DANIEL FRANQO IS ESPRIT AUBER

L I FE more peaceful , happy andregular

,nay

,even monotonous

,o r

one more devoid o f incident thanAuber’s

,has never fallen to the

lot of any music ian . Uniformlyharmonious

,with but an occasional musical dis

sonance,the symphony o f his l ife led up to its

dramatic cl imax when the dy ing composer lay surrounded by the turmoil and carnage of the ParisCommune . Such is the picture we draw o f theexistence o f thi s French composer

,i n whose garden

o f l ife there grew only roses without thorns whoselong and glorious career as a composer ended onlywith h is l ife 5 who fe lt that he had not l ived longenough

,and who clung tenac iously to life

,ener

getical ly refusing to drop this mantle o f mortal ity,postponing the final moment by the mere s trengthof h is powerful determination to l ive .

Auber, the most Parisian of Parisians,who could

never tear h imself away from his dear native c ity,

even for a short excursion in the summer,was born

,

- as i t happened — at Caen, towards the end of

the month of January, 1 782 . I say,

“ as i t happened , ” because the compose r ’s parents were notsettle d in that town and were only staying theretemporarily when the future author o f La Muettede Portic i ” made h is entrance upon the stage of

l ife . His fathe r was a print - se lle r in Paris . Be inga thorough busine ss man he wished his son to become a busine ss man also . To this end

,when his

chi ld had rece ived a somewhat summary education,

and had almost reached man ’s estate,he sent h im

to London to begin h is career in a house o f business .E ven at thi s early period the young Auber was

considered a distinguished amateur music ian . Heplayed the piano well

,and had made successful at

tempts at minor composit ion , such as ballad s, smallmorceaux for the piano

,e tc . R eal iz ing that he was

not fi tted for a business l ife,but for that o f a musician

,

Auber re turned to Paris, where he was no t long in

making fo r h imself a reputation in the fashionableworld . He was looked upon as an agre eable pianistand a graceful composer, with sparkl ing and originalideas . He pleased the ladie s by his i rreproachablegallantry and the sterne r sex by his wi t and v ivaci ty.

During this early period o f his l ife Auber produceda number o f Zz'ezz’er , serenade duets, and piece s of

drawing - room music,including a trio for the p iano,

viol in and Violoncello,which was conside red charm

ing by the indulgent and easy - going audience whoheard it .more important work , a concerto for Viol ins with

E ncouraged by thi s success, he wrote a

orche stra,which was executed by the celebrated

Healso composed

,for his friend Lamare , concertos

ThisLamare was a violonce ll i st o f great talent and e ru

Mazas at one o f the Conse rvatoire conce rts .

which were applauded by the general public .

dition,but so barren of musical creative power that

he could not originate the s implest melody nor comAuber adapted

his music so cleverly to the playing o f the eminentpose a note for his own instrument .

instrumentali st that Lamare said to him Nobodywould think

,my dear Auber, that I was not the

compose r of the se concertos, so strongly are theyTo which Auber

“ S ince that i s so, my dear Lamare , theAnd

as a matte r o f fact they were so published, succesThe

public thought he was the author of them , butmus icians were aware o f the truth , which has been

impre ssed with my personal ity .

”

repl ied :

concertos shal l be publ ished in your name .

"

sively, under the name o f the violoncell i st .

an open secre t for a considerable t ime .

I t i s evident that al though Auber made his débutas a dramatic compose r at a late p eriod , he earlypractised thi s art as an amateur, producing hi s com

These drawing - rooms were h is academy of music up to thetime when

,convinced that he had sti l l much to

posi tions in the Paris drawing - rooms.

l earn in the practice o f counterpoint, he sought assistance from the i llustrious Cherubini, whom he was

653

654 FAM OUS COJ/P OSE RS

destined one day to succeed as direc tor o f th e ParisConservatoire .

The fi rst work that Auber submitted to publ icjudgment was a comic opera in one act

,enti tl ed

“ Le Séj our Mil i taire,

” which was produced at theTheatre Feydeau in 1 8 1 3 . Auber was then thirtytwo years old . This piece was no t his fi rst attemptin theatrical work

,however ; for he had previously

written a comic opera for the Prince de Chimay,and before th is

,s til l another work for a smal l

orche stra,which was represented in an amateur

theatre . He had also composed a Mass,wi th

orchestra,in which occurred the admirable chant

which he used at a late r date in the famous praye rin h is masterp iece , La Muette de Portici .” L e

Séj our Mil itaire may be regarded merely as marking a date in the b iography of the French compose r .This p iece

,of somewhat doubtful buffoonery

,passed

unnoticed by the gene ral publ ic . Indeed the musie ian himself was very slightly impre ssed with i t

,

be ing but imperfectly inspired when he wrote i t .Neverthele ss a wri te r then celebrated

,M . Martin

ville,discovered in thi s score several pre tty moz‘zf s

and a great deal o f wit .From 1 81 3 to 1 81 9 Auber remained si lent, and

i t might have been thought that he had ceased toexist . What became o f him during th is longperiod ? He stil l continued to appear in socie tyand

,when in the humor

,to write as an amateur

fugi tive pieces of music se t to subj ects o f the samecharacter. He asked dramatic poe ts to wri te p iecesfor him

,but they were not very anxious to do so

afte r the failure o f Le Séjour Mil i tai re .

”

About thi s time the composer ’s father died,l eav

ing a widow and two sons withou t fortune . Duringthis period

,when the eminent music ian that was to

be was sti l l pursuing his studie s,he found himsel f

face to face with pecuniary di fficultie s ; but he supported them bravely

,never complaining .

Planard , the most fashionable l ibre ttist o f thatday

,was accustomed to gathe r around him in his

li ttle house at Passy — which was not then cons id

ered one o f the d istricts of Pari s — a company o f

amateurs and art is ts . There was music,and Auber

,

one of the most assiduous habitués o f the house,

accompan ied on the piano . In th i s way i t cameto pass that Madame Planard took a great interestin Auber and espoused his cause .

My dear,

” she said to her husband , “ can youno t entrust one o f. your poems to poor Auber, w ho

i s so well - bred,so wi tty

,and so good an accompan

i s t ? I am convinced that he wil l earn himself aname among our compose rs . It is a pity that heshould compose operatic ai rs without words becausehe has none to work on .

”

Women always gain the day,whenever they plead

in favor of the unknown and the lowly,and Auber

was then both unknown and lowly . Madame Planard pleaded so wel l in thi s particular instance thather pro tege obtained from Planard two piece s ihstead o f one to se t to mus ic . Th e first was a piecein one act , enti tled Le Testament et le Bi lle t

7Doux , ’ which unfortunately met with a much lessfavorable recepti on from the publi c than “ Le Sé

j our Mil itai re , and that had been a fai lure . Thenext venture was La Bergere Chate laine

,

” in threeacts , and i t made ampl e amends fo r al l previousmortifications . I ts succe ss was unanimous andbri l l iant . None too soon indeed . Had the authorlost this opportuni ty h is future as a compose r wouldhave been i rre tr ievably ruined

,for no poe t would

have entrusted h im with a l ibre tto .

At the time when Auber p roduced La Berg ‘e reChatelaine , ” the turning - point i n h is artistic career

,

he was thirty - e ight y ears o f age, j us t a year youngerthan R oss in i when he closed his with that immortalmasterp i ece Guil laume Tell .”Planard, having wi tnessed the fai lure o f “ Le

Testament,would have l iked to take back the

l ibre tto o f La Be rgere Chatelaine which he hadhanded over to Auber some time before . But nowhe was ve ry happy to have another o f hi s p i ece s

,i n

three acts,enti tled Emma

,

” set to music by thecompose r . This work was represented at theTheatre Feydeau in 1 82 1

,and was an extraordinary

succe ss . The high road to fortune was now open,

and for more than forty years the composer ’s careerwas one long seri es of triumphs

,which continued

to the las t day o f his l ife . One might have thought,

after the comple te succe ss of the two last comicoperas upon which Auber and Planard collaborated

,

that they would have continued to work togethe rfor a long time ; but i t was not so . Scribe hadj ust then attained h i s bri ll ian t position as a wri te ro f vaudevil le s . Fate had decided that there shouldbe a partnership between him and Auber

,a partne r

ship which o f all the combinations that eve r existedbetween word - wri te r and music ian was the happi estand most lasting .

What was the secre t of the union o f these two

DAN /E L F RAN COI S E SPR I T AUBER

minds,the se two talented beings who were so

well consti tuted to understand each othe r that theyseem to have been born the one for the other

,to

work together for the i r common glory and to thegreat del ight o f the public who applauded them sowell ? I t was in this wise .

A vaudeville by Scribe had just been accepted atthe Theatre de Madame , which he rightly expectedwould meet with success . For a certain morceauto be sung during the progress of the play hethought that the air of the round in La BergereChatelaine ” was wonderfully wel l adapted . Al

though he had never yet had an opportuni ty o f

see ing Auber, Scribe did not on that accountThis h istoric le tter and

Auber ’s reply to i t have been prese rved, and theyhesitate to wri te to h im .

are too interesting not to be reproduced here, themore so as they are comparatively unknown . Theyare as follows“ To MON SI EUR AUBER ‘

Will you k indly permit me,Sir

,to place in a

vaudeville which I am j us t now wri ting fo r the Theatre de Madame , your round from La BergereChatelaine ’ which i s so delightful and j ustly popular ?I will not conceal from you, Sir, that I have promisedmy director to make the p iece succeed

,and that

I have counted upon using your charming music .

”

This note i s quite gallant, but Auber rep l ie s to i twith just as much gallantry :“ To MON SI EUR Scmnn z

“ My round i s but a tr ifle , Sir, and you are sogifted that you can dispense with my poor ass istance . However

,if I grant you what you ask

,

although you do no t really need i t, and you wil lallow me to l end you at the same time the finevoice and pretty face o f Mme . Boulanger

,I think

we should both of us do a good stroke o f business .The good stroke of bus iness consi sted in the

thrice - happy collaborat ion which resulted from thisexchange o f le tters, a collaboration only broken bythe death o f Scribe , which took place many yearsbe fore that o f Auber . On one occasion Auber saidto me I ow e my successe s to Scribe . Without h isassi stance I fee l that I should never have obtainedthe place I occupy in the musical world .

” Without detracting in any degree from the value of

Auber ’s music , i t may be said that thi s s tatement i sfor the composer needed a l ibrettist o f

such versati le wi t and resource o f imaginationtrue

that I do no t see amongst the comic - opera l ibret

655

t ists a single poe t who could have taken Scribe ’splace in thi s work . During the whole o f his l ifeAuber was accustomed to compose the principal

C AR I C ATU R E O F A U B ER.

