Jeanette McDonald Raymond 3~ THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT OF Je&nette MacDon&ld GREAT WORKS OF MUSIC GREAT WORKS OF MUSIC [SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING] BY PHILIP H. GOEPP Three Volumes in One GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING CO., INC. GARDEN CITY NEW YORK FIRST VOLUME COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1925, BY PHILIP H. GOEPP SECOND VOLUME COPYRIGHT, 1902, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY THIRD VOLUME COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY PRINTED IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO MRS. A. J. D. DIXON WHO ENCOURAGED THE LECTURES FROM WHICH IT GREW THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED PREFACE book must stand its own defence, which lies in the fulfilment, not in the words of the promise. There is, at the outset, no value whatever in a mere theoretic exposition of themes and de- velopment. Undoubtedly the subjective in- tensity of the impression is strongly to be reckoned with. But there must be the bal- ance, the rein which resists allegory run riot. In such a view is the true mirror of the master. It is an unfailing, perfect test. From such a quiet, all-surveying study, as one looks at a painting standing off, it is possible to see the pervading quality, if it is there, or to de- tect its lack. The beauty will ever appear more clearly, or the faultiness, the meretricious deceit, the patched pretence of homogeneous whole. Another word about the " meaning" of the symphonies. In the title this word has a negative intent, quite as strong as the positive. The book is meant to restrain the wrong in- terpretation, as to urge the right. True listen- ing lies in the balance of intense enjoyment and clear perception. There must be no cloud- ing by the one, nor too much interference of PREFACE translating thought. In a simple setting forth of a serious enjoyment will be all the "mean- ing" that the master will claim for his work, or the musician for his art. But to tell just how far the music gives the spirit of the master were idle in a preface, as it is the purpose of the book. Thus the aim is primarily to set forth the impression of each of certain chosen sympho- nies, and through them to get, at first hand, a clear glimpse of the individuality of each of the great masters. Secondarily, it is intended to suggest, by the mode presented, an atti- tude in the listener which will increase his enjoyment by an intelligent perception of the intent of the master, or which, for critical pur- poses, may serve in testing a new work. An ultimate object, which it is not intended to pursue categorically, is the suggestion of an underlying purpose in the art, and, similarly, of its scope, wherein will be involved certain incidental questions of the connection between the art-work and the intent or unconscious thought, the personal tone, even the morale, of the master. FIRST SERIES CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE 7 CHAPTER I. Introductory 13 CHAPTER II. The Symphony 23 CHAPTER III. Haydn 42 Symphony in D (Peters Ed. No. 3). Symphony in E>? (Peters Ed. No. l). CHAPTER IV. Mozart 68 Symphony in G Minor. Symphony in C Major ("Jupiter"), CHAPTER V. Beethoven 94 Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) . loo CHAPTER VI. Beethoven (Continued). Seventh Symphony 125 Fifth Symphony 147 CHAPTER VII. Schubert 177 Unfinished Symphony 193 Symphony in C Major 201 CHAPTER VIII. Schumann 248 CHAPTER IX. Schumann (Continued). Second Symphony (in C Major) 2/0 CONTENTS PACK CHAPTER X. Schumann (Continued). Third Symphony (" Rhine") 310 CHAPTER XI. Mendelssohn 342 Italian Symphony 354 CHAPTER XII. Brahms 366 CHAPTER XIII. Brahms (Continued). Second Symphony 377 SECOND SERIES i CONTENTS PACK PREFATORY 7 CHAPTER I. Mozart 13 Symphony in E Flat. CHAPTER II. Beethoven 34 First Symphony. CHAPTER III. Beethoven (Continued). Second Symphony 59 CHAPTER IV. Beethoven (Continued). Fourth Symphony. (The Poet of Pathos and Humor) 87 CHAPTER V. Beethoven (Continued). Eighth Symphony. (An Epic of Humor) . . 1 1 1 CHAPTER VI. Beethoven (Continued). Sixth (Pastoral) Symphony. (Tonal Depic- tion) 233 CHAPTER VII. Beethoven (Concluded). Ninth (Choral) Symphony. (The Final Need of Words) 153 CHAPTER VIII. Schumann 195 First Symphony, in B Flat 195 Fourth Symphony, in D Minor 210 CONTENTS PACE CHAPTER XU.SiteRtu A Finnish Symphony 178 CHAPTER XI IL Bohemian Symphonies . . 189 Smetana. Symphonic Poem: "The Moldau River" . 190 Dvorak. Symphony: "From the New World" . . 195 CHAPTER XIV. The Earlier Bruckner 208 Second Symphony 2lo Fourth (Romantic) Symphony 211 Fifth Symphony 214 CHAPTER XV. The Later Bruckner 215 Ninth Symphony 218 CHAPTER XVI. Hugo Wolff 230 " Penthesilea." Symphonic Poem 230 CHAPTER XVII. Mahler 243 Fifth Symphony 244 CHAPTER XVIII. Richard Strauss Symphonic Poems 261 "Death and Transfiguration" 263 "Don Juan" 273 "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" 278 "Sinfonia Domestica" 288 CHAPTER XIX. Italian Symphonies . "... 299 Sgambati. Symphony in D major 300 . MartuccL Symphony in D minor 301 CHAPTER XX. Edward Elgar An English Symphony 308 CHAPTER XXI. Symphonies in America 321 Henry Hadley. Symphony No. 3 321 Gustav Strube. Symphony in D minor . . . .'329 Chad wick. Suite Symphonique 342 Loeffler. "The Devil's Round." Symphonic Poem 351 GREAT WORKS OF MUSIC SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING I INTRODUCTORY THERE are some truths concerning the right attitude of listening to music, which had best be mentioned at the outset. They are not to be proved, like a theorem, in the pages which follow ; there is no such deliberate or definite intent. On the contrary, they seem almost axiomatic ; they are fundamental in all dis- cussion and enjoyment of music. But they have been so long forgotten that they have a new look. The present generation may weii be reminded of them. In so far as they will be regarded as necessa- rily true, they may stand as the landmarks of the view, here presented, of the great master- pieces. In so far as they may be challenged, SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING will the first step ever come, if our taste in the original condition of ignorance is to be the touchstone ? There can be no progress, either in argument or in fact. The fault lies, in reality, in that phase of modern art which casts to the winds sound principle, clear process, and rests all in the sensational and emotional effect, in utter in- difference to the true or the false, the right or wrong of the workmanship. We do not intend, surely, to let music be to us a mere narcotic, to affect us in a passive, un- reasoning state. Therefore, I say, now more than ever there is need for true leaders, to save us from the false ; but far more still, for each to become his own critic, to master the prin- ciples which underlie true art, and the right attitude of reception and of perception. In the classical past it was our good fortune to have none but true leaders. We learned to trust them unconsciously as well as implicitly. But with later democratic stirring there came inevitable demagoguism. Men appealed over the heads of those who had the true, the saner intuition to the ruder mob to whom clear thought was naught, sensational amusement 16 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING all. Democratic as we must be in govern- ment, there is no doubt that the bursts of popular will throughout the nineteenth century have had a sinister effect upon art. The lower instincts with the lower classes have broken away from the higher. Within the right meaning, the true democrat in government not only can, he must be the true aristocrat in art. And thus we may explain much of what is com- monly charged of late against art, under such words as degeneration and decadence. Our only cure is, as we must act as a democracy, to have the feeling and thought of true aristoc- racy. We must pay art, in general and special, the respect of an intelligent attitude, which we can only acquire by mastering its process, the mode of its working, and its intent. A cen- tury ago all this could not have been seriously thought in need even of suggestion. The second premise relates to a question which has always raged with much uncer- tainty: the connection between the master's thought and his art-work. How far does he translate* a "meaning" into his music? How far has he an intent that must be re- 2 17 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING garded ? Or is it merely a pretty amusement, a delight of the senses, by nice combinations of beauty in tone, in color, and in outline? And this latter alternative cannot be disre- garded, when it seems to be held by one who is accounted the greatest German critic of the day. Gradually, however, the truth is break- ing, that, while the apparent purpose is that of mere delight, the true essence of music is its un- conscious subjective betrayal of a dominant feeling, in contrast with the conscious, objective depic- tion in poetry and in the plastic arts. At once the charm and mystery is the stress on the unconsciousness of purpose. And yet it is not strange. Throughout life consciousness of action or of utterance is not only not need- ful ; its effect is actually weakening as a use- less diversion of the mind. It is this very absence of self-observation which gives music its overwhelming power as a means of expres- sion. This is in harmony, too, with that modern experience' which believes more and more in personal force and influence, which, without materialism, believes less and less in the virtue of definite dogma. In a talk with a friend, the spoken word is 18 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING not essential, rather the personal attitude un- consciously betrayed. So in a symphony of Beethoven the ultimate purpose is the utter- ance of the high thought or feeling of a great man. However unconscious this aim may be, I think it may justly be called the true intent of the master. It may be thought, however, that there is here too little stress on the art proper, in its perfection of form and detailed beauty. The answer is, perhaps subtle : between the in- tensity and nobility of the feeling which domi- nates the poet, and its artistic expression is a close and curious connection, and, further, an analogy. As, after all, the apparent, the con- scious purpose is a beautiful work of art, the nobility of the poet is measured by the nobility of his work ; his clearness of vision, by the per- fection of detail. The truth is, a high feeling compels a great utterance ; and conversely, where there is a beautiful expression there must be nobility of the prompting thought. Thus the greatest poets will have the purest form. In proportion as the feeling or thought is intense, its utterance will be sustained in a work of high structure. A true poet does not roar '9 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING himself into a state, in order to convey his emotion ; that is not the kind the world cares to hear. Therefore it follows, of course, that the feeling at the source is only reached by a perception of the beauty of the art-work. And the object must always be so to study the master-works as to feel most keenly the un- conscious intent, the mood-purpose of the creator. It is clear how the first premise leads to the second as a natural preliminary, and how each reinforces the other. So the third will prove but a larger view of the second ; and all are but different phases of the whole truth. In poetry we do not hesitate to regard the moral quality of the poet. In music this seems never to be thought o Yet in music this personal tone of the poet is more potent far than in the other arts ; it is more subtly conveyed, and needs most to be watched. All moral influence is exerted, we know, not so much logically or intellectually, as emo- tionally. Music, which affects the feelings most powerfully, most easily conveys the per- SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING sonal influence of the poet to the hearers. We all know the moral force of companion- ship, of mere neighborhood. Yet how could this personal tone be conveyed more directly than by a word uttered in living figures of sound. The mystery, of course, is how we are to detect this moral quality, where there are no tell-tale words and story. Impossible, however, as it is to sum up in systematic philosophy, nothing is so clear to the persistent and open- minded listener in both phases, the good and the bad, the moral and unmoral. I have pointed above to the curious connection or analogy between honesty of art and honesty of feeling. It is equally true between the dis- honesty of the one and of the other. In an unbiassed and intelligent attitude, no category of evidence in court is clearer than from the four corners of the document of symphony or opera. For thoroughly following out such a plan it might be well to embrace works of both kinds. It must follow that if we glow in tune with the high aspiration of a Beethoven, we must be ready to discern the trick of the false prophet. But in a work like the present SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING the negative phase of criticism cannot be more than suggested. It is just here that musical criticism has been lacking. It has followed an even tenor of so-called catholic tolerance of good and bad, of the false and the true. Again, it has lost all thought, it has taken no account what- ever, of any element beyond the mere aesthetic. In fact, it is the moral that rouses the greatest enthusiasm, in art as well as in life. The charming, after all, gives mere temporary pleasure. It is precisely in so far as the moral element has been forgotten that music has not been highly regarded. Thus, then, in the attitude of the intelligent point of view first insisted on, we see, from the second, how the intent, the feeling of the master is reflected from the particular work; and finally, from the third, how, from a broader view even than the second (rather from a suc- cession of such impressions), the morale of the master shines clear throughout his art. II THE SYMPHONY ART, it would seem, begins its career, like man, by leaning on another. Thus, sculpture was first subordinate to architecture. Paint- ing, in turn, was the foster-child of sculpture, in the beginning merely tracing outlines and features, much like an infant writing with guided hand. Music in Greece followed slavishly the metre of the poetry.