in yesterday's programme that, though No. 6--the -"Pathtique"--appeals more strongly to the emotions, No. 5 is -constructively the finer work. On the other hand, we have the opinion of -the Russian critic Berezovsky--quoted together with the same writer's -detailed account of the work in a recent English book on -Tchakovsky--that No. 5 is the weakest of all the Symphonies. There is -something rather depressing in such extreme divergence of opinion. It -proves one of two things;--either Tchakovsky is not one of the sane -composers whose works stand in a certain clear relation to the musical -needs of human nature; or else, for all our greatly increased musical -culture, we are no quicker than were the men of Beethoven's day in our -perceptions; and, in the absence of perception, we are even more tied -down than were our predecessors by pedantic notions. The reception of -the great "Symphonic Pathtique" in this country disposes of the former -alternative. No other instrumental work ever aroused so great a wave of -genuine public interest, and even persons who are no great admirers of -Tchakovsky ought, if they care for the musical life of this country, to -take an interest in him, on account of the astonishingly sudden and -powerful grip that he took of the public imagination. It is not to -externals--such as instrumentation, counterpoint, form, and so -forth--that we must look for the explanation. Glazounoff orchestrates no -less brilliantly than Tchakovsky and has probably a greater mastery of -scholastic device, and the same is true of Saint-Sans. Yet neither of -those masters ever did or could stir anything in the least like the -interest that Tchakovsky stirs. We believe the secret of Tchakovsky -lies first in his sincerity, his being in earnest, his intentness, his -search after the true symbol of his idea or feeling, his rejection of -mere fabricated music. In listening to Glazounoff one perceives the -trotting out of device. "Note how cleverly," the composer seems to say, -"how cleverly I introduce this theme in augmentation." Whereas -Tchakovsky is always intent on his idea, and, when he uses device, it -is with the air of a man deeply in earnest and grasping at a resource of -expression. Thus the centre of gravity is with Glazounoff as often as -not in the device, with Tchakovsky always in the message, and with that -dim sub-consciousness of the musical soul we perceive the one to be a -cultivated trifler, the other a man with something important to say. -That is the first and chief point. Next comes Tchakovsky's gift of -rhythm--the quality in music for which the general public of the -present day cares most. When a person of rudimentary musical notions -says that he likes a good tune, it will nearly always be found that what -he likes is the rhythm, and that the melody can be freely changed -without his perceiving it. The same taste exists in the higher stages of -cultivation. A hundred times commoner than a real sense of melodic -beauty is the love of a powerful rhythm that carries the listener off -his feet. Now Tchakovsky does that for the listener much more often -than any other composer. He first captivates by something in which his -gift of rhythm plays a leading part, and, having captivated, he does not -disappoint us by saying empty things. Further points are his -astonishingly rich harmony, which is never twisted and inconsequent, -like so much of Berlioz's harmony, but always develops logically and -clearly his vastness of design; his warmth of colouring, and his -picturesque force. Needless to say, that to explain sudden and signal -success with the general public there must always be a mention of weak -points. Among Tchakovsky's weak points that which has gained him most -popularity is his persistent habit of presenting his ideas in a sort of -balanced and antithetical manner. He does not expect too much -intelligence in the listener. First he says a thing, then he says it -again an octave lower down or higher up and with different -instrumentation; next he repeats a tag of what has just been said, and -repeats that once or twice, and so forth. And the thing is not done -artificially; such procedure evidently came natural to him. By the time -he has finished, something of the idea has been conveyed into the -dullest mind; and all this is done along with the extremely modern -harmony and with instrumentation so dashing, brilliant, and varied that -only a dreadfully analytical person takes note of the thematic -iteration. It is a remarkable point that while all the other symphonies -are full of Slavonic folk-melodies, the thematic invention in the -"Pathetic" is all original--every scrap of it. There is not a folk-tune -from beginning to end. One has only to think of the first theme of the -first quick movement to perceive how thoroughly the composer was worked -up. The originality of it is absolute. One may go over all the -orchestral composers from Haydn to Wagner and Brahms, asking oneself -whether that theme could be by any one of them. Obviously it could not -be the work of anyone else except Tchakovsky. On hearing that theme for -the first time the listener pricks up his ears. "Here is a man with -something to say," he thinks. Now there is nothing of that kind in No. -5. The thematic material has been obtained in an easy-going -manner--mostly by borrowing. And the superiority of the great No. 6 is -just as remarkable in the richness and spontaneity of development as in -originality of thematic invention. In other respects the case against -Mr. Jacques's view is much stronger. There is not the ghost of an -indication in No. 5 of the power which produced that overwhelming -battle-picture in the first movement of the "Pathetic," or of the -completely new kind of eloquence introduced into the world of music in -the third movement--the Scherzo-March--of the "Pathetic," or of the -unparalleled poignancy of expression in the Finale. The fifth is a fine -picturesque work, chiefly interesting for the glimpse that it gives us -of those exercises by which the genius destined to produce No. 6 -strengthened itself. We hear many of the same orchestral effects, such -as the frequent use of divided lower strings and the prominence of -bassoon parts. The figuration in the Valse, and again in the Finale, -also affords a faint premonition of the marvels that enthral us in the -latter work. But, before any comparison of the two is really possible at -all, one must knock off the last movement of the "Pathetic" and take it -as ending with the March, as the composer originally intended it to end. - - -[Sidenote: ="Pathetic" Symphony.= - -_November 22, 1901._] - -"Eighth time at these concerts," says last night's programme, in -reference to the great Tchakovsky Symphony, which is only eight years -old. The performances in London are to be numbered by dozens, and -whenever genuine orchestral concerts are given in this country the -swan-song of the late Russian master has probably been heard more often -than any other symphonic work. Let us not be in too great a hurry to -protest against this state of things. The enormous audience of yesterday -evening--much the largest of the present season so far--suggests that -the public have not lost interest in the Symphony. Nor do we dissent -from the views of the public in this respect. There is astounding -potency in the charm of the work and in the appeal that it makes to the -imagination. For some time past we have been preoccupied with the notion -that it forms a sort of pendant to Dvork's "New World" Symphony. -Dvork has caught in his music the breezy, hopeful, democratic, -optimistic, and free-thinking spirit of American life, with its upper -side of furious go-ahead civilisation, and its under side of primitive -humanity (Negroes and Red Indians) in which energy of feeling is out of -all proportion to intellectual faculty. Dvork's slow movement is -undoubtedly a hymn of such primitive humanity, with an undercurrent of -meditation on the prairie by night, in which the movements of sap and -the germination of seeds within the bosom of inexhaustibly fertile -nature become, as it were, audible. It is something like the poetry that -Walt Whitman would have written had he been a much better poet. In an -analogous manner Tchakovsky has caught up and fixed in his "Symphonie -Pathtique" the soul of modern Russia. Just as the American Symphony is -breezy, democratic, optimistic, and free-thinking, so the Russian is -languorous and oppressed, aristocratic, pessimistic, and hierarchic. The -absence of any slow movement, except the dirge at the end, is intensely -characteristic. The composer has no hymn of thanksgiving or serenely -contemplative interlude to give us, but only something with the perfumed -and artificial atmosphere of the ballroom, as a relief from the ardours -and terrors of his military and patriotic passages. Both in his first -and third movements he reminds us that the Russian, for all his profound -religiosity and mysticism, for all his abundance of talent and exquisite -courtesy under normal conditions, lives in a cruel country and has it in -him to be more cruel than any other modern white man. The dirge at the -end we believe to be the most powerful expression of tragic emotion that -exists in the entire range of music. Such a work will bear a good many -performances, especially in a place where there is a Richter to -interpret it. Of course neither the "New World" nor the Muscovite -Symphony is for a moment to be compared with Beethoven. Fellows like -Dvork and Tchakovsky, belonging to the fringe of civilisation, have -something of the savage about them, whereas Beethoven inherited the -central European culture and expressed in music the emotions of a -completely civilised character. The part of the nineteenth century -subsequent to the death of Wagner will probably be remembered for the -_avnement_ of the semi-savage in music. But, be it remembered, music is -an art of expression, and all thoroughly and richly expressive music is -good music, no matter what the informing emotion or underlying idea. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -ELGAR. - - -[Sidenote: ="King Olaf."= - -_December 2, 1898._] - -Mr. Edward Elgar seems to owe his fame almost entirely to those autumn -festivals which are so important a feature of musical life in this -country. An organist, with a turn for serious composition, occupying a -post in some city where one of those festivals is periodically held, is -favourably placed with a view to getting a hearing for the productions -of his musical genius; and Mr. Elgar was, and so far as we know is -still, organist at St. George's Roman Catholic Church in Worcester. His -career as a festival composer dates from 1890, in which year his -overture "Froissart" was produced at the Worcester Festival. Three years -later a choral work--"The Black Knight"--was brought to a hearing in the -same city, apparently with advantageous results to Mr. Elgar's -reputation, for since that time he has devoted much of his energy to -composition. The cantata performed yesterday evening for the first time -in Manchester seems to have been the fourth of Mr. Elgar's important -choral works. When first performed at the Hanley Festival two years ago -it attracted much attention, and was hailed by many writers for the -press as a work for the Leeds Festival--generally considered the most -important event of the kind in the country. The work composed for Leeds -and produced there last October was called "Caractacus." It is in -general style similar to "King Olaf," while naturally representing a -later stage in the composer's development. In both works one notes the -same dramatic instinct, the same unconventional treatment, the same -faculty of genuine thematic invention, and the same unmistakeable gift -for orchestration. As this composer gains in experience it does not -seem, as with many others, that his inventive powers become exhausted, -but that, on the contrary, they ripen and develop. "Caractacus" is -obviously a finer work in every way than "King Olaf." Now, all these -facts make Mr. Elgar a very interesting person. The qualities enumerated -above--gift for thematic invention, ingenious and telling orchestration, -unconventional treatment, and so forth--are extremely rare and valuable. -It is quite possible for a composer to have a long and successful career -without possessing any one of them, and it is therefore very natural -that a composer who does possess them should be hailed with enthusiasm. -But, unfortunately, they are not the only qualities necessary to a -composer of extended choral works, and Mr. Elgar, who rises so far above -mere feeble conventionalities in his actual music, is not free from the -common but most mischievous delusion that almost anything will suffice -by way of "verses for music." He throws away the resources of his -remarkable art upon a text that is in places unfit for any kind of -musical treatment, and is, on the whole, hopelessly rambling, -incoherent, and tiresome. One becomes interested in a dramatic episode -where a bride seems on the point of murdering her bridegroom with a -dagger that gleams in the moonlight. But the narrative wanders away to -other subjects; a fresh heroine, with quite different affairs and -interests, occupies attention, and one hears nothing more of the lady -with the dagger. No doubt, the title "Scenes from" the Saga of King Olaf -seems to justify such procedure, but it does not prevent the interest -from flagging or the general impression left by the work from being -fragmentary and incoherent. The best of the music is at the beginning, -where there is an extremely fine chorus, "The Challenge of Thor," -containing various musical elements all truly expressive and fraught -with the same primitive and racy vigour. The more important of the -elements in question are the Hammer music, the Iceberg music, the -Thunder and Lightning music, and the strains which carry the defiance of -Christianity by the old Norse religion. The most effective, too, of the -solos is the long tenor recitative following the great chorus. At the -words "listening to the wild winds wailing" a highly original and -interesting strain begins to be heard in the accompaniment. But the -promise of these fine things is not well carried out in the latter part -of the work. Everywhere the difficulties are very formidable, and in a -good many cases they were too much for the chorus, who, except in "The -Challenge of Thor," did not sing in a very free or expressive manner. -Nor did they always take their leads with precision; but, in a complex -work abounding in accompaniment figures with such puzzling -cross-rhythms, these defects were excusable. The cantata did not seem to -make any great impression on the audience; but we should expect to find, -if ever Mr. Elgar were so fortunate as to obtain a really good subject -and a good book, and especially a subject and book thoroughly adapted to -his remarkable dramatic powers, that he would produce something of -lasting value. - - -[Sidenote: =The "Enigma Variations."= - -_February 9, 1900._] - -The style of composition called "Variations" is a striking example of a -primitive form that has proved imperishable. Sir Hubert Parry has -pointed out that the fundamental idea of variations in instrumental -music is co-ordinate with the _canto fermo_ and counterpoint of the -early choral composers. Each system resulted from an attempt at giving -form and unity to a composition by repeating a theme over and over -again, each time in some new aspect, or with fresh ornamentation; though -the effect obtained by winding ingenious counterpoint for other voices -about an unchanging _canto fermo_ is, of course, very different from the -tricking out of the melody itself. In choral music the _canto fermo_ -system almost died out when maturer principles of structure were -discovered; but variation-form has never fallen into disuse at any -period since its invention. It has been used by all the great masters, -and by many of them as a vehicle for great and splendid ideas. General -progress from the mechanical to the imaginative marks the successive -stages through which the form has passed. One great reason for its -vitality is that it admits of treatment in every possible style. -Variations may be melodic, or contrapuntal, or harmonic. A superficial -composer can make them by simply worrying his theme, a profound composer -by developing the musical ideas that are in it. Bach's were mainly -contrapuntal, Mozart's mainly melodic--one may even say melismatic--and -Beethoven made variations of every kind, in his later works obtaining -results of undreamed-of grandeur from the form. But the later Beethoven -has never really been followed by any mortal in the austere and -wonderful path that he struck out for himself, though Brahms and others -have obtained a few hints from him. The originator of modern romantic -variations was Schumann, whose "Etudes Symphoniques" revealed a fresh -source of life in the form, that has proved less austerely inaccessible -than Beethoven's; Brahms, Tchakovsky, and many others having obviously -derived inspiration from it. Mr. Elgar stands in a peculiar relation to -the modern masters of variation-form. He seems to be much preoccupied -with the curious idea of musical portraiture, which, again, owes its -existence to Schumann. The miniature of Chopin occurring in Schumann's -"Carnaval" was the first, and perhaps remains to this day the best, -example in its kind, and the sketch of Mendelssohn forming No. 24 of the -same composer's "Album for the Young" is also a recognisable piece of -musical portraiture. Mr. Elgar has carried out the idea in an extended -scale in these variations. His theme, which he calls "enigma," has no -eccentricity. It is a rather march-like strain in regular form, having -three sections, the last of which is a repetition of the first, with -fresh harmony and instrumentation. There are nominally fourteen -variations;--including the finale, actually thirteen, for No. 10, -described as intermezzo, is not a variation. Each of the variations, and -the intermezzo, bears initials, or a nickname, which are commonly -assumed to represent the composer's friends. Why any such thing should -be assumed we do not know. It is both possible and allowable to portray -persons who are not one's friends, and some of Mr. Elgar's portraits -seem to us extremely severe and satirical. One of the early numbers, in -particular, gives a vivid impression of a very unsympathetic -personality, garrulous, querulous, trivial, meanly egotistic, and rather -ape-like. The composer does well to let the identity of the original -remain shrouded in mystery. The variations are grouped according to the -usual principles of contrast, and they are all extremely effective. -However much the composer may call his theme an enigma--Berlioz called -his variation-theme in an early symphony _ide fixe_--one can scarcely -escape the impression that it represents the temperament of the artist, -through which he sees his subjects; for that, and nothing else, is what -forms the connecting link between any series of portraits by the same -hand. Wonderful ingenuity is shown in varying the relation in which the -theme stands to the musical picture. During the first part of the work, -down to the end of the sixth variation, the attitude of the audience -seemed rather reserved. But a change began to be noticeable at the -seventh variation, called "Troyte," an impetuous presto movement that -shows a hitherto unsuspected kind of energy. Nor did the attention flag -at all during the noble and serene harmonies of the ensuing Allegretto. -The richly-organised "Nimrod," forming No. 9, leads to the dainty and -tripping "Dorabella" Intermezzo, which has no connection with the theme. -The eleventh variation, headed "G. R. S.," is another demonstration of -abundant vigour, and the following "B. G. N." has for leading feature a -fine lyrical melody for 'cello. No. 13 obviously has reference to -someone on a sea voyage, the "prosperous voyage" theme from -Mendelssohn's "Meeresstille" overture being heard amid delicate -suggestions of distant sea sound. In the very extended finale there is -some powerful polyphonic writing, and the movement ends with a -repetition of the theme in augmentation, forcibly declaimed by the heavy -brass to the accompaniment of the full orchestra. The audience seemed -rather astonished that a work by a British composer should have had -other than a petrifying effect upon them. They applauded with the energy -that the composer's imaginative power and masterly handling of the -orchestra deserve. Dr. Richter signalled to Mr. Elgar, who was seated -among the audience, and he thereupon mounted the stage and received an -enthusiastic greeting from the public. The striking success of this -composition reminds us of the following passage occurring at the end of -an article by Sir Hubert Parry written some years ago:--"It is even -possible that, after all its long history, the variation still affords -one of the most favourable opportunities for the exercise of their -genius by composers of the future." - - -[Sidenote: ="Cockaigne."= - -_October 25, 1901._] - -Dr. Elgar's more recent compositions seem to require nearly as much -talking about as Wagner's. But, be it observed, that is not the -composer's fault, but is the result of the primitive stage at which not -only the bulk of our musical public but many of our "leading musicians" -still find themselves, as regards understanding the poetic import of a -musical work. On two occasions in recent years a work full of slaughter -and frenzy, of barbarous revelry and sensuality, of glittering and -blaring pageantry, and ending with annihilation--a work the powerful -appeal of which lies precisely in the fact that it is the most powerful -existing expression in music of everything most un-Christian and -anti-Catholic--has been performed without public protest in a British -Cathedral. We here refer, of course, to the "Symphonie Pathtique." Dr. -Elgar is another composer whose music means something; but what chance -is there for us to understand him? One quails before the task of -discussing in a concert notice all the questions to which such a work as -the "Cockaigne" overture gives rise. First let us state, without -stopping to give reasons, that we think it worth hearing and worth -studying. If any previously existing overture is to be mentioned in -order to indicate the type to which "Cockaigne" belongs, it must -obviously be "Meistersinger." The humorous element is somewhat more -prominent than in "Meistersinger," and the general tone and colouring of -the two works are utterly dissimilar. But that the composer of -"Cockaigne" had "Meistersinger" in mind is rendered practically certain -by one particular point--the use of a Londoner theme and of the same -theme in diminution for the youthful Londoner, in exact analogy with -Wagner's symbols for the Meistersingers and the apprentices. Again the -opening bustle, giving way to a love-scene, suggests "Meistersinger," -and so does the polyphonic elaboration of the middle part. But there is -a great difference between following Wagner's procedure and borrowing -his musical ideas. To some slight extent in the E flat section, and more -particularly in the harmony thereof, we find the Wagner flavour. For the -rest, while the procedure seems at any rate to be based on Wagner's, we -find the materials used and the character of the artistic result -achieved to be entirely different from Wagner's. There are seven musical -elements in "Cockaigne," the significance of which may be roughly -indicated as follows:--(1) Bustle of the streets; (2) a virile personal -note; (3) companionship and interchange of ideas between two -sweethearts; (4) pert children playing their pranks; (5) military band -episode; (6) impressions on passing from the street into a church; (7) -new phases of street-bustle music. Musical symbols of very considerable -plastic force are invented for these things, and are woven into a -powerful and entertaining tone-picture with that mastery of the -orchestra which no one can now refuse to recognise in Dr. Elgar. He -always works with definite lines, and does not seem to care much for -those atmospheric effects in which certain moderns, such as Richard -Strauss, are so strong. The music has a far wider range of ideas and -emotions than would be possible in a poem occupying the same time in -delivery. It gives us impressions of London by day and by night, -impressions that are partly realistic and partly antiquarian, following -the flight of the imagination with absolute freedom, forming a sort of -musical parallel to Henley's "London Voluntaries." - - And lo! the wizard hour - Whose shining silent sorcery hath such power! - Still, still the streets, between their carcanets - Of linking gold, are avenues of sleep. - But see how gable ends and parapets - In gradual beauty and significance - Emerge! And did you hear - That little twitter-and-cheep, - Breaking inordinately loud and clear - On this still spectral exquisite atmosphere? - 'Tis a first nest at matins! And behold - A rakehell cat--how furtive and acold! - A spent witch homing from some infamous dance-- - Obscene, quick-trotting, see her tip and fade - Through shadowy railings into a pit of shade! - -And if this is effective, does not a certain sonnet of Wordsworth's -exist to prove that an aspect of London may furnish a magnificent poetic -inspiration? It should be remembered that there is originality in -emotion as well as in ideas and in devices; and this is where we find -Dr. Elgar strong--perhaps stronger than any other British composer. -Besides the technical ability to express himself in music, he has -originality of emotion. He takes us into regions where music never took -us before. As to his use of Wagner's procedure, that was also -Beethoven's procedure in some of his finest works. In fact, it is the -procedure of everyone for whom music is a language, such as it has -tended more and more to become ever since Beethoven's time. The history -of music in the nineteenth century is the history of something growing -constantly more articulate. - -No doubt some persons would like to ask--Should we have known all this, -or any of it, about the significance of the "Cockaigne" music had there -been no programmes? The answer is, Probably not. But the beauty of an -artistic design illustrating a certain subject may often be perceived -when one cannot make out what the subject is. In such a case the subject -is not "all nonsense." It is the stimulating cause of the beautiful -design, and it is very natural for those who find the design beautiful -to like to know what it is all about. It is a mistake to think that a -definite play of the imagination has nothing to do with musical -composition. It has very much to do with it. The kind of music with no -underlying play of fancy is only too familiar. - -The name "Cockaigne" occurs in some form in old English, French, -Italian, and Spanish literature, meaning "the land of delights." The -fancied connection with "Cockney" is of much later date. Henry S. -Leigh's "Carols of Cockayne" (1869) shows the recognition of the word in -the sense of "Cockneydom." There is said to be a connection between -"Cockney" and the French "coquin," and if that is so the appropriation -of "Cockaigne" as correlative of "Cockney" is justified by community of -origin, all these words being derived from the stem of _coquere_ (to -cook). No doubt "coquin" originally meant "cook's boy" or "loafer in a -cook-shop," and "Cockney" at first meant something of the same sort. At -the same time there hangs about the word "Cockaigne" a certain -proverbial suggestiveness, derived from the time when it was used in the -sense of "land of delights," the etymology being forgotten. It thus has -a peculiar appropriateness as the title of Dr. Elgar's genial and -largely humoristic tone-picture. - - -[Sidenote: ="The Dream of Gerontius," Birmingham Festival.= - -_October 3, 1900_] - -"The Dream of Gerontius," Cardinal Newman called his poem, with -exquisite modesty. How that poem may stand in the estimation of those -who share Cardinal Newman's point of view in regard to religious matters -is perhaps an important question, but not one with which musical, or any -artistic, criticism is concerned. For nothing is more certain about art -than that it is subservient to a person's view of life. Artistic or -sthetic criticism must be humble, and must abstain from trespassing on -the ground of faith and morals. Indirectly, indeed, sthetics may have a -bearing on these more serious subjects. For is it not written of -religious doctrines, "By their fruits ye shall know them"?--and nothing -else is in so complete a sense a "fruit" of a religion as a work of art -arising therefrom. Nevertheless, the function of sthetics is not to -commend or blame a view of life, but rather to enquire with what -eloquence, with what sincerity, with what measure of convincing power -the artist expounds his ideas and communicates his feelings, whatever -those ideas and feelings may be. With these reflections I find it -necessary to premise my notes on Edward Elgar's new work. The -reflections are rather solemn, but the new work is very solemn. It is -deeply and intensely religious; it is totally unconventional, and must -be discussed in an unconventional manner. First, then, let me state a -point of difference from all that I have experienced in listening to -other oratorios and sacred cantatas, and, I may say, all other musical -works with words made by one person and music by another. The point is -that _this_ music, on the whole, is apt to bring home to the listener -the greatness of the poem. The composer has not merely chosen from the -poem such material as suited him. He has expounded the poem musically, -and to the task of expounding it he has brought what may be described -without inflation as the resources of modern music. We shall doubtless -hear of plagiarism from "Parsifal," and there is indeed much in the work -that could not have been there but for "Parsifal." But it is not -allowable for a modern composer of religious music to be ignorant of -"Parsifal." One might as well write for orchestra in ignorance of the -Berlioz orchestration as write any serious music in ignorance of the -Wagnerian symbolism. Edward Elgar does nothing so affected as to ignore -the development which, for good or for evil, the language of music -underwent at the hands of Wagner. His orchestral prelude, however, -reverts to an earlier Wagnerian type. It gives a forecast of the whole -story in such wise that at the end of it the imagination has to be -carried back. We have the last agony of the sick man, his death, and -passage to the unseen. The symbols, though employed in the Wagnerian -manner, are, nevertheless, thoroughly original, taking us into an -atmosphere and a world absolutely remote from all that is Wagnerian. -When the voice of Gerontius (assigned to a tenor solo) enters we are -carried back to the death-bed--to the prayers of Gerontius and his -companions. A series of choruses with intervening and accompanying -passages for the solo voice is devoted to the King of Terrors. Here the -music touches the various notes in the gamut of feeling, from the agony -of terrors to serene confidence. After the parting of Gerontius, with -the words "Novissima hora est," a new voice enters, that of the Priest -(baritone), chanting "Proficiscere, anima Christiana." Among the -supplications for the departed is a chant three times repeated, each of -the two parts ending with a choral "Amen" that bears a tender echo of -the medival "Cantus fictus." An extended section of chorus and -semi-chorus bring the first part of the cantata to a peaceful and -prayerful ending. - -In the second part the soul of Gerontius is winging its way towards the -celestial regions, holding colloquy with an angel. There is a Dantesque -passage in which a chorus of demons is overheard by the pair--the soul -and the angel. Gerontius is encouraged by the angel. Echoes of earthly -voices, praying for the departed soul, are borne up from the earth, and -in the end the soul of Gerontius is affectionately delivered over to -Purgatory by the angel, there to wait suffering indeed, but in -resignation and in the assurance of salvation. - -Naturally the prevalent poetic note in such a work is the mystical -exaltation, now of the contrite sinner, now of the aspiring saint. The -chief climax is reached, not at the end, but in the hymn of the Angels, -"Praise to the Holiest in the Height," recurring before the departure to -Purgatory. But the whole work sings "Praise to the Holiest in the Height -_and in the Depth_." A powerfully contrasting note is heard in the -death-agony of Gerontius and, above all, in the chorus of demons -occurring in the second part. Here a comparison with Berlioz is simply -inevitable--for Edward Elgar's dramatic power admits of comparison with -the great masters. His demons are much more terrible than those of -Berlioz, who was a materialist in the profound sense--not, that is, in -virtue of more or less shifting beliefs, but of unalterable temperament. -Infinitely remote from that of Berlioz is the temperament revealed in -Edward Elgar's music, which, like parts of the poem, fairly merits the -epithet "Dantesque." - - -[Sidenote: ="Gerontius," - -Lower Rhine Festival, - -Dsseldorf.= - -_May 22, 1902._] - -"Ever since the far-off times of the great madrigal composers England -has played but a modest part in the concert of the great musical powers. -For the products of the musical mind it has depended almost entirely on -importation, and has exported nothing but works of a lighter order." -Such are the words with which the German author of the "Gerontius" -programme, specially written for this Festival, introduces his subject. -The economic metaphor is ingenious. It does not imply too much or -justify the state of things to which it refers. Rightly or wrongly, -Germany and the Continent of Europe in general did not feel that serious -English music was a thing to be taken seriously, and to that fact the -writer refers with ingenious delicacy, going on to say that about the -turn of the century a change began to be noticeable. Everyone conversant -with musical affairs knows how that change was brought about, though not -everyone on our own side of the Channel cares to admit what he knows. It -is in the main to Edward Elgar--a man who has done his best work living -quietly in the Malvern hills, without official position of any kind, -remote from social distraction and the strife of commercialism--that the -change is due. The presentation of so lengthy a work as the "Dream of -Gerontius" at a Rhine Festival has a kind of significance that the -English musical public would do well to consider. The programme is much -more carefully selected than at our own festivals, the idea being not at -all that it should contain "something for all tastes," but that it -should be characteristic of musical art as it now stands, giving only -the most typically excellent of newer compositions, and of older -compositions only those upon which it is felt that contemporary genius -had been more particularly nourished. It is not accidental that on the -present occasion the names of Handel, Mendelssohn, Schumann are absent -while Bach is very abundantly represented; Beethoven's name figures in -connection with the most modern in feeling of all his works (the C minor -Symphony), and Liszt's with his revolutionary "Faust" Symphony. Nor is -it accidental that the preference is given to Strauss among German and -Elgar among English composers. For those are the men who really carry -the torch, and the Germans are not to be deceived in such matters. - -The performance of "Gerontius" yesterday evening had a good many -features of special interest. Full justice was done to the instrumental -part of the work by the magnificent Festival orchestra of a hundred and -twenty-seven performers. Those peculiar qualities of the imagination -which make of Dr. Wllner, jun., by far the best representative of -Gerontius as yet found were once more demonstrated, and the part of the -Angel was given by Miss Muriel Foster with the wonderfully beautiful and -genuine voice that has long been recognised as her most remarkable gift, -and with considerably greater and more expressive eloquence than any -previous experience might have led one to expect from her. In the bass -parts of the Priest and the Angel of Death Professor Messchaert sang -with wonderful dramatic power, and the semi-chorus, seated in a line -before the orchestra, acquitted themselves almost to perfection in the -delicate task that they have to perform throughout the death-bed scene. -I have already expressed the view that the final section of the first -part, beginning with the Priest's "proficiscere, anima Christiana," is -the point at which one first becomes conscious of actual genius in the -composition; but now, after further study and another complete hearing -of the work, I am not quite satisfied with that statement. Perhaps at -that point a good many listeners first become clearly conscious of the -composer's genius. But on looking back at the extraordinary eloquence -and beauty of the musical symbolism in the prelude and death-agony of -Gerontius, one perceives that the _quietus_ which comes to the spirit in -the scene following Gerontius's death is merely a climax in a process -that really begins with the first notes. The heavenly calm at the -opening of the second part I realised yesterday more thoroughly than -ever before. Splendid as the treatment of the hymn "Praise to the -Holiest in the Height" is, the final section is not so completely -adequate as the rest. The truth is that the composer there found himself -in presence of a task hopelessly beyond the powers of any mortal except -Bach. In the "Sanctus" heard on Sunday evening the shining circles of -the heavenly choir are, as it were, made audible to the ears of mortals. -Bach could only do it once, and no other composer could do it at all. -Elgar gives a beautiful and grandly conceived hymn of the Church -Triumphant, and with that we may well rest satisfied. He is in the main -a dramatic composer, and, in those cases where he enters the domain of -purely religious music, he gravitates back rather to Palestrina, with -his "souls like thin flames mounting up to God," than to the greater and -serener spirit of Bach. - - -[Sidenote: ="Gerontius," - -Preliminary Article.= - -_March 12, 1903._] - -In subject, though not in treatment, this oratorio--the first -performance of which in Manchester will be given this evening--is -closely akin to the morality play "Everyman." Gerontius is not a -historical character, but a typical person, belonging to no particular -age or country. He is further like Everyman in being a layman, who has -lived in the world, as distinguished from the Church, and in being just -a plain, well-meaning man, without very great or shining qualities. The -poem on which the oratorio is founded begins, at a later stage than -"Everyman," with the death-bed scene, and does not end with the death of -Gerontius's mortal part, but peers wistfully into the world beyond, and -"under the similitude of a dream," tells much of what holy men have -imagined about the experiences of Christian souls going to their account -under the guidance of angels. - -In the oratorio the utterances of Gerontius are assigned to a tenor -soloist, who in the first part has to deliver the broken phrases of the -sick man "near to death," and in the second the delicately restrained -raptures of the soul that "feels in him an inexpressive lightness and a -sense of freedom," as he gradually becomes conscious of the angelic -presence that is bearing him along towards the heavenly regions. The -only other soloist in the first part is the Priest (bass), who delivers -the solemn "Proficiscere, anima Christiana, de hoc mundo," as the soul -of Gerontius quits the body. In the second part the second and third -soloists represent, one the Guiding Angel (mezzo-soprano) and the other -the Angel of the Agony (bass), who, at the most solemn moment of the -oratorio, is recognised by the Soul as "the same who strengthened Him, -what time he knelt, lone in the garden shade bedewed with blood." The -semi-chorus in the first part is the group of "assistants," or friends -gathered about the dying man's bed. The function of the chorus in the -first part is not defined, but it may be taken as voicing the prayers -and aspirations of other faithful souls, aware of Gerontius's case and -sympathising with him. In the second part the chorus is now of -"angelicals," now of demons. The semi-chorus again represents the voices -of friends on earth, which at one point are imagined as again becoming -audible to the Soul, and also takes part in certain phases of the great -hymn "Praise to the Holiest in the Height," where the vocal harmony -falls into as many as twelve parts. - -Those who are to hear this music to-day for the first time should beware -of judging it by false standards. Let them be prepared for the fact that -from beginning to end there is not a particle of anything in the least -like Handel or Mendelssohn. Without the slightest intention of doing -anything revolutionary, but simply following the bent of his own genius, -the composer here brushes aside the conventions of oratorio very much as -Wagner brushed aside the conventions of opera, and justifies himself -just as thoroughly in so doing. To hear the "Gerontius" music is to -become acquainted with by far the most remarkable and original -personality that has arisen in musical Britain since the days of -Purcell. One might trace the manifestations of that originality in the -harmony, that always shows a touch both sensitive and sure, in the -orchestration and interplay of chorus and semi-chorus, in the amazing -sweetness and depth of feeling that sounds in the Angel (mezzo-soprano -solo) music, in the force and truth of musical expression which, for the -most part, extends even to elements of minor importance in the work. But -for the present these broad indications must suffice, and we will only -add the warning that the music is powerful, subtle, and of manifold -significance, not to be judged in too great a hurry, and yielding up the -best of its secrets only to those who listen repeatedly and study -between. - - -[Sidenote: ="Gerontius," - -Hall Concerts.