From t he Paris Cha rivari.

airs of hi s operas before the l ibre tto was writtenand almost without regard to the characte r of the

andto these melodie s Scribe wrote words with extrascene in which these airs would be used ;

ordinary ease . Auber sang the airs, accompanyinghimself on the piano , while Scribe , penc i l i n hand,i nstantly found the verses naturally suited to thecharacter o f the music

,cleverly adapting himself to

i ts rhythm,oftentimes ve ry strange . I may mention

the Segu id il le in Le Domino Noir,” whichwas a singularly difficul t te st o f Scribe ’s powers .Another instance i s the song of Henrie tte in L

’

Am

bassad rice,” which was also wri tten by Auber without

words . I t was an astonishing feat on the part of

Scribe to find the comic and original verse s which headapted to th is melody, the scansion of which i s sovery singular .

c56 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

I t was on horseback o r while riding in h is carriage during his daily excursions to the Boi s deBoulogne that Auber found his happiest On

B U ST O F A U B E R,

By Danton ; in t he Carnava let M useum,Paris .

returning home he se t them to music and insertedthem in the opera upon which he was working

,and

then Scribe supplied the words . In the principalscenes

,however

,Aube r wrote to the verse s o f h is

collaborator, and h e would begin to work on his return from the theatre

,whither he went nearly every

evening. In th is way he would write on a l i ttletable by the side of his p iano up to four or fiveo ’clock in th e morning . As o ften as not

,he d id

not go to bed, but slept in h i s arm - chai r. Many o fhis score s bear traces o f the ink which dropped fromhis pen as he le t i t fal l from hi s hand when overcome by slumber . The manual o f h is o ld squarepiano bears numerous inkstains on the white keys o fthe upper octave , which indicate the moment whenAuber fe ll asle ep at his work . The mus ic ian never

needed more than from three to four hours of sle epdaily, and throughout h i s l ife he took only one meali n twenty - four hours

,namely

,dinner . On r i sing

,he

would drink a cup o f camomile,which he swallowed

fasting. This was sufficient to sustain h im wi thoutundue fatigue to the digestive organs up to thet ime of his only meal at six o ’clock . He frequentlyinvi ted to hi s table

,frugal as i t was

,young profes

sional lady singers, for he was extremely susceptible

to the attractions of the fair sex, and remained a

worshipper of beauty even unto death . Venus washis goddess

,and he eve r adored her most conscien

t iously.

Auber had eight domest ics i n his se rvice,and

never was man worse served than he . One eveninghe invited to dinner several profess ional ladie s

,as

also the l earned Mr .Weckerl in,l ibrarian of the Con

servato ire. The dinne r was good and we l l served .

Music and song followed the repast . One of theladie s be ing thirsty

,the maste r rang for a glass of

water . There was no answer . The housekeeper,

the o ld Sophie , whose face had been famil iar forhalf a century to al l Auber’s friends

,had gone to

bed ; the cook had followed her example thevale t - de - chambre had gone out for a walk with John

,

the E ngl ish coachman,who remained more than

thirty years in the composer ’s service i n short,al l

th e se rvants had disappeared . Auber d id not fallinto a passion he neve r became angry at anything.

“As we cannot ge t anyth ing here,

” said he to hisguests

,

“ le t us go and take an ice at Tortoni ’s .”We have already referred to the numerous ink

stains on th e old piano,made by the pen which fell

from Auber’s hand as s leep overpowered him duringhis long nocturnal labors

,and we now propose to

give some detail s o f thi s interest ing and h istoricinstrument

,which remains an obj ect of curiosi ty to

al l th e admire rs o f the master who vis i t the instrumental museum at the Conse rvato ire, and o f which wehave been able to take a photograph by the graciouspermiss ion of M . Pil laut, the learned Conservator ofthe Museum .

This p iano,oblong in form ,

very l ight and built ofmahogany

,was bought by Auber on the 1 7 th of

February, 1 81 2 , in the showrooms of th e ce lebrated

E rard . The manufacturer’s numbe r i s 84 1 4 . I t i sa double - stringed instrument, and i ts compass i sonly five and a half octaves . When

,in 1 842 , Auber

succeeded Cherub in i as director of the Conservatoire

,he had th i s p iano brought thithe r and placed

DANI E L FRAN QOI S E SPR I T AUB E R

i t in his study . I t was upon th i s instrument , fromwhich the maste r could neve r be separated , andwhich had become h i s true friend and harmoniousconfidant

,an inde fatigable and never - fail ing source

of inspiration , that Aube r composed those charmingand comedie s wh ich

,so often performed

and always with succe ss , have remained models o f

French comic opera in common with the works o f

Monsigny, Dalayrac, Gretry, Boi’eldieu , Herold , and

other great maste rs .

AUBER 'S P IANO AT THE PAR I S CONS E RVATO!RE M U S E U M .

Reproduced f rom a photog raph made by special perm iss ion.

Aube r once related to me that two days be forethe fi rst performance o f “ La Muette (which hecompleted in th ree month s !) the overture w as notyet ready . He composed i t with al l the fervorwhich comes o f improv i sation . The evening before the fi rst production th e orchestra rehearsedit for the fi rst time

,and the music ians accorded thi s

instrumental preface an enthusiasti c reception . On

the - first night the public were so enchanted with i tthat i t rece ived a double encore. I have never seenth is fact mentioned in any of the biographies o f the

42

Beside s the o ld piano which stood in his privateroom at the Conservatoi re , Auber had anothe r athome

,i n h i s house in th e Rue S t . Georges . This

latte r was an upright p iano which I have often seen .

L ike h i s oblong p iano , i t was s tained with ink on

the two upper octave s . Auber neve r thought , l ikeAmbroise Thomas and Charle s Gounod , o f havingmade by the fi rm o f Pleye l what i s called a com

poser’s piano,which i s both an exce llent instru

ment and a secre tary .

i l lustrious compose r,but I learnt i t from Auber

h imself.I t has been a matte r o f astonishment that this

French music ian,who did not know Italy

,who

never left Pari s wi th the exception o f a j ourneyto L ondon when he was a very young manshould have been able to introduce into “ La

Muette so much of I talian local color,and as

similate in so wonderful a manner the musical geniuso f the Neapoli tans . \Ve are in imagination asthoroughly in Naples as i t i s possible to be withou t

658

actually be ing there,the moment we hear that

vic torious march,so ful l of freedom ,

rhythm andmelody, and see on the stage the crowd of triumphant laz zaroni now maste rs of the land . One wouldgladly learn in what circumstances thi s beaut iful

PAM OUS COMP OSE RS

and marvellously characteri stic air came into themind of the Paris ian composer . Jouvin will te ll us,and he has made no mistake

, for this curious information reached him from the l ips o f the compose r himself : “ Would you know where the com

A U B E R 'S R E S I D E NC E I N PAR I S .From a photog raph.

In t his house Auber l i ved for forty years , and it w as here that he d ied in May , l 87 l , d uring t he bat t le w ith t he Paris Commune .

poser found the mo/{f of this march,the melody o f

He found i tI t was when he was shaving

himself,with his face covered with soap , that there

came upon him the rhythm and melody o f thi s inspiration ; and he se ized and secured i t be fore i t was

which is so free and unconventional ?in a shaving dish !

l ost . Such is the origin o f the inspi ration which,

twice in the overture and at the end of the fourthact

,so powe rfully appeals to the spectator in the

auditorium . O Genius,behold thy handiwork !

Have not sixty winners of the grand Prix de Romepassed no inconsiderable t ime seeking inspiration in

DAN I E L F RANQO I S E SPR I T AUB E R

the land of classic song and returned home without asingle idea ? M. Auber

,who could never tear him

self away from Paris,discovers the sky o f Naple s in

the lathe r at the bottom of a basin I”The extraordinary effort made by Auber in the

composition of La Muette , i n le ss time than

659

would have been needed by a copyist to transcribethis voluminous score

,comple tely deprived him of

his mental powers for the moment, and he wasobliged to take absolute res t for some time . Hisideas were exhausted

,and he would have found it

impossible even to find a melody for a simple song .

AU B ER’S TOM B IN PEREZ LA CHA I S E . PA R I S .

From a photog raph.

He thought that the fountain of musical inventionwas dried up within him

,and for al l t ime . But his

facultie s, thank God , were no t extingui shed , andthere ye t remained in the composer ’s brain l ivingfountains from whence were to gush forth his best

,

his most characteri stic works,and those which are

most strongly impressed with the author ’s style andpersonal i t y .

In many respects,Auber was not an irreproach

.

able director of the Conservatoire , where he re

mained,however

,a number o f years . H e was al l

hi s l ife too fash ionable a man , too kind, too weak todirect wi th the necessary fi rmness a school so d ifficul t to govern as the E cole Nationale de Musique etde De'clamation o f Pari s . He attempted no improvements i n the arrangement o f th e stud ie s , and

660 PAM OUS COMP OSE R S

while al l public insti tut ions throughout France werebeing modified in accordance with progress ive ideas

,

the Conservatoire alone remained stat ionary and , asi t were

, fossil ized in i ts ancient condition . Ul timately the Administration des Beaux - Arts becamealarmed at th i s state o f things

,and on the 2d of

April,1 870 , the following order was issued

“ In the name of the Emperor, the Mini ste r of

Fine Arts i ssue s the following orderArt . 1 . A committee i s hereby formed the mis

sion of which shal l be to revise the pre sent government of the Conse rvatoire , and to conside r andpropose such modifications as may be made

,es

pec ial ly in regard to the teaching in thi s insti tution,so that the studies pursued the re may be made asprofi table as possible .

“Art . 2 . This committee,which shall s i t under

the presidency o f the Ministe r o f Fine Arts,shal l

be consti tuted as follows“ MM . Auber, Emile Augie r, E dmond About,

Azeve’do, Chaix d

’

E stange, de Charnacé, O scarComettant , Fel ic ien Dav id, Camille Doucet, Theophil e Gautie r

,Gevaert

, Charle s Gounod, Guiroul t,Jouvin, E rnest Legouvé , Nogent - Saint - Laurens

,

Emile Perrin,Prince Poniatowski

,H . Prevost

,

R eber,E rnest R eyer

,de Saint - Georges, de Saint

Valry,Albéric Second , E douard Thierry, Ambroise

Thomas, J . Weiss .”The sittings of thi s committee were o f a most

interesting characte r . Auber,then eighty - e ight

years o f age , was never absent from any of them ;but he remained sil ent all the whil e . I t s eemed asthough he were there in the presence of j udge s

Auber’s labors were devoted to one long se rie s o fsparkl ing comic operas due to the happy partne rsh ip of Scribe and Auber, a partnersh ip in whichMé lesville was often associated . The first comicopera produced by the triple partnersh ip was“ L e ice ste r,” the subj ect of which was taken by theauthors from Sir Walte r Scott ’s romance

,

“ Keni l

worth .

”Although

, from the character of the dramatis personae

, L eice ster,

” was somewhat remarkable compared with the plays usually produced atthe Theatre Feydeau , i t was neverthele ss well received by the public .

rather than before a committee in which he hadfull and comple te l iberty of discussion . O f al l thepropositions made by the commi tte e only one wasever put into execution

,by Ambroise Thomas

,who

succeeded Auber as director of the E cole Nat ionaled e Musique et de Déclamation of Pari s . Thi sproposition was that Sol - fa classe s should be establ ished e special ly for the pupi ls of both sexes in the

s inging classe s .Auber was Maitre - de - chape lle to the Emperor

Napoleon I I I . He was a Grand O ffice r of theL egion o f Honor, and he rece ived a number of

foreign decorations . He never married .