* In the early church, be- fore Gregory, the words of the liturgy were intoned with complete subservience to the rhythm of the verse, so that agreement of singing was possible only when the chorus fol- lowed the arbitrary leader. It is most valuable to see clearly the final * With all the "discoveries" of Pindaric odes, nothing has ever established the fact of a Greek conception of musical rhythm independent of that of the verse. Greek " music" lacked the first requisite for a tonal art. 2"? SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING evolution of the independent art of absolute instrumental music as the latest link in this chain. Leaning on the words and story of the drama, music developed, on the stage of the opera, melody, and its accompaniment in tones colored by various blending and contrasting in- struments. She was preparing her pallet. In the church, following the lead of the service, music was exploring all the possibilities of poly- phonic combination and of architectural com- plexity by algebraic computation. But in neither church service nor in opera was she progressing unaided. Of course, walking with a cane is different from depending on a guiding parent. So differs the music of Paliestrina from that of Ambrose. But even in the great Bach's works music had not thrown away all her supports. She first learned to tread her inde- pendent course, speaking her message purely in her own language of tones unaided by words, when she lisped the first sonata, which, in orchestral dress, is the symphony. It must be remembered that the entire growth of the art of music, and what was really the slow manufacture of its elements and forms, was wrought within the Church. 24 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING This development began when to the unison chant was added the servile accompaniment of a second voice, keeping always its unaltered respectful distance. It ended when all the changes of fugai counterpoint had been rung with mathematical ingenuity. But until mod- ern centuries there had not been a thought of music without words, of unsung music. When the absurdly artificial forms were abandoned by mutinous singers, the organ took the place of the unwilling voice, and invited further composition for its special performance. But this had nothing in common with secular instrumental music and its origin. For the elements, we must go back to the strange attempts at opera by Italian amateurs. The very convenient date of the first opera 1600 is an excellent landmark in gauging the growth of unsung secular music, the year when Peri's " Eurydice" was produced in Florence. It is in the formless preludes and interludes of the players that the germ of the symphony lies. The first conception of flow- ing cantabile melody, which is the very fibre and tissue of every movement, came in the early opera. (There is absolutely no kinship 25 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING between this melody and the fugal theme of the church school.) With these the dance, of ob- scure origin, completes the foundation on which sonatas and symphonies were reared. If we enter the forge in which these ma- terials were being welded into the great forms of the symphony, in other words, if we study the precursors of the masters, we find, indeed, little promise of intellectual significance, or, for that matter, of pleasurable amusement. But, in art, periods of exclusively formal growth always lack imaginative power. It is like latent heat, when ice changes to water. Great men, it would seem, are content with the form they find, hiding the lines with their fulness of thought. Shallower minds, sensitive to popu- lar demand, tinker at new devices of outward novelty. Thus, Sebastian Bach did not find the sonata sufficiently perfected. Haydn was the first master to approve. Therefore, in a review of the history of musical thought rather than of musical structure, it may fairly be said that the sonata and the whole school of secu- lar instrumental music did not begin before Haydn. The analogy between Bach and the seculai SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING masters is striking. In his earlier generation he found nothing but the strict forms of the church school. He gave them their essential artistic purpose ; he crowned their development by endowing them with the highest expression of religious feeling. When a master thus reaches the greatest height, a lower level must be started in another direction, leading to a second master. If we take a survey of this new stream of worldly composition melodies with artificial accompaniment, digressions of rippling scales or tripping arpeggios and suddenly intruding crashes of full chords and contrast it with what is found in the church school with its precise, dignified, and elaborate structure of voices, independent in melody, yet interdepen- dent in harmony, the question comes, What new spirit moves here? How can there be, almost at the same time, two opposite phases of the same art, both honored by the greatest masters ? Clearly, here is the latest, though not the weakest, wave of the Renaissance pulse. The same rebellion against the all-absorbing intel- lectual domination of the Church, the same 27 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING resistless wave of earthly feeling and its ex- pression, apparent in painting and in the litera- tures of England, France, and Italy, is here manifest in the youngest of the arts. Why the movement is so late in music need not be discussed beyond again saying that the art was jealously and exclusively fostered by the Church. All its forms, its whole framework had been devised solely for worship. An en- tirely new garb must be created before it could venture from the cloister into the gay world without great awkwardness and stiffness. Much depth of feeling or intellectual emphasis must not be expected of the first century of this new phase. The early works show their re- actionary origin by utter frivolity and shallow- ness. Until an actual fitting form was ob- tained, there was a constant striving after a satisfaction of this very need, a self-conscious kind of emphasis of mere sound ; the composer sought to fill in as many black notes as pos- sible. The beginning of Haydn's career marks the final attainment of this form, and at the same time a sudden spring of true poetic feeling. The result was what is commonly called th. 28 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING sonata, which is really what we are consider- ing; for a symphony is nothing else than a sonata written for the orchestra. In the light of the absolute newness of unsung music is seen the fitness of the name "sonata," that which is merely sounded, in contrast with that which is sung, the "cantata." Nowhere, I venture to say, in any phase of art, is the shock greater than of this burst from the sombre, confined, careful, intellectual process of the cloister to the free, irresponsible fancy dancing first over the meadows and in the forests, then into the life of men, the turmoil and the triumph of war, the romance and ecstasy of human affection. It is clear, then, why the expected order first of the less defined, second of the more clearly significant phase of the art should be reversed. Within the cloister music had reached a high and complex power of expres- sion of those feelings which were there sanc- tioned. Without, all was new and vague ; there were no words or forms of expression for the new life. It must begin with the ABC of a new language. To condemn the first fruits of this stage for lack of definiteness of 29 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING meaning would be to misunderstand the very purpose of all art. While definite language is not impossible to art, this is not its chief func- tion ; no more is mere beauty of outline. If a sentiment be expressed and transmitted, the medium of its transmission will be entitled to its place as an art of form. The language of prose has not the power thus to express and transmit all sentiment, though it may entitle its field in a rough sort of way. What prose can- not, the other arts must do, each in its pecu- liar region, not, perhaps, without encroaching mutually. Each art, beginning with primordial feelings, will translate more and more delicate shades in a constantly refining process, the form always reacting on the sentiment and sug- gesting an advance. This must account for the vagueness of the earlier great works for instruments. But even in Haydn the pastoral element, the poetry of nature, discovered anew, is unmistakable, as is the peculiar playfulness of his humor. In fact, the appearance of humor of any kind in music in the eighteenth century is as absolutely new as anything can be under the sun. Imagine how utterlv inconceivable it would have been SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING to the long line, stretching through many cen- turies, of the worthy fosterers of music in the Church. The sonata was said by a German critic to be intended by the earliest writers to show in the first movement what they could do, in the second what they could feel, in the last how glad they were to have finished. The sim- plicity of this interpretation and no doubt it is accurate emphasizes the vagueness of the real sentiment. In the hands of great men the form very soon attained a much more dig- nified plan. In technicalities the essence is often lost. There is no value in analysis in itself. Yet a clear view of the general purpose is not dimmed by a glance at those elements which have in them more than mere technical value. The question is not merely what is the general purpose of the symphony, but what is the special value of the accepted model in carrying out this purpose. And, as has been said above, the first requisite in the listener is an intelligent grasp of the work. In short, what is the essential of the much- mentioned sonata form ; of the outline of the 3' SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING other movements ; indeed, of the structure of the whole? A few relentless wherefores will bring us to the right point of attack. Nor can the answer lie in a technical statement of theme, of development, of tonality, and so on. But the one clear and grateful approach is by an historic view, where we see the need the real raison d'etre of each cardinal element. In the first place, the main stress of the sym- phony indeed, of most absolute music is centred on what is called the sonata form. It is the mould in which is cast the first move- ment : the serious burst of aspiring thought. The second, to be sure, is of no less dignity. But it is in complete contrast with the stress and strife, the stirring progress of the first. It is a calm lyric utterance from the high level to which the first mood has ascended. It does not need the discussion of the other. Sim- plicity of statement in the verses of a song is its natural utterance. Nowhere is the depth of genius of the highest master better shown than in the Andante, that profound, broad sympathy of Beethoven, distinct from the stat- uesque pathos of Haydn, or the stately grace of Mozart. Here was reflected Beethoven's 32 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING highest trait, that which bound men to him most strongly. In the third phase the feeling of relaxation is undoubted, and, fittingly, the form, even in the highest flights, is based on the dance. The mood has passed from the spirit's stir and spring through pathos to humor. In its original conception this effect of relief, of restraint from the tension of the early move- ments, was continued in the last. A form peculiarly fitting for careless joy existed in the Rondo, where the melody appeared and van- ished with graceful interludes, which later de veloped into lesser tunes. Discussion was sup- planted by a constant, playful alternation of the various melodies. As the symphony grew a more serious utterance of poetic feeling, the last movement often rose to a second climax; and here appears the meaning of form and of detail the rondo yielded then to the Sonata type. What, then, was this sonata form? What are the elements of its power for this new poetic expression ? Again, in the, historic view, it is at once amusing, pathetic, and enlightening to see the a 33 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING struggles which preceded the great discover)-'. In Bach's time the approved form was the suite of dances, transplanted from the itinerant street-players to the new clavichord or newer piano-forte. At best this was a mere series of unrelated dances, idealized, to be sure, with ex- pansion and polyphonic treatment. It was the holiday music of the learned musician, his only secular vent ; and it afforded the special form for a kind of public tournament between rival players and composers. But, with the best inten- tion to be worldly, there was over it the stern, ascetic, intellectual stamp of the Church spirit. What was the reaction of treatment which must answer the reaction of secular feeling ? The peculiar quality, as in the strict Church forms, was an unrelieved monothemism. Im- pressed with the traditional simple theme of counterpoint, men could not escape it ; they lacked the artistic conception of the dual ele- ment, of balance, of contrast. The mystery, the strangeness, is that, not to speak of the eventual solution, the need itself was not clear. And unless we can see the very need, we can- not grasp the full meaning of the sonata and symphony. 