= - -_March 13, 1903._] - -Originality is disadvantageous to a composer at first in two ways. The -more obvious is that listeners find the music speaking to them in an -unknown or partially unknown tongue, and are displeased; and the less -obvious, that players and singers cannot, as a rule, do justice to an -unfamiliar style. When it is a case of winning recognition for something -new and original a thoroughly adequate rendering is half the battle. -Such a rendering carries with it a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction -in the performers, and there is always a chance that this may to some -extent communicate itself to the public; whereas in the other case the -embarrassment of the performers will certainly communicate itself, and -the audience attribute everything unsatisfactory to the unknown or -insufficiently guaranteed composer. In Elgar's "Gerontius" the -originality is strong and unmistakeable, and the performers find their -technical skill severely taxed. But fortunately the composer has a clear -head; he knows the technique of each instrument and he never -miscalculates. Performers therefore find their task, though often -difficult, is always possible and, further, that the result is always -satisfactory. For Elgar has an ear; he is a man of tone, and does not -care for music that looks well on paper but sounds rather muddy. These -points, known to those who for some time past have taken a close -interest in Elgar's work, made it possible to hope that the Manchester -performance of his great oratorio would be a striking success, and -perhaps even throw a new light on the merits of the composition; and it -can scarcely be questioned that the experience of yesterday evening -fulfilled those hopes. It was doubtless the most carefully prepared of -the performances that have been given thus far in this country. Dr. -Richter was, for various reasons, peculiarly anxious that it should go -well; Mr. Wilson made up his mind some time ago that whatever -conscientious work could do to secure a worthy performance should be -done; the hopes and endeavours of choir-master and conductor were -seconded by the choir in an admirable spirit; and, though it seems that -for some time the usual difficulties of an unfamiliar style were felt, -not a trace of any such thing was to be observed in the performance, the -remarkably willing and energetic style in which the choral singers had -grappled with their task bearing its proper fruit in a rendering that -sounded spontaneous and unembarrassed, as though the singers were sure -of the notes and could give nearly all their attention to phrasing, -expression, and dynamic adjustments. In the highest degree remarkable, -too, was the orchestral performance. Passages of such peculiar -difficulty as the rushing string figures, that represent the strains of -heavenly music overheard by the Soul and the Angel as they approach the -judgment-seat, came out with much greater distinctness than we have -ever heard before, and we had a similar impression at many other points -in the performance, which was as delicate as it was precise in detail -and broad in style. But experience of all the complete performances yet -given induces us to think that the difference between thorough success -and ordinary half-success with this oratorio depends more on the -semi-chorus than on any other point, and this is where the pre-eminence -of last night's rendering, among all yet given in this country, is most -unquestionable. Though not placed in front of the orchestra--as they -should have been and, we hope, will be next time,--this group of twenty -picked singers was really excellent. The voices blended well, and their -combined tone was clearly distinguishable from the larger choir's. At -the notoriously dangerous points, such as the re-entry with the "Kyrie" -after the invocation of "angels, martyrs, hermits, and holy virgins," -there was no hint of embarrassment, and they played their part as a -slightly more delicate choral unit with absolute success in the litany -and throughout the marvellous concluding chorus of the first part, -where, as the original analysis suggested, the noble pedal-point -harmonies symbolise the swinging of golden censers, as the supplications -of the friends and of the church rise up to the throne of God. Among the -astonishingly new kinds of musical eloquence obtained in this work by -the interplay of chorus and semi-chorus it is worth drawing special -attention to the tenor and alto unison in the semi-chorus on p. 108 (we -quote from the second edition). The passage is not difficult, but to -realise the particular effect of tone as well as it was realised -yesterday shows exquisite adjustment. - -As principal soloist Mr. John Coates had an enormously difficult task, -which he performed about as well as was possible with the vocal material -that has been assigned to him by nature. All that thorough knowledge of -the part, together with high artistic intelligence, could do was done. -His voice did not break on the high B flat (p. 33), and he seemed to be -well disposed, notwithstanding his recent illness. Though it is usually -said that Elgar writes better for orchestra than for choir, and better -for choir than for the solo voice, he was very finely inspired when he -conceived the part of the mezzo-soprano Angel. The opening arioso, "My -work is done," is a most lovely song, to which the haunting "Alleluia" -phrase forms a kind of refrain. But even this--one of the very few -detachable things in the oratorio--is not the best of the Angel's music. -It is surpassed by the other song, "Softly and gently, dearly ransomed -Soul," where the dropping of the Soul down into the waters of Purgatory -is accompanied by music of quite unearthly sweetness and tenderness. -These are things which make it seem almost a shame to discuss this work -in any purely technical aspect. Miss Brema made the Angel's part one of -the few entirely satisfactory features of the first performance, and -again yesterday her nobly expressive style did full justice to the -marvellous beauty of the music. Mr. Black was vocally irreproachable in -the part of the Priest who speeds the parting soul of Gerontius, and -again as the Angel of the Agony in the second part. - -In reference to a musical composition the word "dramatic" has sometimes -to be used in a sense different from "theatrical." Thus the two great -Passions by Bach--the "St. Matthew" and the "St. John"--both have a -dramatic element so strong that at certain points the music becomes -altogether dramatic. Yet no sane person ever called it theatrical, in -the sense of unfit for a church. By "dramatic" in such cases one means -two things--(1) having thematic material that is conceived with a -certain vividness, in reference to a particular situation or mood of -feeling; (2) developed according to procedure that does not sacrifice -the vividness to formal or structural considerations. In this sense, -then, we call Elgar's "Gerontius" a dramatic composition from beginning -to end. To find fault with it for the absence of choral climax in the -manner of Handel and Mendelssohn is as much out of place as it would be -with Wagner's "Tannhuser." On the other hand, we do not agree with the -criticism that "Gerontius" is Wagnerian music. In two places there is a -brief and faint suggestion of "Parsifal," first in the _sostenuto_ theme -for _cor anglais_ and 'celli that enters in the fifty-second bar of the -Prelude and recurs in some form at several points in the course of the -work, and secondly in a recurrent phrase for strings at the entry of the -recitative assigned to the Angel of the Agony--and to some extent -throughout that recitative, which vaguely recalls "Parsifal." The other -elements we find to be unlike Wagner and unlike every other composer but -Elgar. These elements it is convenient to classify, not according to the -usual technical or formal principle, but according to a dramatic -principle. One notes, in the first place, four main categories--(1) the -purely human; (2) the ecclesiastical; (3) the angelic; (4) the demonic. -The Prelude opens with the symbols of Judgment and Prayer. Next the -"slumber" theme enters, to be joined at the fourteenth bar by the -"Miserere." The note of feeling contracts and sinks towards utter -abasement, which reaches the lowest point in the _cor anglais_ theme -with _tremolando_ accompaniment. But now the sick man's despair finds -expression in a loud cry, which is answered in the majestic and ringing -tones that remind him to face death hopefully. A quite new musical -element enters with the Andantino theme, developed at some length, and -informs the penultimate section of the noble tone-poem, which continues -till a brief _reprise_ of the slumber theme suggests the passing of the -soul. New phases of the Judgment theme connect the Prelude with the -opening recitative, and here the imagination has to be carried back, as -usual after the Prelude of a dramatic composition, which as a rule -epitomises a good part of the action. It is evident, then, that the -Prelude is concerned only with the first two of the categories above -enumerated--that is to say, with the purely human and the -ecclesiastical, and not at all with the angelic or demonic. Of the -angelic music the principal elements, in addition to those already -mentioned, are the various phases of the great hymn "Praise to the -Holiest in the Height." The extraordinary demon music would in itself -offer material for an essay. Here we can only touch on a few obvious -features--the upward rushing semiquaver figure in chromatic fourths, -which is grotesque and rat-like; the three-part figure for strings in -quavers which is first heard with the words "Tainting the hallowed -air," but belongs more particularly to "in a deep hideous purring have -their life"; the terrific fugato "dispossessed, thrust aside, chuck'd -down"; the sinister and ominous four-note theme "To every slave and -pious cheat"; the _motif_ of demonic pride, p. 83; and the sarcastic -prolongation of the last word in "He'll slave for hire." The long chorus -formed of these elements is a welter of infernal but most eloquent -sound, the enormous technical difficulties all of which were completely -mastered yesterday. - - -[Sidenote: ="The Apostles," - -Birmingham Festival.= - -_October 15, 1903._] - -To-day, when Elgar's new Oratorio "The Apostles" was first publicly -performed, was a sufficiently striking contrast with the corresponding -day in the Festival of three years ago that witnessed the production of -the same composer's "Gerontius." On that earlier occasion the interest -both of performers and public was languid. That Elgar's music was -difficult and harassing to perform was generally known, while the merit -of it was regarded as doubtful. The upholders of British musical -orthodoxy, with their faith in the saving virtues of eight-part -counterpoint, shook their heads, the choral singers found their work -disconcerting, and the public doubted whether the composer was anything -more than an eccentric. The three intervening years have placed Elgar's -reputation on a very different footing. Vague hostility towards the -unusual and the unknown has given way almost universally to the -recognition that he is one of the great originals in the musical world -of to-day; and he thus compels attention even in those who instinctively -dislike both his particular methods and the kind of general atmosphere -into which his religious art transports the listener. - -In "The Apostles" Elgar adheres completely to those principles which -were exemplified by "Gerontius" first among works of British origin. -That is to say, the music is continuous, as in Wagnerian musical drama. -There is no such thing in the work as a detachable musical -"number"--whether air, song, chorus, concerted piece, march, or anything -else. The composer has musical symbols corresponding to ideas, feelings, -moods, aspects of nature or personality, religious conceptions or -aspirations, animated scenes of popular life, phases of local and -national custom, exhortations of the angels, suggestions of the devil, -mystical rapture, rebellious despair; and he uses those symbols in the -manner of a language. There is no mechanical work, no carrying out of -architectural schemes with lifeless material. Everything in the score is -vivified by the idea. The composition heard to-day consists of the first -and second parts of the projected oratorio. In the first part there are -three scenes--"The Calling of the Apostles," "By the Wayside," and "By -the Sea of Galilee"; in the second part four scenes--"The Betrayal," -"Golgotha," "At the Sepulchre," and "The Ascension." After the prologue -and the narrator's opening recitative, the setting forth of the -Apostles' calling begins with the changing of the Temple watch at dawn, -the watchmen on the roof as they salute the rising sun being conceived -as the unconscious heralds of Christ's kingdom on earth. Here the -musical treatment is stamped with the utmost grandeur, and points of -amazingly vivid and picturesque detail are successively made, the -curious Oriental _Melismata_ of the watchman's cry, accompanied by the -_Shofar_ (Hebrew trumpet of ram's horn), giving way to the psalm within -the Temple, between the phrases of which is heard the brazen clangour of -the opening gates, while the air is flooded with the rushing music of -harps. For the psalm an old Hebrew melody is used. So rich in matter is -the text of the oratorio that I cannot attempt here even to give an -outline of it, but must refer readers to Canon Gorton's booklet "An -Interpretation of the Libretto" (Novello and Co.). There will be found -an account of the sources from which the composer took his text, and in -particular the justification for his view of Judas as a man who intended -not to betray his Master to destruction but to force His hand, to make -Him declare His power and establish His earthly kingdom forthwith--a -view for which there would seem to be patristic authority.[2] The -oratorio is not theological; it is a dramatisation of the Gospel story -that may be compared with Klopstock's "Messiah." After the introductory -sections, broadly expounding the scheme of Redemption as accepted by the -entire Christian world, but not enforcing any particular doctrine, all -the stress is laid on the individuality of the persons--the Apostles, -the Magdalene, and the Mother of Christ--and on the collective character -of the groups, such as the women who are scandalised at the -ministrations of the Magdalene and the mob which cries "Crucify Him!" -As an accompaniment of the drama we have the mystical chorus of angels -commenting on the progress of earthly affairs and giving utterance to -the sweet, passionless jubilation of sinless beings after the Ascension. -To those who are acquainted with "Gerontius" it is almost needless to -say that the composer is at his best in rendering the music of the -heavenly choir. His marvellous faculty of finding music that matches the -words inevitably, so that once heard the associations seem to have been -long known, is here repeatedly illustrated. Perhaps the most absolutely -perfect examples occur at the words "What are these wounds in Thine -hands?" and in the recurrent "Alleluia" phrase. - - [2] Compare De Quincey's famous essay on Judas Iscariot.--ED. - -Elgar's austerity is more strongly pronounced in "The Apostles" than in -"Gerontius," and so, too, is his audacity in using the special resources -of the modern dramatic orchestra to expound a religious theme. The old -pompous oratorio manner he has left an immeasurable distance behind him. -He sticks at nothing in his determination to cut down to the quick of -human nature, to reject all abstractions and conventions and illustrate -an idea or fact of religious experience in its relation to actual flesh -and blood. The sinister parts of the oratorio recall by their general -tone, atmosphere, and colouring the scene in Klopstock's "Messiah" in -which an avenging angel carries the soul of Judas up to Golgotha and -there shows him the results of his work. Mighty as the music is, it is -all strictly illustrative, and so the centre of gravity remains in the -text. - -Some time must elapse yet before anyone can offer a confident estimate -of "The Apostles" as a work of art. It will possibly be found to stand -to "Gerontius" in something like the relation of Beethoven's Ninth -Symphony to his Seventh, the later work being of greater depth and -significance but less perfectly finished. - - -[Sidenote: ="The Apostles," - -Preliminary Article.= - -_February 25, 1904._] - -Elgar's most recent oratorio, "The Apostles," which will be heard by the -Manchester public for the first time this evening, stands in much the -same relation to recent works in oratorio form by other composers as one -of the later musical dramas by Wagner holds to the kind of opera that -was in vogue when he began to write. According to current ideas, -justified by the practice of many well-known composers, an oratorio -comes into existence by some such process as the following. A composer -casts about for a subject, either being guided in his choice by -consideration of what is in some manner appropriate to the particular -occasion, or simply taking a story from the Bible that has not been used -before, or not too frequently before, for musical purposes. He then -either obtains the services of a librettist or himself arranges a -libretto setting forth the chosen story. In the drawing up of the -libretto the most important matter is the engineering of "opportunities" -for the composer--here an effective air for the principal personage, -there a chorus with scope for effective contrapuntal writing, everywhere -due regard for the well-varied interest which the public loves, and, at -the end of a part, provision for an effective Finale. But some -recognised kind of musical opportunity is always the chief matter. No -one cares much about the subject except in so far as it provides the -musical opportunity of an accepted kind. It is a case of chorus, air, -concerted piece, march, air for another sort of voice, and Finale, with -connecting recitatives as a necessary evil, and the whole thing standing -or falling according as the composer seizes the said opportunities and -turns them to account in the accepted manner, or neglects or fails to do -that. For so long a time has that kind of oratorio been regarded by the -general public as the only possible kind, that even now immense numbers -of persons discuss works like "Gerontius" and "The Apostles" on the old -lines. That a musician should have a mind, and a message to which notes -and chords are subservient, is an idea so new as to be disquieting, if -not at once dismissed as absurd. People are so much accustomed to say -that they never did care about the subject of a musical work; that no -sensible person does; that if the music is pretty the work is good; and -there is an end of the matter. Yet now comes a composer and makes the -subject the chief thing, writing music that gives no one the slightest -encouragement to take interest in it apart from the subject--in short, -displaying the most complete indifference to everything that used to be -expected of a composer, and giving us all to understand that, in a -religious work, if the music does not in some clear manner contribute to -the exposition of the subject, it is not justified at all. In this -respect "Gerontius" and "The Apostles" are alike. People can take them -or leave them, but they cannot make them out to be pretty music, such as -one can enjoy without "bothering about" the subject. For Elgar so orders -that we have to enjoy with the head and the heart or not at all. He will -not allow us to enjoy simply with the nerves or by recognising approved -kinds of musical rhetoric. - -Whatever Elgar may do in the future, he can never approach a more -weighty subject than is expounded in the two parts of "The Apostles," -which make up the oratorio in its present form. This deals with the -calling of the Apostles and with some of the most important incidents in -the life of the Redeemer during His ministry. Everyone intending to hear -the work should read the short and clear account given in Canon Gorton's -"Interpretation of the Text." The writer is remarkably successful in -bringing out the profound consistency and psychological insight which -distinguish this oratorio text so very sharply from most others. -Attention may be drawn specially to the characterisation of the three -Apostles, John, Peter, and Judas, expounded mainly on pages 13 and 15. -Canon Gorton also shows us the sources from which some of the most -fruitful ideas and telling symbols of the oratorio have been derived. -The music exemplifies a further development along the lines indicated by -"Gerontius." In the resources which he calls into play the composer is a -thorough-going modern. His orchestra is of great size, and he does not -scorn the specially modern instruments or the modern tendency to group -and subdivide in an elaborate and subtle fashion. In the quality of his -absolute musical invention he shows himself to be neither a classic nor -a romantic, but a psychological musician. His thematic web is the exact -analogue of the emotional and imaginative play to which the exposition -of the story gives rise from point to point, and it thus partakes of the -nature of language. The composer cares nothing for accepted views as to -what is in accordance with the proper dignity of oratorio; but, trusting -to his conception as a whole to ennoble every part, he allows himself to -be here and there extremely realistic, very much as the great religious -painters have done. He works on a great scale; in the handling of -musical symbols he is not dismayed by tasks that might well be -considered impossible, and he thus reminds one of the compliment which -Erasmus paid to Albrecht Drer--"There is nothing that he cannot express -with his black and white--thunder and lightning, a gust of wind, God -Almighty and the heavenly host." - - -[Sidenote: ="The Apostles," - -Hall Concerts.= - -_February 26, 1904._] - -A faultless rendering of "The Apostles" is not to be expected. The same -thing has been said of "Gerontius," and the score of the later work yet -more obviously transcends the powers of the best endowed and disciplined -musical forces to render it in a manner which "leaves nothing to be -desired." All hope of reaching the end of their task with a feeling of -complacency must be abandoned by the choir, orchestra, soloists, and -conductor who undertake to perform "The Apostles," which, in point of -technical difficulty, is a "Symphonie Fantastique" and Mass in D -combined. Still, in a relative sense, a rendering may be -satisfactory--in the sense that it has the root of the matter in it, not -that it is faultless in every detail,--and in that sense we should call -the rendering of yesterday highly satisfactory. The general intonation -of the choir was better than on any previous occasion, all the delicate -fluting rapture of the celestial choruses at the end sounding -wonderfully sweet and showing not the least trace of fatigue. The -orchestral playing was more subtle than at Birmingham, and it seemed to -afford a better justification of the composer's extraordinary colour -schemes. It would be hard to suggest a better representation for any of -the solo parts. As at Birmingham, Mr. Ffrangcon Davies gave the words of -the Redeemer with admirable dignity, and here and there with a trumpet -tone in his voice that might have reminded an Ammergau pilgrim of the -late Joseph Mayer. As the Narrator and the Apostle John Mr. Coates gave -a rendering worthy of his Gerontius earlier in the season. In the parts -for women's voices Miss Agnes Nicholls and Miss Muriel Foster once more -proved their immeasurable superiority to singers of the "star" order in -music of real poetic quality. Mr. Black gave a most telling -interpretation of the part of Judas, which, as in the Passion Play at -Oberammergau, has greater dramatic significance than any other. All the -solo parts, except the Redeemer's, are in certain sections so much -interwoven with each other and with the chorus that the combined result -overpowers the individual interest, though in the parts of the Magdalene -and of Judas there are also important independent developments. There -can be no question as to the general excellence of the rendering, and -the audience was on the same enormous scale as when "Gerontius" was -given in November; but the reception was very different. There was -applause, of course, yesterday, but no scene of great enthusiasm such as -the earlier and simpler oratorio evoked. Some persons seem to be of -opinion that the comparative reserve of the public was caused by the -extreme solemnity of the subject; that they were really impressed by the -music, but in such a manner that there was no inclination to be -demonstrative. In this there may be some truth; but, "The Apostles" -being unquestionably much more austere and difficult to understand than -"Gerontius," we are inclined to accept the simpler explanation that the -audience did not like it so well. - -It seems impossible to deny that the music of "The Apostles" represents -in many important respects an advance upon the earlier oratorio. The -poetic theme of the whole work is incomparably more ambitious, and the -musical invention is in more respects than one of greater power. In -regard to this point the obvious case to take is Mr. Jaeger's example 3 -(Novello's edition), "Christ, the Man of Sorrows," that being the -_motif_ of which more frequent and varied use is made than any other. -Here we find unmistakable progress. In its simplest form the theme is -more intense and more profound in feeling than any in "Gerontius," and -furthermore the manner in which the significance of it develops -throughout the work, up to the Ascension phrase, where it occurs in its -most expanded form, though not for the last time, shows a great advance -in the composer's art. Again, the interest of the "Apostles" music is -much more varied. All the symbolism having reference to Christ in -solitude makes a most powerful appeal to the imagination; and the -opening of the Temple gates at dawn is a scene of astonishingly graphic -force and bold design. In the second part the tragedy of the Passion is -given in four scenes of tremendous intensity, and then, in the section -headed "At the Sepulchre," we begin to become aware of the spirit which -is Elgar's most rare and wonderful possession. "And very early in the -morning," says the text, "they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of -the sun." Thereupon are heard the watchers singing an echo of the music -from the great sunrise scene at the beginning. After a dozen bars the -fluting notes of a celestial chorus begin gliding in, and then we have -an example of that _naf_ medivalism at which the second part of -"Gerontius" here and there hints. A kind of unearthly exhilaration -begins to sound in the music. The Resurrection has brought a new fact -into a sorrowful world. It is a sublime adventure, at news of which -heaven and earth bubble into song. Throughout all the rest of the work -the composer creates that sense of the multitudinous which belongs to -parts of the hymn "Praise to the Holiest" in the earlier oratorio. But -the angelic rapture that accompanies the Resurrection and Ascension in -the "Apostles" is far greater and more wonderful. The heavenly strain is -repeated in so many different ways that the air seems to be full of it, -and it never loses the angelic character by becoming militant or -assertive. It remains to the end an efflorescence of song--the sinless, -strifeless, untiring, sweetly fluting rapture of the heavenly choir, -mixing or alternating with the more substantial tones of holy men and -women on earth. Elgar can also render for us the grief of angels. This -he does in a page of unparalleled beauty, describing how Peter, after -denying his Master, went out and wept bitterly. This page alone might -well save the composition from ever being forgotten. - -The less convincing parts of the oratorio are sections ii. and iii., -especially those parts devoted to the Beatitudes and the conversion of -the Magdalene. It is obviously a work the secrets of which are to be -penetrated only with the aid of many hearings and much study. At present -we are disposed to regard "Gerontius" as the more perfect work of art, -though the individual beauties of the "Apostles" are greater and more -wonderful. Nearly everything in the later oratorio is stronger. The -symbols of the Church show an advance upon the corresponding parts of -"Gerontius" scarcely less remarkably than the symbols of the heavenly -choir. The strange Old Testament element connected with the Temple -service again shows imaginative power of quite a new kind, wonderfully -enriching the background of the composition, and the tragic force of the -"Passion" scenes is immensely greater than anything in "Gerontius." But -with our present degree of knowledge we miss in the "Apostles" that -crowning artistic unity which prompted us to describe "Gerontius" as a -pearl among oratorios. - - -[Sidenote: ="In the South."= - -_November 4, 1904._] - -Sir Edward Elgar's most recent Overture, "In the South," has a -picturesqueness, or rather a kind of graphic power, arising from -far-reaching play of the imagination. In thematic invention it is -perhaps more strongly stamped with Elgar's originality than any other -work. Its whole tone, atmosphere, and colouring are something -essentially new in music, the only hint of any other composer's -influence occurring in the viola solo, which bears a faint suggestion of -Berlioz's "Harold in Italy." But, being a secondary element in the -latter part of the Overture, it is to be regarded merely as that kind of -reference which in music is as allowable as it is in literature. The -_grandioso_ theme beginning in A flat minor, which was suggested by the -Roman remains of La Turbie, is so striking that it has already acquired -a good many nicknames. The "steam-roller" theme, it has been called; -elsewhere, the "seven-league-boot" theme, the "Jack the Giant-killer," -and, among Germans, the "Siebentter" theme. In any case it is a most -extraordinary piece of musical expression, of a kind scarcely ever -foreshadowed by any other composer, except once or twice by Beethoven, -who first sought and found the musical symbol of great historic or -cosmic forces, or of the emotion stirred in the human consciousness by -the play, or after-effects, of such forces. One thing remains to be said -about this Overture. The composer's procedure is a compromise between -the old procedure by way of thematic development and the newer by way of -dramatic suggestion, and he does not always succeed completely in the -fusion of the two, as, for example, Beethoven does in his greater -"Leonora"; but here and there he permits the feeling to arise that the -one is interfering with the other. In particular, the composition is -open to the charge of a certain weakness in thematic development; but -that does not prevent it from being, as a whole, a very striking, -beautiful, and original tone picture. Dr. Richter's interpretation very -finely revealed all the strong points. He saved three minutes of the -composer's own time by taking the _vivace_ sections at a somewhat -quicker tempo. As at Covent Garden last March, Mr. Speelman played the -incidental viola solo with marvellous beauty of tone. - - -[Sidenote: ="The Coronation Ode."= - -_October 3, 1902._] - -To the Coronation Ode I listened with great curiosity, remembering the -ordinary fate that overtakes patriotic composers and wondering what Sir -Edward Elgar would make of the subject. I find that he has let himself -be inspired by the nymph of the same spring whence flowed those two -delightful Tommy Atkins marches known as "Pomp and Circumstance." It is -popular music of a kind that has not been made for a long time in this -country--scarcely at all since Dibdin's time. At least one may say that -of the best parts, such as the bass solo and chorus "Britain, ask of -thyself," and the contralto solo and chorus "Land of hope and glory." -The former is ringing martial music, the latter a sort of Church parade -song having the breath of a national hymn. It is the melody which -occurs as second principal theme of the longer "Pomp and Circumstance" -march, which I beg to suggest is as broad as "God Save the King," "Rule -Britannia," and "See the Conquering Hero," and is perhaps the broadest -open-air tune composed since Beethoven's "Freude schner Gtterfunken." -Moreover, it is distinctively British--at once beefy and breezy. It is -astonishing to hear people finding fault with Elgar for using this tune -in two different compositions. I find it most natural in a composer, to -whom music is a language in which, desiring to say exactly the same -thing again, one has no choice but to say it in the same notes. Besides, -such tunes are composed less frequently than once in fifty years. How -then can one blame Elgar for not composing two in six months? The chorus -enjoyed themselves over it, and so did the audience. As to the -sentimental parts of the Ode, frankly I find them uninspired. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -RICHARD STRAUSS. - - -[Sidenote: ="Don Quixote," - -Dsseldorf.= - -_May 26, 1899._] - -Richard Strauss is now beyond question the most prominent figure among -the younger composers of Germany. He was born at Munich in 1864. At an -early age he mastered the various arts of composition and produced works -that showed originality and power. Among such early works may be -mentioned a String Quartet produced in 1881, and a Symphony first heard -in the following year. Within a few years he also composed a Sonata for -'cello, a Serenade for wind instruments, a Concerto for violin, a -Concerto for horn, besides songs and pianoforte pieces. These early -works show the influence of classical models, and in three cases--the -Sonata for 'cello and the Concertos for violin and horn -respectively--the influence of Mendelssohn. At a later period Richard -Strauss became a disciple of the Wagner-Liszt school and adopted the -Symphonic Poem as his principal medium of expression. His fine Sonata in -E flat for pianoforte and violin marks the transition stage. In his -later phase Strauss appears as a psychologist and an _esprit fin_. His -study of Nietzsche's philosophy appears not only in his "Zarathustra," -but in nearly all his "Symphonic Poems." The "Heldenleben" might quite -well be labelled with the Nietzschian expression "Der Uebermensch." -Strauss thus seems to stand to Nietzsche in something like the relation -that Wagner bore to Schopenhauer, and it is a curious point that in each -case the musician is found diverging somewhat violently from the taste -of his philosophical master. These two philosophers--the only two that -have taken a genuine interest in modern music--had both somewhat -rudimentary musical taste, though good taste as far as it went. -Schopenhauer's preference was for Rossini and Nietzsche's for Bizet, and -even as Wagner's style differs _toto coelo_ from Rossini's, so do -Strauss's incredible richness of imaginative detail and indifference to -rhythmical charm stamp him as something very different from those -"Halcyonian" composers whom Nietzsche loved. Strauss is not likely to -become popular in England, but two or three of his larger orchestral -works, and especially the "Heldenleben," would probably find favour with -a section of the English public. To the mandarins and to the majority he -is and must remain anathema. - -On the third and last day of this Festival Strauss's "Don Quixote" was -the work upon which public curiosity was chiefly concentrated. In these -"Fantastic Variations" we find the composer once more adopting a style -as frankly grotesque as in "Till Eulenspiegel." The long and important -introduction stands in a relation to the rest of the work that, so far -as I know, is unique. It is a preparation for the principal theme, -successively emphasising all the different kinds of significance -supposed to be contained in that theme. First we have a nave, stilted, -and pompous phrase suggesting Don Quixote's absorption in the romances -of chivalry. Succeeding passages touch upon the hero's pose of gallantry -and the great predominance of imagination over reason which leads him -into grotesque adventures. The psychological method of the composer -causes him to lay stress on the crisis forming the _point de dpart_ of -Don Quixote's career--a vow of atonement for sins and follies. At last -we get the theme in its complete form--a masterpiece of droll -characterisation,--and immediately after it the prosaic jog-trot of -Sancho Panza. In the first variation a musical element is introduced -typifying Don Quixote's feminine ideal--Dulcinea of Toboso. It ends with -the windmill incident. One hears the airy swing of the mill-sails, the -furious approach of the knight, and his sudden overthrow. Variation No. -2 gives the meeting with the flock of sheep. In the third we have a -colloquy between Don Quixote and Sancho, forming an elaborate movement. -Next comes the quarrel with the pilgrims, and then the scene in the -tavern where Don Quixote undergoes regular initiation into the order of -knighthood by keeping guard over his armour all night. No. 6 represents -the scene of the peasant woman mistaken for Dulcinea, and No. 7 the ride -of the two companions on wooden horses at the fair. Nos. 8 and 9 are -concerned with the enchanted boat and the priests mistaken for -magicians. No. 10 gives the disastrous fight with the Knight of the -Shining Moon. There is also a finale setting forth the reveries of Don -Quixote in his old age, and, last of all, his death. Together with the -purely grotesque elements are many touches of wonderful poetic beauty, -among which may be mentioned the scene of Don Quixote's midnight watch -and, above all, the concluding strain--a sigh of ineffable pathos. On -the other hand, it may be urged against the encounter with the flock of -sheep that such sounds do not really belong to the domain of music, but -rather to that of farm-yard imitations. On the whole, "Don Quixote" -strikes me as a less admirable work than the "Heldenleben," heard on the -previous day. The chief feature in the interpretation on Tuesday was the -superb rendering, by Professor Hugo Becker, of Frankfurt, of the -violoncello solo which throughout the work is identified with the person -of the titular hero. - - -[Sidenote: ="Don Juan," - -Preliminary Article.= - -_January 17, 1901._] - -"Don Juan," though much less eccentric than most of the other "Symphonic -Poems" by Richard Strauss, is a typical example of his overwhelmingly -rich and effective orchestration. It also exemplifies the peculiar -quality of his design, crowded with a Dreresque multiplicity of forms -and details, his indifference to symmetry and sustained rhythmical flow, -and his systematic endeavour to render the musical medium less vague and -more nearly articulate than it ever was before, by enlarging the range -of emotional expression, sharpening the instruments of graphic -representation, and exploring the mysterious by-ways of the tone-world. -Two imaginary figures that originated in Spanish literature have become -the property of mankind. If Don Quixote stands isolated, without any -close analogue in the romance of other countries, Don Juan--a somewhat -later creation--has much in common with several heroes of Germanic -legend, such as Tannhuser, the Wild Huntsman, and Faust. The closest -parallel is between Don Juan and Faust. Both are rebellious spirits; but -Faust is ruined by intellectual pride, Juan by sensual passion. As those -two kinds of revolt belong to the persistent facts of life, neither Juan -nor Faust can ever cease to be interesting. It is quite natural that -each of them should be found as the subject of innumerable plays, poems, -romances, operas, and ballets. The poetic scheme forming the basis of -Richard Strauss's Symphonic Poem is remarkably simple. There is no -incident of a definite kind. Don Juan is simply conceived as -personifying the most direct and vivid affirmation of what Schopenhauer -called the "Will to live." He is enamoured of no one particular woman, -but of all the beauty and charm that are in womankind. He has a new kind -of love for each kind of beauty. Defying the laws of gods and men with -demonic recklessness, he rushes from one enjoyment to another, leaving -the trail of weeping victims behind him, while he himself remains the -incarnation of gaiety--for remorse is unknown to his heart, and he never -keeps up a love affair for a moment longer than it amuses him, nor is he -ever at a loss for fresh delights. The music of Strauss plunges us at -once into this whirl of intoxicating gaiety. A series of love-episodes -ensue, each one being individualised with amazing subtlety. It is, of -course, no new thing for masculine and feminine elements to be clearly -distinguishable in music; but the wealth of resource that Strauss shows -in these dialogues of dalliance and passion amounts to originality of a -very remarkable kind. After several such episodes we have a section -symbolising a masked ball that is very strongly stamped with the -composer's genius as a musical humourist. In the latter part the spirit -of Juan begins to flag. Reminiscences of the foregoing episodes recur -with an ominous change in the emotional colouring, and in the end Juan -is brought face to face with the black and cold embers of his once so -glowing heart. - -Beethoven protested against the desecration of music by so scandalous a -subject as the Don Juan story. But Mozart produced from the same subject -the prize opera of all the ages. It seems, too, that Richard Strauss has -made of it his masterpiece. - - -[Sidenote: ="Don Juan," - -Hall Concerts.= - -_January 18, 1901._] - -There can be no gainsaying that Strauss's "Don Juan" Fantasia was -received yesterday with much applause. But there is room for doubt -whether the excitement that thus found expression was not due rather to -the bold and highly picturesque orchestration than to the essentially -musical qualities of the work. Richard Strauss postulates an audience of -great mental activity. He expects to be understood instantly, instead of -letting a musical idea gradually soak in to the listener's mind, as did -the older composers. In order to stimulate such mental activity he -constantly deals in strange and violent effects. Hence the irritation of -orthodox musicians, who, hearing so much noise and jingle, too rapidly -conclude that there is nothing behind; whereas, perhaps, if they -listened a little longer, they would begin to discover that Strauss has -nearly every gift that was ever in a composer--every gift, that is, -except those of a very profound or very sublime order. His power of -inventing thematic material to correspond exactly with some peculiar -mood of feeling is almost as remarkable as Wagner's. The opening of the -"Don Juan" Fantasia is characteristic of that excited condition of mind -which is so frequent with the composer. A passage beginning with an -upward rush for the strings shows us Juan launched upon his career. -Presently a rapid passage, mainly in triplets, for wood, wind and -afterwards strings, suggests the eager hunt after enjoyment. Next the -impetuous Don is himself characterised. Of these elements a tone-picture -of intoxicating gaiety is composed. Then follow the love-episodes, the -most beautiful being that in which the oboe has the melody while the -lower strings _a divisi_ add a rich and sombre accompaniment. The masked -ball scene is, in places, a little like a travesty of the "Venusberg" -music. This leads to the scene in which Juan is struck down by some -calamity--probably a sword-thrust. As he lies stricken, memories of -former days crowd back upon him. He has one or two momentary returns of -his old fire and energy. But at last his time comes and his soul departs -with a shiver. Strauss knows how to make such a scene marvellously -poignant. His most wonderful achievement in this kind is the parting -sigh of Don Quixote in the work on that subject. But his treatment of -Juan's death is also very powerful. - - -[Sidenote: ="Till Eulenspiegel."= - -_February 14, 1902._] - -"Till Eulenspiegel" was the great medival _farceur_. His name is well -known to students of folk-lore. In Flemish books it figures as Thyl -Uylenspiegel, in English as Till Owlglass. Like other heroes of popular -story, Till lies buried in more than one place, each of his tombstones -being adorned with his armorial bearings--an owl perched on a -hand-mirror. He originated and, for the most part, lived in Westphalia -or some country of the Lower Rhine; but he was a migratory person, and -one of his best authenticated exploits occurred in Poland, where he had -a contest of skill with the King's professional jester. Till is the -incarnation of mockery and satire and buffoonery, sometimes witty and -usually coarse. He represents a literary development that may be -regarded as a kind of Scherzo, after the Andante of the Troubadours, -Minnesingers, and other courtly poets--the inevitable reaction of the -popular spirit against too much high-flown sentiment. The legendary -figure of Till has appealed with the most extraordinary results to that -composer who first brought into the domain of the musical art the -specific qualities of the South German imagination, as represented, for -example, by Holbein, Drer, and Adam Krafft. Incisive, graphic, ornate, -and with no less unheard-of power of characterisation is Richard -Strauss in his music than those other masters in their graphic or -plastic achievements. His "Till" reminds one of Drer's woodcut -illustrations to the Apocalypse, but, of course, with colour added. And -what colour! and what characterisation in the colour! He controls the -orchestra precisely as a good actor the tones of his own voice. He can -make it render the finest shades of emotion. "Till" is a musical -miracle, unlocking the springs of laughter and of tears at the same -time. It enlarges one's notions of what is possible in music, so -multifarious and inconceivable are the drolleries, so prodigious the -technical audacities which the composer succeeds in justifying. Strauss -has, in a sense, revived an art said to have existed in the ancient -world--the telling of a story in the form of a dance. From the point -where that chromatic jig is heard which symbolises Till wandering about -in search of material for the exercise of his talents, the imagination -is spell-bound. - -Strauss goes a distinct point beyond Wagner in the articulateness of his -musical phrases, and he knows better than any other composer that it is -the special province of music to express what cannot be expressed in any -other way--what is too delicate, or too indelicate, to be expressed in -any other way. The most wonderful quality of "Till" is its medivalism. -Listen to those triplets, in four-part chromatic harmony for five solo -violins with _sordini_, expressing the agony of terror into which Till -is thrown by his own wicked mockery of religion. By such devices the -composer conjures up the atmosphere of the age, characterised by -"Furcht auf der Gasse, Furcht im Herzen." The treatment of the prologue -and epilogue, where all that is blackguardly is taken out of Till's -themes now that he has become a story, is of inconceivable felicity. - - -[Sidenote: ="Sehnsucht."