I t was Auber ’s misfortune to see the s iege of

Paris and the terrible de eds o f the Commune . At

that time he had two horse s to which he was verymuch attached

,named Figaro and Almav iva.

When famine began to stalk through the land hewas called upon to give up the first - named animalto be used as food . The other met with perhapsa stil l more crue l fate

,for i t was taken from the

elegant coupe o f the composer to draw a cart atSt . Deni s . In the midst o f the success ive m isfortunes which befe l l h i s be loved c i ty o f Paris

,Auber

became deeply downcast . His strength. rapidlyebbed away

,and after a terrible s truggle lasting

several days,duri ng which he fought de sperate ly

with death — for he sti l l clung tenaciously to l ife,

he breathed his last,cared for i n turn by Ambroise

Thomas,Marmontel and Weckerl in, on the 1 2 th of

May,1 87 1 . When public order had be en re- es

tabl ished , he was accorded a solemn publ ic funeralon the 1 sth o f July following.

Afte r th i s came La Neige , a pretty score which,however

,the critics (who in those days were gener

ally l ite rary men not at al l competent to j udge of

musical matte rs) declared bore some resemblanceto the work of R ossini . But at that t ime what mu

sician was there who could entirely withstand Rossini ’s style

,which had conquered the universe , not

even excepting Germany ?“ La Neige was succeeded by “ Le Macon , in

wh ich there occur at least two or three morceauxthat are marvels of wit and grace .

Le Macon was followed by “ Le Timide,

660 PAM OUS COMP OSE RS

while al l public insti tut ions throughout France werebe ing modified in accordance with progressive ideas

,

the Conse rvatoire alone remained stat ionary and, asi t were

, fossil ized i n i ts ancient condition . Ult imately the Administration des Beaux - Arts becamealarmed at thi s state o f things

,and on the 2d of

April,1 870 , the following order was i ssued

“ In the name of the Emperor, the Mini ster of

Fine Arts i ssues the following orderArt . 1 . A committee i s hereby formed the mis

sion of which shal l be to revi se the present government of the Conse rvatoire , and to conside r andpropose such modifications as may be made

,es

pec ial ly i n regard to the teaching in thi s insti tut ion,so that the studie s pursued there may be made asprofi table as possible .

“Art . 2 . This committee,which shall s i t under

the presidency of the Minister o f Fine Arts,shal l

be consti tuted as follows“ MM . Auber, Emile Augie r, E dmond About,

Azevedo, Chaix d

’

E stange, de Charnacé, O scarComettant, Fé l icien Dav id, Camille Douce t, Theophile Gautie r

,Gevaert

, Charle s Gounod, Guiroult,Jouvin, E rnest Legouvé , Nogent - Saint - Laurens

,

Emile Perrin,Prince Poniatowski

,H . Prevost

,

R eber,E rnest R eyer

,de Saint - Georges , de Saint

Valry,Albéric Second , E douard Thierry, Ambroi se

Thomas, J . Weiss .”

The sittings o f thi s committe e were o f a mostinteresting character . Auber, then eighty - eightyears of age, was never absent from any of them ;but he remained si l ent all the whi le . I t seemed asthough he were there in the presence of j ud ge s

Auber’s labors were devoted to one long serie s o fsparkling comic operas due to the happy partne rsh ip of Scr ibe and Auber

,a partnersh ip in which

Mé lesvil le was often assoc iated . The fi rst comicopera produced by the triple partnership was“ L e iceste r,” the subj ect of which was taken by theauthors from Sir Walte r Scott ’s romance , “ Keni l

worth .

”Although

, from the character of the dramatis personae , L e ice ster

,

” was somewhat remarkable compared with the plays usually produced atthe Theatre Feydeau , i t was neverthele ss wel l received by the public .

rather than before a committe e in which he hadfull and comple te l iberty of discussion . O f all thepropositions made by the committee only one wasever put into execution

,by Ambroise Thomas

, who

succeeded Auber as director of the E cole Nationalede Musique et de Déclamation of Paris . Thi sproposition was that Sol - fa classe s should be establ ished e spec ial ly for the pupi ls of both sexes in the

s inging classe s .Auber w as Maitre - de - chape lle to the Emperor

Napoleon I I I . He was a Grand O fficer o f theL egion o f Honor, and he rece ived a number of

foreign decorations . He never married .

I t was Auber ’s mi sfortune to see the s iege of

Pari s and the terrible deeds o f the Commune . At

that time he had two horses to which he was ve rymuch attached

,named Figaro and Almaviva .

When famine began to stalk through the land hewas called upon to give up the first - named animalto be used as food . The other met with perhapsa stil l more cruel fate

,for i t was taken from the

elegant coupe o f the composer to draw a cart atSt . Deni s . In the midst o f the succe ss ive m isfortunes which befe ll h i s be loved c i ty o f Pari s

,Auber

became deeply downcast . H is s trength. rapidlyebbed away

,and afte r a terrible s truggle lasting

several days,duri ng which he fought de sperate ly

with death — for he sti l l clung tenaciously to l ife,

he breathed his last,cared fo r i n turn by Ambroise

Thomas,Marmontel and Weckerl in, on the 1 2 th of

May,1 87 1 . When public order had be en re- es

tabl ished,he was accorded a solemn publ ic funeral

on the 1 sth of July following.

Afte r thi s came La Neige , a pretty score which,however

,the critic s (who in those days were gener

ally l ite rary men not at al l competent to j udge of

musical matte rs) declared bore some resemblanceto the work of Rossini . But at that t ime what mu

sician was there who could entirely withstand Rossini ’s style

,which had conquered the universe , not

even excepting Germany ?“ La Neige was succeeded by “ Le Macon , in

which there occur at least two or three morceauxthat are marvels of wit and grace .

Le Macon ” was followed by “ Le Timide ,

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h letters from Auber to Alfred de Beauchesne, Secretary of the Co ns ervato ire .

DAN I E L F RAN QOI S E SPR I T AUB E R

Fiorel la,

”La Muette de Portici , a grand opera

in five acts,produced by Scribe and Casimir De la

vigne,which was represented at the Académie de

Musique on the 1 9 th of February, 1828. I t hadconside rable success the fi rst night and the succe eding representations only strengthened the goodopin ion formed of i t . Afte r more than s ixty yearsand in spite of certain features wh ich are nowlooked upon as o ld - fash ioned , as well as an orche stration which would better su i t present ideaswere i t more powerful and contrapuntal , at l eastin certain parts of the score

,th i s admirable work

would stil l be qui te presentable anywhere . Theimpart ial publ ic

,which does not yield to the in

fl uence o f schools o f music and does not h ide i tsimpressions

,would sti l l warmly applaud in this r ich

treasury o f swee t melody the chorus,

“ O D ieu pui ssant the barcarolle

,Amis

,la mat inee est belle

the due t by the two men,

“ Amour Sacré de laPatri e ”

; the marke t scene ; th e beautiful and impressive prayer ; the del ic ious air of Sl e ep” the ai rsung by the woman in the fourth act

,

“Arbi tre d ’uneVie

,which has become class ical ; and that o the r

barcarolle,

“Voyez du haut de cc r ivage thetarante lla

,e tc .

The original and singularly bold idea of making adumb girl the hero ine o f a grand opera was rece ivedat the outse t with censure on the part of the critic sand i t must be admi tted as a general principle that thecri tics were perfectly right . Slowly, however, thepubli c became accustomed to th i s creat ion

,and i t

has now for a long time been admitted that ther61e of Fene lla i s a mark o f genius . The whole o fth is part played in dumb show seems to be voiced

,

as i t were,by the orchestra

,which rende rs in a

wonderfully happy manner and with extraordinarydexteri ty the sentiments felt by the s i ster of thefi sher Massaniel lo .

As to the overture,i t has earned publ ic approval

in every part of the world wh ere an orchestra canbe found capable of executing it . I t i s bril liant

,

dramatic,pathetic

,and the motzf of the triumphal

march which consti tutes the a l legro i s superb andtruly i rre sistible in its power to move the aud ience .

Space would fail us were we to stop , even for amoment

,to speak o f each one of h is works, and we

cannot do more than name them . Yet the i r namesalone will s ing i n the reader’s memory those variedsongs

,so spi r i tual , so well su i ted to the works which

they de signate that they have nearly al l continued

663

to hold the musical stage o f E urope ever since theywere fi rs t produced . They are as follows : “ La

Fiancee,

” Fra D iavolo,

”LeD ieu et la Bayadere ,”

Gustave Lestocq,”

Le Cheval de Bronze ,Actéon,

”Les Chaperons Blancs,” L

’

Ambassa

drice,

” “ Le Domino Noi r,” “ Le Lac de s Fees,

”

“ Zanetta,

”Les D iamants de la Couronne ,” Le

Duc d’

Aloune,

”La Part du D iable

,

”La Si rene ,”

La Barcarolle ,” Haydee,

”L

’

E nfant Prod igue,

Zerl ine,ou la Corbe i l le d ’

O ranges,” Marco Spa

da,

” “ J enny Bell,

” “ Manon L e scaut,” “ La Cir

cassienne,

”La F iancee d u Ro i de Garbes,” “ Le

Premie r Jour de Bonheur,

”Reve d ’

Amour .

” Thislast - named comic opera was the last of the longserie s o f the dramatic works o f our author . I t wasrepresented on the 2 0 th of December, 1 869 , andtruth compels us to state that i t was rece ived withsome reserve . Qu ite th e reverse was the fate o f

“ Le Premier Jour de Bonheur,” which obtaineda full measure o f success . In thi s opera occurs anexquis i te melody that spe ed ily became popular,Les Dj inns .”R ossin i has described Aube r’s talent in a remark

ably p i thy manner . Auber,

” said he,may have

produced ligh t music,but h e produced i t l ike a

great musician . So much meaning could not becondensed into fewe r words . E ven so

,Auber

,in

spite of the slight appearance o f h is work, was one

o f the most learned music ians o f his t ime . But hetook as much pains to conceal h i s knowledge as

othe rs do to exhibi t the irs . His great des ire was,

evidently in obedience to the nature o f the man, to

be always clear,melodious

,lovable , sp ir i tual , attrae

t ive in eve ry way ; neve r wearisome . I n th i s hewas perhaps wrong . Possessing as he d id thesc i ence of counte rpoint and a wonderful d exteritvi n instrumentat ion

,he would have done well to make

h imself, from time to time at leas t, more obscure,

mystical,symbolical and enigmatical , for in so doing

he wou ld have risen in the este em o f th e pedantswho affect to l ike only that kind of musi c wh ich iswearisome and to understand only that which i si ncomprehensible . Such obscurity on his partwould have thrown into sti l l highe r re l ief the inspirat ions born o f hi s truly creative faculties

,I

mean his songs and h is man'

s . Whenever he desi red to do so

, Auber we ll knew how to rise to thelofty and pathetic , and he could produce what i scalled grand high class music . Let such as doubt thi sread the fourth act of Manon Lescaut

,

” and they

664 FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

wil l be convinced that there was in the mind andheart o f Auber something more than dance music .