34 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING In a general way, it was felt, there must be. rebellion against the Church process, no more learned counterpoint ; no textual theme frugally sounded without harmonic surroundings, like the verse of a sermon ; no eternal ringing of its relentless burden, like the doom of dogma without a hint of repose, of cadence, on and on, the voices ever multiplying the warning phrase to a final massive climax of solemn architecture. Away with it all ! There must be no taint of fugue in the new spirit. The whole machinery of church forms seemed de- signed and fitted to an impersonal, a self- effaced contemplation of high dogmatic truth of the utmost solemnity. Here, out of the Church, men dare to be happy and gay in their individual joy ; they dare to celebrate the woods and the green things of the earth. They want a complete summer holiday from the damp air of the Church. Now see the features of this new expression as they carry out this new feeling. There must be a better and simpler meaning for our technical big words. What seems the first, the most significant, the most potent, is a clear sense of harmonic residence, what the musicians 35 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING call tonality, as against the gray color, in the fugue, of a key vague until the end. Again, it seems, there is the impulse to utter a sense of worldly repose, in defiance of the constant strife in the fugue, which knew no rest until the final end. Nowhere is this contrast clearer than in the piano works of Sebastian Bach and of Do- menico Scarlatti. They were contemporaries, almost to the year. But Scarlatti had caught the earthly spirit in sunny Italy, under the in- spiration of his father Alessandro, the founder of the new aria. Bach, somehow, could never get clear of the shadow of the cloister. With the German his dance-moods are still o'ercast with the pale hue of meditation. He was glancing out of doors through the windows of his study. The Italian was roving with a firm foot in the fields ; he was ringing out his tintinnabulations with clearest note of tonal serenity and cer- tainty, still always the same one tune. He could have but a single idea at a time ; no broad sense of balance, of contrast, of perspec- tive. On such a basis there could never rise a structure of much serious dignity. But this is not all. 36 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING We must see, too, the strange alternative- of the qualities of Bach and of Scarlatti: of vague reflection and of clear tonal simplicity. It seems that tonality must be at the expense of depth. The voices were borrowed for harmonic subservience, and must cease to dis- cuss the theme. In a sense they were de- graded from counsellors to train-bearers. So, in an ideal sense, there was a temporary loss of dignity. But this simplicity was after all a gain. So far the elements are the same of the other secular moulds, of the song, the dance and the rondo. We have not yet come to the final typical trait of the strict sonata. It was a reconciliation of the various needs : first, of this tonality, the sense of certain harmonic loca- tion ; second, of relief from monotony of single melody, a sense of duality ; finally, of a quality which had been too completely lost with the fugue. And this very stirring search has shown what a peculiar place the fugue filled. Let us return, for a thought, before the days of unsung music. Our art is still walking hand in hand with her older sister Poetry, but unmanageable, restless. 37 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING One day a master dreams his melody for the instrument alone. Now it is clear that music must somehow atone for the new want of words. A song deprived of words is and re- mains incomplete. The clear meaning is gone, there is mere vacant beauty. Here begins the stir for a definite language of pure tones. And this is significant, too : none of the older forms were the achievement of music itself, its self- found utterance. They are foreign ; they be- longed to poetry, like the song, or to the dance, like the minuet. See, therefore, how this new sonata form is actually the first proper mode of expression of the pure art of music. // says something in mere tones. From another point of view, the half-con- scious want of the early masters in their search was this : they were dissatisfied with mere lyric burst, mere singing of the tune ; they must talk about it; they must get some- where. They quickly felt that melody was, after all, mere theme or text ; there was no progress until you discussed it. This element of discussion, of progress, which, in a sense, had been lost in the fugue, now achieved in a novel way, was the crowning 38 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING virtue of the new form for sonata and sym- phony. So here is the problem: tg express the definiteness which had been lost with the words ; to go beyond mere striking of the melody ; to start the pace for a genuine art, which, beyond creating pretty phrases, will find a language for ever deepening and ever differ- entiating shades of feeling, approaching the clearness of verbal thought. Finally, in the structure of the whole work will lie the art- form, which will build and co-ordinate in supplementary moods one homogeneous ex- pression of a great emotional idea. How this special purpose of discussion was carried out, the need being clear, will be easily seen ; further, too, how each element of tonality, of duality, of discussion reinforced the other. The final achievement was this : A melody begins with clear intonation of the key, by harmonic sounding of the main chord. It is succeeded presently by a second, which is contrasted in every way, in character, in movement, and in key. Now see how duality helps tonality. Black is black, after all, only in contrast with white. So the original tonic 39 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING key is not really clear, until a departure into the complementary dominant, with the second melody. Thus the contrast, with well-marked cadence, sharpens the effect of each. When the two melodies have been stated, there is, of course, a sojourn, a cadence, in the complementary key, the dominant. This in itself invites a return homeward to the original, or tonic. At the same time, the clearness of stated melodies is assured by a repetition from the beginning. And now the story really begins: the characters are described; now they act and talk ; the several musical ideas are discussed, singly or together, to new surprises of climax and beauty ; they take on the guise often of new melodies, or melodies of kindred beauty are suggested. Thus (not to bind ourselves beyond the hint of analogy) the themes pass from the mere phase of lyric ut- terance to that of epic narrative, not without strong dramatic power. Now must come the close ; and see once more the interrelation of key and theme, of tonality and duality. The melodies reappear in the original order, but with change in key ; for the second must close in the tonic. And, again, the balance is maintained ; 40 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING for, while the earlier melody had the advantage of first appearance, the second has the last word in this, the principal tonal territory.* And thus a symphony (which, etymologi- cally, means a sounding together, using, as it did, all the resources of instrumental sound, and in Beethoven's Ninth even pressing voices into service) had, from the time of Mozart, the ambitious purpose of expressing a sort of modulation through three or four moods of one dominant feeling. I use the word "feel- ing" for lack of a better. In its highest phase, this purpose sometimes is a kind of poetic view of life, colored by what is at the time the individuality of the composer. * The association of the first melody with the tonic key has in most sonata movements prevailed over the need of contrast of tonality. In these the final statement of melodies has the first in the tonic, followed by the second in the same kev. Ill HAYDN PERHAPS the distinguishing trait and charm of Haydn is a certain out-of-doors feeling after church or school, a dancing exuberance of childlike humor and hilarity, what the Ger- mans call Ausgelassenheit. Haydn never lost this note. And we must mark that it was to express this feeling first and foremost that the symphony was invented. Later, to be sure, the symphony and fugue approached each other were even blended in spirit and in form. This discovery has a double view, one, that Haydn was the first to put a mood into the symphony : he was the first great secular tone- poet. In him feeling first mastered form, a feeling of pure joyousness ; yet he could rise to a serious height of solemn devotion. There was not the subsequent note of defiance, of awful depth or sublimity. But Haydn had a serene profundity of his own, and, moreover, a true lyric beauty. 42 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING The other view is the original simplicity of the purpose of the symphony, its note of re- action from stern complexities to a holiday mood. There is no breath of philosophy in the beginning, mere childlike abandon. This finds naturally its symptoms and proof in the early form and treatment. And yet we should be farthest from the truth if we ascribed to Haydn a lack of mastery. The striking fact that the change was one of feeling, is clearest in the voluntary simplicity of the masters who could, at the proper hour, write the most pro- found counterpoint. Indeed, the tradition of the older school compelled a thorough training of the musician. But the earliest bent of structural creation was in a horizontal direction, not vertical ; was in melody and outline rather than in simultaneous polyphonic combinations. As soon as the form was achieved, the deepening process, in both senses, began with Haydn. In fact, Haydn in his long career (he wrote his first symphony before Mozart's birth, his greatest after the latter's death) shows very well the various phases of the whole move- ment. 43 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING In his later works the depth of treatment, united to light simplicity, is a most wonderful blending, a most delightful alternation of seri- ous playfulness and playful seriousness. It is impossible to see how Haydn can fail to be perennial. Aside from his undoubted absolute value, Haydn's importance is in some degree historic in his position as the pioneer in the expression in great art-works of purely secular feeling. A clear outward sign of this is his creation of the modern orchestra. It is not unjust to say that the orchestra, with predominance of strings, was the original conception of Haydn. With Bach the orchestra belonged to the spirit of the Church, of frugal Protestant piety ; with Handel it was devoted to the dramatic celebration of biblical themes, or, as in Gluck, of mythological heroes. With all it was stiff, undeveloped, and harsh, under the shrill domi- nation of the classic pipe and reed. With Haydn, as the strings uttered the soft hum of woods and meadows, it was a joyous, exultant praise of nature. And see the significance of the titles of Haydn's oratorios, the " Creation," SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING the " Seasons ;" contrast them with earlier sub- jects. But with all this relative position, there is no question of Haydn's absolute value. His adagios may have a mock-heroic, a pseudo- pathetic air; but his andantes are true lyric feeling. With Haydn the symphony began as salon amusement, and soon reached the height of poetic expression of exuberant joyousness, of playful humor, and of a certain idyllic, lyric utterance. With Mozart it deepened in inten- sity and broadened in scope. Losing the limi- tations of bourgeois humor and joy, it took a more cosmic view. We shall see later a great step over both masters. In Haydn and Mozart music still had strongly the entertaining atti- tude ; it was there principally to give pleasure. There was no suggestion of prophecy, of warn- ing, of defiant proclamation of truth in general, or of any definite truth in particular. Music did not, as yet, in Beethoven's words, " strike fire from the soul of man." Haydn's holiday spirit, complete in contrast with the Church school, was limited in comparison with his successors. In Mozart a classic depth and balance was 45 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING gained. Boyish exuberance yielded to maturer serenity. Depth of pathos was first explored. Haydn's was the song of the child ; Mozart's of the youth ; Beethoven's of the man. When, in Beethoven, feeling controls the form, the advance in poetic expression of passion seems as great as Haydn's original step. Symphony in D. (Peters Edition, No. 3.) Haydn must always begin with the grave Adagio* which is as solemn as it is short. Often it seems hardly meant seriously. One cannot help thinking of the king of France and twenty thousand men. All this majestic striking of attitudes, to run off, after a few bars, into the sprightliest of Presto themes : Presto. STRINGS. The bass, as common fv doubled below 46 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING reversed later, as countertheme : Tudi. *f The ascending melody in thirds. All fits so perfectly that every one is uncon- sciously dancing alone, yet in perfect agreement with the rest. Everything is so simple, the theme, the rhythm, the most obvious modula- tions, that one cannot see the secret of the eternal freshness. In the most natural way, a new melody and rhythm is made from the 47 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING countertheme by merely shifting the accent, using question for answer. The second melody brings no great change of feeling : STRINGS. No one has succeeded, like Haydn, in being childlike, and, withal, fundamental ; joyful, hilarious even, yet cosmic ; light and simple, with pervading complexity. After statement and repetition of melodies, the Presto continues, according to tradition, to discourse on the second theme. Here we may expect the highest polyphony, or contrapuntal discussion between the voices ; and we are not disappointed. As in string quartet, the violins each have their say on the text of the melody, now successively, now by alternate inter- ruption, or, again, in dual agreement. Later the fagots put in their word, then all the SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING woodwind ; finally the brass and ail j*)in in the jolly countertheme, with much irresponsible T~ ....... M ^j JW j_J Strings doubled below. Harmony in highe* wind. merriment in related phrases. The re-entrance of melodies in original order begins in the ac- customed way, but suddenly turns, against all rule, into the developing episode of the second subject, and ends, naturally though irregularly, with final singing of the principal theme. The whole movement shows how the masters who first moulded the forms of the symphony, were, in a way, least bound by its shackles, had the most perfect freedom of utterance. The Andante is German folk-song of the purest and simplest. It seems that the most natural intervals and harmonies are the proper utterance of the Germans; all other "folk" must take up with the strange and eccentric. The nearer they are akin to the Germans, ihe more they share in the rights of the tonic and dominant. Like many of Haydn's slow move- ments, this is largely a variation of one melody, *- 49 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Andante. STRINGS AND FAGOTS. = m with but a single foreign episode, the Minore. The latter, in its fragmental phrases, its pom- pous and eccentric stride of principal and lesser figures, in the general clatter and noise, seems intended mainly to give relief to the simplicity of the principal melody, perhaps to add a tinge of dignity. Haydn's scherzos always have a strong "out of school" feeling, this one especially ; only it is a short recess. The themes of the two middle movements are plainly discernible at 50 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING first hearing. But mark, after the first burst of the whole orchestra : MENUETTO. Allegretto. Full orchestra. the playfulness of the answer, whispered by strings and flutes : I -I Doubled below. and the comic mocking of basses and trebles in the first cadence. The Trio in its first eight bars has always been somewhat of a mystery : why Haydn should have used what seems the most modern of bizarre effects, a continuous sounding of the tonic chord in the strings, with a melody in the flutes, which almost craves a momentary glimpse of the dominant. 5' SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Haydn probably wanted a touch of the hurdy- gurdy. It must be well marked that the second time he clearly yields to the demands of the dominant, though still keeping a tonic pedal- point. The development of the Trio is much more important than of the Scherzo, discours- ing on a more suggestive theme, a phrase from the Trio melody : It is full of a humor and spirit of its own. Strange to say, the Finale (marked Pivace) is quite the most serious phase of the symphony. Recess is quite over ; we are back in school not to say church. For the violins, like a well trained choir, are striking up a melody that sounds much like a good old chorale : FINALE. Vivace. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING * - .- x Simply stated, without a note of extended cadence, it is strictly repeated as if to make sure we know it. It is like the preacher who states his text with all serious unction, and repeats it, to give warning of the great sermon which is to follow. We are sure it is a rondo, mainly because it is not sonata-form ; the car- dinal theme, in its constant rounds, never lets us forget the text of the sermon. After some playing of themal phrases, there comes one of those dynamic passages, where all join to make a noise, and finally drop exhausted into a cadence ; whereupon the strings, with a little help from the wood, gently toss about snatches of the melody, and the rest pitch in again in general turbulence. At last the strings rehearse the theme in really serious manner, with but slight obligate variation. The rest, too, join 53 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING properly and respectfully in singing the hymn in its original harmonies. Soon comes another of those terrible phases, another Minore, where Papa Haydn tries so hard to look very fierce, without anything special to say ; merely gen- eral muttering, with the same old faces. We all know it is only to break the more pleasantly into his own benignant smile. Here is the fugue, which we knew was coming from the emphatic way the theme was first enounced. With such a theme it could not be resisted. It begins in the first violins, with the seconds tripping in obligate behind, before, and all around, until they finally take up the theme, and the violas " hold the candle." Best of all is when the cellos come in and the rest all play about. Of course, the violas have their turn, too. Finally, the wood make a trial at the theme, while the violins go on without attending to their ineffective attempts, and finally run away from them on a side path. At last the whole orchestra joins in the fugue with all possible magnificence and solemnity, until the last verse, which is sung once more as at first. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Symphony in Ek. (Peters Edition, No. I.) Here, again, is Haydn's beginning Adagio, very beautiful ; yet somehow it seems a mere *' attention," or the formal prayer on entering church; or it is like the child's game, where serious pretence but leads to frivolous surprise. Perhaps it does give a certain serious tone to the whole. But pathos was never Haydn's strong point. So he is glad to give way to the merry dance of the Allegro, like a monk's dis- guise thrown off by the dancer. Of course, our symphony has not quite emerged from the frivolous stage. The melody is at once delightful in itselfj and promising for " talking about" later on : 55 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Allegro con spirito. "^ ^M^rn PtfBJiiS X" all in Haydn's favorite strings, while the wood- wind merely answer in a noisy acclaim in a rather unimportant way, with loud calls and echoes, very playfully, too, as when oboes, fagots, and strings softly sound the theme, and then all answer in frightening chorus: There is a queer bustling figure which looks as though we had heard it before : 56 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING jSajj doubled below. but we are sure we have not. At last, a dancing melody comes along in not too foreign a key, quite as a merry after- thought, and sets the whole orchestra dancing with it : SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING And now, after repeated statement of both melodies, begins Haydn's typical phase of ar- chitectural lightness. Complexity usually sug- gests seriousness. But with Haydn it is the mood of old madrigals, of general merry- making. Yet the depth of treatment, when analyzed, is greater than of fugues ; only it is spontaneous, and therefore the more perfect. There is a delicious conflict of rhythm ; and so profound is the architecture that we must abandon minute perception. We can merely enjoy the general daze of varied harmony and structure. Again enters the curiously familiar strain which we cannot place ; more of playful and sometimes solemn repartee of higher and lower strings on the main theme ; introducing, again, with delicious surprise, the dance of the second melody in a new light, while the woodwind are pertly talking back. Then in orthodox simplicity the melodies enter in the original order, until something strange happens. Out of a noisy tumult, closing in hushed cadence, the monkish figure reappears; the first melody is sung again. And now we see the secret of the strange 58 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING melody; for, following immediately upon the former, it proves to be nothing but its mock- ing echo in very quick rhythm. The like- ness between monk and dancer does not appear until the strain is rung in the suc- cessive variations, penseroso and allegro. On the whole, it does seem that Haydn, though he is charged here with serious intent, has again sacrificed all to his mood of friendly humor half unconsciously, like an amiable person turning off a severe word with a pleas- antry. But the Andante is, for Haydn, unusually solemn. The playing by strings, however, restores the typical quality. There is some of the stateliness that Papa Haydn would almost deliberately assume : " Now we must be very serious." Andante. STRINGS. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING But it has the fine, strong diatonic simplicity which marks all great music ; and this appears especially in the major guise, later on. It is all a series of variations on this melody. The first, in the major, has much of that Ger- man simplicity of intimate sentiment. In the Strings doubled above in the -woodwind, tf tf second, there is a curious dramatic effect of the original minor, by a simple addition of a melody in the oboe. The third is a jolly version of the major theme, in quick-tripping runs, with a few warm, friendly chords in the horns, to keep up the temperature. The next is heroic, somewhat a la Chevalier Gluck; but our hero is always making desperate attempts to stand stiffly upright; he is constantly un- bending, and betraying his natural kindliness SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING But he is doing his best to look ferocious, and the next minute he is apologizing all the more sweetly. Now the major alternative has a special pastoral feeling, with the melody in the oboes, and counterphrases in the flutes, which later join the main song. The end is impressive. First the voices steal in one by one, making, unconscious one of the other, a harmony of four melodies. Then they spruce up, and all march in best uniform, in full pride of their combined mag- nificence, not without an occasional lapse into quaint naturalness of feeling. Here, in the third movement, is the ideal minuet feeling ; the dear, old-fashioned stateli- ness and formality ; the pretty, prim quaint- ness, with naive reiterations of the last phrase, high and low : Menuetto. Tutti (the melody an octave above in the flutes). SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING 1 1 But presently it breaks into a treatment much too broad for the old minuet, where the voices, instead of strumming stiffly in rhythmic accompaniment, answer back with the theme in their own independent way. The Trio seems a flight from the restraint of the rigid dance. In a gracefully free melody, indeterminate in tune and rhythm : SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING the strings enter in turn, on their own sweet will. It is a little interlude in the dance ; a quiet tete-h-tete ; at the end formalities and atti- tudes are again assumed. In the Finale, one of the broadest of Haydn's rondos, there is from the beginning a fine duality. From the first phrase there is the stamp of highest mastery. Every voice comes in with something important to say, not a mere polite accompaniment of " Yes, yes," " So say we all." So there is from the start a profundity which almost makes us fear what the climax must be. At the outset there are two distinct melodies, one a fundamental motto in the horns, the other a gay, careless phrase in the strings : Allegro con spirito. I jit I M I T| ^ I s. - * J * I ^^J^JTCl^U^Iu ,'JT"^H ^5 - ^ ^ HORNS. VIOLINS. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING J-4 j rr " r (. \r- ~f CLARIONET. Then, while these are ringing in our ears, a third adds to the sweet bewilderment. But before the third appears, the various strings enter in " Three Blind Mice" fashion, each without waiting for the other to finish, and, what is more wonderful, they sing the answer in the same way. Ever and again, in the true rondo spirit, the friendly motto comes, in highest simplicity. There is a big, ponderous episode, where the motto, sounded loud, does not stop in strict conclusion, but, like a philosophic proposition, deduces itself at length. The whole is like dogma solemnly proclaimed on church organ (in the bass the second melody is marching), where over all lesser interests the great truth shines and dims the others : Higher wood and strings doubled below in the brass. i- a> M. I ^ M. -f /* r r r Cellos, violas, and fagots doubled above in clarionets. 64 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Basses added. But with Haydn this mood never lasts long ; the earthly, human quickly breaks through. To the duet of motto and melody is added a smooth-running obligate in strings. Pres- ently, after a noisy close of the whole or- chestra, comes what seems the gem of the whole. In simple monomelodic statement it seems entirely new, sonorously sung by the cellos, while the upper strings strike the chord : STRINGS. P CELLOS. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING .1 I I There is a complete lyric contrast \vith the former dramatic polyphony. The cellos are answered by flutes, and then, again replying, soar into one of those romantic modulations which we thought were of a later master. It foreshadows clearly the poetry of Schubert's Unfinished. Then through a noisy chorus of lesser im- portance by a quiet cadence, like an informal conversation, we come back to the original duet of motto and melody. But here is still more bewildering architecture, more and more massive, overpowering, until suddenly re- appears the single romantic figure in a new color of light. At the end of the phrase, however, there is something new, the round bassoon quietly chimes a note of assent, almost too unimportant to mention ; but, after all, there are two instead of one. Again the Schu- 66 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING bert modulation, that makes us think of king and Death and the Maiden. A loud ac- claim brings us to onr original key and beginning ; again the delicious duality. But in this, the real return to the first part, every- thing is reinforced ; all the reserves are called out ; so that the first seemed but preliminary to this magnificence and to the enchanting con- fusion. Once more the Schubert melody. And see the number of mere strumming beats we must wait for the melody, -just so many. We must have good patience, and be ready at the exact time ; otherwise we are out of tune, a fine example of the musician, the unconscious arithmetician. Twelve meaningless strums, and then the melody, divinely ordained to come just at this moment. Now there is more beautiful duo singing in friendly quarrel. At the end, like a blessing, the motto is broadly sounded by all the wind but the flutes, as if they really meant it as final conclu- sion, while the strings are loyal to their wordly counter-tune. 67 rv , MOZART UNTIL to-day, Mozart's greatness has been unquestioned. It devolves upon our genera- tion to uphold him against voices that with faint praise or slurring epithet are seeking to relegate him to a mere historic shelf. Mozart suggests the question which con- stantly arises in Art between perfect form or beauty of outline, and intensity of emotional content. Where must the stress be ? Is he the greater master who charms with external beauty and cunning skill in detail, to whom a harsh note is impossible? Or is it the poet who recklessly breaks the fetters of form, ruthlessly violates sacred canons; who shocks our ears with discord, and yet fills us with the sense of meaning, a vital feeling which impels to resolu- tion and action. The question is perhaps not of the kind that can be answered directly. It is to some extent a matter of temperament. We can conceive of great poets of both kinds. 