= - -_March 18, 1902._] - -Richard Strauss's song "Sehnsucht," raises a good many interesting -questions, such as whether it is not, after all, on harmony rather than -on tone-colouring that the essential quality of Strauss's music depends; -whether the eminent South German composer would have found it necessary -to be so persistently galvanic in his procedure had he not addressed a -musical generation that is too fond of taking opium with Tchakovsky; -whether it is with Eulenspieglish intent that he sets so many -unsophisticated love-song texts to music that betrays contempt of mere -lyrism, or whether he genuinely misunderstands the trend of his own -talent. Thus one might continue indefinitely; for it is the regular -effect of Strauss's music to crook the listener's mind into one huge -note of interrogation. One further and more important question must, -however, be added. Is it Strauss's deliberate intention to abolish -rhythm? Would he add to the well-known saying, "_Am Anfang war der -Rhythmus_" the rider "_aber jetzt nicht mehr_?" The over-strongly salted -and too highly flavoured "Sehnsucht" was admirably sung, and the -fascination of it, not unmixed with horror, was such that it had to be -repeated. Nothing about Strauss is more disquieting than his -after-effect on the musical palate. Whether one likes his style or not, -any other sounds are tame by contrast with it, and a naf and mild -composer such as Grieg (the Hans Andersen of music) seems almost -bread-and-butter. - - -[Sidenote: ="Faust Symphonie," - -Dsseldorf.= - -_May 23, 1902._] - -The many violent anti-Lisztians in England should be particularly -careful just now to keep their powder dry. They are going to have great -trouble with this Eulenspiegelisch Mr. Strauss. A considerable group of -English visitors heard his interpretation of the "Faust Symphonie" on -Monday evening, and they are not likely to forget it. Strauss does not -belong to the small group of international conductors who can travel -from place to place, commanding success everywhere and in music of every -style. He has not studied conductor's deportment carefully enough to be -generally pleasing to the public. At the same time, his demonic talent -comes out clearly enough in his conducting when he has to deal with some -work that makes a special appeal to his sympathies. It seems to be his -mission to justify Liszt after decades of misunderstanding and -detraction. His rendering of the "Faust Symphonie" was simply a gigantic -success. The stress and anguish of the first movement, the wonderful -sweetness and charm of the Gretchen music, the almost incredible -incisiveness and pregnancy of the characteristic music in the -Mephistopheles section of the finale, and the unparalleled grandeur of -the concluding idea, where the mask is torn from the face of the -"spirit that denies" and the "chorus mysticus" enters with the final -stanza, leading up to the crowning idea of the whole drama, "Das -Ewig-Weibliche zieht uns hinan"--these beauties and splendours of the -composition were revealed with the infallible touch of a master into -whose flesh and blood it long ago passed: and the audience, including -even the English visitors, felt it. The "Faust Symphonie" declares the -composer to be, in his attitude towards art and life, akin to Hugo, -Delacroix, and the other great French Romantics, and the result of that -attitude seems more completely happy in music than in painting or -literature. It makes one look back with envious longing to the freshness -and abounding vitality of those fellows who found such huge relish in -the great, broad, fundamental human themes, and resources so vast in the -treatment of them. It also provokes bewildered reflections on the -complex and enigmatic personality of the composer, who, for all his -religious orthodoxy, was a more tremendous revolutionary in art than -Wagner, and was, in fact, the originator of certain particularly -fruitful Wagnerian ideas. All this and much more is to be learned from -the Liszt interpretations of Strauss--a sphinx-like person who, as his -abnormally big head sways on the top of his tall and bulky figure, to -the accompaniment of fantastic gestures, works up his audience into a -sort of phosphorescent fever, here and there provoking a process of -sharp self-examination. - - -[Sidenote: ="Tod und Verklrung."= - -_October 17, 1902._] - -It is difficult to make out the prevalent state of mind in this country -in regard to Richard Strauss--Richard II., as he is often called in -Germany. Of course the upholders of a turnip-headed orthodoxy will not -hear of him, any more than they would hear of Richard I. a quarter of a -century ago, and he seems to have an irritating effect on all critics, -except a certain very small minority in whose temperament there is -something giving them the key to some part, at any rate, of Strauss's -genius. What irritates the critics is simply the difficulty of finding a -formula for Strauss. He has the annoying impertinence not to fit into -any of their pigeon-holes. He is enigmatic, Sphinx-like, a complex -personality not to be conveniently catalogued. That complex personality -we are not here proposing to analyse, but on one point we venture to -state a definite opinion. Those who assert that Strauss is a mere -eccentric will sooner or later find themselves in the wrong. He has in a -few cases played tricks on the public, but he is nevertheless a -master-composer, in the full and simple sense of those words--a -master-composer just as Mozart was. In "Tod und Verklrung" we find him -in a mood of absolute seriousness. The theme is a death-bed scene, the -phantasmagoria of a sick brain during the last moments of earthly -consciousness, the final struggle with death, and then a wonderful -suggestion of reawakening to immortality. The composition is thus, as a -German critic has pointed out, the counterpart of Elgar's "Gerontius," -so far as the subject is concerned; but in no other respect have the -two works any similarity. The qualities with which Strauss's name is -most commonly associated--audacious and grotesque realism, gorgeous, -intoxicating orchestral figuration and colouring--are here completely in -abeyance. In the mood of the opening section there is kinship with the -third act of "Tristan"--the same hush and oppression of the sick man's -lair,--but not in the musical treatment, which with Strauss has much -more reference to external detail (_e.g._, the ticking of the clock) -than with Wagner. The introductory notes are full of weird power, and -they lead on to some exquisitely pathetic "Seelenmalerei." In the -ensuing agitato section any listener acquainted with other Symphonic -Poems by the same composer--earlier or later--is likely to be surprised -at his comparative moderation and restraint in depicting the terrors of -the struggle with death. It cannot be denied that Strauss is greatly -preoccupied with such ideas. He has set the very article of death to -music on at least four different occasions ("Tod und Verklrung," "Don -Juan," "Till," and "Don Quixote"). The hanging of "Till" is -inconceivably drastic in its realism, and the last sigh of Don Quixote -is the most unearthly thing in all music. Don Juan's death is purely -_macabre_; but in "Tod und Verklrung" a certain suggestion of the -_macabre_ gives way to something very different--the suggestion of the -soul rising to immortality; and thus is initiated the final section, -dominated by the noble and beautiful "transfiguration" theme. Those of -the composer's admirers who "always thought he was a heathen Chinee" may -here find matter for searchings of heart. For the thing is too well done -not to have been sincerely felt. - - -[Sidenote: ="Zarathustra."= - -_January 29, 1904._] - -"Also sprach Zarathustra" ("Thus spake Zarathustra") is the first work -in Strauss's most advanced manner. It is scored for the following -enormous orchestra:--One piccolo and three flutes; three oboes and one -cor anglais; one clarinet in E flat, two clarinets in B flat, and one -bass clarinet in B flat; three bassoons and one contrafagotto; six horns -in F, four trumpets in C, three trombones, and two bass tubas; kettle -drums, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and glockenspiel; a bell in E; -organ, two harps, and the usual bow instruments; and the demands on the -_technique_ of the performers are as exceptional as the number of -instruments employed. It is as striking an example of Dr. Richter's -energy that he should not have shrunk from the task of interpreting so -vast and bewildering a score, as it is of his openness of mind that at -his age he should have cared to bring forward the most typically -advanced and modern of compositions--for that we take Strauss's -"Zarathustra" to be in respect both of subject and treatment. We doubt -whether another living musician of anything like Dr. Richter's age -possesses in the same degree that youthful elasticity which can do full -justice to the works of a younger generation. Moreover, he is not in any -special sense a Straussian. He simply knows, as everyone conversant with -the musical affairs of the present day knows, that Strauss is a composer -of very great and commanding talent, and he thinks that in such a -musical centre as Manchester his more important works ought to be -known. So, in spite of a rather discouraging attitude on the part of the -public and an amount of extra trouble that can scarcely be reckoned up, -he gives one of them from time to time. It is not Lancashire any more -than it is London that, among British musical centres, has displayed the -readiest appreciation of Strauss--the great and typical modern. It is -the part of the country served by the Scottish Orchestra, where "Tod und -Verklrung" has before now been chosen for performance at a _plbiscite_ -concert. This seems very natural, for "Tod und Verklrung" is the -clearest, simplest, and least heterodox of Strauss's orchestral works, -and much easier to understand at a first hearing than Beethoven's C -minor Symphony. It has, in fact, been recognised as a classic nearly -everywhere, though here it still lies under suspicion of being a mere -piece of eccentricity. We can only hope that after hearing -"Zarathustra"--which certainly is rather a large order--some of our -conscientious objectors may reconsider their position. The extraordinary -thing is that it was better received than the far more generally -comprehensible "Tod und Verklrung." This was no doubt, in part, due to -sheer astonishment, but also, we believe, to the perception that -whatever else there may be in the work there is a certain grandeur of -perception. It is scarcely possible to listen in a state of complete -indifference to the opening tone-picture of sunrise, with its great -booming nature ground-tone, that recalls the Introduction to Wagner's -"Rheingold," and the ringing trumpet harmonies following the three notes -of the soulless nature theme. The plan of the tone-poem that gradually -unfolds is one of the clearest. It is on the same plan as the discourse -of St. Francis on "La Joie Parfaite," quoted by Sabatier from the -"Fioretti," where the holy man, the better to impress upon Brother Leo -wherein perfect joy consists, first enumerates a series of things in -which it does not consist, and then, having disposed of the erroneous -opinions corresponding to various stages of the upward path towards true -wisdom, tells us at last what perfect joy is. The wisdom of Zarathustra -is, of course, very different from the wisdom of St. Francis, but his -method of inculcating it is the same. He, too, has mortified the flesh -with the "Hinterweltler" (perhaps "other-worldlings" is the nearest -English equivalent), and thrown himself for a change into the vortex of -exciting pleasures--the "Freuden und Leidenschaften" he calls them, as -who should say the "fruitions and passions of youth." It is -characteristic that he puts the religion first and the exciting -pleasures afterwards. He also "did eagerly frequent doctor and saint and -heard great argument," that experience being symbolised by Strauss's -"Fugue of Science." But none of these things, he gives us to understand, -by emphatic use of the "disgust" theme, is the pearl of great price, or -perfect joy, or anything of the sort. The penultimate part of the -tone-poem deals with the conversion of Zarathustra into a dancing -philosopher--his learning of the great lesson that one must "get rid of -heaviness"; and here, of course, the musician is very thoroughly in his -element. Very remarkable and surprising is the conclusion. Strauss has -declared that the whole composition is simply his homage to the genius -of Nietzsche, but it is impossible to resist the impression that in the -manner of the ending he has endeavoured to suggest an improvement on -Nietzsche--and he might well be pleased with himself, and so a little -overbearing, after producing that "Tanzlied" (a sort of waltz for -demigods or "Uebermenschen"), which he has done much better than any -other composer that ever lived could have done it. He ends with a night -picture in B major against the final notes of which the persistent -nature theme in C major once more reasserts itself as a pizzicato -bass;--in words, "but you have left the riddle of the painful earth just -as much unsolved as it was before, for all your wisdom." Whether that -ending is more to the point than Nietzsche's own or not, it is really -wonderful that musical notes can be made to speak so plainly, and even -to say something quite important. - - -[Sidenote: ="Ein Heldenleben," - -Liverpool Orchestral Soc.= - -_Feb. 8, 1904._] - -We have here to deal with the latest phase of Strauss, and to arrive at -anything like a true estimate of "Heldenleben" we have to remember that -Strauss is a reformer and the recognised leader of a party which, -whether we like it or not, has played and is playing a great part in the -world of music. The central principle of the Strauss school rests upon -the perfectly correct observation that the general development of music -during the last two centuries shows continual progress towards greater -articulateness, and that there is no reason for regarding that progress -as having reached its final stage with Berlioz, Liszt, and Wagner. -Brahms and the neo-classicists were on a wrong track, they consider, and -it is the mission of Strauss and his connection to bring the art back -into the paths of true progress. This indicates the sense in which -Strauss is called a reformer. It is the usual fate of reformers to -overshoot the mark; Mr. Weingartner thinks that Strauss has done so very -seriously in his last three Symphonic Poems--"Zarathustra," "Don -Quixote," and "Heldenleben,"--and I am constrained to give in my -adherence to Mr. Weingartner's view. In each of the three works named -there is much that only genius could have produced, but also something -that is alien to genius. The perpetration of deliberate cacophony for a -symbolical purpose we first encounter in "Zarathustra," where it is done -in a tentative and restrained manner and on a very small scale. In "Don -Quixote" the same procedure is used on a larger scale and with much -greater boldness, and in "Heldenleben" it has given rise, in the -"battle" section, to an extended movement that I can only call an -atrocity. That section displays the composer in a mood of unparalleled -extravagance. Taking harmony in the most extended sense that is -possible, it still remains a thing outside the limits of which Strauss's -battle-picture lies. It therefore fails altogether, I suggest, to carry -on the progress of music towards greater articulateness. It is not -music, and does nothing whatever for music. It is a monstrous -excrescence and blemish--a product of musical insanity, bearing no trace -whatever of that genius which produced the lovely and perfect "Tod und -Verklrung" and the superbly racy and pithy orchestral Scherzo "Till -Eulenspiegel." - -The expression of such views carries with it the terrible consequence of -being identified with "The Adversaries," whom Strauss, disarming -criticism by a novel method, symbolises in the awful strains quoted as -examples 4 and 5 in Mr. Newman's programme. But one must testify -according to one's convictions, and I confess that I cannot be -reconciled to section 4 of "Heldenleben," and find in section 5 a -considerable element of merely curious mystification. The principle of -"horizontal listening," which the whole-hog-going Straussians recommend, -does not help me. Horizontal listening becomes, beneath the murderous -cacophony of that battle section, simply supine listening. - -In other parts of the work there is much that is thoroughly worthy of -Strauss. Perhaps the most attractive thing of all is the violin solo -representing the feminine element in the hero's life-experience. The -wayward emotion of that part is rendered by the composer with a truly -magical touch that shows with what wonderful freshness he conceives the -task of such character-delineation in tones. How different from Chopin's -princesses is the Straussian lady! How infinitely more subtle, varied, -interesting, and psychologically true! The hero, too, is powerfully -sketched, though throughout the section specially devoted to him one is -conscious of the gigantic rather than the heroic. Most of the thematic -invention is telling--perhaps more so than in "Zarathustra,"--and the -"Seelenmalerei" in the love music and afterwards in the renunciation -music is all very finely done. Even the drastic musical satire of the -"Adversaries" is acceptable enough in its earlier phases. It is the -polyphony in the sections of storm and stress that goes wrong. The -subject of the work as a whole has the merit of general -intelligibleness. But the composer identifies the hero much too -insistently with himself; nor does he maintain the consistency of tone -that is proper to a work of art. If sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 carried out -the promise of sections 1 and 2 we should have a sort of gigantic -Gulliverian humoresque. But with section 3 a new atmosphere is conjured -up, and henceforth the work gravitates backwards and forwards between -two irreconcilable elements--the one drastic, sarcastic, and -cataplastic, the other at first subtle, sinuous, and soulful, and -afterwards turning towards a mood of religious exaltation and austere -contemplation. - - -[Sidenote: =Quartet in C Minor.= - -_March 10, 1904._] - -The case of Strauss is certainly an awkward one for the believers in the -neo-classicism of Brahms. In such works as the Quartet, op. 13, and the -violin Sonata, op. 18, written twenty or more years ago, he declares -himself an absolute Brahmsian, worshipping before all things the -well-constructed musical sentence, using the extended harmonies and -profuse figuration of the modern technique to express emotions that have -but little individuality and are merely typical of the thorough-going -German sentimentalist. Indeed, he here shows himself a better Brahmsian -than Brahms, avoiding all his model's worst faults, such as his groping -and fumbling, his muttering and whining, and only sentimentalising in -quite a healthy sort of way and with a flow so abundant and easy that to -find fault would seem intolerant. Yet, with all these wonderful -qualifications for a great Brahmsian career, Strauss would have none of -it, except during his most youthful period. For many years now he has -been displaying utter contempt of the well-constructed musical sentence; -also of German sentimentalism and of all the other traditional subjects -of musical eloquence. As an orchestral composer, he has pursued a path -of adventurous hardihood scarcely paralleled in the history of art, and -he looks back to his Brahmsian chamber-music as belonging to a -fledgeling state of his talent. As it is not open to the Brahmsians to -say that those early works prove Strauss's incompetence as a composer of -the orthodox kind, the only thing left for them to say is that the -chamber-music is much the best of his whole output. Sooner or later we -shall doubtless begin to hear that, and in the meantime those who like -the early works can play them or listen to them with the comforting -assurance that the composer would not object, inasmuch as he has himself -quite recently taken part in public performances of them. The -Quartet--which Dr. Brodsky and his usual associates, assisted by Mr. -Isidor Cohn, played yesterday--might rank as the mature work of anyone -but Strauss. It is youthful, relatively to the composer, in the -emotional basis of the music; but not in the workmanship, and least of -all in the invention, which has all the pith and weight commonly telling -of ripe experience. In short, it is an extremely good Quartet of the -orthodox kind--one may even say, one of the best existing works for -pianoforte and three bow instruments. The Andante is not quite such a -marvel as the slow movement of the violin Sonata, but it is very nearly -as good in invention and quite as good in its adaptation to the -medium--that is, to the particular group of instruments. The Scherzo is -as pithy as the Andante is glowingly sentimental, and the framing-in -movements are magnificently done. Thoroughly adequate was the rendering -of this immensely interesting composition. The tempo in the Scherzo was -faster than the composer's own; but, as it is not possible for him to -keep up the technique of a solo pianist, he may possibly avoid a very -rapid tempo for that reason. Mr. Cohn brought out all the passage work -clearly enough, though the rapid tempo caused a certain dryness in the -string tone. The other movements were satisfactory from every point of -view. It is interesting to note in this Quartet an early example of -Strauss's tendency to associate a certain mood with a certain key. A -contrasting section with an easier flow he assigns to B major, and -throughout the recurrences the original key assignment is preserved in a -manner very unlike the procedure of the older composers. Throughout the -work the connection between tonality and emotional import is preserved -in detail, and we here note a further development of the principle which -prompted Beethoven to throw his prevalently dark and mysterious Symphony -of Fate into C minor and his Rhythmic or Dancing Symphony into A major, -but which, from him, met with no more than a very broad kind of -recognition. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -CHAMBER MUSIC. - - -[Sidenote: =Dvork - -Quintet in A Major.= - -_February 2, 1897._] - -Music for pianoforte, combined with two or more bow instruments, is -usually constituted on anything but democratic principles, the -percussion instrument standing to the others in very much the same -relation as Jupiter to his satellites. But the splendid quintet by -Dvork given last night forms an honourable exception to this principle, -the Bohemian composer's well-known preference for bow instruments having -apparently counteracted the usual tendency to make the pianoforte part -too prominent. Throughout the quintet there is an endless wealth and -fertility of beautiful ideas. The opening allegro is based on two main -elements which form an effective contrast, the one moving prevalently in -syncopated double time, and the other approaching the character of a -tarantelle. The pianoforte part is sometimes of independent interest, -and sometimes consists of beautiful accompanying passages constructed -from chords in extended position. The second movement bears the name -"Dumka," which, we believe, was first used as the name of a musical -movement by Dvork, or at any rate first became familiar to the world in -general through his works. It is derived from a Slavonic root meaning -"to think," and may be taken as something like the equivalent of -"meditation." There are several peculiarly interesting and charming -movements in the works of the Bohemian composer bearing this name, and -that which occurs in the quintet is one of the best. It is in the -relative minor of the opening key, and exhibits the composer as a poet -of the same sort as Burns--at once sturdy in bearing and delicate in -feeling. Here and there the pianoforte part conveys a suggestion of -Chopin; but the courtly sentiment of Chopin is soon merged in a broader -and more full-blooded vein of feeling. The thematic material is -remarkably varied and episodic, while the Scherzo--called, as in other -Bohemian compositions "Furiant"--is compact and free from any trace of -the rambling tendency. The finale is dominated by a dance theme in -double time of enormous energy and vivacity. - - -[Sidenote: =Dvork - -Quartet, Op. 96.= - -_December 6, 1900._] - -The Op. 96 Quartet might almost as well be called "From the New World" -as the Symphony. Whether it was written during the composer's stay in -America we do not know, but it is certainly an outcome of his American -experiences no less than the "New World" symphony. All the themes of -both those works are idealised Negro or Red Indian melodies, and though -the results may not be in the Quartet quite so wonderfully felicitous as -in the Symphony, they are fine enough to make it a most interesting -feature in the music of the wonderful Bohemian composer's American -period. That music has taught some of us a rather important lesson. The -value of folk-melody has long been recognised, but until these works by -Dvork became known it was pretty generally thought that Negro tunes -formed an exception to the principle that all sincere, unsophisticated, -and original musical utterance has artistic value. Dvork has taught us -the danger of regarding any natural thing as common or unclean. He has -shown that Negro melody may give rise to beautiful works of art no less -than Irish, Hungarian, or Scandinavian melody. Dvork is the most -impossible to classify of all composers. He is naf and yet a master of -complex and ingenious design; a scorner of scholastic device and at the -same time a successful worker in the classical forms; the most original -of the composers who became known during the latter half of the 19th -century, yet suspected, on occasion, of the most barefaced plagiarism. -It is hard to say whether his absolute musical invention, his skill, -taste, and resource in laying out for single stringed instruments, or -his ear for orchestral colouring is the most remarkable faculty. He is -the musician who seems to have learned but little from text-books and -professors, and yet, by a continual series of miracles, he avoids all -the pitfalls that beset the path of the unlearned composer. He is never -at a loss--never does anything feeble or ineffective,--but again and -again overwhelms and delights us with his inexhaustible flow of racy and -full-blooded melody and with his splendid handling of whatever -instrument, or group of instruments, he may choose to handle. - - -[Sidenote: =Beethoven - -Razoumoffsky Quartet, No. 3.= - -_December 5, 1901._] - -The third Razoumoffsky Quartet stands among Beethoven's chamber -compositions very much as the C minor Symphony among his orchestral -works. To define the qualities in virtue of which these two cognate -works appeal so very strongly and directly to the imagination is a -matter of great difficulty. They belong to the same period; and, utterly -dissimilar as they are in form and detail, they are akin to one another -in spirit. Both reveal the composer during that short but golden prime -of his artistic life when he had done with technical experiments; and -when that austere indifference to mere sensuous beauty of sound, which -in course of time his deafness inevitably brought, had not yet begun. -Hence these works, though they fall far short of the exaltation, -intensity, and rugged grandeur of many third-manner compositions, are -more perfectly balanced. They are also entirely free from certain -perverse--one may almost say misanthropic--elements which are a -stumbling-block in much of Beethoven's music. Such is the felicity of -the invention that each new thematic element strikes the ear like a sort -of revelation. Nowhere is there an overlong development or anything that -bewilders or alienates. The Andante quasi Allegretto of the Quartet -reveals the composer in an extremely rare mood. The delicate romance of -it recalls the slow movement of the Schumann Quintet, however much more -profound Beethoven may be. The harmony is full of dreamlike beauty, and -here and there accents of extraordinarily eloquent appeal give that -impression (so frequent with Wagner) of music trembling on the verge of -articulate speech. A case in point is the recurring G flat in the viola -part in bars 8, 9, and 10 after the second repeat. The pizzicato bass is -another feature that irresistibly arrests attention. The unparalleled -delights of this enchanting work were brought home to the audience by a -performance which was not only masterly but was stamped by peculiar -felicity. Everything in the marvellous Allegretto was thrown into a kind -of delicate relief, and the fugal finale was given with the utmost -animation and perfection of detail. - - -[Sidenote: =Bach - -Concerto in D Minor.= - -_January 15, 1903._] - -The association of Lady Hall and Dr. Brodsky in Bach's Concerto for two -violins yesterday brought together by far the largest audience ever yet -seen at these concerts. The D minor, with two solo parts, is doubtless -the finest on the whole of Bach's violin Concertos. The Largo, cast in a -mould that the composer used more than once, obviously takes the first -place among movements of the kind, in virtue of stately magnificence -paired with a certain royal mildness and amiability of expression. Other -examples may be deeper or more poignant in feeling, but none other is so -richly and perfectly organised in structure or so sweetly benign in -expression. The two solo instruments are treated by the composer on a -footing of absolute equality, and the manner in which his intentions -were yesterday realised by the two masterly performers was above praise. -Why (one is likely to ask on hearing such a performance) did a composer, -who could make a couple of instruments sing so sweetly and graciously -and in a manner so perfectly adapted to their proper genius, very -frequently force the singing voice to follow a crabbed line, -instrumental rather than vocal in character? In the more vivacious -movements preceding and following the Largo nothing could have been -finer than the delicate interplay of the two well-matched solo parts, -and the whole composition lost little or nothing by the rendering of the -accompaniment on a pianoforte instead of the small orchestra for which -it was originally scored. As pianoforte accompanist Miss Olga Neruda -showed unfailing discretion, and so contributed not a little to the -exquisite impression produced by the whole work. - - -[Sidenote: =Beethoven - -B Flat Major Quartet.=] - -In Beethoven's B flat major Quartet--the last of the third volume--the -intricate lines of the composition were brought out with admirable -unanimity of purpose, perfection of _ensemble_ never once being lost -amid the utmost fire and freedom of the execution in the rapid parts. -The Quartet, which occupies quite forty-five minutes in performance, is -remarkable for an opening movement in which adagio and allegro sections -alternate with wayward frequency, for the curious fourth movement in a -sort of Lndler rhythm, and for the Cavatina in E flat preceding the -Finale. It is capricious and multifarious, but has neither the -abstruseness nor the occasional violence of the later Beethoven as -revealed in the last Quartets and Sonatas. - - -[Sidenote: =Tchakovsky - -Quartet in D Major.=] - -Tchakovsky's first Quartet is chiefly remembered in connection with the -Andante, which makes a peculiar appeal to the imagination. Though the -thematic basis is evidently derived from folk-music, and the tones of -the muted instruments are such as one associates with "soft Lydian airs" -that merely play upon the senses without further significance, there is -in this movement a strange mystical exaltation that is not often met -with in Tchakovsky. It sounds like a dream of the shepherds who watched -their flocks by night and heard the angels sing, or an illustration of -some kindred theme in which a homely and pastoral note is associated -with devout and joyous feeling. It is the movement that so greatly moved -Count Tolstoy when, in company with the composer, he heard a performance -of it, also led by Dr. Brodsky. The rest of this beautiful and zestful -work causes one to wonder how the composer was able so early in his -career to make stringed instruments speak with such free, ready, and -natural eloquence. - - -[Sidenote: =Tchakovsky - -Trio in A Minor.= - -_February 26, 1903._] - -Most astonishing are the comments that one hears and reads occasionally -on such "In Memoriam" pieces as Tchakovsky's noble Trio, written in -honour of Nicolas Rubinstein--brother of the more famous Anton and a -pianist of nearly equal eminence. The psychological basis of this Trio -is of exceptional clearness; it is probably clearer than in any other -composition of similar extension. Yesterday, Mr. Siloti played the -pianoforte part at these concerts for the second if not for the third -time. Frequenters have therefore enjoyed unusually good opportunities of -becoming acquainted with the music, which we regard as on the whole the -best example of Tchakovsky's chamber composition. As in Schubert's -"Wanderer Fantasie," the centre of the whole is the theme of the second -movement--a beautiful and expressive strain that, in the composer's -imagination, evidently symbolised the personality of his lost friend. -The ensuing Variations--which include a waltz, a mazurka, and others -that are anything but sombre in character--range back over scenes and -memories connected with that personality, the composer now giving -himself up to lively characterisation, and now thrown back into an -elegiac mood by the returning consciousness of the friend's death. -Occasionally the two moods are mingled, as in that part of the waltz -where the dainty dalliance of the pianoforte part is accompanied by the -tragic variant of the central theme in the strings. The opening -movement, "pezzo elegiaco," is dominated by that tragic variant which, -at the very outset, is given out with mighty eloquence by the richest -tones of the 'cello--a wailing complaint that recurs in many different -forms and informs all three movements in one way or another. Analysing -the composition, therefore, not with reference to musical -technicalities, but psychologically, we find it to consist of three main -elements:--(1) The composer's affection for his friend and grief at his -loss; (2) biographical reminiscences and reflections thereon; (3) the -funeral panegyric. To some extent these elements are intermingled -throughout the work; but they dominate the respective movements as here -numbered, so that, broadly speaking, one may call the first movement -"lament," the second "recollections," the third "eulogy." In all -important respects the Trio strikes us as thoroughly original, though in -a few superficial matters the composer seems to take hints from certain -predecessors. Probably the "Wanderer Fantasie" influenced the general -design to some extent; the opening of the Finale suggests the -corresponding part of Schumann's "Etudes Symphoniques" by its rhythm and -atmosphere, and the short "funeral march" section at the end contains an -obvious reference to Chopin. One can scarcely hear a better rendering -than Mr. Siloti's of the pianoforte part, which is throughout of -paramount importance. Like Dr. Brodsky, Mr. Siloti was an intimate -friend of the composer, and as he is also an acknowledged master of -pianoforte technique and a highly accomplished musician, his Tchakovsky -interpretations have a certain authority. Moreover, no living -instrumentalist can charm a melody into life in a more suave and natural -manner, and the lines of a composition always fall into their proper -place in his renderings. Dr. Brodsky, always at his best in the music of -his famous compatriot and friend, gave a most eloquent rendering of the -violin part, and he was well matched by Mr. Fuchs, who, as before, -brought out the superb opening theme with amazing warmth and breadth of -style, and gave all the rest of his part in a manner worthy of that fine -entry. - - -[Sidenote: =Csar Franck - -Quintet in F Minor.= - -_December 12, 1903._] - -The Quintet, for pianoforte and strings in F minor and major, is a -typical example of the composer's profound learning and immense -technical mastery, of his lofty ideal as a musical artist, and of his -quite marvellous originality. Judging by such a composition, one would -hardly claim the gift of melodic charm for Csar Franck. He has little -or no lyrism, and he seems to be chiefly interested in delivering music -from the bondage of the tonic and dominant system, while calling upon -each instrument for what is most characteristic in its technical -resource. He is thus as far removed as possible from Grieg and the -song-and-dance men of recent time. He is a great master of form, but he -dramatises the chamber-music forms very much as Beethoven dramatised the -symphony, reconciling the claims of structure and emotion with the touch -of unmistakable genius. The great Quintet is written for performers -whose technique is subject to no limitations. Each part is intensely -alive, and at many points the listener's imagination is carried into -regions never before opened up. The music proves that the composer -understood his medium with extraordinary thoroughness. Some of his -audacious progressions, his persistent reduplications, and his rushing -unison passages one might, at first blush, call orchestral, yet more -careful observation quickly convinces one that they are not orchestral, -but that the special kind of eloquence in the music belongs essentially -to the particular combination for which it was written. The key system -is disconcerting at first. The composer seems to insist that two chords -so unlike tonic and dominant as F major and D flat minor (if anyone -thinks there is no such key he cannot have studied Csar Franck) will do -just as well for the main props of an extended composition; and he has -all the best of the argument. The technical interest of the work is of -the keenest from beginning to end; but the poetic interest seems to -develop slowly, the imaginative play being nowhere as definite as in the -finale, which begins with strong passages of extreme nervous agitation -and culminates in a tumultuous _dnoment_ with strong reiterated -insistence on the two chords aforementioned, above which the strings -rush towards their point of repose in a unison of unparalleled energy -and breadth. The subtle and heavy emotion of the slow movement reminds -one of Maeterlinck. Csar Franck (1822-90) was a Ligeois who migrated -to Paris, where he became the founder of the young French school--that -school of which Mr. Vincent d'Indy is now the principal ornament. -Another follower, much less truly distinguished than d'Indy but better -known in this country, is Gabriel Faur. Franck is the only great -composer that Belgium has produced in modern times. The task of -interpreting the wonderful Quintet was one of the most formidable that -Dr. Brodsky and his associates ever took in hand. But they were equal to -the occasion. With such a past master as Mr. Busoni at the pianoforte -there could be no uncertainty as to the interpretation, and the -immensely difficult string parts were rendered with that repose and -sureness of touch which alone can make a great and complex composition -intelligible. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -PIANO-PLAYING. - - -[Sidenote: =Reisenauer.= - -_February 13, 1896._] - -The reception of Mr. Alfred Reisenauer by the large audience in the -Gentleman's Hall yesterday afternoon was marked by considerable reserve. -Not once during the recital was there any display of enthusiasm. Yet it -cannot be said that the performance fell short of Mr. Reisenauer's great -reputation. In his rendering of Schumann's "Carnaval" not a point was -missed, and the "Paganini" intermezzo, occurring in the middle of the -slow waltz, gave a foretaste of the quite extraordinary technical powers -which were more fully displayed later on. The "Davidsbndler" finale was -played with less noise and more subtlety than is usually bestowed upon -this curious march, with the Grossvaterstanz creeping in unobserved, -much as the "Marseillaise" creeps into the "Faschingschwank in Wien" by -the same composer. In certain numbers the pianist showed a tendency to -prefer pieces of a secondary and almost trivial character such as the -"Rondo Capriccio" to which Beethoven has given the whimsical sub-title -"Rage over the lost penny stormed out in a Caprice." Not that this work -is altogether frivolous. As in almost all Beethoven's music, the -working-out sections contain much that is beautiful and interesting; but -the opening theme is quite as bald as the _motif_ of Haydn's "Surprise" -symphony. In the first part of the programme--that is, down to the end -of the Beethoven selections--there were comparatively few indications of -the pianist's true calibre. But in Liszt's transcription of the -"Forelle" Mr. Reisenauer began to reveal some of those marvels of which -he and perhaps one other living pianist have the monopoly. That -interminable trill, with the song _motif_ freely and expressively played -by the same hand first below the trill and then above it, was a thing to -be remembered. There was not the least trace of those licences which -even first-rate players commonly allow themselves in order to facilitate -such manoeuvres. To the ear the effect was absolutely that of three -independent hands. The "Erlknig" transcription, on the other hand, was -much less impressive. It was performed with an exaggerated _tempo -rubato_, and was altogether too noisy. Of the Chopin Nocturne in D flat -as rendered yesterday afternoon it is difficult to speak in measured -terms. Mr. Reisenauer seems to be pretty generally put down by amateurs -as wanting in "soul." But if so, it must surely be admitted that he gets -on extraordinarily well without one. Anyhow, soul or no soul, his -rendering of the Nocturne was a revelation. In the midst of an almost -nebulous pianissimo the parts were still differentiated with perfect -mastery, and altogether a science of tone-gradations was displayed that -is probably unique. Not a lurking beauty in the composition escapes his -research or exceeds his powers of interpretation. For the concluding -number Liszt's "Hungarian Fantasia" was chosen, and this piece again -fell totally flat on the greater part of the audience, possibly owing to -want of familiarity with the Hungarian style. For this Fantasia is based -on Hungarian popular songs, and decorated with passages that are a sort -of glorified imitation of an Hungarian improvisatore's performance on -the "cembalo." The song-themes are some of the most beautiful and -interesting to be found in all Liszt's Rhapsodies and Fantasias, -especially the first, which, in Korbay's edition, is set to the words -"They have laid down him dead upon the black-draped bier," and the -wonderful "Crane" song, which colours all the latter part of the -Fantasia. The difficulties of the piece are some of the most -heart-breaking to be found anywhere in the literature of the instrument. - - -[Sidenote: =Moszkowski.