We have there grand and beautiful mus ic, and I findi t d i fficul t to mention any orche stration richer ormore impre ssive and more beautifully conce ived thanthat whi ch occurs in La C i rcassienne .

” We have

only to read the many so/f eggz'

os that he wrote during the long years when he was d irector o f the Conservato ire for competi ti on among the pupil s learni ng the sol - fa system ,

and we shal l find in theseminor masterpi ece s the sure hand o f an eminentand profound harmonist .

M E DA L L I ON O F A U B E Rby David .

F rom Pa ri s Opera A rch ives .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

JACQUES FRANCO IS FROME NTAL E L IAS HALEVY

ACQUE S FRANCO IS FROMENTAL E L IAS HALEVY was bornin Paris

,May 2 7 , 1 7 99 , of Jewish

parents,whose family name was

Le'vi .of expediency that induced Meyerbeer to changehis name from Beer to that which he afterwards

The same considerations

made famous , proved similarly potent with Halevy . His father was by birth a Bavarian, hismothe r was born in Lorraine . The former wasgreatly honored among French Israeli te s for hisupright character and as a Hebrew scholar profound ly versed in the Talmud .

young,Halevy developed such remarkable musical

precocity that he was sent to the Conservatorywhen only ten years of age . He was at once placedin the class of Berton

,then in the full flush of his

triumph as the composer of Montano et Stephanie ,”hi s masterpiece . Berton outl ived h is fame , and hismusic i s now forgotten . I t may be mentioned inpassing, that Berton was greatly piqued by the success o f Rossini , and publ ished two acrimonious

One of

these was enti tled,

“ De la Musique Mécanique et

de la Musique Phi lo sophique ,” and the other,

“ E pitre a un célebre compositeur Francais précédée de quelques observations sur la Musique Mécanique et la Musique Ph i losophique . O f course ,la musique mécanique was the music o f Rossini ,

pamphle ts attacking the I tal ian composer .

and “ la musique phil osophique was that of Berton . The “ cé lebre composi teur was Boieldieu ,who was greatly mortified by a dedicat ion that identified him with sentiments wholly in confl ict withthose he entertained toward Rossini .Halevy prosecuted hi s stud ie s so industriously

under the guidance o f Berton , who was an admirabl emusician

,and progre ssed so rapidly

,that one year

afte r he entered theConservatory, he won a prize insolfeggio

,and the year following, the second prize in

harmony was bestowed on him . From Berton ’s in

While yet very '

struction he passed to that o f Cherubini , who subjected him to a rigid course o f counterpoint, fugueand composition . Here again

,he advanced wi th

such speed that at the end o f seven years, and whileye t a boy o f seventeen, he competed for the GrandPrix de Rome , obtaining the second prize for hiscantata

,

i

“ Les dernieres moments de Tasse . Thenext year the second pri ze again fe ll to h is lot

,and

the year following,1 81 9 , he reached the height of

hi s ambition . carrying off the Grand Prix i tself forhis Herminie .

”

This much - coveted distinction is awarded at theannual competitive examinations of the Academ icdes Beaux Arts . The successful candidate s becomegovernment pensioners for four years, and as suchare sent to R ome

,where they

.

re side in the Vi l laMedici

,in the Académie de France . The prize

composi tion was,at fi rst

,a cantata for one voice

and orchestra,and afte r

,for one male and one fe

male voice and orche stra . The prize was establ ished in 1 803 , and since then , a winner has beensent

,at th e cost o f the government

,to Rome

,eve ry

year,except in thos e years when no composi tion

was considered worthy the prize . I t i s somewhatcurious that o f the sixty and odd students whoseachievements and future promise won for them thi s

The

only prize - winners whose names have made the tourof th e world are Herold

,Halevy

,Berl ioz

,A.

Thomas,Gounod

,Bizet

,and Massenet .

honor,so few attained to permanent fame .

Before h is departure for Rome,he composed a

Funeral March and a De Pro fond is on the deatho f the Due de Berri for three voice s andorchestra . He dedicated i t to Cherubini , and i t wasperformed in the synagogue in Rue St . Avoye. InItaly be devoted h imself with hi s accustomed energyto serious and unfiagging study ; wrote an opera,wh ich was not performed

,and some works for th e

At the end o f

h is pre scribed term abroad , he re turned home ,church

,which remain unpublished .

665

666 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

eage r to prove to his fe llow countrymen that he hadnot studied in vain . He turned hi s eyes in thedirection of the opera stage

,but experienced the

usual d i sappointments,in h i s early attempts to ob

tain a hearing, and was almost in de spai r at the di scouraging difficultie s that stood in his way . Hecomposed “ Les Bohémienne s and offered i t tothe Grand Opera, but i t was not accep ted . He wasmore succe ssful wi th “ Pygmalion

,

” which was re

ceived and placed in rehearsal,but i t was suddenly

withdrawn and neve r pe rformed . An opera co

m ique, Les deux Pavillons,

’ met the same d epressing fate . H alevy began to lose hope

,when in

1 82 7 , and when he was twenty - e ight years of age ,the Theatre Feydeau accepted his L

’

Artisan,

”

wh ich' was produced in the same year without making any very marked impre ssion . I t i s an unambitious work o f no special i ntere s t

,except fo r some

piquant couple ts , and a well - written chorus . Thefol lowing year he col laborated with Rifau t in thescore o f “ Le R o i et le Batel ier

,

” written for the feteo f Charles X . In the same year Clari was givenat the Theatre I tal ien . Thi s was a three —act opera

,

and up to that time,h is most important work .

Mal ibran sung the principal part,and for the first

time th e young compose r expe rienced the intoxication of success . There i s

,however

,nothing i n the

score to ind icate the Halevy o f “ La Juive and of

L’

E clair .

”

In 1 829 he was appointed , at the Theatre I tal ien ,to share with Herold the duties o f che f du chant .In that year was produced

,at the Opera Comique ,

h is Le Dil letante d’

Avignon,” a parody on I tal ian

opera l ibre ttos,which was hearti ly applauded

,and o f

which the chorus,

“ Vive,v ive l ’I tal ie

,was hummed

and whistled and attained to the honor o f adoptionby vaudevill e wri ters . His next work was “ La

Langue Musicale,

” which,despi te some pretty

music, failed , owing to the s i ll ine ss o f the l ibretto .

In the spring o f 1 830 , Manon L escaut,

” a ballet,

charming in melody and bri ll iant in orche stration,

was produced with great succe ss,and was publi shed .

Then came in 1 83 2 the bal let - opera, “ La Tentat ion

,

” written in collaboration with Casimir Gide ,and though i t was well rece ived i t brought no fameto Halevy . He had worked fai thfully and ind efatigably, but as yet without winning the recogni tionfor which he so fervently hoped . Opera afte r operawas composed wi th remarkable rapidity

,to mee t

wi th no greate r prosperity than a succés d’

es tz’

me.

A one - act comic opera, Les Souvenirs de Lafl eur

,

brought h im no bette r fortune . H erold dying in1 833 , and leaving his opera, Ludovic

,

” unfinished,

Halevy comple ted it, composing for the fi rst act afine quarte t that was always encored

,and writing

the whole of the second act . Sti ll, the composerfai led to win fame ; but the clouds were about todissipate suddenly and to display hi s sun at once

,in

i ts fulle st glory .

In 1 835,“ La Juive was given at the G rand

Opera, and Halevy was hai led as a maste r compose r . The work was rece ived wi th a frenzy of del ight

,and in the wild enthusiasm i t aroused

,the

composer enj oyed all that follows recognized geniusand well - earned fame in the capital of France .

Thi s work opened to him eve ry Opera house inE urope , and a care e r of bril l iant succe ss . In thesame year in wh ich thi s masterp iece saw the l ight,he produced a work o f a characte r so wholly diffe rent as to exci te wonder that i t could have comefrom the same compose r . I t is

,however

,no le ss

great in its way,and was no less overwhelmingly

succe ssful . Th is was L’

E c lair,

” a musical comedyfor two tenors and two sopranos only

,and without

choruses . It i s exquisi te ly charming, a mode l ofartis tic ski ll and profound knowledge gracefully employed . These works won for him admission tothe Insti tute

,where he succe eded R e iche . Halevy

was then thi rty - seven years o ld,and had reached

hi s highe st point of greatne ss,for though he wrote

many more operas,he never again equalled “ La

Juive and L’

E c lair .

”

The year afte r La Juive was produced,Meyer

beer’s “ Les H uguenots ” appeared and proved tobe an epoch—making opera . I ts instant and enormous success had an unfavorable effect on Halevy,for he abandoned h is own pecul iar ind ividuali ty o f

s tyle,and became a follower

,if not an imitator o f

Meyerbeer . St ill worse , for i n hi s eagerne ss tocompose

,he was no t part icular in his choice o f

l ibre ttos,and accepted any to wh ich music could

be written . The re sul t was a se rie s o f ope ra books,mostly o f a gloomy turn , that no music could deprive o f the i r ti re someness o r make interesting.

Under thi s unwise course o f action he soon exhansted his musical invention and became nearly asdull as were h is l ibre ttos . “ Les Mousquetaires dela R e ine

,

” and “ Le Val d’

Andorre,”

two fineoperas

,must be excepted .

His industry was astonishing, as will be seen by

jA CQUE S F RAN CO I S F R OME N TAL E L I AS H ALE VY

th e fol low ing comple te l ist O f the works that succeedhi s tw o crowning triumphs : “ Guido et G inevra,

7grand opera,five acts

,1 838 ;

“ Les Tre ize,

’ comicopera

,three acts

,and “ Le Shérif, comic opera,

thre e acts,1 839 Le Drapier, comic ope ra , thre e

acts,1 840 ; Le Guiterrara,

” comic opera , threeacts

,and La R e ine de Chypre , ” grand opera, five

acts, 1 843 Le Lazzarone

,com ic opera , two acts ,

1844 ; Les Mousque taire s de la R e ine ,” comicopera

,three acts

,1 846 ;

LeVal d’

And o rre,”com

ic opera, thre e ac ts , 1 848incidental mus ic for Promé thée E nchainé , and“ La

comic opera,three acts,

1 849 ;“ La Tempesta,”

grand opera,three ac ts,

and La Dame de Pique,

”

comic opera,three acts,

1 850 ;“ Le Juif E rrant

,

”

grand opera,

five acts,

1 852 ;“ Le Nabab

,

”com

ic opera,three acts

,1 853

l’

I nd ienne,

Fée aux R oses ,

Jaquarita

comic opera,three acts,

1 855 ;“ Valentine d ’

Au

bigny,comic opera

,three

acts,

1 856 ; La Magic ienne

,grand opera

,five

acts,1 858 N oe

,

” grandopera

,five acts (unfin

ished ) ; Les Plage s duN il

,

and orchestra,besides nu

cantata with chorus

merous vocal p ieces andsome music for the pianoforte . O f all these ope rasonly LesMousquetaire sand Le Val d

’Andorre

survive through occasionalperformance s . The latte r

,when originally produced,

saved the Opera Comique from bankruptcy, and tenyears late r rel ieved the Theatre Lyrique from pecun

iary difficul tie s against which i t then struggled .