68 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING It is the fashion of a Romantic age to decry the Classic. The same question arises between Schumann and Mendelssohn, between Tenny- son and Browning. Nor must it be solved. Rather is it important not to rush impetuously to a conclusion which unjustly excludes. Yet it bears on the question of the ultimate purpose of Art, and it may be well to take some side here. From Aristotle to a very recent time it has been thought that beauty was the one aim of Art, its creation the only function. This was more natural in an age that' knew chiefly the plastic arts of sculpture and architecture. There lies the reason why the transgressions of a Beethoven were so bitterly resented. If he was not beautiful, he was nothing. Through Beethoven, mainly, it has become clear that beauty is merely the means ; that the chief end of Art is the communication of feeling through the medium of works of beauty ; that beauty is indispensable as test of true feeling ; that high thought compels a noble utterance. But the feeling is, after all, the main end ; for its ex- pression there may be a temporary hiatus, a violation of aesthetic sense, in order to deepen, by contrast, the final effect. The element 69 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING of sequence, of musical sense, has arisen as paramount, if not supreme. It is clear how the same passage may be beautiful in one connection, impossible in another. Every- thing lies in the idea, the intent ; nothing in the absolute independent beauty of separate sounds. But, it must always be remembered, violation may never be in ignorance of rule, only by the master who, knowing its reason and spirit, has a higher purpose in his conscious trans- gression of the letter. It is certainly unquestionable that mere cun- ning of workmanship can never, in itself, be assurance of highest art. In so far as this is commonly the basis of Mozart's supremacy as master, we must withhold our homage. But, in reality, there is a better reason. Mozart does not stand simply for graceful perfection of detail and outline ; there is expressed in his works the spirit which gives life to all this beauty, including with the humor of a Haydn something of the cosmic scope of a Shake- speare, to whom he is often likened. His very completeness of form is typical and expressive of the breadth of his sympathy. In Bach the 70 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING broadest view of the religious spirit finds utter- ance in the highest development of the Church style, strongest in resistance to poetic emotion. Mozart crowns the secular outburst, deepening its pathos, idealizing its humor, adding a seri- ous, heroic note which Beethoven afterwards expanded. The symphony passed in these masters from the stage of amusement to poetic expression and the utterance of a stern mes- sage. We remember the note of simplicity of Haydn, in natural reaction from the com- plexity of the Church school. It is very im- portant to see that this in no wise suggests a lack of learning ; on the contrary, that it was a purely voluntary choice of a means of ex- pression. Simplicity was necessary to express the new secular feeling, and, furthermore, a primitive clearness was needed to convey in absolute music the sonata what had before depended upon words, in the cantata. And, then, the achievement of a new form, proper to instrumental music, involved a stress on horizontal structure, at the expense of the ver- tical, of counterpoint. Soon these temporal needs were filled. The 71 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING melody or aria was attained, with full swing and clear tonality ; a'nd, likewise, the basis of a form of wonderful fitness for the exposition and discussion of melodic thoughts. Now the note of simplicity had been rung enough. Even in Haydn we have seen a new profund- ity which somehow does not mar his childlike lightness. But Mozart had an altogether broader view and a profounder sense. He reflects in music the cosmic breadth and the mystic depth of his great contemporary, the poet Goethe, and of the best German thought of his time. In Mozart the special prominence of any typical feeling is less striking than in Haydn. Therefore his music seems less characteristic. But this comes not so much from a lack of intensity as from greater breadth, an equal intensity in various moods. Symphony in G Minor. (Breitkopf and Haertel, No. 40.) Is there anywhere more poetry or art, 01 more of the blending of both, than in this work of Mozart's? It is always a recurring question whether Mozart's symphonies are not 72 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING the greatest, partly because of their very sim- plicity, of their childlike innocence of a bur- den of meaning, because of their pure beauty and formal perfection. It does seem that in this respect, of pure beauty, the G Minor is the highest of all ; and beauty is, after all, paramount in the purpose of art, even in these latter days. There is a fine Hellenic lack of strife and strain, a high serenity. It is observable that Mozart's limitations do not appear in themselves, but only in negative comparison with other masters ; and yet in this very comparison some of the highest traits ap- pear. The true symphonic mastery is hardest to describe. It may break upon us during the course of this book. But whatever it is, Mozart certainly possessed it in a peculiar degree. His was the time when pure beauty, unalloyed with pale thought or dim meaning or grim woe, was filling men's minds. Schu- bert's Unfinished Symphony falls within this period. But the special type of this phase is Mozart's G Minor, which begins with the entrancing melody, like a dashing brook in early spring, with the delicacy of gentlest rain 73 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING AZlsero molto. STRINGS. With lower octave There is no lack of the foil of strong me- lodic contrast. But the motion and sequence of the whole is so subtly perfect that we cannot stop to label the themes. Immediately after the first comes a transitional theme : Violins sustained by wood an octave above. Doubled in octaves above and btlovo. 74 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING that is really more important than the regular second, because it lends the quality of stiff- ening lime. It is curiously noteworthy that neither of the secondary themes has any part in the discussion after the repeat of subjects, which is entirely on the text of the principal melody. It is what might be called a live counterpoint, where the bass is as individual as the soprano, a real discussion, a very logi- cal exchange of retorts and repartees. Here we are nearer the secret of true symphonic mastery, when, after the melodies have made their rounds and courtesies, the best is yet to come. Your lyricist, who expends himself upon his melodies, worries through the period of treat- ment, the Durchfuehrungi as best he can. The master feels the real purpose of themes : for 75 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING discussion. Mozart's development in the be- ginning Allegro of the G Minor is not, as in the Jupiter, peculiarly contrapuntal or architectural, but is typically a discussion. It is strange what a dogmatic, pugnacious quality appears in so graceful a theme by this alternative assertion between violins and bassos. Its peculiar beauty seems better fitted for the lighter retorts, best of all for the simple, unchallenged song, after all strife is over. The Andante is in Mozart's most serious mood. Surely any musician, hearing it for the first time uninformed, would say Beethoven, which again proves Mozart's versatility and surprising depth. After all, it seems often that Beethoven in his profoundest feeling is grounded directly upon Mozart. We cannot shelve Mozart as yet. He must go down with the nineteenth century on the first line of classics. As the Finale of this symphony is prototype of Beethoven's Scherzo in the Fifth, so this Andante strikes the serious note of the slow movement of the same Beethoven sym- phony. And the Finale of the Jupiter has its like nowhere save, perhaps, in Brahms. 76 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING See how subtly the melody steals in, almost beyond exact quotation. It lies somewhere between the violin-voices, as they quietly enter in canon order, and the basses, in the graceful, mysterious curve of their ascent : Andante. [!N STRINGS AND HORNS.] But in all there is something of the pro- phetic sternness which we think of in Bee- thoven as against Mozart. To be sure, it is instantly relieved in the lighter answer : 77 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING but it is renewed with an added ripieno voice in the high violins over the recurring first melody: The second melody has a tripping phrase in its constant wake, STRINGS. which, later, added to the first, increases the solemn complexity. It is, after all, more than mere fine art, a broad, deep, poetic thought. Or, rather, does not, in fact, art best express the real profundity ? 78 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING After the clangor of discussion, the main melody steals in with even greater solemnity. It grows ever more complex, more human, more big with meaning, significant in its many voices, its many phrases, all singing to the same end. It seems almost greatest of all Andantes certainly of Mozart's in point of depth and mastery. There, as in the last movement of the Jupiter symphony, is seen how by high and profound art you approach, ipso facto, nearer to clear meaning, at least, to a clear definition of the feeling. We can understand Mendels- sohn's remark that music is a more exact lan- guage than prose or poetry. This must, of course, depend upon some such premises as : that the highest and best of man's thought has in it more of feeling than of dogma ; that in proportion as it is more precious it is less capa- ble of statement in set terms. As part of this musical language of feeling, counterpoint, such as this of Mozart's, is like a variety of symbols or illustrations of the same idea ; but they are pecu- liarly reinforcing, as they are simultaneous, and harmonious in the beauty of their union. It seems as if Mozart must have lived in SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING these six weeks, in which he wrote his three greatest works, as never before or after. Are we curious what his thoughts were ? The true answer is here, in the symphonies themselves, far better than any verbal account that even he himself could give. And this only leads us back to the discussion we thought we had just taken leave of. With all the bright humor of the Menuetto, what a masterful ring ! A kind of Titans' dance, perfect in its easy, heavy, strange MENUETTO. Allegro. For strings, wood, and horns, with fuller harmony. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING rhythm, lacking grace only if lightness be necessary. And then at last in the Trio the purely TRIO. STRINGS. human, all tenderness, delicacy, especially in the dainty ending : Strings doubled above in woodwind. i 81 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING The coincidence has often been mentioned between the theme of this Finale and that of Beethoven's Scherzo in the Fifth Symphony.* It is, to be sure, exact in the first eight notes, disregarding the rhythm. But here is our op- portunity. With all the literal similarity there is an absolute unlikeness in essence. This shows many things, and, first, the wrongness of our literal way of looking at music, as if a man could have a monopoly or patent on a succession of notes merely because he was first to light upon them. It shows, too, how the essence of music is different from the com- mon belief: how it is purely one of mood and feeling. The Beethoven theme, with the grim irony of the dance-step (to quote, for the nonce, in another key), is in austerest, sardonic Allegro. humor. In Mozart, in " common time," it is purest playfulness. Of what use, if we know the notes, can quote or even play them, if we * See the description and quotation below. 82 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING FINALE. Allegro assat. i - lack the perception of feeling which makes identical themes really antipodal. With Mozart, it is all a jolly, wild revel of childlike joy, well earned after the profound, serious absorption of the earlier symphony. After the depths of the Weltschmer'z, after big thoughts of a uni- verse, it is good to be dancing, like pure chil- dren. So the second melody is in simplest Haydn humor. STRINGS. ~ Was there ever anything so brilliant as the development. Pompous, eccentric striding 83 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING about, as if terrible things were impending, and then the most impish dancing under the very noses of the same figures that looked so solemn. But soon the imps get in a wild maze of dance. We are dizzy looking at them ; we can no longer follow the leader. Each seems independent of all the rest, yet they never even jostle. Somehow, they all make a perfect picture ; they seem to dance as a curious, complex whole, a simulation 'of wild disorder. Gradually they simmer down to a lull. It all ends in the joyous simplicity of the beginning. The G Minor does seem the greatest of all symphonies when we hear it. But, then, it is really the test of a symphony that you prefer it to all others when you hear it, and this must be an excuse for a subjective treat- ment. There is a right and wrong, a false and true in art, but there is no necessary gradation in rank of the masterpieces. The " Jupiter" Symphony, in C Major. (No. 41 of Breitkopf and Haertel.) Were Mozart and Haydn as conscious of the high dignity and capacity of the symphony 8 4 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING as Beethoven ? They worked towards it, but they were, in a sense, still in the formative period. But this was, again, their strength, both in point of unconsciousness and of formal beauty. The contrast is very complete from the G Minor. We miss the fine depth of sentiment. But instead there is a certain intellectual breadth, profundity, and vigor. In nothing is the contrast sharper than in the general plan. We have seen the early climax of the G Minor, and the gentle descent in the Finale. In the Jupiter the first three movements seem mere prelude of the last. The first, Allegro Vivace, begins with an elec- tric burst of the whole orchestra in a sparkling phrase, which with its inversions seems to unite the whole symphony in a common conception. Allegro vivace. Tutti. J Doubled in upper and three lower octaves. There is no defined melody. It is all like a broad fanfare, to show the breadth of scope 85 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING and the intellectual pitch of the whole. There is a constant tendency to short, terse legends in tone. Not until the keen air of the original key is forsaken is there a lapse into gently swinging melodies, of which the second, in particular, is a grateful gliding into a more placid, a more human, perhaps a more frivo- lous mood. STRINGS (the melody in octaves). - t But the development begins in light humor, with charming counterpoint. And this shows 86 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING an innocence of anything profounder than a vague cheeriness. Neither the first nor second movement has the profound feeling of the G Minor. But the whole symphony deepens as it proceeds. And so in the Andante, as the first theme is rather formal and stately in Andante cantabile. STRINGS (MUTED). its mood, the second is fairly steeped in senti- ment: 87 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING STRINGS (the melody reinforced in thirds in the wood). -* * FLUTES AND HORNS. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING There begins the real song, ^the poetry of the story ; and from this point the treatment of the first theme is richer and fuller. The Menuetto, with all its charm of lightness and dainty swing, cannot compare with that of the G Minor in vigor or depth. It is a pure dance, while the other was more than was bar- gained for. But in the Finale, the reverse of the G Minor, there is the most thrilling architecture, all out of a theme of four notes, united, augmented, FINALE. Allegro molto. STRINGS. diminished. The vagueness of the first move- ment is justified ; the whole is with a broadly poetic conception, which is really much more Greek than Gothic. There is Jupiter Tonans. The view is always Olympian and manifold, taking on a great cosmic complexity. In the wake of the main subject come other phrases. One in the bass recalls the beginning of the whole work : 89 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Woodwind with octave below and above. r Cellos, with violas above and basses above. After a full cadence rings out what has been called the " hammer theme," might be called the " thunderer :" In strings and wood, doubled in octave below. i ; carried on in two voices, one a third above the other. At the end of this rumbling energy in the forge of the gods comes a fugal fabric in five separate voices from the strings on the motto, sung in quiet fancy, each entering voice shut- ting off the last word of its forerunner, thus : 90 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING ^&J. so all the violins come in, from first to basso. Then echoes the blast of the full orchestra, with the theme above and the hammer phrase below. Then a new counter-figure of impor- tance is developed : 3 also entering fugally. Then comes the sudden change to the gentle second melody, still in the violins. But, see, STRINGS. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING it is of the same flesh and bone with the first, a stolen rib. Around its disguised entrance the former phrases are constantly hovering. Presently there is a compact forceful passage in the (inverted) second theme, without a moment's loss of melodic swing, without a suspicion of the lamp ; on the contrary, with constantly added strength and vigor, and a peculiar sense of economy and mathematical perfection, so that we cannot but recall the " unconscious arithmetician." Now follows the most royal counterpoint, the sparks flying from the shock of discord, all with surest touch and perfect harmony. The development (Durchfuehrung) begins more reflectively. But the counterpoint is so dazzling, so overwhelming, that only by in- tense expectancy, looking again and again, the SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING sunlight is too bright, you can discern the components, shading the eyes and standing farther back. But perhaps the general dazzle is the real intent, rather than spelling out each theme. A wonderful work, with the stunning alternative of hammer themes in contrary mo- tion, and a subtle insinuation of the motto ! At last the motto appears boldly in its original guise in the basses, with enchanting, Schubert- like modulation from mystery to certainty. At the end, after a reprise in the respective keys, there is the most marvellous episode of all. The motto, inversion, and diminution in one, and the other two themes, all in perfect harmony, are enough to give Bach a headache. There is an unquenchable thirst for new state- ments, new guises. The conception is of the boldest intellectual span. It stamps Mozart's as one of the most broadly constructive minds the world has possessed. It is indeed the m plus ultra of Art. 93 BEETHOVEN Two great traits stand out as we view the advance over the masters we have been con- sidering, by the one who stands at the height of secular expression, if not of all. To use technical words seems like travelling in a circle ; for they must always be explained. Yet there is a certain indispensable rough con- venience about them. Development, then, is, after all, that which gives life and reality to music, as to all human thought. It seems sometimes as if any one could make a tune by thinking hard enough or long enough. Then, melody may be reminiscent; it is always partly so. But if you can talk with sequence and coherence, you are a master of the magic language ; it is, then, all your own. Bother the theme, you can say something logically, deductively, consecutively. This Beethoven carried to an undreamt power ; Schumann developed it later wonder- SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING fully in certain narrower lines. Sometimes it seems as if, by comparison, Haydn and Mozart tied the melodic sections together ; or used the devices of counterpoint, however master- fully, for their own sake ; or, at least, while they wrote with sequence, they did so with a certain consciousness, with more emphasis on utterance than on content. In Beethoven, for the first time, everything becomes subordinate to the expression of a great, continuous, homo- geneous thought or feeling. Still, in all justice, certain fundamental differences of the masters must be reckoned with. Mozart liked perfec- tion of form in itself; he had a keener sense than Beethoven for the beauty of the utterance. He did not, therefore, like Beethoven, rebel against form for the sake of rebelling. There may possibly be a tendency to consider each succeeding master too distinctly as overshadow- ing those before him. Mozart and Beethoven were diametrically opposite in temperament, and the former is not merely a stepping-stone to the latter. In certain moods, Mozart reaches an expression than which a more perfect cannot be imagined. But in reality and force of pas- sion, Beethoven undoubtedly far surpassed him. 95 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING The first trait seems to lead immediately to the second, though at first glance they do not seem so closely akin. In other words, it is Meaning which now becomes more important than Beauty in itself. Beethoven first became less conscious of the dignity of detail than of the general plan or 'mood-purpose. In Bee- thoven we first see the gray .hue of a distinct significance; or, better, perhaps, of a defined kind of feeling, instead of the vague prattling of Haydn and Mozart. The latter were con- tent to be in an irresponsible, joyous state, or else they had the tears ready. They accepted their fate, their surroundings, their institutions unmurmuringly. They remained little above menials in the houses of the nobility. They were content, like good children, to be happy out of doors, in the woods and meadows ; to go to the established church and sing its ser- vice ; to obey the authorities, glad to be allowed their wages, to please their patrons. They were in the Grubb Street stage of music. To be sure, at times there were, in the younger, moments of solemn wandering, even of bold revel. But this, too, was in the established order. 96 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Now comes a man, a counter-figure, only nobler, of that other man of the time across the Rhine, whom the former celebrated in a symphony. But in their high loyalty to his ideals, the works of Beethoven, as compared with the degeneration of Napoleon, show something of the nobility of art as compared with statesmanship. Beethoven was first a thinking man. He took seriously himself, his surroundings, and institutions, social and political. In deed and fact he was true to the ideal of his thought. He recognized the real mission of art but slowly dawning upon us to utter the highest, profoundest emotions only by means of beauty of expression. He dethroned Beauty and set up Feeling. Thus for himself and for art he achieved the energy, the power, which rouses to action, does not lull to sleep. His personal behavior betrayed his temper, not innocent of rudeness, when he completely reversed the accustomed relations of the nobil- ity and the artist. Politically, he was in strongest sympathy with the struggles in France for individual freedom, for the principles on which stand our American republic and na- 7 97 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING tional life. This was the prompting motive of the Eroica Symphony. Napoleon then was the champion of Justice, Equality, Democracy. Common Sense, even of Universal Brother- hood. What Schiller dreamed in his " Frcude" here was thought a heavenly reality. Thus Beethoven found in the opposite sphere of action the echoing voice to his half-conscious mutterings and rebellion against the tawdry and tyrannous feudal system, under which the European continent languished. In the Fifth Symphony is, perhaps, most distinctly the ut- terance of this spirit ; though, wherever Bee- thoven boldly and knowingly breaks the fetters of form, he shows by unconscious analogy the quality of his democratic, iconoclastic temper. Before proceeding to the symphonies them- selves, it is necessary to touch on the true limits of meaning in music. We are apt to- day to become supercilious about " programme music." Its nobility lies in the fact that the inner content rises superior to the outward beauty. But the question is as to this meaning. As it was once thought translatable into human prose, the language of commonplace, useless 98 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING for permanent things, and as it was found want- ing, the reaction was natural to the modern theory of an Hanslick : that music is a mere whimsical combination of tonal figures without inner content or significance. The meaning is certainly there, and it is the true kernel ; but it is an emotional, not an intellectual meaning, the kind that is the es- sence of poetry, religion, and all good things in the world, the personal element which makes affection. And no other form of utterance is so powerful for its expression as is music. In reality, it seems to exist least where there is most intellectual meaning, as in a treatise, perfect in logic. But the danger of seeking an exact meaning in music is great. Of the two errors, the nega- tive attitude is infinitely the safer ; it at least brings no ridicule upon the art. As we have said before, the true essence of music is its un- conscious subjective betrayal of a dominating emotion, in contrast with the conscious, objec- tive depiction in poetry and in the plastic arts. And it is in this unconsciousness that lies its overwhelming strength. 99 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Symphony No. 3, in $> (Eroica). Much has been said by critics to reconcile Beethoven's inscription " to celebrate the mem- ory of a great man," to explain the apparent irrelevance of the Scherzo and Finale. They cannot see the fitness of humor and triumph after the funeral. Marx sees pictures of a busy camp and " the joys of peace." Berlioz finds in the Scherzo the solemn rites of Greek war- riors at the grave of their leader. If you must have a scenic whole, Wagner's is the best, Action, Tragedy, Serenity, Love.* It seems clear that all the commentators in- sisted on a series of pictures ; they must be told a story about each movement. No work could be fitter to test the true limits of meaning in music. Taking a natural view of the com- poser's attitude, he wrote, in the first place, a symphony (not a series of illustrations, not a narrative), of which the burden was A Great Man. All pictorial or narrative association must be abandoned, even of a chronological order. It is a symphony with the dominating * A good account of the various interpretations is given in Upton's " Standard Symphonies." SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING feeling of a Hero, in its various moods. His death was, after all, as an event, a small ele- ment. The song of mourning must come, if at all, in the second movement, not merely ac- cording to tradition, but by the highest sense of fitness. In the whole " celebration" the mourning note must be subordinate. It is somewhat the thought of Hawthorne that death is an incident of our lives of far less im- portance than many a thought of an unevent- ful day. The lightness of rhythm of the Scherzo only gives the touch of highest joy, opening into the triumphant Finale. In the dangerous task of technical descrip- tion, the question is, How close is the relation between music and meaning? In proportion to greatness it seems that the conception is apart from the details. In lesser masters there is little below the sound. With the great you must stand off as from a canvas of larger scope ; you must not be too near the individual figures to catch the general plan. While the beginning is almost graceful, the serious intent is soon disclosed where the or- chestra enters united ; the dance of the violins SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING SECOND VIOLINS, VIOLAS. Allegro con brio. A "Y 5* ' 5* -2* on brio. ^T ^g ^r r CELLOS. ceases in the abrupt, severe tutti chords, with a rough syncopation which we think original in Brahms. Still, this may be a temporary con- trast. The question is which is to predominate. Then the melody sounds solemnly in united basses and trebles, with full orchestra ; but sud- denly it drops all severity in the gliding grace of the second melody, which is sung in suc- cessive and responsive snatches by the wood- wind and strings : OBOE. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING There is certainly nothing here but careless serenity, whatever the title, the warning sound of the first melody, and other omens may threaten. Throughout there seems to be a tense balance or rivalry between solemn fore- boding and exultant dance, predominating re- spectively in the two melodies in a constant struggle, so uncertain that one is often in a curious mixture of terror and joy, save in occa- sional climaxes of clear triumph or in cadences of idyllic tranquillity. If we remember the raison d'etre of the sonata form,* we must see that the first statement of melodies must in itself give a strong clue to the whole symphony. In its clear enunciation, coming to a full emphatic close, followed by a complete repetition, it must be a prologue, as it were : nay more, as it contains the substance of the most important of the four chapters. And so in this strange vibrating between exu- berance and seriousness, this curious balance between childlike abandon and succeeding vig- orous, even harsh, solemnity and profundity is the typical feeling of the Heroic symphony. * See Chapter II. 103 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING After the joyous and boisterous appearance of the two melodies enters the ominous mys- tery of modulation, uncertain whispering of fragments of the themes, followed by brief tranquillity in the second melody. Then gloomy minor mutterings of the first in the bass, increasing and reiterating like some funda- mental fate, with fitful, hysterical breaking into the lightness of the second. But its own theme is bent to serve the stern humor of the whole ; and soon the whole orchestra is striking united hammer-blows in eccentric rhythm with overwhelming power, until suddenly relieved by a phrase of delicate pathos in the woodwind, with violins still sustaining the rhythm : OBOES. BASSES, pits. Back again to the fateful legend in the basses, reiterated in minor, suddenly relieved again, as 104 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING before. But the new phrase expands in clario- nets and fagots into a new song, sung responsively between flutes and violins : FLUTKS AND FIRST VIOLINS. SECOND VIOLINS. *=&*=** 1 H SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Now comes the real discussion of the main subject, the vigorous strife in clear stretto of woodwind, with rhythmic stress : FLUTES AM> OBOES. FAGOTS. too mazed for our sight, until it is merely the light oboe striking the phrase with resounding echo of the rest : Woodwind doublet ,1*.. : -e and btlow. OBOE. X" " I XT . : Trembling of strings below. Then more hammer-blows on the chord, sud- denly quieting before the melody, entering simply and cheerfully as at first. But here is a sudden serene humor for our moody subject in jolliest duet between horns and basses : HORNS, BASSI. J j -* -*- -* ^- +- -0* - . j.i,. dolce. //,-.-. 1 06 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING with the other strings humming away to the dancing rhythm ; the duet is taken up by flutes and violins, then through loud cadence into a return to the first part of the movement, with all its themes and phrases, principal and secondary, and its changing moods, enriched with fuller treatment. Withal there is the elemental simplicity and childlike exuberance of Beethoven. It is wrong to think him o'ercast with intellectual motives. At once he seems charged with pro- foundest emotion and lightest joy. It is the balance of depth and of humanity that makes Beethoven great. All doubt of the mood of the Allegro is gone with the audacious descent in three succeeding chords en bloc, defying the laws of musical progression, and in this defi- ance showing the intent.* Though often done afterwards, it never had the same Promethean ring. Immediately thereafter is dancing revel and a serious joy, though with greatest lightness. The whole understanding of the Third Sym- * Yet the musician feels how the spirit of his law is not disturbed. 107 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING phony depends upon distinguishing profound joy, even with wild revel, from a careless, irre- sponsible abandon, the joy of the Hero in an universal cause, who, in his revel, feels a clear right to his exultation. The intensity of Beethoven's feeling in his conception of Napoleon's ideals may be meas- ured by the reaction, when he tore up the title- page on hearing of the emperor's coronation. In the second movement, the Funeral March, he would go far astray who would listen merely for the main melody. It is a fine illustration of the relative unimportance in high art of the melody in itself. Throughout we are disap- pointed, if we tie our interest to mere melodic beauty here and there. The greatness lies some- how in the exalted tone, in the symbolic depth and unity to which the melodic details are quite subordinate, although they are of course the integral elements of the whole. So it is truly a symphonic work. The initial melody, all in the strings, is evi- dently designed less for its individual, indepen- dent effect than for its fitness with the whole plan. 208 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING MARCIA FUNEBRE. Adagio assai. STRINGS. I - 1 " 1 "" 7 ~ After it is rehearsed by the whole chorus, comes the first of those smoothly gliding, soothing episodes, which are almost more beau- tiful than the subject itself, in the phrase 109 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING after a climax, descending by another gentle motive, sung responsively by strings : breaking into the funeral march proper, as at first ; but while the drum-beats go on, the gliding phrases are mainly sung, soothing the sorrow of the stiffly solemn subject. After an- other climax of the latter is a striking con- trast : of quietest even gliding of strings, fol- lowed by sharpest clang of the wind and dull beating of drums. The first part, in minor, of course closes dis- tinctly. The Maggiore, in C major, is at first mysterious. What is this serene moving of oboe in one phrase, succeeded by the flute, with violas and cettos in another, of evenest rhythm, while the violins are humming in simplest strumming of pastoral placidity ? It SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING MAGGIORE. . OBOE. mm-mm p 1 ^^ With octave above. CELLOS AND VIOLAS. FLI-TE. would be cheerful, but for the complexity of the polyphony. Before eight bars comes an overpowering crash of whole orchestra, fol- lowed again by the former quiet, self-contained singing of joint voices, now serenely continu- ing, with no funereal strain save the beating of drums, with very gradual climax into the SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING former crash. But with all the awfulness, the startling terror has been avoided. It is surely clear. We are lifted away from the objective grief of mourning into the empy- rean of a subjective exaltation of the Hero. After all, the mourning is not for him ; for him there is naught but serenity and triumph. Back to the thud of drums and the awe of the original minor. But only for a strain. Here is the profoundest of all, whether technically or in its general meaning. Fagot and violin strike out in noisy, dogmatic counterpoint -on dimly familiar themes, of which the most im- portant must be the sombre guise (in minor) of one of the former quietly gliding phrases : VIOLIN. In succession, all the voices strike into the fateful chant. When the basses have it, we are overwhelmed as in a cathedral with the SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING convincing mass of its awing architecture. In its closing climax the now hurried phrase is nothing but the old theme doubled in time. It is all surely a mingling of the feeling of Religion, of the deep enigma, in all this com- plexity ; of life arid death, and life thereafter. But the lull and return to the Funeral March is but for a moment. After a wail of violins in the main melody, brass and strings strike crashing into a strange chord. Again enters in the bass a reminder of the dogmatic theme carried on and on, until suddenly we hear in its very climax the original funeral melody march- ing in the woodwind, quite as if a secondary after-thought, all in complete song. The rest is as at first, but enriched and extended, with former separate themes now united in common psean, with bolder acclaim of rhythmic strings. Where the end might be there is a sudden lull. In quietest song is a new melody with new swing. In its novelty, its strange simplicity, it suggests a feeling of transfiguration or apothe- osis of the Hero. The ending is solemn and subdued, save a single triumphant burst at the last. There is a curious touch in the final singing of the melody, s 113 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING with its original rhythm all distorted. It gives a strange effect of reality, as if the essence of the poetry, spoken without the flesh. In the Scherzo, Allegro Vivace^ we must not pretend to find anything but boisterous aban- don. There is no note of the sombre, of the sinister, save possibly a suggestion of terror in the very vehemence of the mad delight. The beginning seems all mere rhythmic preparation in the staccato strings until first violins and oboe break into the melody : Allegro vivace. Strings, -with oboe, an octave above. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING The low strumming of the first bass is surely mere foil to the bright humor of the main theme. The fine haste of the incessant tripping, a sort of perpetuum mobile, is enhanced when the voices leap one over the other in canon form : X CELLOS. overturning melodies head over heels, losing accent in their mad haste. And, later, a still more splendid stretto, in whole orchestra, be- tween the measures of trebles and of basses : FULL ORCHESTRA. Basses an octave below. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING higher and higher in the chasing game, until they all fall together in headlong rhythm : J ff in unison and octaves. I s^,"r" tr I On their feet again and off tripping as before. No depth or complexity, save quite incident- ally where the simultaneous phrases of first .and second violins were reversed, the lower above the higher, a master-stroke (what the scholars call double counterpoint), all quickly in passing. The TRIO accents the deeper humor in a horn melody that savors unmistakably of the chase. But its sustained tones only imply the pre- ix6 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING TRIO. HORNS. vious rhythm, and soon run into its wild gait ; back again into the sonorous horn theme, . finally occasional lapses, as if sighing for a moment's thought before the Scherzo, which rushes past with the same melodies in close texture extended in a coda, where we are hovering uncertain between humor and serious triumph. There can be no question about the mood of the Finale, Allegro molto. We need not speculate nor philosophize deeply, yet there is a rare chance for a mistake. 117 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING There is no doubt about the unreined joyous elation of the whole. And yet it is most natural at first hearing to find nothing profounder than lightest romp and revel. But there is no music where there is closer relation between the notes and the sense, this higher content. Therefore, with no more ado to the reading. The opening bars are of course a mere fanfare of strings in preparatory (dom- inant) chord for the melody (in the tonic). What a strange theme ! All in pizzicato^ unison strings : Strings doubled in two lower octaves. almost a jest in its simplicity, and repeated in eccentric echoing of woodwind, and ended with comic, loud striking of common note, and lightly tripping off with the same stealthy pace. ill SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Next the melody is sounded by one set of strings in sustained half-notes, instead of timid staccato, while the others dance about with snatches and phrases which seem to fit as well above the melody as below. We now see the deeper design which gradually breaks on us, that lends a profounder dignity, a feeling of completeness, of universality. And yet the design is not conscious, but that curious star- guided intention of the master. And the un- consciousness but gives it the greater dignity and meaning. What seemed the main melody is now relegated to insignificant basses, and a new chrysalis of tune gently dances aloft in wood- wind, reckless of its dethroned predecessor under its feet : WOODWIND (with a running figure in violins). SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING There is no mere reminiscent pretence, but the whole melody with the second above, the answer, even, with the heavy chords, and the final phrase all in heaven-made union. But now the origi- nal theme is restored to dignity as sonorous subject of serious fugue, with the surrounding phrases which give life to the rhythm : SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING VIOLINS. CLARIONET. CELLOS. through the four strings down to the funda- mental bassi, with attempts of woodwind to have their say. It is clear that the theme has that peculiar quality of basic motto which we saw in the Finale of the Jupiter, and which we shall see further in Beethoven's symphonies. In it the masters expressed the sense of profound groping for fundamental truth which is strong in their compatriot and contemporary poets, which gave that peculiar charm and strength of blended philosophy and fancy to the works of Goethe. The plot thickens as the theme enters dimin- ished in tempo and in close stretto, still further diminished, and we wonder what comes next in the maze, when suddenly out of the sombre dogmatic learning dances forth, like fairy queen, with quick surprise of modulation, the second melody in a minor key, where it loses none of its lightness, gaining a novel charm of mystery : SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING STRINGS. rehearsed with daintily comic change of rhythm in woodwind : FLUTES. 