= - -_November 18, 1898._] - -To those who already knew Mr. Moszkowski as a composer it must have been -interesting yesterday to make his acquaintance as a pianist. His playing -is the exact counterpart of his composing. It is brilliant, ingenious, -elegant. It shows a knowledge of pianoforte technique so consummate that -the listener is apt to be completely dazzled and to forget that our old -friend the pianoforte is capable of other kinds of eloquence besides the -eloquence of technical display. At the same time, it is not at all our -intention to speak slightingly of Mr. Moszkowski's technical display. -Though not the highest thing in music, technique is a very important -thing, and, when carried to such a pitch of excellence, has a kind of -self-sufficient beauty that may be compared to the lustre of pearls and -diamonds. Perhaps it does not mean anything; but it is beautiful, -cheering, enlivening. It raises the spirits somewhat like champagne, but -better than champagne, and it has all the arrogance and costly unreason -that are so fascinating in fine jewellery, in common with which it seems -to convey a kind of magnificent protest against matter-of-fact and -gloom. The wonderful charm of Mr. Moszkowski's composing and playing -depends, further, on the fact that he attempts nothing but what he can -do to perfection. He knows well enough that there was a Beethoven and a -Brahms, for whom music was the expression of profound poetic ideas. But -such ideas are not his affair. He leaves them frankly alone, in the -well-founded confidence that almost anything in the way of an idea will -serve his most entertaining purposes. The Concerto played yesterday is a -perfectly characteristic work. Completely devoid of originality as to -material, it is nevertheless put together with an unfailing sense of -style, and everything is so adorned and so laid out for the solo -instrument that there is not a dull moment from beginning to end. If -only as a compendium of all the most telling musical effects that are -absolutely peculiar to the pianoforte, the Concerto is likely to be -remembered. The two Mazurkas that were played in the second part of the -concert were interesting examples of that form which apparently no -composers but those of Slavonic descent can handle successfully. It may -be hoped that anyone who listened to them attentively will have grasped -the rudimentary point that there is nothing in common between that -clumsy dance of Western Europe called the Polka Mazurka and the -elaborate figure dance the music of which has been so wonderfully -idealised in the Mazurkas of Chopin, Tchakovsky, Winiawski, -Moszkowski, and Scharwenka. - - -[Sidenote: =Busoni.= - -_December 23, 1898._] - -Of the four principal pianoforte styles--the Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, -and Liszt styles--Mr. Busoni has shown himself a past-master. It has -been said that these four are the only genuine pianoforte styles. But if -there is a fifth having typical originality distinct from all others, it -is the Brahms style, and in that style Mr. Busoni was heard for the -first time yesterday evening. His interpretation of Brahms's first -Concerto was no less masterly than his Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt -renderings. The work is one of exceptional importance. Written when the -composer was only twenty-five years of age, and almost entirely unknown, -and proving, when first produced at Leipsic, with the composer himself -as soloist, a dead failure, it nevertheless was, like Carlyle's "French -Revolution," the first work showing the author to be a genuine and -original man of genius. It shows him deliberately rejecting all that was -traditionally connected with the idea of a work in "concert style," -affording to the soloist none of the conventional opportunities for -display, demanding from him the mastery of an enormously difficult -technique, full of double-note passages, full of heavy and exhausting -reduplications; demanding also exceptional tact, intelligence, and -presence of mind such as are only to be found in a few players of the -very first rank. The music of the first movement is of profoundly -sinister and tragic import, portraying the rage, grief, and unrest in -some struggle of the heroic soul. It has nothing entertaining and -nothing to propitiate superficial taste. No wonder it was a failure at -Leipsic in 1859, when that centre of enlightenment was given up to the -Mendelssohn cult! After the composer himself, the first pianist to take -up the Concerto was Hans von Blow, who with a performance at a -Philharmonic Concert in Berlin won early recognition of its surpassing -merit. Other performers who contributed towards the success of the work -with the world in general were Madame Schumann and Mr. D'Albert. At the -present time it may be doubted whether there is any better exponent of -it than Mr. Busoni. What a German writer has called the -"heaven-storming" first motive was delivered in a manner that showed -perfect grasp of its poetic import, and the tragic eloquence of the -ensuing development was never marred either by any sort of technical -fault or by inappropriate expression. The "Benedictus" forming the slow -movement is fraught with that profound religious feeling the musical -expression of which has been accomplished only by Bach, Beethoven, and -Brahms. It was no less perfectly rendered than the opening movement, and -the concluding Rondo was played with appropriate breadth, energy, and -mastery of heavy and intricate passages. Afterwards another work for the -same instrumental combination was played, namely, Liszt's "Spanish -Rhapsody," which Mr. Busoni has treated very much as Liszt himself -treated the "Wanderer Fantasie" of Schubert, making an arrangement on -the concerto principle, with a part for pianoforte and orchestral -accompaniments. The Rhapsody is put together on the same principle as -the Hungarian Rhapsodies, having majestic motives in the first part, and -afterwards dance themes with variations and ornamentations in the -transcendental manner peculiar to Liszt. Mr. Busoni's orchestration is -all very clever and telling, and in playing the solo part, which is -brilliant beyond all description, he, as it were, came down from the -pedestal of seriousness and showed that he also can, on occasion, be -simply entertaining. As an extra piece without orchestra, Mr. Busoni -played Liszt's "Campanella"--probably the most catchy and difficult -concert study in existence. The almost incredible brilliancy with which -it was performed seemed to leave the audience half dazed and wholly -captivated. - - -[Sidenote: =Busoni.= - -_November 25, 1904._] - -The concert was remarkable for one of Mr. Busoni's meteoric appearances, -the special function of which, in the order of nature, seems to be to -throw critics into a state of utter confusion and bewilderment. He has -been more frantically praised and more severely blamed than any other -pianist of the present day, and he never fails to justify both praise -and blame. He is the modern Sphinx among executive musicians, just as -Strauss is among composers. Nothing is certain but his matchless -technical power and the uncanny force of his own individuality that, -without misconception or inadequate conception, still does violence to -every composer, by a sort of inner necessity. Every accusation except -that of dulness or feebleness has been brought against Mr. Busoni, and -with justice. Yet he can well afford to smile at his critics; for the -fury of one is as eloquent a testimony as the rapture of another to his -prodigious faculty of stimulation. Most of the fault-finding is a covert -expression of rage at the writer's hopeless inability to estimate so -prodigious a talent or to guess what it will "do next." Henselt's -Concerto, hackneyed in Germany but almost unknown in England, was his -accompanied piece yesterday. It is the most considerable work of that -curious composer, who made a great reputation as a pianist though he -scarcely ever played in public, and some reputation as a composer though -he never did anything more original than the pianoforte Etude "Si oiseau -j'tais," and for the most part rested satisfied with giving enfeebled -reproductions of Chopin's ideas thinly disguised by arpeggio -accompaniments in extended harmonies and ornamental passages in double -notes. In a few points, such as the use of _martellato_ octaves and -chord passages, he had a more modern technique than Chopin's; but there -is no justification for his compositions except good laying out for the -instrument. From beginning to end one finds him cultivating the same -kind of mild and voluminous euphony. Mr. Busoni played the three -movements in his customary style, solving all the technical problems -that they present rather more intelligently than anyone else. His -unaccompanied solos were, first, two astonishingly ingenious Preludes -constructed on themes of chorales by Bach, which are treated as _canti -fermi_, and accompanied by passages in florid counterpoint, having the -character of an _obbligato_. The theme of the first was "Sleepers, -wake," and of the second the chorale known in this country as "Luther's -Hymn." The third piece was Liszt's seldom-heard transcription of -Beethoven's "Adelaide." - - -[Sidenote: =Borwick.= - -_February 10, 1899._] - -Among all kinds of solo playing it is pianoforte playing, the high -standard of which is specially characteristic of our age. The violin was -perfected in the seventeenth century, and, though the technique of the -violin has been further developed in comparatively recent times by -Paganini and others, there has not been during the nineteenth century -any other advance in a particular kind of musical performance at all -comparable with the advance in pianoforte playing, which, apart from -improvements in the construction of the instrument, is generally -attributed to the genius of Liszt. It is sometimes forgotten that Liszt -did not stand quite alone. He was the most brilliant pupil of a certain -school, namely the Czerny school. But Czerny, though probably the -greatest of all pianoforte pedagogues, does not stand quite alone as -the father of modern playing. There was another great pedagogue with -an independent system, namely Friederick Wieck, whose most brilliant -pupil was his daughter Madame Schumann. The modern art of pianoforte -playing may be traced back to one or other of those two remarkable -teachers, Czerny and Wieck. The most famous representative of the -Czerny-Liszt school at the present day is Mr. Paderewski, and the -most famous representative of the other--the Wieck-Schumann school -is Mr. Borwick. For a long time it was supposed that no member of the -English-speaking races was capable of taking rank among first-rate -solo-players, and it is therefore cheering to find Mr. Borwick--a -true-born Britisher--holding the position that he now holds. For his -first piece Mr. Borwick chose, appropriately enough, the Schumann -Concerto for pianoforte, which Rubinstein considered a no less happy -inspiration than Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. It is the most important -of all Schumann's works for pianoforte, and Mr. Borwick, as a pupil of -the Schumann school is, of course, completely in his element when -playing it. Yesterday he seemed thoroughly well-disposed, and he played -the whole work with admirable purity of style and insight into its -delicate ingenuities and romantic beauties. On his second appearance Mr. -Borwick played a Ballade by Grieg in the form of fifteen variations on a -Norwegian air. The air is plaintive and pretty, and in the harmonization -is strongly stamped with the composer's individuality. Some of the -variations, too, contain examples of graceful movement, but there is not -much more to be said for them. They are not for a moment to be compared -with the typical modern works in variation form, such as Mendelssohn's -"Variations Srieuses," Schumann's "Etudes Symphoniques," or the -variations on a chorale of Haydn by Brahms. The one really fine work of -considerable scope for pianoforte by Grieg is the Concerto. All that was -possible, however, to be made of the Ballade was made of it by Mr. -Borwick. - - -[Sidenote: =Siloti.= - -_March 9, 1900._] - -Of Svendsen, the contemporary Scandinavian whose name stood first on -yesterday's programme, we know very little. Until yesterday we had heard -nothing of his but the familiar Romance for violin. The first hearing of -his Moorish "Legend" for orchestra left an impression of sweetness and -picturesque charm, but also of a talent scarcely equal to the conception -and laying out of extended orchestral works. As painters sometimes say, -the interest of the picture was literary rather than artistic. It was -nice to read the pretty story in the programme to the accompaniment of -the pretty music going on in the orchestra. But whether the music by its -own eloquence could have roused the desire to know what was the -imaginative or narrative basis of the design in tones is doubtful. -Except for a short section at the end, containing some slight -suggestions of development, the composition is almost entirely arabesque -work, which is perhaps an appropriate arrangement, the subject being -Moorish. The amazing double power that Liszt possessed of translating -from orchestra to pianoforte and from pianoforte to orchestra was -certainly never matched in any other mortal. Both processes he performed -with consummate ability. Mr. Siloti rendered the solo part with the -restraint and the mature mastery of his resources that are -characteristic of him. He tears no passion to tatters; he does not play -"in Ercles' vein"; the tricks of the "Oktavenbndiger" delight him not; -nor does he tickle and paw the notes in the velvety-ineffable style. Mr. -Siloti is so considerate as not to obliterate the composer in any way. -There is a certain largeness and gentleness in his manner. His technical -power is unlimited, but he uses no more of it than is necessary to bring -out the composition, and with regard to tone-gradations, pedalling, and -the entire management of the pianoforte--as medium of musical -expression, not of acrobatic display--one may say that "what there is to -know, he knows it." Among distinguished pianists of the day there is -perhaps none other whose style is so good a model for learners. Many -other pianists have great powers, but nearly every other has some -frightful fault, whereas Mr. Siloti has no serious fault. He is simple, -equable, gentlemanly, masterly. He seeks not to dazzle, to bewilder, to -impose, to appal, to petrify--but simply to convince. He _brings out the -music_ written by the composer, and that is what a pianist should do. -The group of Russian pieces played by Mr. Siloti on his second -appearance we thought, on the whole, very charming, especially the -Caprice by Arensky. The concluding piece by Rubinstein was not quite so -interesting, but it gave the performer his opportunity of treating the -audience to that "rampage" which is considered the only proper -conclusion to a group of pianoforte solos; and it had, at any rate, the -advantage of not being hackneyed. - - -[Sidenote: =Rosenthal.= - -_November 23, 1900._] - -An exceedingly remarkable performance of Schumann's Pianoforte Concerto -was given by Mr. Rosenthal and the orchestra. In no other performance -that we remember was the balance between orchestra and solo part so well -preserved. Mr. Rosenthal played with his usual perfection of technical -mastery; his phrasing was beautifully intelligent, and the distinction -of his style was to be noted no less in the homely sweetness and -graceful fancy of the Intermezzo than in the rich and complex Allegro. -Again, in the finale, his marvellous accuracy and fine phrasing enabled -the hearers to enjoy every _nuance_ of the composition, notwithstanding -a tendency to hurry that was perceptible at certain points. The -tremendous "Don Juan" fantasia, for pianoforte alone, gave Mr. Rosenthal -an opportunity of exhibiting his technical powers in one of the most -audacious _bravura_ compositions that exist. In many persons the fine -frenzy that rages through the middle and latter parts of this piece -awakens no sympathy. It has, nevertheless, a legitimate place in the -Palace of Art, being nothing more than the logical development to the -highest possible point of the _bravura_ style that originated with -Liszt. The latter of the two variations on "_L ci darem_"--that section -which precedes the entry of the champagne song--is the most bewildering -and repugnant part of the piece to the general public. For that reason, -and also on account of its heart-breaking difficulties, the variation in -question is often omitted. But Mr. Rosenthal omitted nothing yesterday. -He hurled forth the Dionysiac declaration of war against all the chilly -conventions and proprieties, the priggeries and pruderies of Mrs. -Grundy, that forms the real content of the piece, with that technical -power in which he is surpassed by no living performer. After many -recalls he was constrained to play once more; and, by way of the -sharpest possible contrast, he gave Chopin's Berceuse, bringing out all -the delicate moonshine filigree of the right-hand part with infinite -subtlety. - - -[Sidenote: =Paderewski.= - -_October 29, 1902._] - -The recital given yesterday evening at the Free Trade Hall seems to have -been the last of Mr. Paderewski's art that we are likely to hear for -some time. He is not expected to visit Manchester again during the next -few years, and the occasion therefore seems fitting for a more general -discussion of his playing than is usual in a simple notice of a recital. -No doubt Mr. Paderewski is, on the whole, the most distinguished -executive musician now before the public. The Paderewski "craze" in -England and America is not a mere matter of fashion and folly, but is -shared by experts and brethren of the craft, many of whom are -irresistibly fascinated by Mr. Paderewski's playing, even while they -disapprove of much that he does. Why will he insist on using a -pianoforte with so hard a tone? Why is the skelp of his hand on the -keys so frequently audible from the most distant point of the hall, as a -sound quite separate from the musical notes? Why does he never play -Bach? Why does he always play Liszt's second Rhapsodie? Such are a few -among the searchings of heart to which Mr. Paderewski's public -performances give rise, and to none of them--probably--is there a -complete and satisfactory answer. The shallow-toned instrument admits of -greater clearness in the bass, and has a more scintillating kind of -brilliancy in the upper octaves, and Mr. Paderewski, who likes all -passage-work a little staccato, naturally favours it. The rage of his -"con gran bravura" lends greater charm to his _grazioso_ style, by the -principle of contrast--a point on which he often lays emphasis by rapid -alternations of the two styles. Iteration of show pieces, such as the -second Rhapsodie, is excusable in a pianist who is incessantly touring -the two worlds and playing to all sorts and conditions of men by land -and by sea. As to the Bach question we know nothing. He may even have -played Bach in other parts of the world. Mr. Paderewski's distinguishing -quality is a certain extraordinary energy--not merely a one-sided -physical, or even a two-sided physical and intellectual, energy; it is -of the fingers and wrists, of the mind, the imagination, the heart, and -the soul, and it makes Mr. Paderewski the most interesting of players, -even though to the extreme kind of specialist, absorbed in problems of -tone-production, he is not the most absolute master of his instrument at -the present day. His art has a certain princely quality. It is -indescribably _galant_ and _chevaleresque_. He knows all the secrets of -all the most subtle dancing rhythms. He is a reincarnation of Chopin, -with almost the added virility of a Rubinstein. No wonder such a man -fascinates, bewilders, and enchants the public! Greatly surpassed by -Busoni in the interpretation of Beethoven, by Pachmann in the touch that -persistently draws forth roundness, sweetness, and fulness of tone, and -by Godowsky in the mastery of intricate line and the power of sucking -out the very last drop of melody from every part of a composition, -Paderewski still remains the most brilliant, fascinating, and -successfully audacious of present-day musical performers, and in -preferring him the general public is probably right, though the keen -student of the pianoforte in particular may learn more from Godowsky, -and the earnest lover of the musical classics in general, more from -Busoni. - -The programme of yesterday's recital was on the usual lines, except in -regard to the Paganini Variations by Brahms, of which a selection from -the two volumes were played with astounding dash and incisiveness. The -unfamiliar Fantasia by Schumann was made perhaps a little more -interesting than any other player could have made it. Beethoven's C -sharp minor Sonata was given in a manner typical of Mr. Paderewski's -Beethoven renderings, except that there happens to be nothing in the -first and second movements that is alien to his Slavonic temperament. -The finale, belonging to that element in Beethoven which appeals to a -more broadly based human nature, sounded flimsy. The Chopin and Liszt -pieces were all splendidly done. The long-continued demonstrations of -enthusiasm in the latter part of the recital led to three additional -pieces, namely, a Nocturne of the performer's own composition, the -inevitable Rhapsodie aforementioned, and Chopin's A flat Waltz, with a -mixture of double and triple time. - - -[Sidenote: =Godowsky.= - -_March 17, 1903._] - -It is a little difficult to do justice to the qualities of Mr. -Godowsky's pianoforte playing without at the same time saying too much -and making claims that are not justified by the facts. It must be -remembered that there is no Liszt or Rubinstein at the present day. -Those men were giants--mighty personalities who dominated the musical -world, being essentially great as well as good players. The present -generation has no such personality among solo performers. Talents that -come to the top show a specialising tendency, and it is no longer -possible to say that so-and-so is the greatest pianist of the age. One -can only say that Mr. Busoni is the greatest musician who now plays -pianoforte solos in public, and Mr. Paderewski is the most brilliant -performer on the pianoforte, and Mr. Godowsky the most absolute expert -in tone production on the same instrument. It is not to be denied that, -taking Mr. Godowsky's art as a whole, and thus including musical -conception, one finds it imposing. He never comes within a measurable -distance of bad style: he always gives an essentially good rendering of -anything that he undertakes to perform. But what one principally admires -is not his mind, imagination, or temperament, but simply his hands--his -warm, subtle, and preternaturally deft wrists and fingers. Having -apparently been warned that the peculiar acoustic of the hall has a -tendency to make any pianoforte sound as if the pedal were down nearly -all the time, he yesterday avoided the bewilderingly elaborate style of -which he has made a speciality. But, in addition to the flawless -perfection of all the passage work, there was abundant opportunity in -the series of pieces by Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt to admire that -marvellous control of tone which often enables him to reveal fresh -melody in quite familiar compositions. The pieces that were least -affected by the cross reverberations of the hall were the Etude in -extended chords and the C sharp minor Scherzo by Chopin. On the other -hand, no one who has not heard Mr. Godowsky under more favourable -circumstances can imagine, from the experience of yesterday evening, the -magical effect of his performance in the G sharp minor Etude in thirds -for the right hand. In playing the exquisite F minor Concert Etude by -Liszt he deliberately kept the tone down to a minimum, to avoid the buzz -and confusion as far as possible. Liszt's transcription of the -"Tannhuser" Overture was used for the display piece that audiences -expect at the end of a recital. It is characteristic of Mr. Godowsky -that his favourite amusement is making rearrangements of Chopin's -Etudes--the "Godowsky Bedevilments," Mr. Huneker calls them. These -include the celebrated combination of the two G flat Etudes, where the -left hand has to play the one in the first book while the right plays -the legato and staccato improvisation from the second volume, and -another in which three Etudes in A minor are brought together -contrapuntally. Though they are all of course anathema to the purist, -the ingenuity displayed in some of these things is so prodigious that no -one interested in pianoforte playing can well be indifferent to them. - - -[Sidenote: =Lamond.= - -_December 15, 1903._] - -Mr. Frederic Lamond's strongest points as a pianist are not those which -the wider public most readily appreciates. He is not one of the -pianistic experts in the narrower sense, like Messrs. Pachmann and -Godowsky, for whom neat fingering and smooth tone-production are much -more important than musical interpretation. Mr. Lamond is before all -things a virile player. His style is broad and a little severe. He lacks -the peculiar grace and charm of Mr. Paderewski in the treatment of -dancing rhythm no less obviously than that faculty, akin to a Japanese -juggler's, which enables Mr. Pachmann to bring from the pianoforte a -tone more smooth and sweet than was ever before imagined possible. Mr. -Lamond's qualities are entirely different. Plastic force, technical and -imaginative grasp of the greater composers' greater ideas, a deep and -powerful but rather rough tone--these are the characteristics of his -playing, and they are characteristics better appreciated in Germany than -in this country, where music-lovers think too much of the merely smooth -and the merely deft and the "sweetly pretty." It is rather surprising -that neither of his recent performances in Manchester should have -included any example of Beethoven, of whose greater Sonatas Mr. Lamond -is now probably the best living interpreter, with the possible exception -of Mr. Busoni. He was of course quite right to play plenty of Liszt, but -it may be regretted that he gave so much of the later Liszt--who, -conscious of himself as the world-famous magician of the piano, often -improvised on rather poor themes, as if to show that any theme, however -weak, could be made interesting by his transcendental style of -ornamentation--rather than the earlier Liszt who wrote things of such -power and eloquence as the "Mazeppa" Etude. Mr. Lamond's mind seems -recently to have been running on Liszt's Tarantelle Fantasias. He played -the "Venezia e Napoli" Tarantelle at the Hall Concert and the "Muette -de Portici" Tarantelle yesterday--both pieces which are chiefly of -interest as proving that Liszt could improvise effectively upon any -conceivable sort of thematic material. It would have been much more -interesting to hear the "Mazeppa," which Mr. Lamond played in the -composer's presence and to his evident satisfaction when last he was in -London, a few months before his death in 1886, or some piece in that -pregnant early manner. His best performance yesterday was in Chopin's A -flat Polonaise--a composition of such excellence that, hackneyed as it -is, it cannot in a good rendering fail to give pleasure. Mr. Lamond did -full justice to the majestic beauty of the themes, which are all -absolutely good, and brought out the famous _basso ostinato_ section in -some respects better than we have heard it done since Rubinstein's -death. He did not adopt any of the revised versions of the left-hand -octave passages favoured by certain distinguished modern performers. On -the other hand, he did adopt Rubinstein's version of the ending, with -the unexpected and telling chord of C major just before the final -phrase. In Rubinstein's F minor Barcarolle--so interesting in rhythm, so -original in colouring--Mr. Lamond was not entirely successful, his -temperament apparently not furnishing a key to the vein of lyrism in -which the piece is conceived. Yet in Liszt's "Liebestraum" he was -perfect, though one might have expected that his Beethovenish tastes -would have rebelled against the hothouse atmosphere of the composition. -The opening performance of Schumann's "Carnaval" was powerful and -distinguished, but too broad in style to be in keeping with the -sub-title "Scnes mignonnes." On neither of these recent occasions has -Mr. Lamond played anything of his own, though he has composed plenty of -effective stuff for his instrument. He is beyond all question by far the -most distinguished pianist of British extraction that has yet arisen. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -VIOLIN-PLAYING. - - -[Sidenote: =Ysaye.= - -_November 8, 1900._] - -Two complete Concerti, each in the orthodox three movements, exhibited -the distinguished Belgian master's style, first in strictly classical -then in more florid and more highly coloured modern music. Of concerti -by the great Bach for a single solo violin only two are extant. One, in -A minor, has been frequently played here in recent years by Dr. Joachim -and Mr. Brodsky. The other, in E major, is comparatively unfamiliar. -Perhaps the accompaniment, which in the original score is for strings -alone, has been considered rather meagre, and the extremely simple form -of the concluding Rondo may also have been regarded as unsatisfactory. -For Mr. Ysaye's performance of the E major Concerto the accompaniment -has been strengthened with an organ part written by Mr. Gevaert, -Principal of the Conservatoire de Musique in Brussels, and it can -scarcely be questioned that the work as he presents it is beautiful, -interesting, and highly satisfactory as a concert piece. The most -characteristic part is the middle movement, which, as in Bach's Sonata -for the same instrument and in the same key, is in Chaconne form, with a -bass theme that wanders freely through different keys, while the upper -strings play a descent and the solo instrument embroiders. A most -powerful and telling performance was given of this noble Adagio, the -accompaniment being assigned to a small group of orchestral players -together with the organ, and the soloist devoting all the resources of -his art to bringing out the delicate figuration of the upper voice with -ineffably sweet tone and subtle phrasing. The first movement is -remarkable for such wealth of thematic development as one scarcely -expects to find in a work composed so long before Beethoven's time, and -the finale brings the work to a close upon a note of simple and hearty -feeling. If strong contrast with the style of Bach was desired, the -Saint-Sans concerto was well chosen for the second example of violin -music. Rich in colouring and surcharged with sensuous delights, the -modern Frenchman's composition passes along on its triumphant career, -like some fine lady, radiant in natural beauty and superbly attired, -witty, graceful, charming, and in every way effective--perhaps all the -more effective for being a little heartless. In the performance of this -music Mr. Ysaye was altogether in his glory. His astonishing warmth and -depth of tone lent fresh eloquence to such new phase of the solo part. -He made his instrument sing his Andantino theme with ravishing -sweetness, and his overwhelming technical power enabled him to revel in -the rushing and flying passages of the Mephistophelean finale. -Everything was magnificent, including even the harmonies in the Coda of -the slow movement, and the Concerto ended in a blaze of triumph. There -is only one fault to be found with Mr. Ysaye, namely, that he makes -everything sound modern. - - -[Sidenote: =Ysaye and Busoni.= - -_February 6, 1902._] - -If another and older master of the violin is commonly described--as it -were, _emeritus_--as greatest living violinist, it is unquestionably to -Mr. Ysaye that the title belongs in its full sense. Unparalleled warmth, -richness, and bouquet of tone, added to sovereign mastery of technique -and a marvellous temperament, full of fiery energy and yet apparently -incapable of exaggeration--such are the most obvious qualities of Mr. -Ysaye's art. He is not a genuine classic, like Joachim. Bach and -Beethoven he plays in virtue of infallible artistic _savoir vivre_; but -he is obviously in fuller sympathy with a Sonata or Concerto by -Saint-Sans, a Suite by Vieuxtemps, or a Fantasia by Winiawski. Yet -that artistic _savoir vivre_ is so complete that it is nearly always -impossible to find specific fault with his renderings of the classics. -This was the case yesterday in the Bach Sonata, which headed the -programme. Each of the four movements declared the mastery of the string -player, no less than of the pianist, Mr. Busoni--real kindred spirits of -Bach and Beethoven. The Vieuxtemps Suite, too, was given with such -beauty of tone that the superficiality of the composition was entirely -disguised, the slow movement sounding almost as though Bach had written -it. In the concluding sonata--a late work by Saint-Sans--it is -scarcely necessary to say that the violin-playing was perfect. Perhaps -some of the listeners remembered a performance by the same violinist of -Saint-Sans's Third Concerto at a Hall Concert not long ago. Again -yesterday we were treated to such playing as bewilders the senses and -seemed to place the transcendental cleverness of the French composer on -a level with the real imaginative power of greater men. Mr. Ysaye was -extremely well disposed--in fact, quite at his best--and was rapturously -applauded. As an extra piece he gave Beethoven's Romance in G, the -rendering being above criticism. - -Utterly dissimilar as Messrs. Ysaye and Busoni are in temperament and -artistic character, they meet as master musicians, and the association -is in the highest degree interesting. The one is all sense and the other -all spirit, and one feels that only the immensely high accomplishment of -both makes the association possible. Mr. Busoni's solo was that most -capricious and austere Sonata, Beethoven's 109th work. It was all -incomparably well rendered, and the Variations in the last movement, -which ultimately spin themselves into a kind of Fantasia, were a -prodigious revelation of technical power. It is long since such a -pianoforte performance has been heard in this city--a performance -stamped by austere beauty and lofty ideality, and free from all earthly -elements. What other pianist at the present day, we venture to ask, -could give us such a thing? - - -[Sidenote: =Kubelik.= - -_November 5, 1902._] - -Popularity such as Mr. Jan Kubelik, the young Bohemian violinist, at -present enjoys makes it very difficult to criticise his performance. He -has not to meet the same conditions as other violinists. Thousands of -persons who care little or nothing for music attend his recitals merely -because he is a recognised society pet, and he commands a fee that makes -it impossible for orchestral societies to engage him. The restrictions -imposed by this state of things are obvious. He can only play with -pianoforte accompaniment, or with none at all; he is obliged to adhere -almost entirely to music that is light in style and of only secondary -artistic worth, and during a certain proportion of each recital he has -to give himself up entirely to sensationalism. Thus, after hearing him -play through three complete recital programmes, we do not feel qualified -to express more than a very fragmentary opinion upon his art. That he -has all the ordinary technique of the instrument at his fingers' ends is -a notorious fact. His tone is never remarkable for volume, but often for -sweetness. His truth of intonation in the midst of intricate -passage-work is remarkable, and gives the sense of hearing a rare kind -of satisfaction. His memory seems to be entirely trustworthy, and his -manner is free from affectation; but as to his musical conception, we -can only say that it is quite adequate to the interpretation of such a -charming piece of light, racy, and popular music as Grieg's third -Sonata. The one scrap of Bach that he played yesterday--the -unaccompanied Prelude in E major--was not specially well done, and how -he plays Beethoven, Mozart, or any of the great masters we do not know -at all. His most _recherchs_ effects of tone Mr. Kubelik seems to hold -in reserve for the encore pieces. In the allegretto movement of the -Grieg Sonata--a most tenderly homesick and lovesick little northern -Romance--he did not let his violin sing with all the sweetness of which -it is capable, as was afterwards shown in the arrangement of Schubert's -"Ave Maria" and in an unpublished Serenade by the performer's friend and -compatriot Drdla--both played as extra pieces at the end of the recital. -Virtuoso music, in the rendering of which Mr. Kubelik is well known to -be a great expert, was represented in yesterday's recital by the -following pieces:--Wieniawski's Fantasia on Themes from Gounod's -"Faust," Paganini's caprice "I Palpiti," Bazzini's "Ronde des Lutins," -the last-named played among the encore pieces. We do not, as a rule, -care for the Fantasia on operatic airs, but Wieniawski's "Faust" -Fantasia is written with such wonderful ingenuity and musical skill that -it cannot be placed in the same category with the mere strings of tunes -with perfunctory accompaniments and connecting sections that such pieces -usually are. The Variation on the waltz theme, with the melody in -harmonics and the rushing accompaniment figure in the ordinary tone of -the instrument, is a marvel of successful audacity. It so happens, too, -that the rendering of this almost impossible Variation was the most -brilliant thing in yesterday's recital. - - -[Sidenote: =Kreisler.= - -_November 6, 1902._] - -We live in an age that seems likely to be known in the future as the -period of star violinists. It is curious to note how the musical world -illustrates the saying "It never rains but it pours." At one period we -have a long string of pianistic infant prodigies. Hoffmann, Hegner, -Hambourg--they come rapidly to the front, one after another, growing -ever younger and younger, and nearly always beginning with "h." Next we -break into the period of youthful violinists, beginning with "k." -Kubelik, Kocian, Kreisler come tumbling over each other's heel, each one -causing embarrassment to the critics for lack of any stronger terms of -commendation than were bestowed upon the last. It is true the string -players are not of such tender years as were the pianists on their first -appearance. The youngest of the violin prodigies was Bronislav -Hubermann, who not many years ago shook his elf-locks at the -Philharmonic Society of Vienna and more nearly succeeded in turning the -heads of that august, formidable, and severely critical body than might -have been thought possible. For the present we are mainly concerned with -Mr. Kreisler, who is not so desperately youthful, but is a mature and -military-looking man, though he is commonly reckoned among the players -of the new school, or the rising generation. His programme yesterday was -open to some of the same objections as Mr. Kubelik's on Tuesday evening. -It included nothing from the major prophets of music, the most important -piece being Tartini's "Trillo del Diavolo" Sonata--no doubt one of the -best examples of that school which grew up in Italy soon after the -perfecting of the violin at the end of the seventeenth century. In a -well-contrasted style was the only other piece in more than one movement -that he played, namely, Vieuxtemps' second Concerto. In the rendering of -these pieces one noted a peculiarly incisive manner of giving full value -to all the detail of the figuration, and also a singing tone of rich and -strangely penetrating quality. Mr. Kreisler's style is in sharp contrast -with Mr. Kubelik's. Instead of caressing the instrument and coaxing the -tone out of it, he wrestles with it and plucks out the heart of its -mystery. Nor does he seem to care for the sputtering Paganinities so -dear to the heart of Mr. Kubelik. His pieces in the second part of the -programme were a rather Mozartian Larghetto from a Sonata by Nardini (an -eighteenth-century Italian); a "Tambourin" by Leclair (an -eighteenth-century Frenchman), much modernised in the arrangement; a -bagatelle called "L'Abeille," by Franz Schubert of Dresden--not, of -course, the famous Schubert, but a violinist who died some twenty-five -years ago; an arrangement by Marcello Rossi of the "Song without Words" -in F, by Tchakovsky; and, finally, the Allegretto grazioso from the -same Nardini Sonata, played as an encore piece. "L'Abeille"--a clever -show-piece in perpetual motion triplets, played with a mute on the -bridge--was encored and repeated. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -MUSIC IN THE 19th CENTURY. - - -[Sidenote: =Mr. J. A. Fuller Maitland's English Music in the 19th -century.