In addit ion to the product ion of thi s immensemass O f operatic mus ic

,Halevy was able to fi l l the

part O f one O f the principal professors at the Conservato ire. In 1 83 1 he was made profe ssor O f

counte rpoint and fugue,and in 1 840 he became

C A R I C AT U R E O F H A L E’ VY BY D A N TA N .

F rom t he Carnava let M u s eum , Paris .

667

He wrote a book o f

instruct ion,enti tled

,Lecons de lecture musicale , ”

professor O f composi t ion .

which fi rst appeared in 1 857 . I t remains,in a re

vised form,the accepted text - book for teaching sol

feggio in the p rimary school s O f Pari s . Among hi smore distingui shed pupil s were Gounod

,Vic tor

Massé,Bazin and Bize t

,the last named O f whom

married Hale'vy ’s daughte r .In 1 854 he was made pe rmanent secre tary O f the

Académie des Beaux Arts .I t was a part of h is dutiesin th i s o ffice to pronounceeulogiums . These he publ ished , with add i t ions, in

the t i tle,

Souveni rs et Portraits,1 869 , under

é tudes sur le s beaux arts .”They are grace fully written

,and are entertaining

and edifying reading . In1 861 the seve re work towhich he had subj ectedhimself

,began to tel l on

his heal th . A southe rncl imate was ordered byhis physic ians . He selected Nice , whither hedeparted with h is familyin December, 1 861 . I twas too late

,and more

ove r,in the comparative

qu ie t of his new abode hemissed the excitement towhich he had been accustomed . His debil i ty rendered work almost impo ssible

,and h is depre ss ion

in consequence was painfully intensified . The endcame March 1 7 , 1 862 .

His body was taken toPari s and buried on the 24th O f the same month

,

with great ce remony .

“ La Juive was revivedat the Grand Opera in honor of hi s memory

,on the

2 9 th O f May,and h is bust

,the work of hi s widow

,

was crowned on the stage .

Halevy was a highly gi fted man . In addition to

hi s genius for music, he had innate talent for writing and was an exce llent poe t and a bri ll iant l i te rateur . He was acquainted with German

,I tal ian

,

HALEVY'

S TOMB IN PERE LAC HAI S E,PAR IS .

From a pho t o g raph m ad e s pecia l ly fo r thi s w o rk .

jA CQUE S F RAN COI S F R OME N TAL E L I AS H ALE VY

E ngl ish and Latin and also with Hebrew andGreek . As a composer, though he was a music iano f rare talents, he wrote too much, too rapidly and

His twomasterp iece s are almos t immeasurably above any O f

In these latter,we mee t, now

too care lessly,to do himself full justice .

hi s other operas .and then

,with moments o f great beauty, with

scene s of thri l l ing dramatic powe r, but they are in

the midst o f much that is oppress ively dull owing tothe rigid obscurity of style in which they are wri tten . He seems to have had so sen s i t ive a fear offal l ing in to commonpl ace that he went to the Oppos ite extreme

,even avoiding cle arly marked rhythms .

H is mann eri sms were a pers i s ten t re sort to the

minor key,a fondness for a soft p ianiss imo e ffect

on the lowe r note s,long held

,to be regularly and

suddenly opposed by a loud crash of the wholeorchestra on the upper note s ; unexpected andviolent contrasts in dynamics that are mere capric ions effects without any logical cause ; prol ixi tyand over - del ibe rately following a sombre strain with

In allhi s score s, however, h is fine genius i s manifested,and i t i s imposs ible to study one of them care fullywithout becoming impre ssed by the vigor

,the afflu

ence and the flexibil i ty of h is genius . He w as

equally at home in the gloom O f tragedy and thegaie ty of p iquant comedy. In scenes of pomp in

one of great brill iancy,and vice versa .

Fac - s im i le autog raph manus c ript by H a levy in pos s es s ion of t he Paris Opera L i b ra ry .

which the stage is crowded with characte rs con

cerned i n some high festivity, he i s pecul iarly fe l ic itous . He was a maste r of passion i n its everyaspect

,and when he i s at h i s be st he re , he never

sounds a fal se note . His characte rs are a lwaysstrongly defined

,and no compose r has left behind

him a more maste rly col lection o f vivid stage portrai ts than has he . He was e ssentially the bard o f

melancholy,as hi s many exquis i te ly tender and

mournful melodie s te stify. One O f the typi calcharacteristi cs O f h i s mus ic i s i ts refined distincti on .

His abhorrence of triviali ty was so keen that i tcaused him Often to go too far out O f his way toavoid i t, and the resul t was that he overfrequently

fastened on his music a labored aspect that wasfatal to the impression of spontane ity in effe ct .When he was less se lf- consc ious

,however

,his music

flows with del ightful ease,luc idity and naturalne ss .

His instrumentati on i s that O f a thorough master .He had a fine sense O f tone color

,and hi s score s

are rare ly overloaded . He was an innovator in theuse and treatment of wind instruments

,and antici

pated many effects that have been claimed for

those who came after him .

In “ La Juive ” th e orchestration is, i n point of

ri chne ss, original i ty and vari e ty O f powerful contrasts

, much in advance of anyth ing previouslyknown in French opera and hi s instrumentation of

670 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

L’E clair, in i ts fre shness

,vivacity and p iquancy,

was no less innovating,and notable in a l ighte r

direct ion . In La Juive he had a l ibre tto wh ichis among th e finest that were ever set to musi c . Itstragic story is told with immense e ffect

,and the

poe t’s knowledge O f the needs O f a compose r i smanifested with maste rly abil ity . H alevy neveragain Obtained such a book . H ow fel ic i tously i tinsp ired him

,i s seen in the fi rst ac t in the impre s

s i ve reply of the Cardinal to E l eazar’s contemptfor the Chri stians in the romance sung by L eopoldto R ac hel ; in the chorus of the people at the fountain which runs with wine in the magnificent chorus and march which precede the bril l iant entranceO f the Emperor, and ending wi th the s tirring TeDeum and the welcome to the Emperor . In thesecond act

,the Passove r scene in E leazar ’s house

i s full O f inte rest in i ts J ewi sh e lements,with which

Halevy,himse lf a Jew

,must have been in comple te

sympathy . In the same ac t the re are the fie ry duetbe tw een E udoxia and L eopold , and the other due t,equally spiri ted and intense in e ffect, be tween Rachel and L eopold, both masterp ieces in the i r way ,and speedily followed by the no less splend id dramatic aria sung by R ache l to he r fathe r

,and in

which she announce s her love for L eopold ; the cl imax O f thi s wonderful act be ing reached in thethrill ing trio

,i n which E leazar pronounce s the curse .

The next act,with i ts bri ll iant pageantrie s

,fall s

short of that wh ich pre cede s i t, but has an immensely dramatic , concerted number which culm inate s in th e anathema by the Cardinal . The fourthact rise s to the leve l O f the second

,with i ts noble

d uet between E leazar and the Cardinal, the tremen

d ous scene O f the Jew in which he savage ly defiesh i s Christian foe s and we lcome s death . The las t acti s for the most part declamatory, and has no suchnumbers as those we have named

,but the impre s

s ive dramatic intensity O f the work i s maintained tothe end .

In “ Guid o et G inevra, he tri e s to repeat thesucce ss Of “ La Juive

,

” but desp i te several finefl ights O f gen ius he fail ed , not only owing to themorbidly sad and dull nature o f the play

,but to the

heavine ss o f the music . He was more succe ss fulwith “ La R e ine de Chypre ,” an e ssentially spectacular opera

,which

,by the way

,was analyzed by

Wagner in one O f his Pari s let tefs(1 84 1 ) . The scorei s often brill iant and melodious, and i t containssome movingly pathe tic melodie s, but i t i s uneven

in excellence,and has page s on pages O f music so

Obscure in meaning and so dull in effect that i tsin terest i s Often impaired . Almos t the same criticism may be made on his next grand Opera

,

Charle s V I .

” Moreover,by this t ime

,Meyerbee r’s

Les Huguenots had been produced,and Halevy

,

carried aw ay by the enthusiasm with which that workfi lled him

,consc iously or othe rwise

,deserted his own

marked individual ity and became,to all inte nts and

purpose s,a follower O f Meyerbee r, at least in grand

Ope ra . In his “ Le Val d’

Andorre” he became

himself again, for the time being, and produced a

lyric drama that fe l l l i ttle short o f perfection in thecomple te sympathy with which the compose r ident ified himself with the poet . There Halevy soundedthe very depths O f passionate grie f

,in the music he

has given to R osa afte r her love r has been drawn asconscript . In “ Les Mousquetaires de la R e ine ”

he produced a delightful score,sparkl ing

,chival rous

in sp irit and ful l of beautie s . FOr the re s t there i sl it tl e to be said that would no t be in the way o f

repet i t ion . His “ La Tempesta, written for HerMaj e sty ’s Theatre

,London , was rece ived the re with

enthusiast i c favor, but al though there are some genuiuc beautie s i n the work , especial ly in the finelycharacteristic music given to Cal iban

,i t has noth

ing in i t that enti tle s i t to l ive . H alevy was greatlypiqued that the one melody mos t praised by theart is ts

,and that was hummed by everybody

,was Dr.

Arne ’s Where the be e sucks,

” which he had re

tained for Arie l . With all his fecundity in melodyHalevy rarely wro te one that achieved general popu larity . The most noted exception is Quand dela nui t l ’épais nuage from L

’

E clair, a charming

ai r,simple

,chaste

,and d e l ic ious in its tender grace .

He seldom,however

,vouchsafed so unaffected a

tune,the harmonie s O f which are for the most part

confined to the tonic and dominant . The romance“ Pendant la fete une inconnue ,” from “ Guido et

Genevra,

” i s another morceau,scarcely less naive

and del icate,that long survived the opera in which

i t appeared,but it d id no t make the tour Of the

world as d id the othe r . His comic operas aboundin fascinat ing music which i s buri ed, and must re

main so,in the uninterest ing l ibrettos that he so

thoughtle ssly accepted . In that dreary book,

Le

D rapier,” there i s a glorious duet, Ah ! devenezmon pere . But there is not an opera o f hi s i nwhich some pe rfect gem is not to be found . Hisfecundity in melody is impressively exemplified in

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67 2

friends ever knew . He never complained . Whoshall say that th i s secre t sorrow

,so sil ently guarded

,

was no t born of a sense of fai lure,or at least

,

Of se lf - d isappo intment I t i s improbablethat toward the close O f hi s busy art - l i fe he saw, withpropheti c eye

,the fate that was to attend the greate r

part O f what he had composed ; that he had writtenfor h is own t ime and not for the future . Al readyhe has become li ttle more than a name to nearly all,

no t

FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

except students O f musical hi story . The works onwhich his fame chiefly rests are se ldom performed

,

and the othe rs, admirable as many Of them are , havegone into Oblivion, and in all probabil i ty, never tosee the l ight again . That he was a master in hi sart

,i s unquesti onabl e, but i t would seem also that

he was lacking in that highest qual ity of genius thatconfers immortal i ty on i ts possessor .

HECTO R BERLIO Z

Rep roducti on of a portra i t engraved by A. Gi lbert af ter a pai nt ing by G’. Courbet.