8va.. After some clownish horseplay in the strings, applauded by the rest, all join in a big, ponder- ous cosmic dance: FLUTES, OBOES, FAGOTS, VIOLINS. sempre f Basses in octaves. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING cosmic because of its primeval simplicity, and because we hear the same fundamental motto in the basses. It has somehow the , spirit and ring of uni- versality of Schiller's Ode to Joy, proven in its simple completeness. The new dance extends its melody, with the motto both above and be- low, coming to what seems a complete close of full orchestra. But suddenly off again into un- expected regions of tone on the wings of the second 'melody, then into the mysterious phases of the minor, the motto always present above or below. Once more we are in the fugue, in the dogmatic humor ; but now it builds more broadly and fully in a joyous climax, which sud- denly drops into a religious chant of the wood- wind in the scarce recognizable second melody : OBOE, CLARIONETS Poco andante. S I SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING in sustained, solemn organ tones, softened in spirit, echoed by the strings. The answer in second part is in more graceful lyric feeling. Suddenly into vehement clanging of tutti, with the same melody in basses ; here again a lull in volume and rhythm, only to end through the original fanfare, in furious galloping of the theme, in various rhythmic guises, in loudest, most emphatic close. VI BEETHOVEN (CONTINUED) The Seventh Symphony. IN spite of the remark in the last chapter on the new quality of Beethoven, in advance of Haydn and Mozart, of the element of a mean- ing, it is very necessary to mark the purely sentient, naive, non-intellectual (I should rather not say emotional) character of Beethoven. And this is best seen in the seventh symphony, especially as against the third, the fifth, the sixth, and the ninth. On the whole, the un- titled symphonies are much to be preferred. We must be careful to reject absolutely any theory of story or description, except where the master himself gives it. And there, as in the sixth, it is not a success, the highest proof of the superiority of absolute music. The test, after all, is the purely musical impression, but not in an unthinking attitude. Beethoven's greatness (and that of Brahms, too) is shown by his refusal to be categoried, to have his emo- 125 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING tion narrowed and whittled down to answer a picture or story. In a very large degree, pro- gramme music is, after all, a pretty, intellec- tual game, a subtle flattery, a mental feat, a guess at conundrums. Generally, there is a real loss in the apparent gain. If the emo- tional is the true attitude, it can be seen how the title, by absorbing attention, prevents a pure enjoyment and the test by natural per- ception. Creating a false interest, the label withdraws the normal, unbiassed attention from the music itself, preconceiving the mind to an a priori, arbitrary connection or significance. In one way, entitled music is like the clever juggler who tricks by diverting attention from the real to a pretended act ; in another, it is like the poor painter who holds the witless mind by the strength, not of his art, but of the printed label. Schumann's view of programme music was the true one, the title distinctly and literally an after-thought. If the impelling feeling must be unconscious, the poet cannot know, until he has finished, the word that explains his mood. This is the true view of the ninth symphony, a spontaneous burst into song, not beautifully 126 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING preconceived and prearranged, as of voices that could no longer contain the feeling stirred by the earlier music. Implication of meaning came largely from ultra-radicals like Berlioz, who wanted, mis- takenly, to raise the dignity of music by im- puting to it a power which it could not, in the nature of things, possess. Their artistic sense was blurred by the philosophical. They confused the true limits of music and prose. Hence their incomplete work (as in all opera), seeking to eke out their music with a " mean- ing." Our genuine gain in joyousness from an untitled work of pure music is much greater than the temporary flattery of seeing, or seem- ing to see, a subtle significance. For this reason, it seems well for this once to choose a work absolutely free from the taint of attempted translation ; deliberately to avoid pictured or storied explanations ; simply to get the true musical impression, not without keen study, at once as a rare example and an illustration of the real attitude of the listener. Or, if we hear of explanations, let us take them only to reject, with presumption against all ; for, at most, but one of them can be true. 127 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Such an ideal symphony is the seventh. It is impossible to escape the din of the critics who shout their labels at us, their " Rustic Wedding," " Moorish Knighthood," " Masked Ball," " Pastoral Scenes." * But men will for- get that the more a work refuses definition, the greater it is. In proportion as the interpreta- tion is general, it is apt to be true. It is all part of our human impulse to limit, to circum- scribe everything and everybody but ourselves, in order to make clear and easy to understand.t We are in too great haste to solve all puzzles by force, to cut the Gordian knot. One more observation on these critics: How each one understands or receives exactly according to his capacity, just like so many vessels of vary- ing size, is nowhere so clearly shown as in symphonic commentaries. And this is a great truth, and the best view of criticism. Thus each has a right, without pretence of judicial * If I had to join in the chorus, I should call it " The Earthly Symphony," Goethe's " Wirklich Ut es wunderschdn Auf der liebcn Erde." f Also, I fear, from a less worthy motive of" deprecia- tion. 128 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING authority, to tell the other how he feels about it ; and each one is giving something of himself. One common quality has been read in the seventh symphony by so many commentators, that the latest critic must naturally emphasize an opposite element which seems to him to have been overlooked. All agree in the bewitching rhythmic spell that shines through every bar of the symphony. But where we must differ with many interpreters is in the degree of lightness (or of seriousness) which they find. It seems as if many view merely the fact of the dance- rhythm, and of the simple melodies, without feeling the bigness, the fundamental depth of the orchestral treatment. But, avoiding the danger from preconceived theory, let us listen : The beginning is serious, the slow Sostenuto of Haydn, of Brahms, too. But Beethoven could not, with the light intent of an Offen- bach, sound a solemn prelude, only to dance away into frivolity for the rest of the evening. Therefore this beginning is significant. Then, a symphony must begin simply, alone to show its scope. 129 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING Out of heavy bursts of chords floats a quiet, legend-like theme, in primal intervals (some- what as in the Eroica), in succeeding strains of the woodwind : OBOE. CLARIONETS. fp In both is that German, profound philosoph- ical impulse to find the mystic formula, the pervading cosmic principle, as in the second part of Faust ; the feeling, too, of Mozart's favorite motto,* in the Jupiter symphony and elsewhere. The literal musician, the '* Fach- manri," will say that these themes are chosen for their capacity for development. But this is exactly the wrong idea. He fails to see below the black notes on the surface. He treats music as a branch of mathematics, for- * See Chapter IV. SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING getting entirely our definition of the Uncon- scious Arithmetician. After a few bars of solemn chanting of the legend, there is a gentle stir of motion in the strings, which gradually infects the .rest. With the quiet theme still pervading, the whole slowly gathers movement, this is the clearest impres- sion ; still, the motto constantly completing and rounding out. As it grows to overpowering di- mensions, there suddenly breaks through a mel- ody, not of dance, but of the most tensely pent desire for rhythm, in harmony of woodwind : OBOES, CLARIONETS. Lf P dolce. WOODWIND. a call for the dance, oft repeated, high in the woodwind and low in the strings (interrupted by the earlier phase). Then there is a gradual joining of hands, getting ready. Some begin ; all are still moving imperfectly. Soon the SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING whole movement grows strong and united into a Vivace dance, led by the woodwind : FLUTES, OBOES, CLARIONETS. Sempre piano. FAGOTS, HORNS _ SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING The strings at first merely strum iightly in time. But soon they take a higher part, in echoing response : IVoodunnd in octaves. ^ Strings in double octaves below As the bass strings thus dance the time in counter-movement, the whole is too ponderous for frivolity ; it becomes deep. This must be seen throughout. If the basses gave a mere xhythmic step, it would be otherwise. Their active vocal part gives a cosmic color to the whole. The dancing melody is so continuous that it seems impossible as well as needless to distinguish first and second themes. It is all so clear. Like a great round dance, they stop, and, gathering with a run, begin again the more furiously, now holding with a long step to return to the rhythm, suddenly in quietest, daintiest skipping still softer, then in bold, loud chorus, SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING always this united feeling of a mass in unison, not of a small group, a dancing song with changing phases ; sometimes the song is every- thing, then it is a mere dance again. We must remember, here as ever, this dance is merely symbolic. We must not try to find a picture of it, nor to see it everywhere. It is only a figure, a passing image of a much greater idea or feeling. The joint dance of all is the common uniting of mankind in joy, as was proclaimed in those days by poets in verse and tone, and might well be proclaimed now anew. In another view, it shows how Bee- thoven combined purest exuberance with pro- foundest sympathy. And, after the repeated statement, the period of discussion (to avoid the hated "develop- ment") shows the symbolic quality most strongly. For here, in the much weakened, almost halting rhythm, is the separate indi- vidual wandering off, clearest in the contra- puntal process. The hue of metaphysics is on. Up and down, one against the other, in the gray, colorless straying of independent indi- viduals, the common bond is relaxed and for- gotten, only to join once again, with gradual '34 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING uniting, in the universal rhythm. If the dance is symbolic, the wandering is separate thought and action, independent, though not without interdependence. But ever again, after the ten- dency to stray apart in disunion and discord, comes the magnificent joining in the common movement and song. Allegretto is the nearest approach Beethoven can make to the mood of pathos in this poem of Earth and Humanity. In this balance of rhythm with solemnity is, to us, one of the highest of all inspirations. It is in a vein rare to Beethoven, wherein we see much kinship with Schubert. The spirit of this Allegretto must have stirred in the younger master when he thought his famous melody of the song, "Death and the Maiden." We cannot escape, again, the mystic German groping for fundamental truth in a single motto ; as, first, the essential har- monic and rhythmic plan is simply stated in lower strings, with sombre, broken sounds : VIOLA, CELLI, BASSI. . . SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING i 'n j j j ji ' u T I r tj- and then the melodic song surges above in l^=l^Tl j*r *-*--* V * clear, sustained tones, while the former fateful dirge continues its solemn, unaltered march. The second melody, in major, abandons the solemn vein, in a strain of purest lyric feeling, human and mortal, not of eternal truth. Strangely, it reminds us of quite another vein of Schubert, frequent in his impromptus. But there is no complete escape from the old rhythmic beat which keeps dinning on in the bass against the swinging melody of violins : '36 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING The lyric love-song is over, and now we are alone with the mournful hymn, but this is sung with greater freedom and lightness. Suddenly the strings alone strike into a monkish fugue on the original theme in thin, ominous tones, with unceasing course of the monotonous, rhythmless countertheme, all in pious submis- sion to fate. But now fugal and counter- theme both are rung with overwhelming power by the whole orchestra. Once more the strain of human longing is heard. Then comes the end in the same dull, broken, fateful sounds, SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING with a strange wail in the violins with the closing chord, as of a dying soul. Scherzo. Presto. Now for the dance in earnest. It is the natural climax for such a symphony, this third phase ; the very acme and essence of rhythm. All the pent-up motion is let loose, yet not in wild disorder, but all in unconscious though perfect obedience to a subtle swing. As else- where, the highest sum or quantity of motion is only possible with regularity and harmony simultaneously and successively, as of horses drawing a chariot. They must all race in one united agreement of a common speed, for real achievement of motion. And never was Offenbach or Strauss half so light as this pro- foundly serious master of ours. Presto. Tuttl. Woodwind in octave below. WOOD STR Basses strumming below. 138 SYMPHONIES AND THEIR MEANING gHr p j }__^fziz? p_ iii ipff z^=li=:^= g ~ -