= - -_May 20, 1902._] - -As applied to Parry, Stanford, or Mackenzie, we are instructed, the -reproach of being "academic" has absolutely no aptness whatever. These -worthy dons are creative artists of the highest possible order, to be -classed with Bach, Beethoven, and Wagner, and it thus appears that about -the middle of the century British music arose like the lark, soaring at -once to the topmost airs of the welkin; that to find a parallel for the -revelation of genius during the fifty ensuing British years one has to -range over two German centuries! Not even Beethoven is to be excepted -from the list of things that were matched by our professorial larks, -swans, giants, heroes, angels, and demigods! Now all this represents a -rather deplorable state of things. Why is it--I cannot help asking once -more--that at the present time in this country so much worse nonsense is -written about music than about drama, literature, or any other kindred -subject? A great stir was recently made by the production of "Paolo and -Francesca," yet no admirer of Mr. Stephen Phillips has thought it -necessary to call him the equal of Shakespeare. There is certainly this -excuse for Mr. Fuller Maitland, that in the London press of recent years -much extravagance of the opposite kind has appeared--excessive and, in a -few cases, positively brutal detraction of Parry and Stanford and their -school--and perhaps the chief blame for the hysterical nonsense of -supporters lies within certain opponents who have attacked without -regard either for the facts of the case or even for common decency. In -any case a state of things has been brought about in which one party -howls "Incompetent humbug!" while the other shrieks "Genius of the -highest order!" - -In the meantime what about the truth and the critical currency? And is -it not a pity that Mr. Fuller Maitland should have missed the -opportunity afforded to him by the writing of this history to put off -controversial frenzy and return to a more judicial spirit? We that have -to do with the musical world are all perfectly well aware--whether we -describe Parry and Stanford as "academic" or protest against that -epithet--that they are men of high distinction who have played a leading -and brilliant part in the English musical revival and generally have -deserved well of the musical republic. For my part, while fully -recognising their eminence both in talent and character, I am of opinion -that their claims to regard as absolute creative artists are habitually -overstated by their supporters in the press. The appearance of Parry -created a considerable stir. His imposing grasp of choral polyphony was -something new in English music. His great intelligence, his wide -sympathy and geniality, his virility and industry--all these qualities -united to arouse enthusiastic hopes. But, as Mr. Fuller Maitland writes -on page 185, "with the passage of years the group of composers will fall -into truer and truer perspective." There has already been a considerable -passage of years since those first compositions, but the early -enthusiastic estimate has not been justified. Outside the circle of his -pupils and personal friends no one now seems to care very much for his -music. Here in the North of England concert societies find that the -public admiration of it is a rapidly vanishing quantity. Three years ago -his "Job" and "Blest Pair of Sirens" were given here, but ever since -that occasion his name has been something of a terror to our concert -societies. A frequent experience in regard to Parry's music is that, -whereas a first hearing impresses in virtue of massiveness and energy or -of striking and unconventional dramatic touches, second and subsequent -hearings are discouraging. "Job" is the most favourable case among the -choral and orchestral works that I have heard. It is thoroughly artistic -in conception and unconventional in treatment. Moreover, the lyrical -interlude of the shepherd-boy's song helps along the early part very -happily, and Mr. Plunket Greene is always eloquent in the -"Lamentations." Nevertheless, I found the second hearing a sad -experience. Now the impression that there is something wrong with -Parry's music--notwithstanding all the learning, resource, wide -sympathies, intelligence, and so forth that it shows--is undoubtedly a -very general one. To find any person not personally attached to the -composer taking up one of his works, great or small, is exceedingly -rare. The composer's personal popularity is great, but outside the -charmed circle no one seems ready to spend a shilling in hearing his -stuff or to risk a shilling in giving it. Mr. Fuller Maitland says that -the provincial choral societies are faithful to Parry, and this may be -true in some cases. To a society in the habit of occupying themselves -with the cantatas of Dr. Gaul I could imagine Parry would seem the -seventh heaven of art. But in the great centres or in any place where -there are ardent souls not to be deceived as to what is genuine in music -a revival of interest in Parry seems to me very improbable. - -At his worst, _e.g._, in "King Saul," he appeals; at his best, _e.g._, -in the "Soldier's Tent" (song with orchestral accompaniment), he almost -persuades. But the horrors of the empty tone masses hurled at one's head -in the "Saul" choruses, or of the purple patches of Wagnerian -orchestration associated with inept vocal phrases in the principal -monologue of the same oratorio--those horrors are so very genuine, -whereas the charm of such a song as the "Soldier's Tent," where the -composer keeps comparatively well to the point and scores with -comparative aptness, is still somewhat doubtful. A remark of Mr. Fuller -Maitland's helps me to a possible explanation of the something wrong. He -commends the "delicate humour" of "When icicles hang by the wall" in -Parry's English Lyrics. Now I have certainly never heard that song, but -I must have read it somewhere, for I distinctly remember the humorous -and expressive accompaniment at the words "coughing drowns the parson's -saw." It also comes back to me that other passages, such as all that -eight-part counterpoint at the end of "Blest Pair of Sirens," look -exceedingly well on paper. Possibly, then, the key to the mystery is -that Parry's music is analogous to those plays which read well but act -badly. Perhaps the way to enjoy it is to read it and admire the -fertility of device while taking great care never to hear it, and so -escape the consciousness of the fact that the actual wine of that music -as it flows forth is not quite the genuine thing; that, notwithstanding -notable fulness of body, the quality is gritty, the flavour somewhat -acrid and inky, the bouquet artificial and multifariously compounded. - -The root of the mischief I take to be that the composer--for all his -great and imposing powers, his fine taste, his profound and varied -learning--is wanting in sureness of touch and consequently in the -ability to establish that correspondence between form and idea without -which a work of art cannot properly be said to exist. Mr. Fuller -Maitland claims for Parry and his group that they "have far more -extensive resources in the different styles of music" than, for example, -the modern Russians, and this brings us back to the point of the -reproach conveyed in the epithet "academic." To musicians bent on the -holding of official posts and on success in a worldly career it is of -the first importance to "show extensive resources in the different -styles of music," and in the large body of Parry's compositions I find -far more evidence of desire to show such extensive resources than of the -artistic impulse to make music that is absolutely genuine. Sullivan, -with his much lower aims and ideals, is for me a better balanced -personality and a truer artist. Much of his music in the comic operas is -quite to the point. The outward form corresponds to the inward idea in a -certain absolute and final manner which there is no mistaking. Hence the -clearness of Sullivan's musical individuality or physiognomy. He was not -intent on showing resources, but on modelling his material into -conformity with his idea, and, because at his best he had the power of -doing that, his physiognomy is clear to us and his art vital. It thus -appears that such commercialism as Sullivan's does less mischief than -such academic tendencies as Parry's. - -In Stanford's case I have often protested against the indiscriminate use -of the epithet "academic." It seems to me that his compositions on Irish -subjects require to be considered quite apart from all the rest. However -deplorable may be that Brahmsian vein running through a great mass of -his non-Irish music, he really does in his "Phaudrig," "Shamus," and -Irish Symphony and in many of his Irish songs entirely escape from his -common-room and give us open-air music. No doubt, as Mr. Fuller Maitland -very justly points out, the humour of the Dogberry scenes in Stanford's -latest opera is admirable. Those are the scenes in which the composer -has followed the model of Verdi's "Falstaff" most closely. Elsewhere he -has undertaken to be more original and has not prospered so well. The -music of the love scenes is terrible. All that twisted, clever stuff can -never have any but a chilling, afflicting, alienating effect on a soul -in which any spark is left either of youthfulness or of sympathy with -youth. Stanford's musical cleverness, exceeding that of any other -mortal except Camille Saint-Sans, has been his bane. His sense of -humour, too, is perversely adjusted. In connection with any but an Irish -subject it is always liable to mislead him, and I have little doubt that -it is the humourist quite as much as the don in him which nowadays makes -it impossible for him to treat a love-passage in any but a chilly, -clever, allusive, intelligible-only-to-the-initiated style. He was a -very different man in 1881 when his "Bower of Roses by Bendeemer's -Stream" was first heard. Not that he has even now lost his faculty of -lyrical tenderness altogether. If the sentiment be associated with an -infant, or penetrated with a sense of the weird and uncanny, or -intermingled with (Irish) patriotic feeling, he can still find the -symbol, as his quite recent music to Moira O'Neill's "Songs from the -Glens of Antrim" abundantly proves. But the note of warmth and -simplicity proper to youthful romance he seems to have lost. A peculiar -case among Stanford's compositions is represented by the Irish Symphony, -concerning which Mr. Fuller Maitland has nothing to say. Here, -notwithstanding the Irish subject, the gown shows through to some slight -extent in one place, namely, the development section of the first -movement. The conventional critic finds fault with the scherzo in the -form of an Irish jig as unsymphonic, as it undoubtedly is. But there -would be more sense in suggesting that the composer should have made up -his mind to be thoroughly unsymphonic throughout the work, bringing his -first movement into harmony with the fine sennachee's improvisation that -stands second, the magnificent racy jig, and the buoyant finale. We -should thus have had an Irish Rhapsody in four movements without any -defect. Even now the one touch of the composer's evil genius that comes -out in the first movement is too slight to spoil the work, which has -been a joy for a long time, and does not seem to lose its charm. It thus -seems to me that Stanford is far too good a man for an "academic," -though I cannot deny that the epithet is actually justified by more than -half the entire body of his published works. - -After all it was scarcely likely that the sudden efflorescence of -English music, ensuing upon a long period of sterility, would lead at -once to fruit of complete maturity. We have now reached the second -generation since the revival, and it would be a pity if our best men at -the present day were nowise in advance of the leaders who came forward -thirty years ago. - - -[Sidenote: =Centenary Article.= - -_January 1, 1901._] - -At the dawn of the nineteenth century music was at a low ebb in this -country. Purcell had been dead more than a hundred years, and Handel -about forty years. The spirit of Puritanism had killed the -madrigal-singing of Shakespearean England and suppressed every other -manifestation of the popular musical genius. Charles II. had come back -from his long residence abroad with a contempt for English music, both -sacred and secular, which, as Pepys's Diary shows, he did not hesitate -to express in public, and thus the merry-makings of the Restoration -brought no revival of the national art. Nor was it likely that the -situation, as regards Court influence, should be improved by the House -of Hanover--at the time of their accession a race of aliens having no -sympathy with the national development of the art. Characteristic of the -view that cultivated Englishmen took of music about the middle of the -eighteenth century is a letter of Lord Chesterfield's,[3] written when -his son was staying at Venice, to warn him against all the "singing, -piping, and fiddling" of Italy. He gives the young man to understand -that it is unbecoming in a gentleman to take part in such things, though -he may pay a fiddler to play to him. Elsewhere, too, Lord Chesterfield -is even more crushing. He lays stress on the inevitable connection -between music and low company. The Venice letter was written in -1749--six years after the first performance of the "Messiah" in London -and ten years before Handel's death. Perhaps, therefore, the -Chesterfield view of music was at that time exceptional. But it must -have become more prevalent in the ensuing half-century, and the view of -music as an inferior art, represented in its extreme form by Lord -Chesterfield, is far from being extinct at the present day. At the same -time, fully to account for the low level of musical taste in the England -of 1801, due allowance must be made for the comparative neglect of all -but political and military affairs caused by the tremendous agitations -of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars. - - [3] "A taste of sculpture and painting is in my mind as becoming, as a - taste of fiddling and piping is unbecoming, a man of fashion." - -In the first year of the nineteenth century began the triumphant career -of John Braham, the first of the three great English tenor singers who -successively adorned the ensuing hundred years. Braham was a good -singer, but perhaps the most deplorable composer that ever successfully -foisted his rubbish on a tasteless public. His "Death of Nelson" -persists to the present day, for the justification of those who share -Lord Chesterfield's musical opinions, and even that unpardonable mixture -of sentimental slip-slop and half-hearted cock-a-doodle-doo seems to -have been a comparatively favourable example of the compositions with -which Braham regaled the London public during the early years of the -century. The scene of his first triumphs was Covent Garden Theatre, -where he was accustomed to appear in composite operatic entertainments, -his own part being almost invariably written by himself. A few years -after the London _dbut_ of Braham the penny-whistle melodies of Sir -Henry Bishop sufficed to make him the most popular composer of the day. -In 1810, when Bishop became director at Covent Garden, none of the -institutions that have played an important part in the musical progress -of the century as yet existed in this country. It is true the Festival -of the Three Choirs had been held regularly for a very long time -already. But there was no Philharmonic Society, no genuine opera, no -Saturday and Monday popular concerts of chamber-music, no Academy or -College of Music, no Crystal Palace or Hall orchestra. The great choral -associations, independent of Cathedral authorities, had not yet been -formed, and England was far too much isolated from the rest of the world -in regard to musical affairs. - -It is curious to note how precisely the downfall of Napoleon corresponds -with the beginning of better things in the English musical world. -Leipsic was fought in 1813, and earlier in that year--as though with a -premonition that an era was at hand in which it would be possible to -cultivate the arts of peace--a group of musicians assembled in London to -discuss the formation of a Philharmonic Society. The event is of -striking significance. Hitherto music had flourished only under the -patronage of Lords Temporal and Spiritual; but the _souffle_ of the -French Revolution had passed over the world, and it was time for -music--which had put off the courtly periwig and the courtly graces, and -had attained in Beethoven to the purely human standpoint--to be -established on a broader basis. Let us give the worthy Bishop his due. A -well-meaning person, if a trivial composer, he helped to found the -London Philharmonic Society, which was the first society in Europe, and -in the world, consciously formed for the furtherance of musical art and -for no other purpose. - -Glancing now at musical activity in other countries, we find attention -necessarily concentrated in the first instance upon the heroic figure of -Beethoven, who in this year (1813) had already given to the world his -Eroica, C minor, Pastoral, and Seventh Symphonies, besides his Violin -Concerto, Razoumoffsky Quartets, Waldstein and Appassionata Sonatas, his -one opera "Fidelio," together with the third "Leonora" overture, and -many other works of towering genius. As yet, however, the real -significance of Beethoven was undreamed-of in the philosophy of mankind -in general, if dimly suspected by a few enlightened persons, mostly -resident in Vienna. Mozart had died before the dawn of the century, and -Haydn soon after it, having demonstrated the incomparable excellence of -that Viennese school (founded on the teachings of Fux's "Gradus ad -Parnassum"), which had early attracted Beethoven--a Rhinelander by -birth--within its charmed circle, and held him there for life. In the -first year of the London Philharmonic Society's activity the music of -those three--Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven--formed the staple of the concert -programmes. In the second year the first performance in England of the -Eroica was given. Other works of the highest importance by the same -master soon followed, and in 1817 an unsuccessful attempt was made to -induce Beethoven to come to England himself and conduct compositions of -his own for the Society. In this manner connection was established -between this country and the great central stream of musical life and -energy at that time. - -Beethoven was the colossus who bridged over the gulf between the two -great countries of Classicism and Romance. Of the Romantic composers, -Weber--the founder of German National Opera--was the earliest born. His -music was first heard in England during the twenties, the opera "Oberon" -being brought out at Covent Garden under his own direction. Another -great Romantic composer born before the close of the eighteenth century -was Schubert--a wonderful but most unfortunate man of genius, destined -to meet with scarcely any recognition during his lifetime. At a much -later period he was discovered and introduced to this country by Sir -George Grove. The real seed-time of the Romantic School, however, was -the period from 1803 to 1813, which saw the birth of Berlioz, -Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Verdi, and Wagner (of all except -Berlioz between 1809 and 1813). It is curious that all the stars -destined to dominate the musical firmament of the period following -Beethoven's death should thus have risen above the horizon within the -short period of ten years, and all but one within a period of five -years. Every one of them, except Schumann, came sooner or later to our -hospitable shores and played a more or less important part in that -process by which we have gradually learned to discard Lord -Chesterfield's maxim about having nothing to do with fiddling ourselves, -while laying more and more to heart his other maxim about paying -fiddlers to play to us. - -Even more important than these flying visits of master composers from -abroad, for their influence on the formation of taste, were the more -regular visits of distinguished Continental performers, some of whom, -indeed, not only came regularly but came to stay. Of these the most -important were Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Hall, who in 1857 founded -the Manchester concerts that still bear his name; Mr. August Manns, who -became conductor at the Crystal Palace in 1855; and Dr. Richter, who has -been our regular visitor since 1877 and is now, to the great credit of -the Hall Committee and their supporters, living in our midst. Scarcely -less important among such foreign influences making for the welfare of -musical art in this country is the violin-playing of Dr. Joachim, who -has been our constant visitor ever since 1844. - -Pursuing the signs of awakening musical life in the second and ensuing -decades of the century, we note the foundation of the Royal Academy of -Music in 1823, and of the Sacred Harmonic Society in 1832. That Society, -now defunct, was originally founded with the idea of replacing an older -institution called the "Antient Concerts," which had come to grief -through depending too much on aristocratic patronage. The Sacred -Harmonic Society did good work by performing Handel's "Israel in Egypt," -"Dettingen Te Deum," and other works, besides the "Messiah." They also -did something to make Mozart's church music known in London, though with -little encouragement from the public, and they rendered a service to art -by insisting on complete performances instead of the scraps and tit-bits -from oratorios that were popular at that day. Soon after the founding of -the Sacred Harmonic Society, that is about the beginning of the -Victorian era, came the palmy days of Italian opera in London. But -though the expensive warblings of Grisi, Lablache, and Rubini were no -doubt found highly exhilarating by the privileged few who could afford -to hear them, it is doubtful whether they did anything for the -development of the national taste, except, perhaps, by firing the -ambition of Sims Reeves. - -Great as is the value of such fine stimulating influences--the visits of -distinguished players, singers, composers, and conductors, and -performances of master works by musical societies,--they are not enough -to leaven the mass of the people without systematic educational -endeavour. Reference has been made to the founding of the Royal Academy -of Music. Sixty years later the Royal College was instituted, with a -view to bringing educational opportunities more into conformity with -the wants of the time. Among the work done for the improvement of -musical education during the intervening period Mr. John Hullah's is -worthy of specially honourable mention. After studying popular musical -education in France, and especially the Orphon movement, Mr. Hullah -began classes at Exeter Hall for the musical instruction of -schoolmasters, and thus originated the vast development of musical -training in English elementary schools. In opposition to Mr. Hullah's -principles, Mr. John Curwen in 1853 founded the Tonic Sol-fa -Association, which has since spread its branches all over England. There -is supposed to be some sort of connection between staff notation and -Church principles, tonic sol-fa and Dissent. Some day, it may be hoped, -the history of choral singing in England will be written with the care -that the subject deserves. It remains to this day the principal -contribution of this country to musical art in modern times. Theoretical -mastership originated with the Germans, refined and exact orchestral -playing with the French, and brilliant solo singing with the Italians, -but it has been reserved for this country to perfect the art of choral -singing. Certain persons, more patriotic than truthful, try to make out -that the English are best in everything, but this claim in regard to -choral singing bears investigation. - -Next to the absolute contempt and neglect of music from which we began -to emerge early in the century, our greatest misfortune has been a -tendency to prefer composers representing the end of some artistic -development while rejecting the turbid and formally imperfect but -inspiring initiators. Thus, in one age we worship Handel--a mighty -musical architect, but one who never did and never could inspire -anyone--while we detest Bach, the most powerful of all inspiring, -stimulating, school-forming influences. In another age we make a -somewhat similar mistake in regard to Mendelssohn and Schumann, and it -is even possible to recognise the same unfortunate tendency at the -present day in the public attitude towards Richard Strauss and -Tchakovsky respectively, the former a rugged composer teeming with -ideas and varied suggestions, the other a remarkable painter in tones -but peculiarly restricted in the range of his ideas and emotions, taking -care never to suggest anything, but only to attempt what he can render -with symmetrical completeness. It is impossible not to regret that we -should thus continually prefer composers who lead to nothing, though -that is just what might be expected as a result of Lord Chesterfield's -principles. - -With regard to the extraordinary Mendelssohnian taste of the British -public which placed the accomplished fair-weather composer on a much -higher pinnacle here than he ever occupied in his own country, there is -even now one important question that has not yet been, and probably -never will be, settled. That Mendelssohn was long absurdly overrated is -certain; but the question is--Had there been no Mendelssohn, would our -choirs and public taken to better stuff, or would they simply have -concerned themselves so much the less with any sort of music? Possibly -the Mendelssohn craze was a necessary evil, supplying the requisite -spoon-meat for a period of musical infancy. It is, however, associated -with much humiliation. The main current of musical life and energy -since Beethoven's time has lain in the field of dramatic composition, -and from that main current we remained excluded for a most -unconscionable time. The case became a painful one, only to be met by -such sapient observations as that of the late Mr. Hueffer that "the -British public likes the dramatic stage and likes serious music, but -does not like the two things in combination." The real champion of the -Wagnerian art in this country was Dr. Richter, who, by the performance -of extracts at his orchestral concerts, gradually opened the ears of the -public and brought home the music to their hearts. In that task he was -well supported by Mr. Manns at the Crystal Palace and by Sir Charles -Hall in the Manchester neighbourhood. Hence the fact that though the -two impresarios who gave performances of the great "Ring" drama in -London in the eighties incurred grievous loss, Mr. Schultz Curtius gave -it in the nineties and prospered, and that the voice of senseless -detraction is mute, except in the case of one or two incorrigible old -mandarins who cannot escape from the fixed idea that life consists in -the correspondence of an organism with the environment of its -great-grandfather. - -The best of the English Cathedral composers was Samuel Sebastian Wesley, -whose enthusiasm for Bach, antedating the movement initiated by -Mendelssohn, has scarcely met with sufficient acknowledgement. Soon -after the middle of the century a group of British composers with a -wider than the purely ecclesiastical scope began to appear. Sullivan, -Mackenzie, Parry, Cowen, and Stanford all learned their art in Germany, -and came back to their native country to practise it. All of them have -written oratorios, but without lasting success except in the case of -Sullivan's "Golden Legend." Dr. Cowen's Scandinavian and Professor -Stanford's Irish Symphonies have done something to win esteem for -English music in other countries. But the great achievement of British -music during the past fifty years has been the Gilbertian operas, in -which Sir Arthur Sullivan matched with a perfect musical counterpart the -kind of libretto furnished by W. S. Gilbert, an original type of comic -opera being thus created. Among younger composers, Mr. Hamish M'Cunn -made a reputation with his "Land of the Mountain and the Flood" overture -that he failed to confirm. Mr. Coleridge-Taylor has had a very rapid -success with his "Hiawatha" music, whether of a more lasting kind -remains to be proved. By far the most remarkable British composer of -recently made reputation is Dr. Edward Elgar. Mr. Otto Lessmann, editor -of the "Allgemeine Musikzeitung" and the most distinguished musical -critic of Germany at the present day, wrote thus (after hearing "The -Dream of Gerontius" at Birmingham last October): "If I am not mistaken, -the coming man of the English musical world has already appeared, an -artist who has shaken off the bonds of conventional form and opened his -mind and heart to those great gifts which the masters of the expiring -century have left as an inheritance to the future--Edward Elgar, -composer of the one great religious choral work brought to a first -hearing at the Birmingham Festival, namely 'The Dream of Gerontius.'" - -Progress has been very much more rapid during the last twenty-five -years than in any other period of the century. Indeed, so wonderfully -has been the revolution in public taste effected by improved educational -opportunities and the more artistic and expressive style of singing and -playing introduced by the Wagnerian school, that musical art now finds -itself in a completely new atmosphere, and hope leaps out, probably -asking too much of the immediate future. The great lesson that requires -to be brought home at the present time to all concerned, directly or -indirectly, with musical affairs is that music is one of the fine arts, -that it is subject to the laws of art and no others. This seems a -painfully obvious principle when stated, but how rarely does anyone act -on it! We find any number of persons pursuing music as a sport, others -as a business, others as a mild discipline for children--a kind of -drill,--others again as a learned subject, but very few as an art. The -first result of mastering this lesson would be the shaking off of fixed -ideas, such as that every composer must play the organ and write church -music. Chopin wrote nothing but pianoforte pieces, yet his fame is -undying, and much more is heard of his music now--fifty years after his -death--than ever before, while plenty of composers whose works include -voluminous compositions for choir and orchestra are absolutely forgotten -in their own lifetime. The real artist is distinguished from other men -above all by being enamoured of perfection. He finds what he can do and -rests satisfied with doing that, whether it be a great thing or a small, -whether it be one thing or many. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -DR. HANS RICHTER. - -(_October 20, 1897._) - - -The genius of musical interpretation is a phenomenon of modern times. -Beethoven marks the end of that great symphonic period which begins with -Haydn, and though seventy years before the production of Beethoven's -greatest symphony, Joseph Haydn had been drilling the little Esterhazy -orchestra and trying to secure satisfactory performances, yet to the end -of Beethoven's time the most important orchestras were usually filled up -with amateurs for those special occasions on which a symphony was to be -performed. It seems certain that the notion of a rendering actually -corresponding to a symphonic composer's ideal intentions never dawned on -musicians as a practical possibility till long after the greatest of -symphonic composers was dead and buried. - -Beethoven, no less than Sebastian Bach, often wrote for the future--not -even for the next generation, but for the distant future. And -Mendelssohn, who re-discovered Sebastian Bach and did so much to stir up -the lethargy of his musical contemporaries and re-awaken interest in -the great works of the past--did not Mendelssohn announce, as a general -principle for the guidance of conductors, that they should beware of -slow _tempi_, and take everything at a good pace, so that the faults of -phrasing might not be too obvious? - -The very terms in which the recommendation was couched show that -Mendelssohn was not unconscious of the faults that marred the best -orchestral playing of his time; but being of a mild, easy-going -disposition, he was not the man to expect impossibilities--such is the -ordinary musician's term for any exertion a little out of his ordinary -routine. It was reserved for a more masterful mind to expect -impossibilities, and to obtain them. - -When the works of Wagner began to attract attention, consternation fell -on all the old-fashioned conductors of Germany, the "Pig-tails" as -Wagner never wearied of calling them. Life was not worth living, they -felt, if they had to deal with such scores, and then lamentations were -reinforced by the bandsmen, who found that countless passages written by -Wagner were impossible of performance. - -But it so happened, as if by a special Providence, that along with -Wagner certain performing musicians, who were not so easily frightened, -had been ripening towards their life's task. From Liszt and Von Blow -presently came demonstrations of the fact that Wagner's music was not so -impossible as at first thought to be, though requiring a method of -interpretation different from that of the "Pig-tails." In 1869 appeared -Wagner's pamphlet "On Conducting," just three years after his first -meeting with Hans Richter, and, whatever may be thought of the style of -that pamphlet, it is beyond question that it marks the beginning of a -new era in the history of orchestral music. Besides Richter, all modern -conductors of world-wide reputation--Blow, Levi, Seidl, Weingartner and -Richard Strauss--were found in the same school. They learned from Wagner -how to play Beethoven, and their method has revolutionised the musical -world. - -Now that Blow is gone, the acknowledged leader and master of them all -is Hans Richter, the incarnate genius of musical interpretation. - -To Richter's influence and example, far more than to anything else that -could be named, is due that prodigious improvement in the standard of -orchestral performance all over the world, which is the most notable -feature in the history of music during the past thirty years. -Principally owing to Richter's matchless combination of artistic -enthusiasm, practical mastery, and genial good sense, we now hear things -that musical prophets and wise men, such as Beethoven desired to hear -and had not heard. - -Hans Richter belongs to a German family of musicians. He was born at -Raab, in Hungary, in 1843, and, after a good musical grounding, entered -the Conservatorium at Vienna in 1859. He chose the horn as his principal -instrument, but his gift for playing musical instruments was so -prodigiously strong that in the course of a few years he acquired the -technical control of all the more important instruments in the -orchestra, besides pianoforte and organ. - -One of the earliest appointments that he held was that of principal -horn-player at the Imperial Opera in Vienna. After quitting the -Conservatorium he continued his studies under Sechter, the celebrated -contrapuntist, and thus when the great opportunity of his life came he -approached his task with magnificent and perhaps unparalleled resources, -in respect of practical and theoretical knowledge. The opportunity came -in 1866--Wagner, then living in Switzerland, wanted a competent musician -to help him in preparing the score of "Meistersinger" for the press. - -To Vienna, then, as now, the metropolis of the musical world, he -forwarded the request that such a musician should be found and -despatched to him at Triebschen, near Lucerne. The choice fell on -Richter, and thus the two great men, the exact complements of each other -as regards their artistic power became acquainted. Richter took up his -residence in Wagner's house; the great composer, who possessed a -Napoleonic eye for talent, at once appreciated the immense powers of his -youthful colleague, and an alliance sprang up between the two men which -only terminated at Wagner's death. - -Trial performances with orchestras brought together from the musicians -of Zrich and Lucerne quickly convinced the Wagnerian circle of -Richter's genius for selecting, training and conducting an orchestra, -while the preparation of the "Meistersinger" score was carried out to -the composer's complete satisfaction. Those who examined the fair copy -of Richter's handwriting which was on view at the Musical and Theatrical -Exhibition of 1892 in Vienna can testify to the marvellous neatness as -well as to the technical correctness and good style of Richter's -manuscript. It should be remembered, too, that the score of -"Meistersinger" was at that time by far the most intricate in existence, -and is even now only surpassed in elaborate complexity by "Tristan." - -But not only with the preparation of the score was Richter concerned. -Long before Wagner had put the final touches to "Meistersinger," Richter -had taken the solo and choral parts to Munich, and had there personally -trained the singers who were to take part in the first production. The -style was so new and so perplexing to the musicians of the day that -Richter encountered apparently insuperable obstacles at every turn. -Nevertheless, everything was carried through to a brilliantly successful -issue, and the first performance of "Meistersinger," which took place at -Munich in June, 1868, was really the first great triumph of the -Wagnerian cause. Though Blow was at the conductor's desk, it is -unquestionable that the labour of Hercules, which was necessary to bring -the work to a first hearing, was performed in the main by Richter. - -At the sixth performance the representative of Kothner fell ill, and, at -the last moment, Richter stepped into the breach, donned the costume of -Kothner, and sang and acted the part with great success. No wonder a -distinguished critic should have said that Wagner's "Meistersinger" has -become part of Richter's flesh and blood. - -He prepared the score; he trained all the singers and players for the -first performance; he has conducted countless brilliant representations -of the entire work, and on one occasion, at any rate, he enacted one of -the characters. The qualities exhibited by Richter in connection with -the production of "Meistersinger" caused him to be appointed -fellow-director with Blow at the Royal Opera in Munich, and when Blow -resigned in the following year Richter stood alone in that post. - -The impatience of the King of Bavaria to have Wagner's immense -"Nibelung" trilogy performed was the cause of a premature attempt to -present "Rheingold" before the extraordinary _mise-en-scne_ required by -that work was ready. Rather than take part in an unworthy rendering, -Richter tendered his resignation and quitted the brilliant post to which -he had been so recently appointed. Thus early did Richter show the stuff -of which he was made. He had absolutely nothing else in view. He simply -had to look about for employment, and we next find him in Paris, working -in combination with Pasdeloup, who was engaged in a scheme for bringing -out "Rienzi" at the Thatre Lyrique. The scheme came to nothing, but the -authorities of the Thatre de la Monnaie in Brussels, who had heard of -Richter's fame, invited him to come and superintend the first production -of "Lohengrin" in French which they were preparing. - -With "Lohengrin" in Brussels he was no less successful than with -"Meistersinger" in Munich. Though at first everyone found the music -"impossible," on March 21st, 1870 a magnificent performance was -achieved. As an example of the difficulties with which Richter had to -contend in preparing for that performance, it may be mentioned that he -found the choral singers at the theatre incapable of rendering their -parts, and had to teach them, note by note, like children. Yet in the -public performance there was no trace of these miseries, everything went -with freedom and spontaneity, and ever since the first production under -Richter "Lohengrin" has been a great feature of the Brussels repertory. - -After fulfilling his engagement in Brussels, Richter returned to -Triebschen, near Lucerne, where he found Wagner just finishing that -colossal work, the "Ring of the Nibelung." It seems almost incredible -that in addition to their gigantic labours in bringing what was almost a -new art into existence, these remarkable men should have found means at -this period of devoting much time to the study of Beethoven's string -quartets. Richter took part regularly in the quartet playing, and he -considers these hours during which he was initiated by Wagner into the -deepest mysteries of Beethoven's art among the most valuable of his -experiences. In the same year, 1870, Wagner finished his "Siegfried -Idyll," a lovely _aubade_ that was written in honour of his infant son's -birthday. Richter had been entrusted with the task of getting together a -small orchestra in Lucerne, and of rehearsing the new work with them. On -the appointed day the musicians assembled on the steps of the villa at -Triebschen and performed the piece under Richter's direction to the -delight of the Wagner household, among whom the "Siegfried Idyll" is -generally known as the "Treppenmusik" (from "Treppe," a stair or flight -of steps). - -The following year Richter accepted an invitation to Buda-Pesth, and -there he remained until, in 1875, he was appointed conductor at the -Imperial Opera in Vienna, a post that he still (in 1897) holds. Thus -the Austrian Capital became for the second time his home and the centre -of his activity, and, indeed, those who know him well, know that in -spite of all cosmopolitan experiences, Richter is "ein echter Wiener"--a -true child of Vienna. - -The next "labour of Hercules" was the bringing out of Wagner's trilogy, -the "Ring of the "Nibelungs" with which the Bayreuth theatre was -inaugurated in 1876. During the rehearsals Wagner sat on the stage -directing the actors and Richter stood at the conductor's desk. - -Now that the work has become familiar we have lost all standard for -estimating the task which Richter undertook and once more carried -through to a brilliantly successful conclusion. - -That vast scene which occupies four evenings in performance he seemed to -have at his fingers' ends. Such was the impression made by Richter upon -all who were concerned, either actively, or merely as spectators and -listeners, in the inaugural Festival of 1876 at Bayreuth that they -recognised him as a new phenomenon in the world of art. - -The period of modern orchestral conducting may be said to date from that -occasion. It was then brought home to everyone that conducting was a -great art worthy of independent cultivation. The public began to take an -interest in the style of different conductors, and to show some -sensitiveness as regards interpretations of the great masters. The era -of the "Pig-tails" had come to an end. - -In 1877 Richter came with Wagner to London, and ever since that year the -"Richter Concerts" have been a regular institution in this country. In -Vienna, the city of his adoption, he is conductor, not only at the -opera, but also of the Philharmonic Concerts, and latterly of the music -in the Imperial Chapel. - -Of late years Richter has conceived a certain dislike to the theatre, -where he finds his work beset with small worries. He is coming to regard -the concert-hall more and more as his special sphere of activity. Upon -Richter's art as a conductor a good-sized book might be written. Here I -can attempt no more than to enumerate a few of his qualities:--Practical -knowledge of the technique belonging to all the more important -instruments; mastery of musical theory in all its branches; an unerring -rhythmical sense; judgment and insight with regard to every possible -musical style, enabling him always to find the right tempo for any -movement or section of a movement (the most important and most difficult -thing for a conductor); mastery of the principles discovered by Wagner -respecting orchestral dynamics, such as the necessity of equably -sustained tone without crescendo or diminuendo, as a basis to start upon -the conditions determining proper balance of strings and wind, the -nature of a round-toned _piano_ delivery (to be studied from first-rate -singers), the manner of producing long crescendos and diminuendos, also -of producing a true _piano_ and a true _forte_ (Wagner having pointed -out that old-fashioned orchestras never played anything but -mezzo-forte); mastery of Wagner's system of phrasing, his far-reaching -investigations with regard to _cantabile_ passages, his treatment of -_fermate_, his distinction between the naf _allegro_ and the poetic -_allegro_; mastery and practical realisation of all Wagner's other -ideas concerning musical interpretation or public performances, a -subject in which Wagner took a far more deep, expert and fruitful -interest than any other of the great composers. - -Finally, Richter is distinguished from most other conductors by his -personal behaviour at the conductor's desk. He is free from antics; -every movement has significance and every attitude has dignity. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -NIETZSCHE. - - -[Sidenote: =Nietzsche and Wagner.