H ECTOR

ORE than a score O f years havepassed since Berl ioz died , in Pari s ,that c ity which was the obj ect Of

hi s youthful dreams,the scene O f

his bi tte r struggles and his subl imede feats . I t was in th e mids t o f those Pari sians

,

who had accorded him l ittle more than mockeryand scorn

,that he had wi shed to die , weighed down

by sadness and discouragement,supported by a few

intimate friends and rare disciple s . Moreove r, didhe not foresee that sad end when writing the following l ine s which subsequent events proved only tootrue ? “ It was about that time of my academic l ifethat I experi enced again the attack O f a cruel malady (moral , nervous , imaginary, whateve r you l ike )which I will call s ickne ss O f i solation

,and which will

kil l me some day This i s not sple en,though i t

l eads to that later on ; i t i s the boiling away, theevaporation of the heart, the senses , the brain , thenervous fluid . Sple en i s the congelation of al l that,i t i s the block O f ice .

” Therefore death was forhim a blessed re lease . For some years before

,the re

remained o f H ector Berl ioz noth ing but an earthlyframe , an inert and suffe ring body the moral be ingwas crush ed . The fall of Tlze Trojans was therudest possible shock to that nature so well tempered to rece ive i t hi the rto the proud artist had re

turned blow for blow ; never had a defeat, howeve rgrave

,completely overthrown him . Fo r the fi rst

t ime,in witne ssing the downfall o f the work O f his

predilection,the athle te had fal te red . He had laid

down his arms and thenceforth,weary o f l ife and

Of the struggle,had contented himself with the

hol low diversions which the capital offered him,

preoccupied solely wi th material intere sts,inatten

t ive and indiffe rent to that which impass ions poetsand arti sts

,having a morbid taste for scandal and

mockery,laughing with a dry and mirthle ss laugh

when th is strange taste i s gratified .

”A certain heart

ache,a vague suffe ring of the soul

,vain regrets

,

BERLIOZ

preyed upon him at l east as much as bodily i l ls his

shade alone wandered among us,dumb

,tac iturn

,

isola tea’,and one beautiful morning in the month o f

March i t vanished .

Berl ioz ’s mil i tant care er may be d ivided into two

dist inct periods ; that in which he struggle s for position, and which lasts from hi s arrival in Paris unti lafte r R omeo a nd /a l iet and the F unera l ano

’ Tr i

zcnzplza l Symphony , i n 1 84 2 ; that in wh ich , t i redo f struggling without profi t though not without glory

,

he starts O ff to e stabl ish h is reputation outside thefrontier

,and to return afterwards to Pari s

,victorious

and triumphant thi s lasts unti l h i s death . SO soonas he achieved a success abroad

,great or small , Be

sure that Pari s knows i t was the cry to hisfri ends . And Paris

,being informed of i t

,had for

gotten it i ns tantly . I t was during the intervals betwe en the se tours, when he came back to France tosee if his foreign succe sses had given h im a be tterstanding in the eyes of h i s countrymen

,that hi s last

principal works were produced : Tlzc D amna tion

of F aus t, Tne Clzi la’lzooa’ of Chr is t

,Tlze Te D eum

and B ea tr ice and B ened ict,finally The Trojans .

It was towards the end o f 1 82 1 that Berl ioz cameto Pari s

,ostensibly to study medic ine

,but with a

secret longing to devote h imself to music . He wasthen nearly e ighteen years O f age , be ing born at LaCOte Sai nt - Andre(Isere ) , Dec . 1 1

,1 803 , and had

already rece ived some lessons in music from thepoor stranded artists at La COte. We are indebtedto Berl ioz h imself for the names of these arti sts

,

which were Imbert and Dorant .On arriv ing at Paris , where h i s father, a s imple

heal th office r,but a devotee to the scie nces and to

medicine , had allowed him to come on theexpress condit ion that he should follow exactly thecourse O f the Facul ty, he se t to work as best hecould to carry ou t this program . But one eveninghe goes to the Opera to hear Sal ier i ’s D ana

'

ia’

es

immediately music regains possess ion of his soul ,

67 6 FAM OUS GOA/P OSE RS

and he spends all h i s spare time in the library o f theConserva toi re

,studying the score s o f Gluck ’s Operas

there he meets a pupil O f L esueur who introducesh im to that maste r

,and he attache s h imself with

much affection to the author O f the B a r ries,who

admits him to his class . At l ength he informs h isfamily o f h is se ttled dete rmination to devote himse lf to music

,and he has performed at Saint - Roch

a mass which he burns almost immediately afte r,

saving only the R esu r rex i t which obtains grace i nhis sight

,at least for a time . He then took part

in the preparatory concours for the prize Of Rome ,and was not even judged worthy to be a competi tor .Immediate ly summoned home by hi s parents

,who

had no fai th in his pre tended irre si st ible vocati on,

”

he arrived there so sad,so crushed

,so misanthropic

,

that hi s fathe r,uneasy about him

,permitted him to

re turn to try once more hi s fortune in Pari s . Hecame back for the winter O f 1 82 6

,having noth ing

to l ive on but a small allowance from his family,on

which he was obliged to economize in order to payback , l i ttle by l i ttle , a loan which a friend had madehim for the execution o f h is mass . His existenceat th is t ime

,which was shared by another studen t,

h is friend Carbonnel,was a very mise rable one

,

th e i r meals cons i sting on certain days of vege

table s and dried fruits . He gave le ssons in solfeggio at a franc a le sson , and even applied for theposi t ion of chorus - s inger at

'

the Tnéci tre n’es N on

oea zctés . But art i st ic pleasure s counte rbalanced thematerial privation s

,and hi s heart danced for j oy

whenever he could go to the Opera or to the Oo’éonand hear some maste rp iece by Spontini , Gluck or

Weber his fourth god , Bee thoven , was no t revealedto him ti l l two years late r

,when H abeneck founded

the S ociété des concer ts a’a Conserva toire for the

d issemination Of the works of that prod igious genius .He continued however in the c lasse s of L esueur andReicha

, so that he was able to pass the prel im inaryexaminat ion for the concours O f 1 828. The subj ectgiven out by the board Of examiners was a scenefrom Orp lzezcs torn to p ieces Oy B acclzantes

,and Ber

l ioz’

s music was declared by the j udges as imposs ibleto Oep layen

’. His only re sponse was to prepare for

i ts performance at the conce rt to be given at the Conservato ire, the superintendent O f the Beaux Arts,M . de Larochefoucauld

,to whom he had been

recommended , having placed that hal l at h i s d isposal

,notwithstanding the violent prote stat ions o f

the director, Cherubini . But chance favored the

se lf - lOve o f the members of the Institute, for Ber

l ioz was obliged to give up hi s plan,on account Of

an indisposit ion o f the singe r Al exi s Dupont .I t would have been strange indeed

,if Berl ioz

,with

his ardent imagination and brain always on fi re,had

allowed the romantic movement to pass by withoutattach ing h imse lf to i t wi th all the fury and pass ionwhich h e threw into everything . He soon becameone o f th e leaders O f the new school

,poor enough

in musicians,counting only himse lf and Monpau,

whereas i t abounded in writers and art ists . L ike allh i s comrades in romantici sm

,even exceed ing them

all, Berl ioz was an enthusiastic and constant v is i torat the Octe'on ,

where some of Shakespeare ’s playswere then be ing given by a company O f E ngl ish traged ians . Here he rece ived a double blow ; fromShakespeare who floored him

,as he said

,and from

Miss Smithson who intoxicated him . I t was to at

tract the attention O f the beautiful tragedienne thathe organ ized

,with his overtures to Waver ley and

F rancs -j uges and h is cantata of la M or t

a concert wh ich she neve r heard anything about .I t was also this idea of reaching her through themedium of music which inspired him to write hisF antas tic Synzp lzony , in which he put himself in thescene with hi s beloved

,and which

,in fact, was to

end by gaining him Miss Smithson ’s heart .As these fi rst attempts of Berlioz are l i ttle known

,

i t i s wel l to specify them,if fo r no other reason

than because one may find in the se forgotten piecesthe plan O f ce rtain page s o f the D amna tion ofF a us t and the C/t i lci/zooa’ of Clz r is t. His overture sto Waver ley and to the F rancs -j uges were pe rformed for the fi rst time at the concert which hegave at the Conse rvatoire , in honor o f M iss Smithson, May 26, 1 828 on thi s occasion he also hadplayed the R esur rex i t from his fi rst mass

,i n place

o f Tlze D ea th of Orpheus , which could not be givenowing to the i llne ss of Al exi s Dupont, a march O f

the Magi going to vis i t the m anger,and a grand

scene on the Greek R evolution . Finally, on the I st

o f November, 1 82 9 , he had h is two overtures re

peated , together wi th h is R esnr rex i t under a new

t itle,l e las t j udgment

,and a new work entitled

C/zorus of Sy lp/zs, the plan of which is as followsMephistophe le s

,in order t o excite in Faust’s soul

the love of pleasure,assembles the sprites O f the air

and bids them sing . Afte r a prelude on the irmagic instruments

,they describe an enchanted

country,the inhabitants o f which are intoxicated

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678

Smithson , who had assumed direction o f i t, foundherse lf without re sources

,not having enough to pay

the debts o f the enterprise . To make mattersworse , she broke her leg whi le ge tt ing out O f a carriage, in which she was going about to organize abenefi t conce rt . Whil e she was confined to thehouse by her accident

,Berl ioz had the customary

“ re spectful summons ” to make to her fami ly,and

as soon as she was well he married her ; she wasmine,” he said , “ and I bade defiance to everything !” The young household was not roll ing inweal th ; the wife had nothing but her debts , andthe husband had but three hundred francs which afr iend had lent h im . N O matte r

,even a sad l ife i s

not without i ts sunshine . Berl ioz was obliged tohave recourse to h is pen, and began to wri te for thenewspapers through sheer necessi ty

,a thing which

he had hi th erto done through love of controversyand in se lf - defence .

His first appearance in l iterature was made in1 829 in the Cor respondent, with a pretty we lldeveloped article on Beethoven

,whom the arti sts

and amateurs O f Pari s were j ust beginning to know,

thanks to H abeneck and his Société des Concer ts atthe Conservato ire . He also furnished some arti cle sto the R evue E u rope

'

enne and the Cour r ier cl e

l’

E urope ; final ly,that influential paper

,the Gaz ette

musica le o’e Pa r is

,which in 1 881 ended a glorious

caree r o f forty - seven years,e spoused Berlioz ’s cause ,

nd worked faithfully for his succe ss . Shortly afte r,in 1 835 he all i ed h imself with the j ourna l /les D e

'

éa ts

as musical cri tic,a post which he held for th irty

years,finding in i ts proprie tors

,MM . Bertin

,s taunch

friends and protectors . Beside s giv ing him a comfortable l iv ing

,Berl ioz ’s articles se rved him at fi rst

in e stabli shing relations with the press,as much as

they injured him later.

by exci ting bi tter j ealousyand enmity .