= - -_June 18, 1896._] - -The intellectual world of the later nineteenth century has no more -remarkable and original, and also no more tragic, figure to show than -the author of these essays. He was descended from a noble Polish family -originally named Nietzky, who gave up their title and estates and -settled in Germany on account of Protestant convictions. Friedrich -Nietzsche was born in 1844. He received a classical education, and at -twenty-eight years of age became Professor of Classical Philology in the -University of Ble; but throughout life his love of art, and especially -of music, remained an absorbing passion. It appears that his musical -instinct was first aroused by the works of Schumann, and that youthful -enthusiasm led to serious musical studies. Later on he became the most -ardent of Wagnerians, and finally the fiercest of Wagner's assailants. -Nietzsche's earliest writings are academic monographs on various -classical subjects, the brilliant scholarship of which led to his -appointment at Ble. The philosophical essays began to appear towards -his thirtieth year, during his professorship at Ble. There are verses, -too, by Nietzsche which exhibit a genuine poetic faculty. The manner and -order of Nietzsche's mental awakening is worthy of attention--first, the -love of music, leading to a general interest in art; next, philological -studies, originally undertaken, in the opinion of his sister Madame -Frster-Nietzsche, as a relief from the feverish problems of modern -sthetics, and pursued to such purpose that he became a master of Roman -and Greek learning. His writings also reveal a wide knowledge of Hebrew -and Indian literature, besides thorough familiarity with all that is of -first-rate importance in modern thought. His first intellectual master -seems to have been Schopenhauer. In the year 1889 Nietzsche became -hopelessly insane. There is not the least trace of mental disorder in -the previous family history. The stocks from which he was descended were -on both sides of exceptional energy, ability, and character. There is -also abundant testimony to the simplicity, amiability, and charm of his -personal character. His friends and colleagues at Ble seem to have had -no suspicion of the explosive energies which appear in his writings. His -tastes were throughout life reserved and fastidious, and the ultimate -breakdown of his mind can only be attributed to the sheer excess of -feverish energy with which he lived the intellectual life and to the -effects of spiritual isolation upon a sensitive and most arrogant -nature. He now lies to all intents and purposes dead at -Naumburg-on-the-Saale, in Saxony, which for the past fifty years has -been the home of the family. - -The present volume contains Nietzsche's latest essays, the publications -of 1888. The sub-title given to the "Twilight of the Idols," namely, -"How to Philosophise with a Hammer," applies equally well to the entire -volume, which deals exclusively in destructive criticism. The "idols" -upon which Nietzsche here exercises the hammer of a singularly -comprehensive iconoclasm are those of modern democratic civilisation. -The editor of the series is Dr. Tille, Lecturer on German Language and -Literature in the University of Glasgow, and author of "Von Darwin bis -Nietzsche," a book that has attracted some attention in Germany. No -explanation is offered of the motives which prompted the choice of -Nietzsche's latest works for the first volume of the English edition. -The history of Nietzsche's life since 1876 is the history of a tragic -struggle. In that year he attended the Bayreuth festival, though in a -weak state of health. The impression was overpowering, and henceforth -the Wagnerian drama appeared to him in a new light. He conceived a -horror of Wagner, but so deeply rooted in his affections was the -Wagnerian art that with his belief in Wagner everything else that he had -cared for was cast to the winds; he turned upon the religion of his -childhood, the philosophy of his youth, the very land of his birth, and -the only language that he really knew. Why, it may be asked, is the -"Wagner Case," where the Bayreuth master figures as a "rattlesnake," -offered to readers who have had no means of access to the earlier essay -by the same writer called "Wagner in Bayreuth," an utterance of -enthusiastic discipleship and probably the most discerning appreciation -of Wagner ever yet published? Again, in the early essay on -"Schopenhauer as Educator," one of the "Inopportune Contemplations," -Nietzsche reckons himself among those readers of Schopenhauer who know -almost from the outset that they have encountered a determining -influence; and, indeed, so saturated is Nietzsche with Schopenhauer's -ideas that he cannot get rid of the Schopenhauer terminology even in his -later writings, where Schopenhauer has become an "old false-coiner." The -expression "Wille zur Macht," an obvious modification of Schopenhauer's -"Wille zum Leben," continually recurs even in Nietzsche's latest -writings, and was to have formed the title of an entire book in his -projected work "The Transvaluation of all Values." The same early work -contains a passage in which Christianity is called one of the purest -examples of the striving after perfection to be found in the history of -mankind, while the "Antichrist," the last essay in the volume now before -us, is a new and more formidable version of the Voltairian "Ecrasez -l'Infme," a furious denunciation not merely of Christian dogma, but -also, and more especially, of the ethical principles that are the -essence of the Christian system for the modern world. All these -recantations thus appear with scarcely a hint of the antecedent -confessions of faith. It has been denied that the mental development of -Nietzsche underwent any revolution or breach of continuity in the year -1876. German disciples have attempted to prove the consistency of that -development, and in the April number of the "Savoy" Magazine Mr. -Havelock Ellis remarks, with reference to Nietzsche's Polish descent, -that he was "not Teuton enough to abide for ever with Wagner." But in -any case the apostacy of Nietzsche from Wagner is a painful subject. -When he satirises Germany as the "flat-land" of Europe, the land of the -Hyperboreans and worshippers of Woden, the god of bad weather, when he -accuses the Germans of loving everything nebulous and ambiguous and -hating clearness, consistency, and logic, we may remember that though -Germany was the land of his birth Nietzsche was not a German by blood. -But to Wagner he had been bound by ties of personal friendship as well -as by fervent artistic admiration, so that no sufficient excuse can be -offered for the appalling diatribe in which he smothers with ridicule -both Wagner himself and everything connected with the Wagnerian art. The -plea of insanity can scarcely be allowed. There is too much method in -Nietzsche's madness. Moreover, he is no vulgarian like Nordau, lecturing -in a muddy pathological jargon about subjects completely over his head. -Nietzsche knew what he was talking about; if he had not first been the -most enthusiastic of Wagner's disciples he could not have become so -formidable an enemy. But though we may wish that on arriving at a new -mental standpoint he had dealt more gently with his former friends, yet -the temper which leads a writer to disregard every other consideration -in sheer intentness on the truth of the matter in hand is a quality not -to be slightly discounted. - -That Nordau should have anticipated Nietzsche in this country is a -public calamity. The talk about Wagner's degeneracy and decadence had -thus passed into a tiresome cant, and now that the real source of the -only serious anti-Wagnerian criticism makes its appearance the task of -disengaging the important side of that criticism seems almost hopeless. -A few of the leading points against Wagner's works may, however, be -mentioned here--the want of life in the whole and the excess of life in -the small parts, the internal anarchy, the distress and torpor -alternating with disturbance and chaos, the dwelling on the pathetic -note till taste is overcome and resistance overthrown, the hypnotic -character of Wagner's influence, his musty hierarchic perfumes, his -wealth of colours and demi-tints, his mysteries of vanishing light that -spoil us for other music--these are some of the characteristics of -decadent art upon which the case against Wagner is based, and it is -impossible to deny either the acuteness of Nietzsche's observation or -the damaging character of his indictment. On the other hand, it must be -remembered that the renovation of musical drama under Wagner's influence -is an unquestionable fact. Wagner saved us from the period when operas -were concocted from point to point by the most distinguished composer of -the day with a view to the tastes of the Parisian Jockey Club. Wagner -brought back dignity and poetry; he brought back sincerity, he infused a -strain of powerful and far-reaching vitality into the art that he -practised. The enthusiasm of the Wagnerian renascence absorbed nearly -all that was commanding in the musical talent of the time; it affected -even the Italian school, which had hitherto pursued an absolutely -independent line of development. Admitting, therefore, that Nietzsche is -often right in detail, just as Voltaire is now and then right when he -finds fault with "Hamlet," we are disposed to reject Nietzsche's general -conclusion no less emphatically than Voltaire's description of Shakspere -as a drunken savage. The truth is that decadence or decline in one -principle of vitality often means awakening energy in another. Nietzsche -had latterly worked himself to a point of view from which the mystery of -northern poetry and the vividly imaginative detail of Gothic art are -intolerable. His remarks about Wagner's want of taste in the disposition -of broad masses and his over-liveliness in minute detail are like a -criticism of Strasburg Cathedral by an ancient architect; his view of -the Wagnerian drama as concerned with problems of hysteria and as -exhibiting a gallery of morbid personages is like an indictment by a -Roman patrician of the entire "Corpus Poeticum Boreale." Nietzsche was -all his life a stranger to tolerance and compromise, and towards the end -this peculiarity became greatly accentuated. His failing health -attracted him to southern climates, and he presently decreed that the -north was no longer to exist. Having found a sort of salvation among the -"Halcyonians," he is constrained to wage spiritual warfare against all -Hyperboreans, and especially against Wagner, regarded as the typical -Hyperborean. "Ah, the old Minotaur!" says Nietzsche, "What has he not -cost us already! Every year trains of the finest youths and maidens are -led into his labyrinth to be devoured. Every year all Europe strikes up -the cry: 'Off to Crete! Off to Crete!'" It is highly interesting to -observe where Nietzsche finds an antidote for the painful impression of -the Wagnerian art. The one modern work that thoroughly satisfied his -later taste was Bizet's "Carmen." "This music seems to me perfect," he -says; "it approaches lightly, nimbly, and with courtesy. It is rich and -precise. It builds, organises, completes, and is thus the antithesis of -that polypus in music which Wagner calls unending melody. It has the -subtlety of a race, not of an individual. It is free from grimace and -imposture. I become a better man," says Nietzsche, "when this Bizet -exhorts me. Such music sets the spirit free. It gives wings to thought. -With Bizet's work one takes leave of the humid north and all the steam -of the Wagnerian ideal." "Carmen" is only the music of devil-may-care, -of gaiety and sunburnt mirth, with a strong spice of southern passion; -but it has really vivid originality, it has true unity of style, and the -unerring perfection with which the composer has caught and reflected a -certain mood of wayward grace and mastered the musical symbolism of the -bright and fierce and fickle south, the lightness and fire, the logical -development and rhythmical charm of the music stamp the work as an -unmistakable masterpiece of its kind. In his delight at finding -something congenial to his later taste Nietzsche forgot the question of -scope, and forgot that Bizet was only a trifler. It was enough for him -that he had found a "Halcyonian" to contrast with Wagner, the -"Hyperborean." Another objection to the line taken in the introduction -is that the isolated insistence on Nietzsche's "physiological" standard -gives the impression of a type of thinker inconceivably remote from what -he really was. Many a dull and stodgy materialist, such as the author -of "Kraft und Stoff," has maintained the universality of the -physiological standard; while the special characteristic of Nietzsche's -ethical ideas is surely something very different. Is it not the -audacious denial that any one ethical system is valid for all classes of -mankind?--the theory of "Herrenmoral" and "Sklavenmoral," -master-morality and slave-morality--and the attribution of all social -mischief to the ever-increasing prevalence of slave-morality over -master-morality. Is it not the acceptance of the caste-system as the -simple recognition of a universal and unchanging fact of life which -really differentiates Nietzsche both from the English moralists and from -all other European writers whatsoever? Perhaps Dr. Tille was unwilling -to alarm his readers, and conscious of addressing a public which regards -the question of human equality as having been finally settled a hundred -years ago, deliberately avoided bringing forward opinions that savour of -Oriental despotism. But seeing that every line of Nietzsche's writings -is animated by such opinions, it is impossible to deal with the subject -at all without shocking the ideas of a democratic age. Nietzsche, it -should be remembered, was a belated scion of the proudest, most -turbulent, and most ruthlessly tyrannical aristocracy that ever existed. -He witnessed, with despairing rage, both the success of vulgarity in -that modern Europe which had ruined his ancient and noble race, and what -he regarded as the progressive depreciation of the high-bred qualities -in human nature under the influence of socialistic ideas. Though nowhere -expressly stated, the thought of his people, disinherited for their -inability to adapt themselves to the modern spirit, is never absent -from his consciousness, and he uses his matchless literary power to tell -the men of an industrial and co-operative civilisation what the last of -genuine aristocrats thinks of them. With advancing years Nietzsche -became less and less German and more and more Polish, till after the -break with Wagner and Schopenhauer we find him openly satirising -everything German. He has, in fact, "reverted to type," and from 1876 -onwards he figures as a feudal aristocrat in exile. - -In his general type of culture Nietzsche was very un-English. The -questions of sthetics have never been treated in this country as -anything but an affair of dilettantes--at best a superior kind of -trifling; whereas for Nietzsche they were a matter of life and death. -And if it is a point of conscience with cultivated Englishmen to take -some interest in graphic and plastic art, we have nevertheless -practically excluded music from our scheme of culture. We have, perhaps, -advanced a little beyond Lord Chesterfield's view of music as a pursuit -leading to nothing but waste of time and bad company, and an English -nobleman of the present day would probably hesitate to lay down, as Lord -Chesterfield laid down, that the legitimate claims of music upon the -attention of a cultivated man are adequately met by the occasional -giving of a penny to a fiddler. Yet in the depths of his consciousness -the typical Englishman has still a tendency to regard the disputes of -the musical world as Byron regarded the Handel and Buononcini -controversy:-- - - "Strange all this difference should be - 'Twixt Tweedledum and Tweedledee." - -Excepting, perhaps, one or two recent cases, such as Dr. Parry and Mr. -Hadow, our men of light and leading have had nothing important to say -about music, whereas for Nietzsche, a scholar and critic of commanding -reputation, music was the one art possessing genuine vitality in the -modern world, and the questions of musical sthetics were anything but -an affair of dilettantes; they were the questions connected with a -tremendous power for good or evil. - -Of all Nietzsche's fantastic conceptions that which has produced the -most curious results is the famous "blonde beast," a sort of bogey -invented for the purpose of annoying and frightening Socialists. The -satirist begins by expressing contempt of herding creatures and -admiration of "beautiful solitary beasts of prey." Sheep and cattle, he -reminds the Socialists, are naturally gregarious, but lions have never -been known to acquire the gregarious instinct. Next he develops the -theory of analogy between great men of the conquering type and common -criminals--the same theory as is set forth, ostensibly as a joke but -really with much seriousness, in Fielding's "Jonathan Wild." This theory -stands in high repute among Socialists, who find it useful for attacking -great men of the conquering and warfaring type, so that when Nietzsche -turns it against Socialism he strikes with a two-edged sword. Lastly, he -conjures up a fearsome image of predatory and unscrupulous vigour, a -combination of Napoleon and feudal aristocrat. This is the "blonde -beast" which, according to the programme of the Nietzschian apocalypse, -is to devour the enfeebled man of the modern world. It is one of -Nietzsche's happiest inspirations, and has already provoked a -literature. Quite recently, for example, a book appeared in Germany -accepting with perfect gravity and recommending for immediate practical -adoption the principles of the "blonde beast." One might almost imagine -that Nietzsche foresaw some such result with secret satisfaction at the -idea of his posthumous revenge on the "flat-land." There are signs, too, -in the English press that the popular imagination is about to fix on -Nietzsche as a writer who recommends promiscuous ruffianism. Was not -Darwin known for many years as the preposterous eccentric who said men -were descended from monkeys? It is, however, advisable to warn those who -are not greatly concerned with mental problems, who value tradition and -take a hopeful view of life, that they had better leave Nietzsche alone. -His influence is on the whole gloomy, disquieting, and profoundly -unsettling, though in relation to the critical literature of the -Continent he is unquestionably one of the great originals, one of the -few "voices" that find many echoes. - - -[Sidenote: =Nietzsche in English.= - -_August 4, 1899._] - -The publication of a complete English translation of the works of -Nietzsche is an enterprise which deserves the cordial thankfulness of -all lovers of profound thought and fine literary style. It is not too -much to say that no German writer since Goethe's death, with the -possible exception of Schopenhauer, has united in the same degree as -Nietzsche the two characteristics of originality of matter and charm -and pungency of expression. And of no modern writer whatever, except of -George Meredith, can it be said that he possesses anything like -Nietzsche's power of compelling his reader, whether he is an admiring -reader or a protesting one, to think for himself about the fundamental -problems of life and conduct. Nietzsche's philosophy, with its intense -hatred of Christianity and modern humanitarianism, is scarcely likely to -make any large number of converts among us, but if it can compel us to -ask ourselves honestly and plainly what the unacknowledged ideals of our -civilisation are, and whether they are, after all, capable of being -rationally justified, he will have done an infinitely greater service to -thought than any founder of sect or school. - -If one measures the worth of a book by its suggestiveness rather than by -the degree in which its propositions can be accepted as a whole, -Nietzsche's own description of his "Thus spake Zarathustra" as the -profoundest of German works will hardly appear exaggerated. In the -absence of the great work on the "Transvaluation of all Values," which -was so lamentably cut short by the philosopher's incurable illness, -"Zarathustra" must probably be accepted as the prime document of the new -moral code, of which Nietzsche was the best known and most eloquent -preacher. - -Nietzsche's hero has, of course, very little in common with the -semi-historical fighting prophet of Iran. Under the disguise of a story -with no particular scene or date, he gives you a treatise on the moral -life as it might be if men would regard the extirpation of the unfit and -the propagation of a race of physically and mentally superior beings as -the first and last of human duties. Of course, in any such picture there -must always be many subjective features, and much that is characteristic -of Zarathustra, his extreme individualism, his love of loneliness and -solitary places, his hatred of a complex and expensive life, is simply a -reflection of the peculiar personal taste of his Creator. Had Nietzsche -himself not been free from ordinary social and domestic ties, it is -likely that the individualistic and anti-social strain in his teachings -would have been far less prominent than it is. But when all allowance -has been made for such personal idiosyncrasies, it remains the fact that -Nietzsche has more boldly than any other writer of our time raised the -most important of social questions; the question whether the ethical and -political ideals of Christianity, of democracy, of universal -benevolence, are those of a healthy or those of a radically diseased -humanity. No future vindication of our current idea can be regarded as -of any value unless it sets itself to grapple, more seriously than -professional moral philosophy has as yet done, with the attack of -Zarathustra. In the minor writings which fill the other two volumes of -the translation already published, Nietzsche is less constructive and -more purely iconoclastic. The "Antichrist" subjects the established -religion of Europe and the moral code based upon it to a criticism which -is always suggestive, often profound, sometimes merely angry and -wrong-headed. The attack upon Wagner, in whom Nietzsche had once looked -for a master, is closely connected with the furious onslaught upon -Christian ideals. Of Wagner the musician Nietzsche has many things both -hard and shrewd to say, but the Wagner against whom the main brunt of -his polemic is directed is Wagner the psychologist, the pessimist, the -preacher of chastity and resignation--in a word, as Nietzsche -understands him, the decadent. Christianity, according to Nietzsche, has -made decadence into a religion, Schopenhauer has turned it into a -philosophy, Wagner into an sthetic theory. Hence the constant polemic -against all three which recurs in all Nietzsche's writings. The -"Genealogy of Morals" is devoted to the exposition of a favourite theory -of Nietzsche's, that there have always been two antithetical codes of -moral values, that of "masters" and that of "slaves." "Masters" prize -above everything else qualities which bespeak a superabundance of -personal force, strength, beauty, wealth, long life; "slaves" set the -highest store by qualities which make servitude more endurable, and in -the end render revenge upon the "master" possible. Starting from this -primary assumption, Nietzsche shows wonderful insight in his examination -of the growth of concepts like "guilt," "sin," "bad conscience." - - - - -Transcriber's Note - -Obvious typographical errors were repaired, as listed below. Other -apparent inconsistencies or errors have been retained. Missing, -extraneous, or incorrect punctuation has been corrected and hyphenation -has been made consistent. - -Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - -Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold (=bold=). - -Page i, "directon" changed to "direction". (Mr. Johnstone died in 1870, -and the direction of Arthur's education fell entirely upon his mother.) - -Page xii, "symbolize" changed to "symbolise" for consistency. (He would -have nothing to do with the attempt to symbolise and revive a -civilisation that had utterly passed away,...) - -Page xii, "civilization" changed to "civilisation" for consistency. (He -would have nothing to do with the attempt to symbolise and revive a -civilisation that had utterly passed away,...) - -Page xli, "Nietzschean" changed to "Nietzschian" for consistency. (The -review of Tille's translation, well bears partial reprinting in this -volume for its keen intelligence and also as a quite early sketch of the -Nietzschian system in the English press.) - -Page xxvi, "nor h" changed to "north". (It lies in a well-wooded -district of Podolia, some hundred miles further north than the region to -which I first went.) - -The absence of the sub-heading, I., in CHAPTER V has been kept true to -the original. - -Page 41, missing "on" added. (... a man of genius who, without private -means, had thrown up his employment and taken himself and his wife on a -long journey to a foreign country in order to win recognition in "la -ville Lumire" must, in the course of three fruitless years, have felt -something worse than misgiving.) - -Page 42, "aud" changed to "and". (... it is that bitterness of spirit -which finds expression in the smashing and burning ...) - -Page 58, "naively" changed to "navely" for consistency. (Besides doing -justice to the drama as an allegorical picture of life in the light of -certain nineteenth-century ideas, the performance was a specially good -revelation of its amusing and navely entertaining qualities.) - -Page 61, duplicate "which" deleted. (In regard to "Walkre" and -"Siegfried," which have long been in the repertory of London, Paris, and -other capitals, the superiority of Bayreuth is very much less -certain--that is to say, of Bayreuth as represented by this year's -performances.) - -Page 80, "begining" changed to "beginning" for consistency. (The best of -the music is at the beginning, where there is an extremely fine chorus, -"The Challenge of Thor," containing various musical elements all truly -expressive and fraught with the same primitive and racy vigour.) - -Page 84, "same" changed to "some". (The striking success of this -composition reminds us of the following passage occurring at the end of -an article by Sir Hubert Parry written some years ago.) - -Page 122, "Frankfort" changed to "Frankfurt" for consistency. (The chief -feature in the interpretation on Tuesday was the superb rendering, by -Professor Hugo Becker, of Frankfurt, of the violoncello solo which -throughout the work is identified with the person of the titular hero.) - -Page 129, "Symphony" changed to "Symphonie" for consistency. (="Faust -Symphonie," Dsseldorf.=) - -Page 129, "like" changed to "likes". (Whether one likes his style or -not,...) - -Page 151, "dramatized" changed to "dramatised" for consistency. (He is a -great master of form, but he dramatises the chamber-music forms very -much as Beethoven dramatised the symphony,...) - -Page 153, "Carneval" changed to "Carnaval" for consistency. (In his -rendering of Schumann's "Carnaval" not a point was missed,) - -Page 179, "Wienaiwski's" changed to "Wieniawski's" for consistency. -(Wieniawski's Fantasia on Themes from Gounod's "Faust," Paganini's -caprice "I Palpiti," Bazzini's "Ronde des Lutins," the last-named played -among the encore pieces.) - -Page 180, duplicate "and" deleted. (For the present we are mainly -concerned with Mr. Kreisler, who is not so desperately youthful, but is -a mature and military-looking man, though he is commonly reckoned among -the players of the new school, or the rising generation.) - -Page 192, "Leonara" changed to "Leonora" for consistency. (Glancing now -at musical activity in other countries, we find attention necessarily -concentrated in the first instance upon the heroic figure of Beethoven, -who in this year (1813) had already given to the world his Eroica, C -minor, Pastoral, and Seventh Symphonies, besides his Violin Concerto, -Razoumoffsky Quartets, Waldstein and Appassionata Sonatas, his one opera -"Fidelio," together with the third "Leonora" overture, and many other -works of towering genius.) - -Page 224, "idiosyncracies" changed to "idiosyncrasies". (But when all -allowance has been made for such personal idiosyncrasies, it remains the -fact that Nietzsche has more boldly than any other writer of our time -raised the most important of social questions ...) - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Musical Criticisms, by Arthur Johnstone - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSICAL CRITICISMS *** - -***** This file should be named 42097-8.txt or 42097-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/0/9/42097/ - -Produced by Veronika Redfern, Adrian Mastronardi and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Musical Criticisms - -Author: Arthur Johnstone - -Release Date: February 15, 2013 [EBook #42097] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSICAL CRITICISMS *** - - - - -Produced by Veronika Redfern, Adrian Mastronardi and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42097 ***</div> <div class="figcenter" style="width: 382px;"> <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="382" height="600" alt="Musical Criticisms by Arthur Johnstone" title="Cover" /> @@ -1003,7 +965,7 @@ to be the reverse of an incentive to work. Perhaps it was fortunate for him that he failed, for though he would have found a great interest in the natives (and extended -his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rpertoire</i> of tricks) he would have been +his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">répertoire</i> of tricks) he would have been repelled by the average Anglo-Indian; besides, his abilities did not lie in the direction of legal and political administration. In @@ -1068,7 +1030,7 @@ them the moment after opening his eyes in the morning. They can best be illustrated by his more familiar style in his writings and letters; the latter, indeed, give a fairly exact -reflex of his talk. A <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">flneur</i> of the best +reflex of his talk. A <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">flâneur</i> of the best kind, he observed closely and curiously; in spite of long spells of apparent idleness, the alert quality of his mind never showed the @@ -1128,7 +1090,7 @@ our time, though often enough professed. He wanted art and beauty. This desire, of course, in others often was a cant; there were scholars and verse-makers—more or less of -the "sthetic" type—sentimental and hard at +the "æsthetic" type—sentimental and hard at bottom like most such persons, who cultivated beauty, and have usually come to nothing except prosperity. Johnstone was of another @@ -1201,16 +1163,16 @@ century, from the Romantic School onwards. It is no wonder, therefore, that the reaction from the High Church influences and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span> surroundings of his youth was severe and -complete, and that his highly sthetic nature +complete, and that his highly æsthetic nature demanded the fullest artistic and intellectual -freedom. The so-called "sthetic movement," +freedom. The so-called "æsthetic movement," as we have before implied, left him untouched. He would have nothing to do with the attempt to symbolise and revive a civilisation that had utterly passed away, nor with the deliberate neglect of the modern world, and its most intense and living art—Music. -Johnstone had not much medival +Johnstone had not much mediæval sense, and was sparing in his appreciation of Rossetti, to whom he became unjust. What he liked best was "Jenny," though he was @@ -1252,7 +1214,7 @@ respectable. Concealing the place and circumstance, he afterwards cast the incident of the "Fantine of Shotover" (we also conceal, of course, the name of the village) into a kind -of prose sketch or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pome</i>, which he finished +of prose sketch or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">poème</i>, which he finished when he was about twenty-six, re-wrote twice, and thought of printing. It is unfortunately not now to be traced. Its musical, @@ -1275,7 +1237,7 @@ sympathies, and make ill worse. He may be superior, and spoil everything by clumsy missionary benevolence, hard of hand. It is something if he can get behind the ordinary, -blind, damnatory formul of society. This +blind, damnatory formulæ of society. This however, is not so difficult to a free mind. What is harder is to do it, and yet to see the facts without mere theorising, without @@ -1286,7 +1248,7 @@ our memory Johnstone rose to the occasion thus presented, and acted and judged with balance. But we are more concerned now with the road by which he arrived at his force -of sympathy. stheticism of the rootless +of sympathy. Æstheticism of the rootless academic kind had, it is evident, no hold upon him; he was too angry to be precious; but his motive power at bottom was that of the artist, @@ -1306,7 +1268,7 @@ chanced to be retrieved—by any fortunate and final escape. All this revolts the deepest of human feelings, which distinguishes us from most of the beasts, namely the -sthetic feeling, which at this point happens +æsthetic feeling, which at this point happens to coincide closely with the religious. A certain depth and rarity were thus super-added to the plain good feeling and kindliness @@ -1478,9 +1440,9 @@ it. Early in October he entered the Conservatorium as a student, and engaged himself to take the year's course. His chief friend was M. Sidney Vantyn, now Professor of the -Piano at the Lige Conservatoire, and then in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[xxi]</a></span> +Piano at the Liège Conservatoire, and then in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[xxi]</a></span> his last year of study. They met in the class of -Professor Eibenschtz, one of the most severe +Professor Eibenschütz, one of the most severe masters there, who made no allowance for Johnstone's previous amateur training, and was rather harsh and discouraging. He @@ -1506,8 +1468,8 @@ thorough. At my request he completed the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Valse</i> which I played shortly afterwards at a concert, where it met with a decided success. A little later it was sold to a music -publisher at Lige. He soon left Herr -Eibenschtz for Dr. Klauwell, with whom he +publisher at Liège. He soon left Herr +Eibenschütz for Dr. Klauwell, with whom he studied the piano and harmony." Among the other professors at the Conservatorium were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[xxii]</a></span> Humperdinck, afterwards famous as the composer @@ -1600,7 +1562,7 @@ which he had chosen.</p> <p>In the March following, 1889, he received an offer to go as tutor to the young son of -Prince Abamlek in Podolia, a province of +Prince Abamélek in Podolia, a province of Southern Russia. The following account of his journey is interesting:—</p> @@ -1716,10 +1678,10 @@ and the aspect of the whole country is <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">riant</i>.</p> <p>"I have not yet seen much of the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">kirchliches Wesen</i>. The priest at Osipoffka, I gathered, is a man who has to get in a mass as often as -he is sober enough. The Abamleks do not +he is sober enough. The Abaméleks do not receive him, and never go to Church while there. In any case, I do not think the -Princess is particularly <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dvote</i>. She is of +Princess is particularly <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dévote</i>. She is of Polish descent, and her family having given up Western Catholicism, have never become, I suppose, enthusiastic as Russian orthodox.</p> @@ -1731,7 +1693,7 @@ somewhat gaping and lumbering stage. The younger one is much smaller, though only a little younger than her sister, also of better intelligence, if worse temper. She laughs -with a curious <em>abandon</em> and is full of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">clineries</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxix" id="Page_xxix">[xxix]</a></span> +with a curious <em>abandon</em> and is full of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">câlineries</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxix" id="Page_xxix">[xxix]</a></span> and is two totally different persons when pleased and bored.</p> @@ -1751,7 +1713,7 @@ changes in the hundredth part of a second from bubbling laughter to a sort of Last Judgment seriousness.</p> -<p>"He wags his little <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tte de Polichinelle</i> +<p>"He wags his little <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tête de Polichinelle</i> over his victuals, and converses with them in several languages. Sometimes his mother interrupts him and asks if he knows what he @@ -1773,12 +1735,12 @@ shook him warmly by the hand. He was full of tales; he told of the English journalist, so aggressively and deliberately English that he would not uncover before the Tsar's portrait in -a hairdresser's shop; of the Prince Abamlek, +a hairdresser's shop; of the Prince Abamélek, who was always talking of taking him out shooting, but never did so; of the Princess, who feared that her little Paul was "trop jeune encore pour profiter de son esprit -eminemment cultiv"; of the social tyranny +eminemment cultivé"; of the social tyranny of Russian orthodoxy, which drove free-thinking persons of quality in the country to church and sacrament at all the Christian @@ -1865,7 +1827,7 @@ over any shrinking of the nerves. In Edinburgh he also managed to find some amusement. He was a foreigner in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxiii" id="Page_xxxiii">[xxxiii]</a></span> adaptiveness to restaurant life, and found -a quiet French caf to his taste, where +a quiet French café to his taste, where he took his visitors. The odd stratification of Edinburgh society into the various aristocracies of the country, University, @@ -1897,7 +1859,7 @@ the fullest advantage of them. Music in Edinburgh had, for many years, maintained a high standard. The orchestral concerts were second only to those conducted by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxiv" id="Page_xxxiv">[xxxiv]</a></span> -Hall and Richter; the latter brought his own +Hallé and Richter; the latter brought his own band occasionally, and every solo player of eminence came there from time to time. He found many congenial friends, and was a @@ -2039,7 +2001,7 @@ his school work he composed a Gavotte which had a quaint origin. He was one day in a music publisher's shop in Edinburgh, when he saw a gavotte on the counter which -had won a prize of 5 or 10 offered by the +had won a prize of £5 or £10 offered by the firm for the best composition in gavotte form submitted to them. "And is this your prize gavotte?" said Johnstone, "Well, if I @@ -2174,9 +2136,9 @@ instance, he soon outgrew his early enthusiasm for Swinburne, wondered "whether he ever actually gets there," and was even too severe in revulsion. Intentional obscurity irritated -him. Mallarm and his school he would not +him. Mallarmé and his school he would not attempt to understand. His suspicions indeed -were well founded, for at the last Mallarm +were well founded, for at the last Mallarmé in his lecture on "<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La Musique et les Lettres</span>" had arrived at forecasting a new future for music when the sound and rhythm of words @@ -2268,7 +2230,7 @@ works, while reading Fantine, misled me; that the escape from the high-pew and hassock flavour of Methodism to Hugo's 'prophetic soul of the wide world' blinded. -Yet, when a work like 'Les Misrables,' with +Yet, when a work like 'Les Misérables,' with the prodigious activity of its dramatic impulse, takes in its sweep the story of Fantine, something may surely be expected, if ever a @@ -2287,7 +2249,7 @@ nothing to have achieved that this benediction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Pag should have been possible after such a life?...</p> -<p>"Yes, 'Les Misrables,' notwithstanding +<p>"Yes, 'Les Misérables,' notwithstanding incidental impossibilities, albeit ever in extremes, looms in my mind as incomparably the greatest thing in fiction with which I am @@ -2451,10 +2413,10 @@ and manly feeling, the feeling that I tried to suggest at the beginning.</p> <p>"Hardy is a strong example of that curious, -inverted Manichism so characteristic of our -time—a sort of medival horror of the +inverted Manichæism so characteristic of our +time—a sort of mediæval horror of the grossness of matter, balanced by a most -unmedival sense of the utter madness of +unmediæval sense of the utter madness of insulting and despising matter, seeing that the tyranny of it is absolute.</p> @@ -2471,14 +2433,14 @@ in literature."</p> <p>About Zola he writes in a letter of July, 1893:—</p> -<p>"Perhaps you have read 'Le Rve.' It -and 'La Debcle' are the only two of Zola's +<p>"Perhaps you have read 'Le Rêve.' It +and 'La Debâcle' are the only two of Zola's longer novels that could be recommended to a lady, and even the latter with some misgiving. I cannot say that I think 'Le -Rve' one of Zola's best works. I am far +Rêve' one of Zola's best works. I am far from sure that the French critic who said: -'Nous prfrons Monsieur Zola quatre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_lii" id="Page_lii">[lii]</a></span> +'Nous préférons Monsieur Zola à quatre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_lii" id="Page_lii">[lii]</a></span> pattes' was not in the right. Nevertheless, there are passages in it stamped by Zola's unique greatness. With regard to its defects, @@ -2529,7 +2491,7 @@ half a glance who has ever been under it."</p> that Russians seem to look at religious questions like intelligent children, he writes:—</p> -<p>"Did you ever hear of the Soo-r-ye-vites, +<p>"Did you ever hear of the Soo-ré-ye-vites, the sect of which Leo Tolstoi is a member?</p> <p>"Soorayeff was a peasant ignorant of @@ -2628,7 +2590,7 @@ whether moral, sensuous, or intellectual, that is, of real worth, contributes to the artist's dream. Johnstone posed so little and lived by this principle so naturally and unwittingly -that he could not be called a doctrinair. +that he could not be called a doctrinairè. But few men save up their vital impressions about everything so carefully, engraving them patiently on the memory, and dismissing the @@ -2656,7 +2618,7 @@ of his own doubts, hesitations, or revulsions; he gives his results, he gives what he thinks the truth. Or, if a figure from another calling be preferred, the critic <em>operates</em>, -beneficently if often without ansthetics. +beneficently if often without anæsthetics. Further, there was something to be said for the late specialisation of Johnstone's ruling talent. His nature was rich; his articles @@ -2767,7 +2729,7 @@ of the season was over, for some byplay as a reviewer. He wrote in commanding style about books on conjuring, on billiards, and on cooking. He used to say that cooking -was his real gift. To go to a certain caf and +was his real gift. To go to a certain café and quote Mr. Johnstone's name, was to ensure a respectful and an even terrified service; and the well-drilled waiter would commend a @@ -2897,7 +2859,7 @@ an orphan nephew of Vogelreuther, indebted to the famine for his upbringing. In the opening of the play George has made a good start in life, having been apprenticed to an -architect in Knigsberg and done well. He +architect in Königsberg and done well. He is betrothed to the farmer's daughter Gertrude, but some years before there had been a love affair between him and Heimchen, who @@ -2928,7 +2890,7 @@ to punch drinking, dancing, and excitement. George is requested by the unsuspecting farmer to escort Heimchen to the railway station, she having a night train to catch -to Knigsberg. The ending is intensely +to Königsberg. The ending is intensely Ibsenesque in style. George, on the very day fixed for his wedding with Gertrude, is ready to fly with Heimchen, but, mindful of the @@ -2966,7 +2928,7 @@ disreputable mother earlier in the day, when she had been obliged to buy back things that her mother had pilfered. At last she throws herself on her knees before George and says, -<span lang="de">'Du! Kss' mich nicht! Ich will dich kssen. +<span lang="de">'Du! Küss' mich nicht! Ich will dich küssen. Ich will alles auf mich nehmen. Meine Mutter stiehlt. Ich stehl' auch'</span>—and the curtain falls."</p> @@ -3152,7 +3114,7 @@ the southern nature seems soft and vague in comparison. But the free talk of the real capitals, and their resources for witty amusement, imply a large leisured class, an element -of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">flneurs</i> in the population, which is hardly +of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">flâneurs</i> in the population, which is hardly possible in a big North-English city. There is personal isolation in a curious measure—a want of rallying points for talk. The atoms @@ -3197,7 +3159,7 @@ daring line as a critic, both in talk and print, caused him to be under-estimated by some otherwise intelligent persons. He might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_lxxv" id="Page_lxxv">[lxxv]</a></span> have said, with Saint-Simon, that he was -not <span lang="fr">"un sujet acadmique."</span> He disliked dons +not <span lang="fr">"un sujet académique."</span> He disliked dons as a class; at Oxford and elsewhere they made him, of course wrongly, restive. He had not been through their mill, and they did @@ -3307,7 +3269,7 @@ might never reach the ship alive. Johnstone, being on good terms with the patriotic party, pleaded for his life and undertook to get him away; he cycled behind him for the four -miles from Athens to the Pirus, and when +miles from Athens to the Piræus, and when they reached the harbour kept the mob off until he was safely on board an Austrian Lloyd steamer. The ride was an exciting @@ -3368,7 +3330,7 @@ of Eastern prejudice against the clean-shaved.</p> <p>At the beginning of the musical season in October, 1898, a considerable storm was raised in Manchester by the action of the -guarantors of the Hall concerts, who had +guarantors of the Hallé concerts, who had offered the post of conductor to Dr. Richter, instead of renewing Dr. Cowen's appointment. It fell to Johnstone to write the two leading @@ -3395,7 +3357,7 @@ in the years that followed.</p> <p>There is no doubt as to the kind of power that he exerted. He did not touch the actual administration of music in Manchester, in the -College of Music, or the Hall concerts, or +College of Music, or the Hallé concerts, or elsewhere. He did not directly advise, therefore, in the choice of programmes, players, or singers. But he went to every @@ -3477,7 +3439,7 @@ But the taste for inferior music needs no fostering. If, therefore, the organisers of these festivals prescribe second-rate works for the competitions, they simply destroy the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">raison d'tre</i> of these competitions. It is +<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">raison d'être</i> of these competitions. It is music as an art—not music as a sport or trade—that requires fostering. There is a danger that such concerts may degenerate @@ -3592,7 +3554,7 @@ but not entirely for rest. He greatly expanded his knowledge, and also his musical reputation and that of his paper, by his visit to festivals at Bayreuth, at Oberammergau, at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_lxxxviii" id="Page_lxxxviii">[lxxxviii]</a></span> -Dsseldorf, and at Vienna. Forced to +Düsseldorf, and at Vienna. Forced to choose, we have hardly been able, within these limits, to quote from the contributions he sent home. The last of his foreign @@ -3901,14 +3863,14 @@ instance his early estimate of Elgar and indeed of Strauss too (for his position then was uncertain) as having been in advance of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xcviii" id="Page_xcviii">[xcviii]</a></span> general musical opinion, though unquestioned -at the present day. Tchakovsky's Pathetic +at the present day. Tchaïkovsky's Pathetic Symphony was a more obvious discovery; here he showed his critical power rather in quenching the popular enthusiasm (which he had at first assisted in creating) for this work when the public seemed to have lost all sense of proportion, by reminding his readers that -after all "Tchakovsky and Dvork are inspired +after all "Tchaïkovsky and Dvoràk are inspired barbarians and must not be put on the same level with Beethoven and Schumann." Mention too should be made of his appreciation @@ -3985,7 +3947,7 @@ be an end of imaginative literature; and similarly, in music, any person whom Bach entirely fails to interest had better give up all pretence to being musical. For Bach is not one of the composers, -like Berlioz, Liszt, Tchakovsky, Dvork, or Richard +like Berlioz, Liszt, Tchaïkovsky, Dvoràk, or Richard Strauss, whom it is allowable to like or dislike. Bach is the musical Bible—the foundation of the faith. Historically considered, both Bach and @@ -4050,7 +4012,7 @@ Mass in B minor.</h3> <p>Under Dr. Richter's irresistible generalship the most arduous task ever yet undertaken by the -Hall Choir was yesterday carried +Hallé Choir was yesterday carried through to a brilliantly successful issue. Bach's great Mass illustrates his tendency to throw all the weightier @@ -4135,7 +4097,7 @@ people, and his religion was inward and personal. Again, Handel was cosmopolitan, whereas Bach was thoroughly German. Not that Bach was wanting in knowledge of Italian and other foreign -music. He was a perfectly comprehensive encyclopdia +music. He was a perfectly comprehensive encyclopædia of the musical knowledge that existed in his time. But the basis of his character was too homely, simple and loyal to be modified by foreign @@ -4162,10 +4124,10 @@ often, the Passion music seldom.</p> <p>A long line of Christian aspiration and endeavour culminates in the "St. Matthew Passion" music. The Good Friday service, or mystery, of the -Passion dates back to medival times. Musical +Passion dates back to mediæval times. Musical settings of it are quite innumerable. They fall into three main groups, according to style. The -earliest are in the "Plain-song" of the medival +earliest are in the "Plain-song" of the mediæval church. At the period of Luther's Reformation the plain song gave way to the chorale style. Finally, there are many settings in the oratorio @@ -4297,7 +4259,7 @@ rhythm of the bass finds a poetic and delicately fanciful commentary in the solo part. Here one perceives the difference between Bach's and Beethoven's religious standpoint, between the ages -of faith and of strife, between the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ancien rgime</i> +of faith and of strife, between the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ancien régime</i> and the revolutionary period. For Bach the ancient faith is enough, while in the spirit of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> Beethoven there ferment, fume and rage the ideas @@ -4474,7 +4436,7 @@ than the movement that is called a march in the Heroic Symphony. In the finale the rhythmical emphasis attains a degree of reckless violence that has never been surpassed by any composer except -Tchakovsky. A scherzo is always strongly +Tchaïkovsky. A scherzo is always strongly rhythmical; but in the scherzo of this symphony<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> one finds a kind of frenzied rushing, whirling movement that is rare in Beethoven's works. @@ -4793,7 +4755,7 @@ felt it his duty to compose an opera on a subject that should be "strictly proper," and despite its thin vein of invention—inevitably retains its hold on the musical world. To call the success of it a -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">succs d'estime</i> would be a misuse of words. It +<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">succès d'estime</i> would be a misuse of words. It focuses a certain range of poetic ideas that nothing else of its kind touches, and stands—with its Wordsworthian simplicity and moral goodness—among @@ -4891,7 +4853,7 @@ own love-theme with a jig-like variation on a specially ugly instrument (the E flat clarinet) introduced into the orchestra for that purpose, and the use of the stern and majestic Plain Song -theme of the "Dies Ir" as a <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">cantus firmus</i>, to +theme of the "Dies Iræ" as a <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">cantus firmus</i>, to which the mocking laughter of witches (rushing past through the air in a huge weltering broomstick cavalcade) makes a kind of fantastic @@ -4948,7 +4910,7 @@ here be understood in its widest acceptation, and thus as including architectural, musical, graphic, plastic, and literary art. In one of the earliest <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">critiques</i> on his "Faust," which was -first performed at the Opra Comique in Paris in +first performed at the Opéra Comique in Paris in 1846, the opinion was expressed that he ought to have been a chemist, not a musician—a remark that gives extraordinary point to a piece of advice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> @@ -4977,13 +4939,13 @@ flea and a rat's requiem, ending with an "Amen" chorus in mock ecclesiastical style, to say nothing of a scene in Pandemonium and an <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">orgie infernale</i>? Berlioz was a sort of a belated -medival. The very title, "Damnation de Faust," -is medival. Shakespeare and the other poets of +mediæval. The very title, "Damnation de Faust," +is mediæval. Shakespeare and the other poets of Renaissance and later times recognise the fate of a soul as a matter <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">sub judice</i> till the end of the world. But Berlioz had no more scruple than Dante in anticipating the Last Judgment. -Medival, too, is the coarseness of the scene in +Mediæval, too, is the coarseness of the scene in Auerbach's cellar; and the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chanson gothique</i>, about the King of Thule, sounds as if it had come to the composer as a reminiscence from some previous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> @@ -4995,13 +4957,13 @@ torture-chambers, with crusades and knight-errantry, with impossible heights of holiness and unimaginable depths of diabolism. But not to any of the defects or qualities rooted in the composer's -medivalism must we look for the +mediævalism must we look for the popularity which the work acquired in this country some thirty-four years after the original production in Paris and has retained ever since. What the general public enjoys is the superb peasants' chorus near the beginning, the arrangement of the -Rcoczy March, which is the finest piece of +Rácoczy March, which is the finest piece of military music in existence, the chorus and dance of sylphs, Margaret's Romance, and Mephistopheles' Serenade. Perhaps, too, a good many of @@ -5012,7 +4974,7 @@ the King of Thule, because no one who is musical at all can entirely fail to perceive the charm of that wonderful melody. It appeals to plenty of listeners who have no idea that there is anything -Gothic or medival about it.</p> +Gothic or mediæval about it.</p> <div class="sidenote"><h3>The Centenary @@ -5050,8 +5012,8 @@ not allowed to enter the promised land to which he had led his people; or, more literally, that Berlioz was not able to make really good use of his own discoveries, the importance of which is -to be recognised in the music of Wagner, Dvork, -Tchakovsky, and others who learned from Berlioz, +to be recognised in the music of Wagner, Dvoràk, +Tchaïkovsky, and others who learned from Berlioz, rather than in his own music. While admitting that later men, such as those mentioned, have used the Berlioz instrument to a more spiritual @@ -5070,7 +5032,7 @@ the most perfect, on the whole, of the extended works—is the "Faust," which must not be judged as an operatic version of Goethe's "Faust," but rather as a musical setting of the "Faust" story -in the racy and drastic manner of the medival +in the racy and drastic manner of the mediæval puppet plays, Goethe's drama being only used in so far as it affords suggestions for scenes of the well-salted and drastic animation that Berlioz @@ -5088,7 +5050,7 @@ been better rendered than in the first pages of ensuing peasant choruses are by far the best musical expression of that "sunburnt mirth" which outside the world of art is only possible -under a southern sky. The Rcoczy March as +under a southern sky. The Rácoczy March as orchestrated by Berlioz is not only the finest piece of military music in the world but is an immeasureably long way ahead of the next best piece. The @@ -5107,7 +5069,7 @@ by creating the rhythm and accent of laughter too monstrously whole-hearted and full-blooded for a mere man. Another miracle is the "Chanson Gothique" (about the King of Thule), which is, -as it were, the distilled essence of all medival +as it were, the distilled essence of all mediæval romances about lovesick maidens looking forth from their casements. In the latter part the composer falls a victim to his evil genius—the @@ -5183,7 +5145,7 @@ considerable),—and in the telling of this story he conveys lessons to the heart that are much too delicate for words. A good many composers have made "Faust" music of one kind or another. -Spohr and Schumann, Berlioz and Boto, Wagner +Spohr and Schumann, Berlioz and Boïto, Wagner and Liszt, all paid their tribute to the inexhaustible interest of the theme, besides Gounod—most superficial and consequently best known of them @@ -5230,7 +5192,7 @@ beautiful is the contrast between the fancy-free and the loving Gretchen. There is nothing in all music more rich and rapturous than the ensuing love-scene, which reminds one of the point in the -first act of "Die Walkre" where the doors swing +first act of "Die Walküre" where the doors swing open and reveals to the enchanted gaze of the lovers the spring landscape bathed in moonlight. But Liszt is here more to the point than Wagner. @@ -5257,7 +5219,7 @@ glaring case is the transformation music just before the entry of the "chorus mysticus," which has been conveyed bodily by Wagner, with only quite unimportant changes, into the third act of -"Die Walkre," after the words—"So streif' ich +"Die Walküre," after the words—"So streif' ich dir die Gottheit ab." But dozens of other ideas in Wagner's "Tristan" and "Siegfried" and Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel" one here finds in @@ -5298,10 +5260,10 @@ all subsequent composers of genius, except two or three of the Latin races. In the early nineteenth century we made precisely the same mistake in regard to Mendelssohn and Schumann; now we -are making it once more by preferring Tchakovsky +are making it once more by preferring Tchaïkovsky to Strauss. But worse still is our mistake of refusing to listen to Liszt, without whom neither -Tchakovsky nor Strauss could have existed as +Tchaïkovsky nor Strauss could have existed as musical personages. Once more yesterday the superb Liszt Concerto in E flat was played and received with a kind of tolerance. Very fine @@ -5364,7 +5326,7 @@ powers that do not exist; and a man of genius who, without private means, had thrown up his employment and taken himself and his wife on a long journey to a foreign country in order to win recognition -in "la ville Lumire" must, in the course of three +in "la ville Lumière" must, in the course of three fruitless years, have felt something worse than misgiving. That Wagner did so feel is a matter not of speculation but of history. He has described<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> @@ -5413,7 +5375,7 @@ Dramas.</h3> <p>Whatever may have happened in former years, it was scarcely possible to leave the theatre -after the "Gtterdmmerung" +after the "Götterdämmerung" performance on Saturday with any disposition to satirise the management for the failure of the stage effects in @@ -5436,7 +5398,7 @@ a great task nobly carried out, and the concluding fizzle, however tiresome and distressing to the stage managers, could but seem a trifling matter to any appreciative spectator. It is a terrible -business, that <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">finale</i> of "Gtterdmmerung." +business, that <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">finale</i> of "Götterdämmerung." Conceived in a mood of frenzied protest, it bears a peculiar stamp of extravagance and violence. It shows Wagner as an Anarchist of the Bakounine @@ -5451,7 +5413,7 @@ Wagner such bitterness of spirit as little men are saved from by their natural limitations, and it is that bitterness of spirit which finds expression in the smashing and burning and drowning of the -"Gtterdmmerung" <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">finale</i>. Heroes and demigods, +"Götterdämmerung" <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">finale</i>. Heroes and demigods, renouncing a hopeless conflict with the ugliness and meanness of the world, involve heaven and earth in one red ruin. Such is the @@ -5468,7 +5430,7 @@ they gave the public the only possible guarantee for adequate rehearsal. For that privilege London has had to wait twenty-seven years since the original production in Bayreuth, though "Die -Walkre" and "Siegfried" were long ago taken +Walküre" and "Siegfried" were long ago taken up into the ordinary Covent Garden repertory. There can be little doubt that "Rhinegold" is in all important respects the most difficult part of @@ -5541,10 +5503,10 @@ certain importance.</p> <p>In strong contrast with the embarrassment and falling back on the mere picturesque of the "Rhinegold" presentation was the rendering of -"Die Walkre" on Wednesday. A dramatic +"Die Walküre" on Wednesday. A dramatic interpretation of Wagner at all comparable to the musical interpretation which we derive from the -Liszt-Blow-Richter tradition is not for the +Liszt-Bülow-Richter tradition is not for the present, or for some time to come, to be expected. But, making allowance for the difference in standard between the musical and scenic arts, @@ -5554,9 +5516,9 @@ music's proper scenic background and framework as was given at Covent Garden on all but the first of the four evenings in the production of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> present year. In the opening act of "Die -Walkre" the setting was adequate, and a +Walküre" the setting was adequate, and a strikingly well-balanced performance was given -by Mr. Van Dyck (Siegmund), Mr. Klpfer +by Mr. Van Dyck (Siegmund), Mr. Klöpfer (Hunding), and Mme. Bolska (Sieglinda). At the end of the only scene in which the three figure together Sieglinda, dismissed by her husband, @@ -5574,7 +5536,7 @@ peculiar atmosphere of that moment big with fate being successfully caught. Throughout the act Mr. Van Dyck's suppleness and resource were finely exemplified, the sombre figure of Mr. -Klpfer's Hunding contrasting effectively, while +Klöpfer's Hunding contrasting effectively, while Mme. Bolska did much by intelligent acting and good singing to compensate for a certain lack of personal adaptation to the part.</p> @@ -5631,7 +5593,7 @@ into a perfect woman, every phase of that development being touched with a kind of demonic power that makes it impossible for anyone altogether to miss the point. In the second act of -"Walkre" Brynhild comes forth on to the crags +"Walküre" Brynhild comes forth on to the crags in her shining armour, with helm and shield and corselet of steel. In the leave-taking with her obdurate father, who, against his better judgment, @@ -5647,7 +5609,7 @@ rhythmic for us at every moment. She is the vessel into which Wagner has poured the very finest vintage of his genius. No blackguardly characteristics of the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Uebermensch</i>, such as -develop so very freely in the Siegfried of "Gtterdmmerung," +develop so very freely in the Siegfried of "Götterdämmerung," are allowed to deform the figure and melody of the superb heroine, who to the end glows with intense and untainted life. Adequately @@ -5715,7 +5677,7 @@ Siegfried holds converse with the birds. Where there is room for improvement in the Covent Garden staging of these dramas is, above all, in the meteorological background of "Rhinegold" -and "Gtterdmmerung"; secondly, in the "Ride +and "Götterdämmerung"; secondly, in the "Ride of the Valkyries," which has not hitherto been done in a sufficiently spirited manner anywhere but in Paris; thirdly, in the final scene of conflagration @@ -5735,7 +5697,7 @@ final scene of "Rhinegold."</p> <p>Never have the musical splendours of the "Ring" been revealed to British audiences as in the past three weeks. The windy and cloudy -eloquence of the "Walkre" music and the heroic +eloquence of the "Walküre" music and the heroic pathos of Brynhild's leave-taking have long been pretty thoroughly appreciated, but not so the songs of the forge in "Siegfried," where Wagner @@ -5751,7 +5713,7 @@ and tumult of the instrumentation—all these things came out as never before at a performance in this country. So, too, with the long love duet of Siegfried and Brynhild and the ravishing trio -of the Rhine Maidens in the last act of "Gtterdmmerung." +of the Rhine Maidens in the last act of "Götterdämmerung." But, apart from such dazzling moments, the performances were in their completeness and sustained excellence an extraordinary @@ -5769,7 +5731,7 @@ progress, do we find the symbol of Nibelung hatred developing from a comical snarl into those<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> monstrous and multitudinous yells that rend the welkin and dismay the soul amid the gathering -horror of the "Gtterdmmerung" tragedy. +horror of the "Götterdämmerung" tragedy. Persons who are in the habit of chattering about the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Leitmotiv</i> as though it were a nostrum might with advantage take note of a few such points. @@ -5893,7 +5855,7 @@ of another. Then comes further reflection and the inevitable question how it is done. Is it primarily by means of the music, which passes through the chambers of consciousness like the -fumes of an ansthetic, or does the peculiar +fumes of an anæsthetic, or does the peculiar potency lie in the dramatic symbols, for the elaboration of which the subtlest essences of a hundred arts seem to have been brought together? @@ -5910,7 +5872,7 @@ embroideries and jewels. In the first and last acts it has the atmosphere of a Christian sanctuary, and the second act, passing in Klingsor's garden, seems to represent the pleasures of sin as imagined -by the most innocent of medival monks. All +by the most innocent of mediæval monks. All this the orthodox moralist regards with some distrust as tending to create a distaste for hard work and cold water. But let him remember the @@ -5949,7 +5911,7 @@ multifarious choir-singing of boys and men was beautifully done; the only mistakes were made by Amfortas and Titurel. The conductor was Dr. Muck, of Berlin, whose <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">tempi</i> seem to have -been considered too slow by some of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">habitus</i>, +been considered too slow by some of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">habitués</i>, though his interpretation was admitted to be in all other respects above reproach.</p> @@ -5986,7 +5948,7 @@ place up in the clouds, down in the waters, or where the forges resound in the fiery caverns of Nibelheim, and not one of the characters is a plain human being. Gods, goddesses, giants, dwarfs, -and water nymphs make up the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">dramatis person</i>, +and water nymphs make up the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">dramatis personæ</i>, and the whole drama is more completely outside the range of ordinary operatic art than any other musical and dramatic work. It is therefore @@ -6048,7 +6010,7 @@ done probably better than ever before. Besides doing justice to the drama as an allegorical picture of life in the light of certain nineteenth-century ideas, the performance was a specially good -revelation of its amusing and navely entertaining +revelation of its amusing and naïvely entertaining qualities. Regarding the show simply as an enacted fairy-tale, one could not but call it a mighty good one, and that aspect of the matter @@ -6081,7 +6043,7 @@ Of course the instrumental came first, for without it there could have been no attempt to bring the new art before the world. Here the most important influence, in addition to the composer's own, was -that of Liszt, Blow, and Richter—the original +that of Liszt, Bülow, and Richter—the original stalwarts of the Wagnerian school. Next arose a new race of dramatic singers, of whom Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Niemann, and Materna were early @@ -6103,7 +6065,7 @@ display of musical embroideries. But a dramatic work with music as an integral part lay outside the range of all that was then believed to be possible, and long after the new race of dramatic -singers had arisen the peculiar problems of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mise-en-scne</i> +singers had arisen the peculiar problems of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mise-en-scène</i> and stage management which Wagnerian drama presents were left quite unsolved. However, no such battle had to be fought over the stage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> @@ -6152,14 +6114,14 @@ lady sidles up to Loge to inquire whether the gold cannot also be used to make nice ornaments for ladies.</p> -<p>In regard to "Walkre" and "Siegfried," which +<p>In regard to "Walküre" and "Siegfried," which have long been in the repertory of London, Paris, and other capitals, the superiority of Bayreuth is very much less certain—that is to say, of Bayreuth as represented by this year's performances. There was serious weakness in two out of the three great protagonists, Wotan and -Brnnhilde, and for that weakness no degree of +Brünnhilde, and for that weakness no degree of skill in the presentation of the finely fantastic and ever-shifting backgrounds could compensate, nor even the superb orchestral interpretation. The @@ -6168,8 +6130,8 @@ whole a very striking performance, as it was at Covent Garden in 1903. It was best in Acts i. and ii. of "Siegfried"—the forging of the sword and the slaying of the dragon, preceded and -followed by the wonderful forest <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rverie</i>,—and it -was least good in the "Gtterdmmerung" scene, +followed by the wonderful forest <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">rêverie</i>,—and it +was least good in the "Götterdämmerung" scene, where the hero tells the story of his youth to his hunting companions. Here a certain lack of resource in purely lyrical expression was a serious @@ -6180,7 +6142,7 @@ the part without mutilation.</p> <p>No excellence in the staging and general interpretation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> could obviate or appreciably soften the -unsatisfactoriness of "Gtterdmmerung." The +unsatisfactoriness of "Götterdämmerung." The final drama of the "Ring" series remains a terrible monster among the dramatic works of mankind, with a dreary first and second act, in which little @@ -6193,13 +6155,13 @@ which the tragedy of the curse resting on the Ring is worked out remained, as before, almost intolerable; and, despite the ravishing Rhine-daughter music in the third act, the romantic beauty of the -"Erzhlung" (story of Siegfried's youth), and +"Erzählung" (story of Siegfried's youth), and the monumental grandeur of the funeral scenes, the last day of the trilogy left one with the old sense of oppression. As most persons are aware, the whole "Ring" drama began in the composer's mind with "Siegfried's Death"—that part which -is now called "Gtterdmmerung,"—and the other +is now called "Götterdämmerung,"—and the other three parts were written to lead up to it. Nevertheless the original nucleus remains the monstrous product of a disordered imagination, while the @@ -6208,7 +6170,7 @@ a series of masterpieces. Books, we know, have their fates, and the fate of this one is not the least curious. The experience of this year, while tending to show that the supposed defects of -"Rheingold," "Walkre," and "Siegfried" almost +"Rheingold," "Walküre," and "Siegfried" almost entirely vanish in a rendering that is harmonious on all sides, leaves one with a greatly increased sense of the final drama's inherent unsatisfactoriness.</p> @@ -6220,7 +6182,7 @@ of the final drama's inherent unsatisfactoriness.</p> -<h2 class="chapter"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a><br /><span class="big"><b>——</b></span><br /><b>TCHAKOVSKY.</b></h2> +<h2 class="chapter"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a><br /><span class="big"><b>——</b></span><br /><b>TCHAÏKOVSKY.</b></h2> @@ -6240,19 +6202,19 @@ doubt whether any other composer besides Wagner has ever withstood such a test quite satisfactorily. It was, of course, inevitable that the unparalleled wave of -popularity upon which Tchakovsky's "Pathetic" +popularity upon which Tchaïkovsky's "Pathetic" symphony has been carried over the country during the past two years should have had the result of bringing other works by the same composer to the fore. That result is in no way to be regretted. -Tchakovsky is a thoroughly interesting composer. +Tchaïkovsky is a thoroughly interesting composer. His power and originality can scarcely now be disputed, and, whatever may be the verdict upon his art arrived at by those competent to judge when the excitement of novelty shall have passed off, one fact seems already to be quite clear, namely, that he was a great master of the -orchestra. Listening to Tchakovsky's music for a +orchestra. Listening to Tchaïkovsky's music for a whole evening and comparing the new with former impressions may have revealed more defects and limitations than merits; but the experience confirms, @@ -6274,8 +6236,8 @@ it is sufficient alone to make a composer very famous. There remain, of course, certain questions about the self thus expressed, and not till we reach those questions do the defects and limitations of -Tchakovsky's art come into view. The great -prevalence of melancholy moods in Tchakovsky's +Tchaïkovsky's art come into view. The great +prevalence of melancholy moods in Tchaïkovsky's music is a matter of common observation. When he desires to shake off his habitually gloomy and brooding state, how does he set about it? Just as @@ -6286,27 +6248,27 @@ lighter music is bizarre or sardonic when it is not merely intoxicating. The enormous predominance of the rhythmical interest over every other kind of interest, such as that of melody or harmony, in -Tchakovsky's music, can scarcely have escaped +Tchaïkovsky's music, can scarcely have escaped notice; and rhythm is the lowest element in music; it is the element representing animal impulse, as shown by its preponderance in every kind of religious music (Palestrina, for example). The music of -Tchakovsky rocks, tramps, jigs, whirls, and flies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> +Tchaïkovsky rocks, tramps, jigs, whirls, and flies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> far more than it sings; and when it does sing it is either profoundly melancholy, bitterly sardonic, or merely bizarre. The composer has absolutely no serenity in his disposition, no love of nature or -of innocence, no navet, no calmness or coolness, +of innocence, no naïveté, no calmness or coolness, no healthy activity, no religion, though much picturesque patriotism, and very little intellectuality—only just enough for the purpose of expression. Such is the disposition revealed in -the art of Tchakovsky. Like Rubens, the painter, +the art of Tchaïkovsky. Like Rubens, the painter, he cares for nothing but exuberant animalism—for Rubens' Madonnas and other quasi-religious pictures are all just as much studies of exuberant animalism as his Venuses and his boar-hunts. -Tchakovsky, too, loves hunting; though his more +Tchaïkovsky, too, loves hunting; though his more special tastes are for fighting and military display, and for dancing. Such a character could not be otherwise than profoundly melancholy in the @@ -6316,7 +6278,7 @@ power, and his creations have their value. The fifth symphony, which was given yesterday, affords a most interesting comparison with the sixth and last. Such a nature as, according to our view, -Tchakovsky has revealed in his art would never be +Tchaïkovsky has revealed in his art would never be thoroughly dignified except in great grief or in some situation bringing his patriotism to the fore. This, we believe—added to the more complete @@ -6361,7 +6323,7 @@ Schumann, and indeed shows the spirit of that composer in one of his moods—that which produced <span lang="de">"Ich grolle nicht"</span>—very strongly. All the songs were interesting. In fact, the lyrical -power of Tchakovsky is so striking that it may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> +power of Tchaïkovsky is so striking that it may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> placed side by side with his mastery of the orchestra among those qualities which make him a great composer. All that has been said with @@ -6382,7 +6344,7 @@ F Minor.</h3> 1898.</em></p></div> <p>The fourth symphony of -Tchakovsky, which formed the +Tchaïkovsky, which formed the principal orchestral work at yesterday's concert, is full of life and zest, affording an @@ -6415,7 +6377,7 @@ the influence of any strong feeling, and simply revelling in his powers of gorgeous orchestration, ingenious thematic work, and marshalling of tone masses with a view to picturesque effect. -Tchakovsky is nearly always martial in one part +Tchaïkovsky is nearly always martial in one part or another of an orchestral work. In the great symphony the first movement has a ferocious section suggesting actual slaughter, while the @@ -6441,7 +6403,7 @@ composer is irresistible. The music is ballet-music,<span class="pagenum"><a nam not worthy of a symphony, but it is so exhilarating that there has to be a "truce with grimace." And the finale? On a former occasion we -have declared our view that none of Tchakovsky's +have declared our view that none of Tchaïkovsky's music except his last symphony has dignity, but probably in no other quasi-serious work has he committed himself to such an astounding piece of @@ -6471,7 +6433,7 @@ Overture.</h3> <p><em>December 14, 1900.</em></p></div> -<p>The case of Tchakovsky, with his +<p>The case of Tchaïkovsky, with his one great Symphony overtopping by such immeasurable heights all his other compositions of @@ -6490,7 +6452,7 @@ in the scherzo, of the triumphal note in the March, of the final despairing wail. But all else is faint and fragmentary by comparison with the great symphony. The "Romeo and Juliet" overture, -played yesterday, is probably Tchakovsky's +played yesterday, is probably Tchaïkovsky's best early composition, and it is certainly that which suggests the great last symphony in the most unmistakable manner. The poetic basis of @@ -6502,7 +6464,7 @@ in the overture is extremely well done—the fighting music is graphic and the love music is deeply fraught with feeling,—but it is not a bit Shakespearean in spirit. The peculiar neuralgic -pathos which haunts nearly all Tchakovsky's works +pathos which haunts nearly all Tchaïkovsky's works takes us into a fevered and unnatural atmosphere very unlike Shakespeare's; and the fighting is gory and realistic in the haggard manner of @@ -6533,21 +6495,21 @@ E Minor.</h3> <p>There is a great diversity of opinion as to the merits of -Tchakovsky's fifth Symphony. +Tchaïkovsky's fifth Symphony. More than one London critic has expressed the view that it is equal to the much-better known sixth and last. Mr. Jacques declares in yesterday's -programme that, though No. 6—the "Pathtique"—appeals +programme that, though No. 6—the "Pathétique"—appeals more strongly to the emotions, No. 5 is constructively the finer work. On the other hand, we have the opinion of the Russian critic Berezovsky—quoted together with the same writer's detailed account of the work in a recent English -book on Tchakovsky—that No. 5 is the weakest of +book on Tchaïkovsky—that No. 5 is the weakest of all the Symphonies. There is something rather depressing in such extreme divergence of opinion. -It proves one of two things;—either Tchakovsky +It proves one of two things;—either Tchaïkovsky is not one of the sane composers whose works stand in a certain clear relation to the musical needs of human nature; or else, for all our greatly @@ -6556,40 +6518,40 @@ were the men of Beethoven's day in our perceptions; and, in the absence of perception, we are even more tied down than were our predecessors by pedantic notions. The reception of the great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -"Symphonic Pathtique" in this country disposes +"Symphonic Pathétique" in this country disposes of the former alternative. No other instrumental work ever aroused so great a wave of genuine public interest, and even persons who are no great -admirers of Tchakovsky ought, if they care for +admirers of Tchaïkovsky ought, if they care for the musical life of this country, to take an interest in him, on account of the astonishingly sudden and powerful grip that he took of the public imagination. It is not to externals—such as instrumentation, counterpoint, form, and so forth—that we must look for the explanation. Glazounoff -orchestrates no less brilliantly than Tchakovsky +orchestrates no less brilliantly than Tchaïkovsky and has probably a greater mastery of scholastic -device, and the same is true of Saint-Sans. Yet +device, and the same is true of Saint-Saëns. Yet neither of those masters ever did or could stir anything in the least like the interest that -Tchakovsky stirs. We believe the secret of -Tchakovsky lies first in his sincerity, his being in +Tchaïkovsky stirs. We believe the secret of +Tchaïkovsky lies first in his sincerity, his being in earnest, his intentness, his search after the true symbol of his idea or feeling, his rejection of mere fabricated music. In listening to Glazounoff one perceives the trotting out of device. "Note how cleverly," the composer seems to say, "how cleverly I introduce this theme in augmentation." -Whereas Tchakovsky is always intent on his idea, +Whereas Tchaïkovsky is always intent on his idea, and, when he uses device, it is with the air of a man deeply in earnest and grasping at a resource of expression. Thus the centre of gravity is with Glazounoff as often as not in the device, with -Tchakovsky always in the message, and with that +Tchaïkovsky always in the message, and with that dim sub-consciousness of the musical soul we perceive the one to be a cultivated trifler, the other a man with something important to say. That is -the first and chief point. Next comes Tchakovsky's +the first and chief point. Next comes Tchaïkovsky's gift of rhythm—the quality in music for which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> the general public of the present day cares most. When a person of rudimentary musical notions @@ -6600,7 +6562,7 @@ his perceiving it. The same taste exists in the higher stages of cultivation. A hundred times commoner than a real sense of melodic beauty is the love of a powerful rhythm that carries the -listener off his feet. Now Tchakovsky does that +listener off his feet. Now Tchaïkovsky does that for the listener much more often than any other composer. He first captivates by something in which his gift of rhythm plays a leading part, and, @@ -6613,7 +6575,7 @@ his vastness of design; his warmth of colouring, and his picturesque force. Needless to say, that to explain sudden and signal success with the general public there must always be a mention of -weak points. Among Tchakovsky's weak points +weak points. Among Tchaïkovsky's weak points that which has gained him most popularity is his persistent habit of presenting his ideas in a sort of balanced and antithetical manner. He does not @@ -6642,7 +6604,7 @@ One may go over all the orchestral composers from Haydn to Wagner and Brahms, asking oneself whether that theme could be by any one of them. Obviously it could not be the work of anyone else -except Tchakovsky. On hearing that theme for +except Tchaïkovsky. On hearing that theme for the first time the listener pricks up his ears. "Here is a man with something to say," he thinks. Now there is nothing of that kind in No. 5. The @@ -6684,7 +6646,7 @@ Symphony.</h3> <p>"Eighth time at these concerts," says last night's programme, in -reference to the great Tchakovsky +reference to the great Tchaïkovsky Symphony, which is only eight years old. The performances in London are to be @@ -6702,14 +6664,14 @@ this respect. There is astounding potency in the charm of the work and in the appeal that it makes to the imagination. For some time past we have been preoccupied with the notion that it forms a sort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -of pendant to Dvork's "New World" Symphony. -Dvork has caught in his music the breezy, +of pendant to Dvoràk's "New World" Symphony. +Dvoràk has caught in his music the breezy, hopeful, democratic, optimistic, and free-thinking spirit of American life, with its upper side of furious go-ahead civilisation, and its under side of primitive humanity (Negroes and Red Indians) in which energy of feeling is out of all proportion -to intellectual faculty. Dvork's slow movement is +to intellectual faculty. Dvoràk's slow movement is undoubtedly a hymn of such primitive humanity, with an undercurrent of meditation on the prairie by night, in which the movements of sap and the @@ -6718,8 +6680,8 @@ inexhaustibly fertile nature become, as it were, audible. It is something like the poetry that Walt Whitman would have written had he been a much better poet. In an analogous manner -Tchakovsky has caught up and fixed in his -"Symphonie Pathtique" the soul of modern +Tchaïkovsky has caught up and fixed in his +"Symphonie Pathétique" the soul of modern Russia. Just as the American Symphony is breezy, democratic, optimistic, and free-thinking, so the Russian is languorous and oppressed, @@ -6744,7 +6706,7 @@ good many performances, especially in a place where there is a Richter to interpret it. Of course neither the "New World" nor the Muscovite Symphony is for a moment to be compared with -Beethoven. Fellows like Dvork and Tchakovsky, +Beethoven. Fellows like Dvoràk and Tchaïkovsky, belonging to the fringe of civilisation, have something of the savage about them, whereas Beethoven inherited the central European culture @@ -6752,7 +6714,7 @@ and expressed in music the emotions of a completely civilised character. The part of the nineteenth century subsequent to the death of Wagner will probably be remembered for the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">avnement</i> of the semi-savage in music. But, be +<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">avènement</i> of the semi-savage in music. But, be it remembered, music is an art of expression, and all thoroughly and richly expressive music is good music, no matter what the informing emotion or @@ -6929,7 +6891,7 @@ modern romantic variations was Schumann, whose "Etudes Symphoniques" revealed a fresh source of life in the form, that has proved less austerely inaccessible than Beethoven's; Brahms, -Tchakovsky, and many others having obviously +Tchaïkovsky, and many others having obviously derived inspiration from it. Mr. Elgar stands in a peculiar relation to the modern masters of variation-form. He seems to be much preoccupied @@ -6967,7 +6929,7 @@ according to the usual principles of contrast, and they are all extremely effective. However much the composer may call his theme an enigma—Berlioz called his variation-theme in an early -symphony <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ide fixe</i>—one can scarcely escape the +symphony <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">idée fixe</i>—one can scarcely escape the impression that it represents the temperament of the artist, through which he sees his subjects; for that, and nothing else, is what forms the connecting @@ -7042,7 +7004,7 @@ existing expression in music of everything most un-Christian and anti-Catholic—has been performed without public protest in a British Cathedral. We here refer, of course, to the -"Symphonie Pathtique." Dr. Elgar is another +"Symphonie Pathétique." Dr. Elgar is another composer whose music means something; but what chance is there for us to understand him? One quails before the task of discussing in a concert @@ -7196,15 +7158,15 @@ an important question, but not one with which musical, or any artistic, criticism is concerned. For nothing is more certain about art than that it is subservient to a person's view of life. Artistic -or sthetic criticism must be humble, and must +or æsthetic criticism must be humble, and must abstain from trespassing on the ground of faith -and morals. Indirectly, indeed, sthetics may +and morals. Indirectly, indeed, æsthetics may have a bearing on these more serious subjects. For is it not written of religious doctrines, "By their fruits ye shall know them"?