I t was in the midst O f financial difficul ti e s thatBerl ioz wrote the symphony H a rol d in I ta ly , in

spired no doubt by hi s own excursions in the vic ini tyof Rome . In thi s he introduced a viola part forPaganini

,but the part was too much subordinated to

the orchestra to sui t the great v iol ini st,who desired

a veri table conce rto with a simple orche stral aecompaniment ; fortunately Berl ioz d id not give heedto th is(Nov. 2 3 , 1 834 ) made Berl ioz known to conno is

demand . The performance O f H a rold

seurs,and soon afte r M . de Gasparin, Ministe r o f

the Interior,ordered of him a R equiem for the

FAM OUS COMP OS E RS

anniversary servic e Of the vic t ims,no t of the R evo

Thi sR equ iem did not reach i ts destination , but was perlution of 1 830 ,

but of the F ieschi outrage .

formed at the c elebrated service in the church Of

the I nva l icles , Dec . 5, 1 83 7 , for the French soldie rsand General Danrémont

, kill ed at the siege O f

Constantine .

Fortune seemed at last to smile on th e persistente fforts of the young compose r

,when a failure came

to overturn his fond hopes . H is opera B envenu to

Cel l ini , written on a poem by L éon de Nailly andAuguste Barbie r, was performed at th e Opera

Sept . 1 0, 1838 ; i t was well sustained by Mmes .

Stolz and Dorus - Gras,but badly rendered by Duprez

,

and d isappeared from the bi lls afte r three performances, the ce lebrated tenor not wishing toappear in a work in which he was quite ecl ipsed bythe two prima donnas . Berl ioz , i n order to recoverfrom the effect Of thi s failure, organized two Con“

servatoire concerts, thinking that the performanceOf the F antas tic Symp/tony would recompense himfor the loss Of his righ ts at the Opera . The fi rstconcert barely covered expenses

,but the second had

a memorabl e resul t . Scarce ly was the symphonyended when a man jumped upon the platform

,and

kissed the hands o f the stupefied compose r . Thenext day Be rl ioz rece ived a le tte r in which

,as a

token o f admiration , he was asked to accept a sumO f twenty thousand francs , and th is le tter was s ignedby the enthusiastic l i s tene r O f the evening before

,

Nicolo Paganini . This sum — whethe r i t was,as

some th ink,a secret manife station of Bertin ’s l iber

al i ty,o r whethe r i t was real ly given by Paganin i for

the purpose of defending himself in the eye s o f theParisians against an accusation O f avarice — madeBerl ioz easy in hi s finance s for some l ittle t ime , andenabled him to work with an unperturbed mind .

He profi ted by the fi rst hours o f le isure which hehad found since hi s return, and wrote fi rst hi ssymphony with solos and choruses

,R omeo and

j ul iet, which he dedicated to his official benefactorand wh ich was fi rst heard Nov . 24 , 1 839 , and thenthe grand F unera l ana

’Tr iumplta l Symphony , per

formed at the inauguration of the column O f July inin 1 840 . He also wrote

,about this t ime , a number

Of songs or choral composi tions, and the bril l iantove rture L e Ca rniva l R oma in .

The year 1 842 was an important d ate in Berl ioz ’scaree r . From that t ime his l ife was a divided one.

Misunderstood in his own country, d isheartened by

N ICO LO PAGAN IN I .From a d raw ing by Ingres in Rome, I8I8. Engraved by Calamatta. Paganini in his thirty - fourth year.

680 FAM OUS COI II P OSE RS

his unsuccessful attempts to win the heart o f thegreat publi c

,i nconsolable for the fai lure Of B en

venuto which closed to him foreve r the doors of

the Acad emy o f Music, he resolved to undertakean arti stic tour through E urope , and began withBelgium in th e latte r part O f the year 1 842 . Heme t with rather more succe ss the re than in France

,

though he was s t i l l the subj ect of heated discussion .

He took with him a decidedly mediocre singer,

Mademoisell e Martin R ecio, who had made afailure at the Opera, and had managed to attachherself to h im . He married her later

,soon afte r

the death O f Miss Smithson , from whom he hadbeen separated but he was no happier in hi s secondmarriage than in his fi rs t ; his fi rst wife drank

,his

second made unj ustifiabl e pre tensions as a s inger,

which always exaspe rated h im . Afte r th is l i ttleexcurs ion to Belgium , Berlioz determined to tryh i s fortune in Ge rmany, where already some O f h isworks had found their w ay ; from this time onward ,his l ife was nothing more than a serie s o f j ourneysthrough France and foreign countrie s . His firstgrand tour was through northern Germany . At

L e ips ic he saw Mendelssohn,whom he met on the

best O f terms, forgett ing al l about thei r youthfulquarre ls at D re sden he insp ired an equal devotionon the part O f R ichard Wagner

,who rece ived him

as a brother and treated h im as a maste r ; at Berlinhe was no less warmly welcomed by Meyerbee r, w horecruited the nece ssary artists for h im and enabledhim to direct a part o f his R equ iem .

On his return to Paris he organized , first, a monster festival at the E xposi tion of the Products of

Industry,in August

, 1 844 , then four grand concertsat the C i rcus O f the Champs E lysees, early in 1 845

but these gigantic concerts which i t had alwaysbeen his aim to di rect

,brought him no profi t .

Not d iscouraged by th is,however

,he gave grand

concerts at Marse i lle s and at Lyons,the modes t

succe ss o f which was due partly to curiosi ty,partly

to surpri se . Afte r that he went to Austria, Bohemiaand Hungary th i s tour was scarce ly finished whenhe rushed O ff to L i l le to organize a grand fe stivalthere on the occasion o f the inaugurat ion of theNorthern railroad . Finally in the summer O f 1 846

he returned to Paris,and after having given a mag

nificent performance of his R equ iem in the SaintE ustache church , he decided to bring before thepubl ic his most important work

,Tne D amna tion of

F aus t. The fi rst performance took place on

December 6, before a small audience . The soloswere sung by R oger, Hermann , L eon, Henri, andMadame DuflOt - Maillard

,who had no bette r com

prehens ion of the music than the publ ic . Thesecond performance was given on Sunday the 2 0th

,

before an equally small house, with a tenor w ho hadto omit the I nvoca tion to N a ture. This convincedBe rl ioz that he was sti l l far from having conqueredhis Own country . He departed for Russia

,deeply

wounded by the indifference of hi s countrymen .

Some O f h is Paris friends had clubbed togethe rto furni sh h im the means to go to St . Petersburg

,

whence he had rece ived some bri ll iant Offers . Heachieved the greatest success there

,with music ians

as we l l as with the publ ic,and the fact O f his having

formerly befriended Gl inka at Paris had i ts e ffectin enl is ting sympath ie s for him in Russia . On hisway back he stopped at Berl in

,where the D amna tion

of F a ust was given with li t tle enough apprec iation,

but where he rece ived recognition from the sovereign and the princess O f Prussia . When he go tback again to Pari s

,crowned with laure ls

,and with

money enough to se ttle al l the debts incurred bythe performance o f the D amna tion of F a us t at theOpera Comique, he worked hard to get the appointment at the Opera o f Duponchel and R oqueplan,who were talking O f an immediate revival O f B en

venu to Cel l ini , of mounting la N onne sanglante,

e tc . Berlioz succeeded in getting them nominateddirectors

,through the aid o f the Bertin s, but they

no sooner had the Offic ial notice in the ir pocketsthan they utte rly ignored Berl ioz . The latte r unders tood that he was holding a re straint upon them,

and since,as he said

,he was accustomed to thi s sort

o f proceedings, he took h imself O ff to London inorder to rid them o f his trouble some pre sence . Theaffair of the Drury L ane concerts, unwise ly enteredinto with the eccentri c conductor Jul ien, te rminatedin bankruptcy

,and the R evolution which followed

in 1 848 would have left Berl ioz without a sou hadnot Victor Hugo and Loui s Blanc obtained for thesworn disciple Of the romantic school the humblepost o f l ibrarian at the Conservato ire.

In August,1 848, Berl ioz experi enced one O f the

keene st sorrows O f hi s l ife in the loss Of his father .He went to Grenoble to attend h is father’s funeral ,and in his Mémoires he give s a most touchingaccount o f the sad visi t . I t was about th is t ime thath i s l i ttle C/zceur o

’e B erger s was given under the

pseudonym O f Pierce Duere, at the conce rts of the

H E CTOR B E RL I OZ

Phi lharmonic Society , Saint Ceci l ia hall , Chausséed

’

Antin .

great succe ss at Weimar under the fervent d irectionIn 1 852 his B envenu to was given with

O f L i sz t,but the next year the same Opera utterly

failed in London, where the I tal ians, said Berl ioz,conspired to ruin i t .the orchestral conductor Costa and his party .

By“ I tal ians ” Berl ioz meant

Berl ioz had accepted the preceding year the leadership of the New Philharmonic , and had made byhis success

,and attacks

,a bitte r enemy of the leader

of the o ld Philha rmonic S ociety .

Afte r the Empire hadbeen re stored in France

,

Berl ioz would have l ikedto see reestabl i shed i n hisown favor the high position which h is maste r Lesueur had occupied un

der the fi rst Empire butal l that he obtained wasthe privi lege O f performing a Te Deum ,

whichhe was holding i n re

serve for the coronationo f the new sovereign

,and

i t was Auber who was appointed master of musicO f th e Imperial Chapel .In December

, 1 854 , hissacred trilogy of theChi la

’hooo

’of Chr is t, com

p leted and remodelled,

was given with great success

,and if i t was pe r

formed but twice,i t was

only because Berl ioz,

he had taken great careto announce i t i n advance

,

was on the point of depart ing for Gotha,Weimar

,

and Brusse ls,where the re was great eagerness to

hear thi s new work . He returned to Pari s the following March , and on th e evening O f April 30 , 1 855,the day preceding the Unive rsal E xposi tion, he gavein Saint E ustache church the fi rs t performance O f hi sgrand Te Deum for three choru se s

,orche s tra and

organ . Afterwards when i t became a question of

engraving it, Berl ioz was able to see how greatly he wasadmi red i n fore ign lands

,for the fi rst subscribers were

the kings o f Hanover, Saxony, Prussia , the emperor

o f Russia,the king of Belgium and the queen O f

H ECTO R B E RL IOZ .

Reproduced from a port rait eng raved after a paint ing by M . S igno lRome I 83 I .

681

E ngland . The following year he publ ished a final andmuch enlarged edition o f his excel lent Trea tise on

M odern I ns tr umenta tion ana’Orches tra tion, origin

ally brought out in 1 844 he dedicated thi s work toOn the 2 r st of June , 1 856, afte r

four tour s a’

e scr u tin,he was nominated member O f

the king o f Prussia .

the Académi e de s Beaux - Arts,replacing Adolphe

Adam,who had re fused to vote for h im two years

before and had helped to form the maj ority infavor of Clapisson .

by Berl ioz in organiz ing concerts at We imar and inE ngland

,and above all

in the composi tion O f the

The following years we re spent

great work on which hebuil t h i s supreme hopeO f success i n France

,his

tragedy o f Les Trayons .