—and nothing else is in so complete a sense a "fruit" of a religion as a work of art arising therefrom. -Nevertheless, the function of sthetics is not to +Nevertheless, the function of æsthetics is not to commend or blame a view of life, but rather to enquire with what eloquence, with what sincerity, with what measure of convincing power the artist @@ -7263,7 +7225,7 @@ Priest (baritone), chanting "Proficiscere, anima Christiana." Among the supplications for the departed is a chant three times repeated, each of the two parts ending with a choral "Amen" that -bears a tender echo of the medival "Cantus +bears a tender echo of the mediæval "Cantus fictus." An extended section of chorus and semi-chorus bring the first part of the cantata to a peaceful and prayerful ending.</p> @@ -7311,7 +7273,7 @@ poem, fairly merits the epithet "Dantesque."</p> <p><b>Lower Rhine Festival,</b></p> -<p><b>Dsseldorf.</b></p> +<p><b>Düsseldorf.</b></p> <p><em>May 22, 1902.</em></p></div> @@ -7374,7 +7336,7 @@ interest. Full justice was done to the instrumental part of the work by the magnificent Festival orchestra of a hundred and twenty-seven performers. Those peculiar qualities of the -imagination which make of Dr. Wllner, jun., by +imagination which make of Dr. Wüllner, jun., by far the best representative of Gerontius as yet found were once more demonstrated, and the part of the Angel was given by Miss Muriel Foster @@ -7524,7 +7486,7 @@ study between.</p> <div class="sidenote"><h3>"Gerontius,"</h3> -<p><b>Hall Concerts.</b></p> +<p><b>Hallé Concerts.</b></p> <p><em>March 13, 1903.</em></p></div> @@ -7680,7 +7642,7 @@ Elgar's "Gerontius" a dramatic composition from beginning to end. To find fault with it for the absence of choral climax in the manner of Handel and Mendelssohn is as much out of place as it -would be with Wagner's "Tannhuser." On the +would be with Wagner's "Tannhäuser." On the other hand, we do not agree with the criticism that "Gerontius" is Wagnerian music. In two places there is a brief and faint suggestion of @@ -8013,7 +7975,7 @@ have done. He works on a great scale; in the handling of musical symbols he is not dismayed by tasks that might well be considered impossible, and he thus reminds one of the compliment which -Erasmus paid to Albrecht Drer—"There is +Erasmus paid to Albrecht Dürer—"There is nothing that he cannot express with his black and white—thunder and lightning, a gust of wind, God Almighty and the heavenly host."</p> @@ -8021,7 +7983,7 @@ Almighty and the heavenly host."</p> <div class="sidenote"><h3>"The Apostles,"</h3> -<p><b>Hall Concerts.</b></p> +<p><b>Hallé Concerts.</b></p> <p><em>February 26, 1904.</em></p></div> @@ -8128,7 +8090,7 @@ Thereupon are heard the watchers singing an echo of the music from the great sunrise scene at the beginning. After a dozen bars the fluting notes of a celestial chorus begin gliding in, and then we -have an example of that <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">naf</i> medivalism at +have an example of that <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">naïf</i> mediævalism at which the second part of "Gerontius" here and there hints. A kind of unearthly exhilaration begins to sound in the music. The Resurrection @@ -8212,7 +8174,7 @@ it has already acquired a good many nicknames. The "steam-roller" theme, it has been called; elsewhere, the "seven-league-boot" theme, the "Jack the Giant-killer," and, among Germans, -the "Siebentter" theme. In any case it is a +the "Siebentöter" theme. In any case it is a most extraordinary piece of musical expression, of a kind scarcely ever foreshadowed by any other composer, except once or twice by Beethoven, who @@ -8271,7 +8233,7 @@ which I beg to suggest is as broad as "God Save the King," "Rule Britannia," and "See the Conquering Hero," and is perhaps the broadest open-air tune composed since Beethoven's "Freude -schner Gtterfunken." Moreover, it is distinctively +schöner Götterfunken." Moreover, it is distinctively British—at once beefy and breezy. It is astonishing to hear people finding fault with Elgar for using this tune in two different @@ -8299,7 +8261,7 @@ frankly I find them uninspired.</p> <div class="sidenote"><h3>"Don Quixote,"</h3> -<p><b>Dsseldorf.</b></p> +<p><b>Düsseldorf.</b></p> <p><em>May 26, 1899.</em></p></div> @@ -8367,7 +8329,7 @@ to the rest of the work that, so far as I know, is unique. It is a preparation for the principal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> theme, successively emphasising all the different kinds of significance supposed to be contained in -that theme. First we have a nave, stilted, +that theme. First we have a naïve, stilted, and pompous phrase suggesting Don Quixote's absorption in the romances of chivalry. Succeeding passages touch upon the hero's pose @@ -8375,7 +8337,7 @@ of gallantry and the great predominance of imagination over reason which leads him into grotesque adventures. The psychological method of the composer causes him to lay stress on the -crisis forming the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">point de dpart</i> of Don +crisis forming the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">point de départ</i> of Don Quixote's career—a vow of atonement for sins and follies. At last we get the theme in its complete form—a masterpiece of droll characterisation,—and @@ -8434,7 +8396,7 @@ Strauss, is a typical example of his overwhelmingly rich and effective orchestration. It also exemplifies the peculiar quality of his design, -crowded with a Dreresque multiplicity of forms +crowded with a Düreresque multiplicity of forms and details, his indifference to symmetry and sustained rhythmical flow, and his systematic endeavour to render the musical medium less @@ -8449,7 +8411,7 @@ isolated, without any close analogue in the romance of other countries, Don Juan—a somewhat later creation—has much in common with several heroes of Germanic legend, such as -Tannhuser, the Wild Huntsman, and Faust. The +Tannhäuser, the Wild Huntsman, and Faust. The closest parallel is between Don Juan and Faust. Both are rebellious spirits; but Faust is ruined by intellectual pride, Juan by sensual passion. As @@ -8503,7 +8465,7 @@ masterpiece.</p> <div class="sidenote"><h3>"Don Juan,"</h3> -<p><b>Hall Concerts.</b></p> +<p><b>Hallé Concerts.</b></p> <p><em>January 18, 1901.</em></p></div> @@ -8568,7 +8530,7 @@ Eulenspiegel."</h3> 1902.</em></p></div> <p>"Till Eulenspiegel" was the -great medival <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">farceur</i>. His +great mediæval <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">farceur</i>. His name is well known to students of folk-lore. In Flemish books it figures as Thyl Uylenspiegel, @@ -8593,12 +8555,12 @@ figure of Till has appealed with the most extraordinary results to that composer who first brought into the domain of the musical art the specific qualities of the South German imagination, as -represented, for example, by Holbein, Drer, and +represented, for example, by Holbein, Dürer, and Adam Krafft. Incisive, graphic, ornate, and with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> no less unheard-of power of characterisation is Richard Strauss in his music than those other masters in their graphic or plastic achievements. -His "Till" reminds one of Drer's woodcut +His "Till" reminds one of Dürer's woodcut illustrations to the Apocalypse, but, of course, with colour added. And what colour! and what characterisation in the colour! He controls the @@ -8625,7 +8587,7 @@ the special province of music to express what cannot be expressed in any other way—what is too delicate, or too indelicate, to be expressed in any other way. The most wonderful quality of "Till" -is its medivalism. Listen to those triplets, in +is its mediævalism. Listen to those triplets, in four-part chromatic harmony for five solo violins with <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">sordini</i>, expressing the agony of terror into which Till is thrown by his own wicked mockery @@ -8654,7 +8616,7 @@ eminent South German composer would have found it necessary to be so persistently galvanic in his procedure had he not addressed a musical generation that is too fond of taking opium with -Tchakovsky; whether it is with Eulenspieglish +Tchaïkovsky; whether it is with Eulenspieglish intent that he sets so many unsophisticated love-song texts to music that betrays contempt of mere lyrism, or whether he genuinely misunderstands @@ -8673,7 +8635,7 @@ horror, was such that it had to be repeated. Nothing about Strauss is more disquieting than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> his after-effect on the musical palate. Whether one likes his style or not, any other sounds are tame -by contrast with it, and a naf and mild composer +by contrast with it, and a naïf and mild composer such as Grieg (the Hans Andersen of music) seems almost bread-and-butter.</p> @@ -8681,7 +8643,7 @@ almost bread-and-butter.</p> <div class="sidenote"><h3>"Faust Symphonie,"</h3> -<p><b>Dsseldorf.</b></p> +<p><b>Düsseldorf.</b></p> <p><em>May 23, 1902.</em></p></div> @@ -8749,7 +8711,7 @@ a process of sharp self-examination.</p> <div class="sidenote"><h3>"Tod und -Verklrung."</h3> +Verklärung."</h3> <p><em>October 17, 1902.</em></p></div> @@ -8780,7 +8742,7 @@ the wrong. He has in a few cases played tricks on the public, but he is nevertheless a master-composer, in the full and simple sense of those words—a master-composer just as Mozart was. In -"Tod und Verklrung" we find him in a mood +"Tod und Verklärung" we find him in a mood of absolute seriousness. The theme is a death-bed scene, the phantasmagoria of a sick brain during the last moments of earthly consciousness, the @@ -8810,13 +8772,13 @@ restraint in depicting the terrors of the struggle with death. It cannot be denied that Strauss is greatly preoccupied with such ideas. He has set the very article of death to music on at least four -different occasions ("Tod und Verklrung," "Don +different occasions ("Tod und Verklärung," "Don Juan," "Till," and "Don Quixote"). The hanging of "Till" is inconceivably drastic in its realism, and the last sigh of Don Quixote is the most unearthly thing in all music. Don Juan's death is purely <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">macabre</i>; but in "Tod und -Verklrung" a certain suggestion of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">macabre</i> +Verklärung" a certain suggestion of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">macabre</i> gives way to something very different—the suggestion of the soul rising to immortality; and thus is initiated the final section, dominated by @@ -8877,9 +8839,9 @@ musical centres, has displayed the readiest appreciation of Strauss—the great and typical modern. It is the part of the country served by the Scottish Orchestra, where "Tod und -Verklrung" has before now been chosen for performance -at a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">plbiscite</i> concert. This seems very -natural, for "Tod und Verklrung" is the +Verklärung" has before now been chosen for performance +at a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">plébiscite</i> concert. This seems very +natural, for "Tod und Verklärung" is the clearest, simplest, and least heterodox of Strauss's orchestral works, and much easier to understand at a first hearing than Beethoven's C minor @@ -8891,7 +8853,7 @@ eccentricity. We can only hope that after hearing large order—some of our conscientious objectors may reconsider their position. The extraordinary thing is that it was better received than the far -more generally comprehensible "Tod und Verklrung." +more generally comprehensible "Tod und Verklärung." This was no doubt, in part, due to sheer astonishment, but also, we believe, to the perception that whatever else there may be in the work there @@ -9014,7 +8976,7 @@ nothing whatever for music. It is a monstrous excrescence and blemish—a product of musical insanity, bearing no trace whatever of that genius which produced the lovely and perfect "Tod und<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -Verklrung" and the superbly racy and pithy +Verklärung" and the superbly racy and pithy orchestral Scherzo "Till Eulenspiegel."</p> <p>The expression of such views carries with it the @@ -9171,7 +9133,7 @@ very broad kind of recognition.</p> <h2 class="chapter"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a><br /><span class="big"><b>——</b></span><br /><b>CHAMBER MUSIC.</b></h2> -<div class="sidenote"><h3>Dvork<br /> +<div class="sidenote"><h3>Dvoràk<br /> <small>Quintet in A Major.</small></h3> <p><em>February 2, @@ -9184,7 +9146,7 @@ on anything but democratic principles, the percussion instrument standing to the others in very much the same relation as Jupiter to his -satellites. But the splendid quintet by Dvork +satellites. But the splendid quintet by Dvoràk given last night forms an honourable exception to this principle, the Bohemian composer's well-known preference for bow instruments having apparently @@ -9201,7 +9163,7 @@ beautiful accompanying passages constructed from chords in extended position. The second movement bears the name "Dumka," which, we believe, was first used as the name of a musical movement -by Dvork, or at any rate first became familiar to +by Dvoràk, or at any rate first became familiar to the world in general through his works. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> derived from a Slavonic root meaning "to think," and may be taken as something like the equivalent @@ -9224,7 +9186,7 @@ The finale is dominated by a dance theme in double time of enormous energy and vivacity.</p> -<div class="sidenote"><h3>Dvork<br /> +<div class="sidenote"><h3>Dvoràk<br /> <small>Quartet, Op. 96.</small></h3> <p><em>December 6, @@ -9247,16 +9209,16 @@ the wonderful Bohemian composer's American period. That music has taught some of us a rather important lesson. The value of folk-melody has long been recognised, but until these works by -Dvork became known it was pretty generally +Dvoràk became known it was pretty generally thought that Negro tunes formed an exception to the principle that all sincere, unsophisticated, and original musical utterance has artistic value. -Dvork has taught us the danger of regarding any +Dvoràk has taught us the danger of regarding any natural thing as common or unclean. He has shown that Negro melody may give rise to beautiful works of art no less than Irish, Hungarian, or -Scandinavian melody. Dvork is the most impossible -to classify of all composers. He is naf +Scandinavian melody. Dvoràk is the most impossible +to classify of all composers. He is naïf and yet a master of complex and ingenious design; a scorner of scholastic device and at the same time a successful worker in the classical forms; the @@ -9341,7 +9303,7 @@ animation and perfection of detail.</p> <p><em>January 15, 1903.</em></p></div> -<p>The association of Lady Hall +<p>The association of Lady Hallé and Dr. Brodsky in Bach's Concerto for two violins yesterday brought together by far the @@ -9395,7 +9357,7 @@ Quartet, which occupies quite forty-five minutes in performance, is remarkable for an opening movement in which adagio and allegro sections alternate with wayward frequency, for the curious fourth -movement in a sort of Lndler rhythm, and for the +movement in a sort of Ländler rhythm, and for the Cavatina in E flat preceding the Finale. It is capricious and multifarious, but has neither the abstruseness nor the occasional violence of the @@ -9405,10 +9367,10 @@ and Sonatas.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> -<div class="sidenote"><h3>Tchakovsky<br /> +<div class="sidenote"><h3>Tchaïkovsky<br /> <small>Quartet in D Major.</small></h3></div> -<p>Tchakovsky's first Quartet is +<p>Tchaïkovsky's first Quartet is chiefly remembered in connection with the Andante, which makes a peculiar appeal to the imagination. @@ -9418,7 +9380,7 @@ of the muted instruments are such as one associates with "soft Lydian airs" that merely play upon the senses without further significance, there is in this movement a strange mystical exaltation that is not -often met with in Tchakovsky. It sounds like a +often met with in Tchaïkovsky. It sounds like a dream of the shepherds who watched their flocks by night and heard the angels sing, or an illustration of some kindred theme in which a homely and @@ -9433,7 +9395,7 @@ speak with such free, ready, and natural eloquence.</p> -<div class="sidenote"><h3>Tchakovsky<br /> +<div class="sidenote"><h3>Tchaïkovsky<br /> <small>Trio in A Minor.</small></h3> <p><em>February 26, @@ -9443,7 +9405,7 @@ eloquence.</p> that one hears and reads occasionally on such "In Memoriam" pieces as -Tchakovsky's noble Trio, written +Tchaïkovsky's noble Trio, written in honour of Nicolas Rubinstein—brother of the more famous Anton and a pianist of nearly equal eminence. The psychological basis @@ -9455,7 +9417,7 @@ if not for the third time. Frequenters have therefore enjoyed unusually good opportunities of becoming acquainted with the music, which we regard as on the whole the best example of -Tchakovsky's chamber composition. As in +Tchaïkovsky's chamber composition. As in Schubert's "Wanderer Fantasie," the centre of the whole is the theme of the second movement—a beautiful and expressive strain that, in the composer's @@ -9504,7 +9466,7 @@ throughout of paramount importance. Like Dr. Brodsky, Mr. Siloti was an intimate friend of the composer, and as he is also an acknowledged master of pianoforte technique and a highly accomplished -musician, his Tchakovsky interpretations have a +musician, his Tchaïkovsky interpretations have a certain authority. Moreover, no living instrumentalist can charm a melody into life in a more suave and natural manner, and the lines of a composition @@ -9521,7 +9483,7 @@ fine entry.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> -<div class="sidenote"><h3>Csar Franck<br /> +<div class="sidenote"><h3>César Franck<br /> <small>Quintet in F Minor.</small></h3> <p><em>December 12, @@ -9536,7 +9498,7 @@ his lofty ideal as a musical artist, and of his quite marvellous originality. Judging by such a composition, one would hardly claim the gift of melodic charm -for Csar Franck. He has little or no +for César Franck. He has little or no lyrism, and he seems to be chiefly interested in delivering music from the bondage of the tonic and dominant system, while calling upon each instrument @@ -9565,7 +9527,7 @@ system is disconcerting at first. The composer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Pag seems to insist that two chords so unlike tonic and dominant as F major and D flat minor (if anyone thinks there is no such key he cannot have studied -Csar Franck) will do just as well for the main +César Franck) will do just as well for the main props of an extended composition; and he has all the best of the argument. The technical interest of the work is of the keenest from beginning to @@ -9573,19 +9535,19 @@ end; but the poetic interest seems to develop slowly, the imaginative play being nowhere as definite as in the finale, which begins with strong passages of extreme nervous agitation and culminates in a -tumultuous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dnoment</i> with strong reiterated insistence +tumultuous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dénoûment</i> with strong reiterated insistence on the two chords aforementioned, above which the strings rush towards their point of repose in a unison of unparalleled energy and breadth. The subtle and heavy emotion of the slow movement reminds one of Maeterlinck. -Csar Franck (1822-90) was a Ligeois who +César Franck (1822-90) was a Liégeois who migrated to Paris, where he became the founder of the young French school—that school of which Mr. Vincent d'Indy is now the principal ornament. Another follower, much less truly distinguished than d'Indy but better known in this country, is -Gabriel Faur. Franck is the only great composer +Gabriel Fauré. Franck is the only great composer that Belgium has produced in modern times. The task of interpreting the wonderful Quintet was one of the most formidable that Dr. Brodsky and his @@ -9625,7 +9587,7 @@ great reputation. In his rendering of Schumann's "Paganini" intermezzo, occurring in the middle of the slow waltz, gave a foretaste of the quite extraordinary technical powers which were more -fully displayed later on. The "Davidsbndler" +fully displayed later on. The "Davidsbündler" finale was played with less noise and more subtlety than is usually bestowed upon this curious march, with the Grossvaterstanz creeping in unobserved, @@ -9633,7 +9595,7 @@ much as the "Marseillaise" creeps into the "Faschingschwank in Wien" by the same composer. In certain numbers the pianist showed a tendency to prefer pieces of a secondary and -almost trivial character such as the "Rondo +almost trivial character such as the "Rondo à Capriccio" to which Beethoven has given the whimsical sub-title "Rage over the lost penny stormed out in a Caprice." Not that this work is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> @@ -9656,7 +9618,7 @@ the least trace of those licences which even first-rate players commonly allow themselves in order to facilitate such manœuvres. To the ear the effect was absolutely that of three independent -hands. The "Erlknig" transcription, on the +hands. The "Erlkönig" transcription, on the other hand, was much less impressive. It was performed with an exaggerated <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">tempo rubato</i>, and was altogether too noisy. Of the Chopin Nocturne @@ -9755,7 +9717,7 @@ common between that clumsy dance of Western Europe called the Polka Mazurka and the elaborate figure dance the music of which has been so wonderfully idealised in the Mazurkas of -Chopin, Tchakovsky, Winiawski, Moszkowski, +Chopin, Tchaïkovsky, Wiéniawski, Moszkowski, and Scharwenka.</p> @@ -9803,7 +9765,7 @@ it was a failure at Leipsic in 1859, when that centre of enlightenment was given up to the Mendelssohn cult! After the composer himself, the first pianist to take up the Concerto was Hans -von Blow, who with a performance at a Philharmonic +von Bülow, who with a performance at a Philharmonic Concert in Berlin won early recognition of its surpassing merit. Other performers who contributed towards the success of the work with @@ -9886,7 +9848,7 @@ work of that curious composer, who made a great reputation as a pianist though he scarcely ever played in public, and some reputation as a composer though he never did anything more original -than the pianoforte Etude "Si oiseau j'tais," and +than the pianoforte Etude "Si oiseau j'étais," and for the most part rested satisfied with giving enfeebled reproductions of Chopin's ideas thinly disguised by arpeggio accompaniments in extended @@ -9973,7 +9935,7 @@ of the variations, too, contain examples of graceful movement, but there is not much more to be said for them. They are not for a moment to be compared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> with the typical modern works in variation -form, such as Mendelssohn's "Variations Srieuses," +form, such as Mendelssohn's "Variations Sérieuses," Schumann's "Etudes Symphoniques," or the variations on a chorale of Haydn by Brahms. The one really fine work of considerable scope for pianoforte @@ -10018,7 +9980,7 @@ with consummate ability. Mr. Siloti rendered the solo part with the restraint and the mature mastery of his resources that are characteristic of him. He tears no passion to tatters; he does not play "in -Ercles' vein"; the tricks of the "Oktavenbndiger" +Ercles' vein"; the tricks of the "Oktavenbändiger" delight him not; nor does he tickle and paw the notes in the velvety-ineffable style. Mr. Siloti is so considerate as not to obliterate the composer in @@ -10083,7 +10045,7 @@ has, nevertheless, a legitimate place in the Palace of Art, being nothing more than the logical development to the highest possible point of the <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">bravura</i> style that originated with Liszt. The -latter of the two variations on "<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">L ci darem</i>"—that +latter of the two variations on "<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">Là ci darem</i>"—that section which precedes the entry of the champagne song—is the most bewildering and repugnant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> part of the piece to the general public. @@ -10260,7 +10222,7 @@ in thirds for the right hand. In playing the exquisite F minor Concert Etude by Liszt he deliberately kept the tone down to a minimum, to avoid the buzz and confusion as far as possible. -Liszt's transcription of the "Tannhuser" Overture +Liszt's transcription of the "Tannhäuser" Overture was used for the display piece that audiences expect at the end of a recital. It is characteristic of Mr. Godowsky that his favourite amusement is @@ -10326,7 +10288,7 @@ wrote things of such power and eloquence as the "Mazeppa" Etude. Mr. Lamond's mind seems recently to have been running on Liszt's Tarantelle Fantasias. He played the "Venezia e Napoli" -Tarantelle at the Hall Concert and the "Muette +Tarantelle at the Hallé Concert and the "Muette de Portici" Tarantelle yesterday—both pieces which are chiefly of interest as proving that Liszt could improvise effectively upon any conceivable @@ -10362,7 +10324,7 @@ have rebelled against the hothouse atmosphere of the composition. The opening performance of Schumann's "Carnaval" was powerful and distinguished, but too broad in style to be in -keeping with the sub-title "Scnes mignonnes." +keeping with the sub-title "Scènes mignonnes." On neither of these recent occasions has Mr. Lamond played anything of his own, though he has composed plenty of effective stuff for his @@ -10426,7 +10388,7 @@ scarcely expects to find in a work composed so long before Beethoven's time, and the finale brings the work to a close upon a note of simple and hearty feeling. If strong contrast with the style of Bach -was desired, the Saint-Sans concerto was well +was desired, the Saint-Saëns concerto was well chosen for the second example of violin music. Rich in colouring and surcharged with sensuous delights, the modern Frenchman's composition @@ -10470,9 +10432,9 @@ are the most obvious qualities of Mr. Ysaye's art. He is not a genuine classic, like Joachim. Bach and Beethoven he plays in virtue of infallible artistic <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">savoir vivre</i>; but he is obviously in fuller -sympathy with a Sonata or Concerto by Saint-Sans, +sympathy with a Sonata or Concerto by Saint-Saëns, a Suite by Vieuxtemps, or a Fantasia by -Winiawski. Yet that artistic <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">savoir vivre</i> is so +Wiéniawski. Yet that artistic <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">savoir vivre</i> is so complete that it is nearly always impossible to find specific fault with his renderings of the classics. This was the case yesterday in the Bach Sonata, @@ -10484,11 +10446,11 @@ Vieuxtemps Suite, too, was given with such beauty of tone that the superficiality of the composition was entirely disguised, the slow movement sounding almost as though Bach had written it. In the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -concluding sonata—a late work by Saint-Sans—it +concluding sonata—a late work by Saint-Saëns—it is scarcely necessary to say that the violin-playing was perfect. Perhaps some of the listeners remembered a performance by the same violinist -of Saint-Sans's Third Concerto at a Hall Concert +of Saint-Saëns's Third Concerto at a Hallé Concert not long ago. Again yesterday we were treated to such playing as bewilders the senses and seemed to place the transcendental cleverness of the French @@ -10563,7 +10525,7 @@ scrap of Bach that he played yesterday—the unaccompanied Prelude in E major—was not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> specially well done, and how he plays Beethoven, Mozart, or any of the great masters we do not -know at all. His most <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">recherchs</i> effects of tone +know at all. His most <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">recherchés</i> effects of tone Mr. Kubelik seems to hold in reserve for the encore pieces. In the allegretto movement of the Grieg Sonata—a most tenderly homesick and lovesick @@ -10662,7 +10624,7 @@ Franz Schubert of Dresden—not, of course, the famous Schubert, but a violinist who died some twenty-five years ago; an arrangement by Marcello Rossi of the "Song without Words" in F, by -Tchakovsky; and, finally, the Allegretto grazioso +Tchaïkovsky; and, finally, the Allegretto grazioso from the same Nardini Sonata, played as an encore piece. "L'Abeille"—a clever show-piece in perpetual motion triplets, played with a mute @@ -10889,7 +10851,7 @@ chilling, afflicting, alienating effect on a soul in which any spark is left either of youthfulness or of sympathy with youth. Stanford's musical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> cleverness, exceeding that of any other mortal -except Camille Saint-Sans, has been his bane. +except Camille Saint-Saëns, has been his bane. His sense of humour, too, is perversely adjusted. In connection with any but an Irish subject it is always liable to mislead him, and I have little @@ -11016,7 +10978,7 @@ of his first triumphs was Covent Garden Theatre, where he was accustomed to appear in composite operatic entertainments, his own part being almost invariably written by himself. A few years after -the London <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dbut</i> of Braham the penny-whistle +the London <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> of Braham the penny-whistle melodies of Sir Henry Bishop sufficed to make him the most popular composer of the day. In 1810, when Bishop became director at Covent Garden, @@ -11028,7 +10990,7 @@ for a very long time already. But there was no Philharmonic Society, no genuine opera, no Saturday and Monday popular concerts of chamber-music, no Academy or College of Music, no Crystal -Palace or Hall orchestra. The great choral +Palace or Hallé orchestra. The great choral associations, independent of Cathedral authorities, had not yet been formed, and England was far too much isolated from the rest of the world in regard @@ -11132,12 +11094,12 @@ on the formation of taste, were the more regular visits of distinguished Continental performers, some of whom, indeed, not only came regularly but came to stay. Of these the most important -were Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Hall, who in +were Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Hallé, who in 1857 founded the Manchester concerts that still bear his name; Mr. August Manns, who became conductor at the Crystal Palace in 1855; and Dr. Richter, who has been our regular visitor since -1877 and is now, to the great credit of the Hall +1877 and is now, to the great credit of the Hallé Committee and their supporters, living in our midst. Scarcely less important among such foreign influences making for the welfare of musical art @@ -11187,7 +11149,7 @@ for the improvement of musical education during the intervening period Mr. John Hullah's is worthy of specially honourable mention. After studying popular musical education in France, and especially -the Orphon movement, Mr. Hullah began classes +the Orphéon movement, Mr. Hullah began classes at Exeter Hall for the musical instruction of schoolmasters, and thus originated the vast development of musical training in English @@ -11226,7 +11188,7 @@ we make a somewhat similar mistake in regard to Mendelssohn and Schumann, and it is even possible to recognise the same unfortunate tendency at the present day in the public attitude towards Richard -Strauss and Tchakovsky respectively, the former +Strauss and Tchaïkovsky respectively, the former a rugged composer teeming with ideas and varied suggestions, the other a remarkable painter in tones but peculiarly restricted in the range of his @@ -11268,7 +11230,7 @@ his orchestral concerts, gradually opened the ears of the public and brought home the music to their hearts. In that task he was well supported by Mr. Manns at the Crystal Palace and by Sir Charles -Hall in the Manchester neighbourhood. Hence +Hallé in the Manchester neighbourhood. Hence the fact that though the two impresarios who gave performances of the great "Ring" drama in London in the eighties incurred grievous loss, Mr. Schultz @@ -11422,7 +11384,7 @@ impossible of performance.</p> that along with Wagner certain performing musicians, who were not so easily frightened, had been ripening towards their life's task. From -Liszt and Von Blow presently came demonstrations +Liszt and Von Bülow presently came demonstrations of the fact that Wagner's music was not so impossible as at first thought to be, though requiring a method of interpretation different from @@ -11433,13 +11395,13 @@ and, whatever may be thought of the style of that pamphlet, it is beyond question that it marks the beginning of a new era in the history of orchestral music. Besides Richter, all modern conductors -of world-wide reputation—Blow, Levi, Seidl, +of world-wide reputation—Bülow, Levi, Seidl, Weingartner and Richard Strauss—were found in the same school. They learned from Wagner how to play Beethoven, and their method has revolutionised the musical world.</p> -<p>Now that Blow is gone, the acknowledged +<p>Now that Bülow is gone, the acknowledged leader and master of them all is Hans Richter, the incarnate genius of musical interpretation.</p> @@ -11494,7 +11456,7 @@ two men which only terminated at Wagner's death.</p> <p>Trial performances with orchestras brought -together from the musicians of Zrich and +together from the musicians of Zürich and Lucerne quickly convinced the Wagnerian circle of Richter's genius for selecting, training and conducting an orchestra, while the preparation of @@ -11524,7 +11486,7 @@ Nevertheless, everything was carried through to a brilliantly successful issue, and the first performance of "Meistersinger," which took place at Munich in June, 1868, was really the first great -triumph of the Wagnerian cause. Though Blow +triumph of the Wagnerian cause. Though Bülow was at the conductor's desk, it is unquestionable that the labour of Hercules, which was necessary to bring the work to a first hearing, was performed @@ -11545,15 +11507,15 @@ entire work, and on one occasion, at any rate, he enacted one of the characters. The qualities<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> exhibited by Richter in connection with the production of "Meistersinger" caused him to be -appointed fellow-director with Blow at the Royal -Opera in Munich, and when Blow resigned in the +appointed fellow-director with Bülow at the Royal +Opera in Munich, and when Bülow resigned in the following year Richter stood alone in that post.</p> <p>The impatience of the King of Bavaria to have Wagner's immense "Nibelung" trilogy performed was the cause of a premature attempt to present "Rheingold" before the extraordinary -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mise-en-scne</i> required by that work was ready. +<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mise-en-scène</i> required by that work was ready. Rather than take part in an unworthy rendering, Richter tendered his resignation and quitted the brilliant post to which he had been so recently @@ -11563,8 +11525,8 @@ nothing else in view. He simply had to look about for employment, and we next find him in Paris, working in combination with Pasdeloup, who was engaged in a scheme for bringing out "Rienzi" -at the Thatre Lyrique. The scheme came to -nothing, but the authorities of the Thatre de la +at the Théatre Lyrique. The scheme came to +nothing, but the authorities of the Théatre de la Monnaie in Brussels, who had heard of Richter's fame, invited him to come and superintend the first production of "Lohengrin" in French which @@ -11691,7 +11653,7 @@ old-fashioned orchestras never played anything but mezzo-forte); mastery of Wagner's system of phrasing, his far-reaching investigations with regard to <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">cantabile</i> passages, his treatment of -<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">fermate</i>, his distinction between the naf <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">allegro</i> +<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">fermate</i>, his distinction between the naïf <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">allegro</i> and the poetic <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">allegro</i>; mastery and practical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> realisation of all Wagner's other ideas concerning musical interpretation or public performances, a @@ -11733,7 +11695,7 @@ Germany on account of Protestant convictions. Friedrich Nietzsche was born in 1844. He received a classical education, and at twenty-eight years of age became Professor of Classical Philology in the -University of Ble; but throughout life his love +University of Bâle; but throughout life his love of art, and especially of music, remained an absorbing passion. It appears that his musical instinct was first aroused by the works of Schumann, @@ -11743,17 +11705,17 @@ ardent of Wagnerians, and finally the fiercest of Wagner's assailants. Nietzsche's earliest writings are academic monographs on various classical subjects, the brilliant scholarship of which led to -his appointment at Ble. The philosophical essays +his appointment at Bâle. The philosophical essays began to appear towards his thirtieth year, during<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> -his professorship at Ble. There are verses, too, +his professorship at Bâle. There are verses, too, by Nietzsche which exhibit a genuine poetic faculty. The manner and order of Nietzsche's mental awakening is worthy of attention—first, the love of music, leading to a general interest in art; next, philological studies, originally undertaken, -in the opinion of his sister Madame Frster-Nietzsche, +in the opinion of his sister Madame Förster-Nietzsche, as a relief from the feverish problems -of modern sthetics, and pursued to such purpose +of modern æsthetics, and pursued to such purpose that he became a master of Roman and Greek learning. His writings also reveal a wide knowledge of Hebrew and Indian literature, @@ -11768,7 +11730,7 @@ were on both sides of exceptional energy, ability, and character. There is also abundant testimony to the simplicity, amiability, and charm of his personal character. His friends and colleagues at -Ble seem to have had no suspicion of the explosive +Bâle seem to have had no suspicion of the explosive energies which appear in his writings. His tastes were throughout life reserved and fastidious, and the ultimate breakdown of his mind can only be @@ -11837,7 +11799,7 @@ of the striving after perfection to be found in the history of mankind, while the "Antichrist," the last essay in the volume now before us, is a new and more formidable version of the Voltairian -"Ecrasez l'Infme," a furious denunciation not +"Ecrasez l'Infâme," a furious denunciation not merely of Christian dogma, but also, and more especially, of the ethical principles that are the essence of the Christian system for the modern @@ -12040,7 +12002,7 @@ fact, "reverted to type," and from 1876 onwards he figures as a feudal aristocrat in exile.</p> <p>In his general type of culture Nietzsche was -very un-English. The questions of sthetics have +very un-English. The questions of æsthetics have never been treated in this country as anything but an affair of dilettantes—at best a superior kind of trifling; whereas for Nietzsche they were a matter @@ -12075,7 +12037,7 @@ and leading have had nothing important to say about music, whereas for Nietzsche, a scholar and critic of commanding reputation, music was the one art possessing genuine vitality in the modern -world, and the questions of musical sthetics were +world, and the questions of musical æsthetics were anything but an affair of dilettantes; they were the questions connected with a tremendous power for good or evil.</p> @@ -12227,7 +12189,7 @@ as Nietzsche understands him, the decadent. Christianity, according to Nietzsche, has made decadence into a religion, Schopenhauer has turned it into a philosophy, Wagner into an -sthetic theory. Hence the constant polemic +æsthetic theory. Hence the constant polemic against all three which recurs in all Nietzsche's writings. The "Genealogy of Morals" is devoted to the exposition of a favourite theory of @@ -12297,7 +12259,7 @@ which I first went.)</p> <p>Page <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, missing "on" added. (... a man of genius who, without private means, had thrown up his employment and taken himself and his wife on a long journey to a foreign country in order to win recognition in "la -ville Lumire" must, in the course of three fruitless years, have felt +ville Lumière" must, in the course of three fruitless years, have felt something worse than misgiving.)</p> <p>The absence of the sub-heading, I., in <a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a> has been kept true to the @@ -12306,12 +12268,12 @@ original.</p> <p>Page <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, "aud" changed to "and". (... it is that bitterness of spirit which finds expression in the smashing and burning ...)</p> -<p>Page <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, "naively" changed to "navely" for consistency. (Besides doing +<p>Page <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, "naively" changed to "naïvely" for consistency. (Besides doing justice to the drama as an allegorical picture of life in the light of certain nineteenth-century ideas, the performance was a specially good -revelation of its amusing and navely entertaining qualities.)</p> +revelation of its amusing and naïvely entertaining qualities.)</p> -<p>Page <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, duplicate "which" deleted. (In regard to "Walkre" and +<p>Page <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, duplicate "which" deleted. (In regard to "Walküre" and "Siegfried," which have long been in the repertory of London, Paris, and other capitals, the superiority of Bayreuth is very much less certain—that is to say, of Bayreuth as represented by this year's @@ -12332,7 +12294,7 @@ Professor Hugo Becker, of Frankfurt, of the violoncello solo which throughout the work is identified with the person of the titular hero.)</p> <p>Page <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, "Symphony" changed to "Symphonie" for consistency. (<b>"Faust -Symphonie," Dsseldorf.</b>)</p> +Symphonie," Düsseldorf.</b>)</p> <p>Page <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, "like" changed to "likes". (Whether one likes his style or not,...)</p> @@ -12369,382 +12331,6 @@ fact that Nietzsche has more boldly than any other writer of our time raised the most important of social questions ...)</p> </div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Musical Criticisms, by Arthur Johnstone - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSICAL CRITICISMS *** - -***** This file should be named 42097-h.htm or 42097-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/0/9/42097/ - -Produced by Veronika Redfern, Adrian Mastronardi and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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