S ince 1 856 he had beeninvi ted every year to Baden by Benaz et

,contrac

tor for the gaming tables,to organize grand con

certs fo r the benefi t O f

the v is i tors . Thus whenthe king of Baden , asBénaz et was called , concluded to bu i ld a newentertainment hall

,i t oc

curred to him at oncethat i t would be a fineidea to ge t Berl ioz towri te someth ing fo r i tsinauguration

,and the lat

te r,from the fi rst mention

Of the subj ect, felt a re

awakening o f the desirewhich had been haunting him for thi rty years,

to write a comic opera,at once sentimental and gay,

on certain scene s arranged by himself afte r Shakespeare ’s comedy Much Ado About N othing . He acqui tted himse lf of thi s agreeable task by fi ts and startsthe performance o f the work at Baden took placethree days sooner than he hoped

,and the succe ss was

great enough with that cosmopol i tan audi ence,in

which the French predominated,to find an imme

diate echo at Paris . The following year MesdamesViard o t and Vendenheuvel - Duprez sung the del ic iousnocturne which closes the fi rst act . For an instantBerl ioz indulged in the hope that they were going

682 F AM OUS COMP OSE R S

to play h is b it Of comedy at the Opéra Comique ,and in this fond hope he wrote two more th ingsand had them engraved ; but he was soon obl igedto recognize that i t would be impossible with sucha director as Emile Perrin

,and so thought no more

about i t . Beside s,he was entirely occupied with

his dear Troyens and the production of thi s be lovedwork absorbed his eve ry thought . In 1 857 he wasal l in the heat O f the composition ; he talked abouthis antique tragedy to M . Bennett, to AugusteMorel

,to H ans von Bulow ; in de fault O f the music

he read his poem at the salons,sometimes at M .

E douard Bertin ’s house,sometimes at h i s own, and

everywhere he rece ived the warmest congratulations .

At a soirée at the Tuile rie s, the Empress spoke tohim at length in regard to i t

,and immediately h e

proposed to read h is poems to the sovere igns if theEmperor could find an hour to give h im

,but not

until th ree acts were comple ted,so that they migh t

order the immediate study of i t at the Opera .

Alas,the Emperor, unlearned in matte rs of music ,

did not re spond favorably to Berlioz ’s demands hetook no notice O f his poem,

and did not give thelonged - for order to mount L es Troyens at th eOpera . But wh ile Berl ioz was chafing wi th impatience at see ing L a F avor i te and L ucie, translatedby Alphonse R oye r, played over and over again ,and Halevy ’s L a M agicienne and Fel ic ien Dav id ’sH er cu lanum pass him by , th e Emperor, through thesol ic i tations O f the princess Mette rnich , opened thedoors o f the Opera to R i chard Wagner, and decreed that his Tannha‘

user should be given withgreat pomp and magnificence .

The blow was a cruel one,and Berl ioz

,besid e

h imself with rage and disappointment , attacked thisunexpected rival and his opera with a fury thatknew no bounds . He did not understand , unhappyman

,that hi s cau se was close ly all ied to that O f

R ichard Wagner ; the public , influenced by suchcri tics as Scudo , Jouvin, L asal le , Azevedo andChad eu il

,was equally hard on both O f them and

classed them together as a couple o f dangerousmadmen no distinct ion was made between the two .

The fall O f Tannha'user,towards which Berl ioz had

worked with all hi s energi e s,re sul ted in closing to

him the stage O f the Opéra, and i t also assured inadvance the unpopulari ty Of les Tr oyens with thepubl i c ready to exto l or condemn the two innovatorswithout discrimination . Moreover he saw Gounod

,

Gevaert and many othe rs gain acce ss to the Opera

in preference to himse lf. At last qui te worn out

with disappointment,Berl ioz decided to accept the

Offers Of M . Carvalho . This manager had justreopened the The'ci tre Ly r ique and wished to makea great hi t i n order to obtain from the governmenta subsidy o f a hundred thousand francs .But it was no longer a question Of playing the

whole Of les Tr oyens at the The'ci tre Ly r ique ,“ theywould content themselve s now with playing the fi rstthre e acts

,subdivided into five

,under the t i tl e o f

les Troyens a Ca r thage. The firs t part of the workBerl ioz had publ i shed as la P r ise a

’e Troie

,but he

neve r heard i t performed . L es Troyens a Ca r thage

was given at the Theatre Ly r ique Nov . 4 , 1 863 ,

and scored a fai lure,although noth ing particularly

host ile or unpleasant occurred on the opening nightthe poor author even entertained faint hope s O f

future success . I t was the cumulat ive effect Of thesco'rnful article s in nearly al l the large newspapers

,

the rid icule of the smaller press and O f the theatricalparodies

,above al l the absolute indi ffe rence of

the publ ic,l eaving his cherished work to drag

i tself miserably through a score of performances,

that di sheartened Berl ioz and killed h im . H is

whole l ife,indeed

,had hung upon thi s last hope of

success,and with the conviction O f genius, at the

close of the general rehe arsal he had exclaimed withtears coursing freely down h is cheeks, “ I t is beau tiful

,i t i s subl ime I ” He reti red to hi s house and

lived the re,tac i turn

,desolate

,se e ing only a few

chosen friends who tried to console him , and caredfor l ike a chi ld by hi s mother - in - law ; he hadburied his second wife (June , 1 862 ) by the side of

the fi rst,in Montmartre cemetery .

Thanks to the income from hi s compositions hewas able to give up hi s post O f musical cri tic of theD e

'

ha ts,which had become insupportable to him ,

and was made an Officer O f the L egion o f Honor .He had been a cheval ie r for twenty - four years, having been appointed by M . de Gasparin in 1 839 ,

s ix months before the performance O f R omeo a nd

j ul iet . At Pari s he found some conso lat ion inl istening to selections from the Chi ldhood of Chr ist

at the concerts O f the Conserva toi re, and in see ingpeople give serious attention to his composi tionsand sometimes applaud them hearti ly, at thePopular Concerts recently founded by Pasd eloup .

Only two o r thre e t imes did he consent to gO out o f

France once to direc t the D amna tion of F a us t atVi enna

,whither he was invited by Herbeck, court

H E CTOR

capel lme ister ; once to conduct the H a rold Sym

phony at Cologne by the inv i tat ion O f FerdinandHiller finally to S t . Pete rsburg at the very urgentsol ic i tat ions o f th e grand duche ss Helen

,an en

thus iastic admire r of his works . But on the eve o f

his departure he learned o f the death O f his son

I t was a te rrible blowto Berl ioz, who was devotedly attached to thi s son

,

Louis in a distant country .

a frail,dissipated youth

,always discontented with

h is lot,and l i ttle more than a source O f anxie ty to

hi s fathe r . He se t ou t for St . Pete rsburg with abroken heart

,and though Overwhelmed with suc

cesses and triumphs,ente rtained and rece ived l ike

a friend by his young admirer, the grand duchess,he fel t h is health fai l ing and hisstrength leaving him day by day .

On his re turn he went south,

th inking that the Mediterraneanmight have a beneficial e ffect uponhis health and spiri ts ; but twicewhile walking on the beach

,once

at Monaco,afterwards at N ice ,

he was attacked with ve rtigo,and

fe ll fainting to the ground . Hereturned to Pari s

,and at the end

of two months bel ieved himselfcured of the se fainting spells

,but

the nervous trouble increaseddaily . He stil l had desi re andstrength enough l eft to drag himself to Grenoble in August

,1 868

,

to attend a musical solemnity atwhich he was made honorary president by hi s col leagues

,w ho were

proud o f him at last . This wasthe end ; on Monday morningthe 8th of March

,1 869 , H ector Berl ioz quie tly and

painle ssly breathed his last .Just a year later th e conversion o f the publ ic to

Berl ioz music was accompl ished by means o f agrand fe st ival at the Opera in honor O f the master,organized by hi s disciple E rne st R eyer . E ven upto thi s time i t was possible to hear Berl ioz ’s musiconly at the Popular Concerts, and then Often in themidst o f confus ion and prote stations . The announcement Of thi s concert gave ri se to many pleasantrie s

,

and people agreed,with nods and chuckle s

,that the

best way to pay honor to such a man was to play musi c

B E R L I OZ

H ECTOR BERL IO Z .

Rep rod uced f rom a R uss ian photog raph, se lected by

von B u low as be ing t he bes t l ikeness of

Berl io z in h is later years .

683

as unlike hi s as poss ible . However,the fe stival took

place on the day appointed , with a program made upentirely O f the master’s works, and some O f the pieces,such as the Wa l tz of the Sy lphs , and the H unga r ian

M a rch,caused the l ivelie st surpri se . They had come

to laugh and they l i stened they even applauded,and

bette r than wi th the tips o f the i r fingers . This wasthe signal for a reaction, and from that day the sudden change O f opinion was only intensified as themusical publ ic

,who had hi the rto tole rated only a

few se lections, famil iarized themselves with the su

perb creations O f this maste r and insisted on hearing succe ss ively al l h is comple te works .H is wonderful L a D amna tion a

’e F a us t in par

t icular,

so l i ttle apprec iated atfi rst

,finally had an amazing suc

ce ss and an i rre si stible attract ionfor the crowd , perhaps becausethe resul t was assi sted by two 01

Butthere i s nothing half- way about athree concert pe rformance s .

French audience,i t has no luke

warm sentiments,and i t praise s as

immoderately as i t condemns .Having once taken the stand

,i t

accepted and applauded everything from Berl ioz ’s pen

,and

when i t had exhausted merebravos

,i t easi ly pe rsuaded i tself

to e rect a monument to hi s mem

ory. First i t was a quest ion o f

a simple bust to be placed uponhis tomb in Montmartre Cemetery, then i t was proposed toerect a statue to him in his native c i ty ; but Paris d id not wish

to do le ss than COte- Saint - André , and so i t happened that Alfred Lenoir ’s statue O f the compose rwas e rected in Vintim il le square near the rue deCalais

,the quarte r where he spent a long period

O f h i s life and where he d ied . An exact duplicate of the statue was e rected at COte- Saint - Andréin 1 890 , and surely two statue s are not too manyto honor the great artis t of whom Auber said witha l i ttle spice Of wickedness

,Yes

,thi s Berlioz

i s certainly worth som e thing,but what a pity that

his education began so late .”

684 FAM OUS COMP OSE P S

TO - day Berl ioz i s at the topmos t he ight of fame,

and th i s renown he has achieved by one work .

To the whole musical world he i s the composerO f L a D amna tion de F a ust

,and neithe r R omeo et

y u l iette,nor L ’

E nf ance o’u Chr is t, nor the R e

qu iem,each a masterp iece in i ts way

,has Obtained

the wide - spread success O f the first - named work .

I t i s s ingular that a purely orchestral composition,

L a Symphony F antas tique, should be accorded asecond rank in the general judgment . Stri ctlyspeaking

,thi s symphony and L a D amna tion pre sent,

outside the musi c written by him for the stage , thequ intessence of Berl ioz ’s genius . They are the tw opol e s be tween which hi s affluent inspirat ion oscil

lates . In the former of these score s i s to be foundal l the romantic exuberance O f youth ; the fury ofa latent rebel li on against d iscipl ine and ye t whollymaste r O f i tself ; a dazzl ing wealth of instrumentation ; a poe tic and del ightful coloring . In theothe r

,of which the style i s more varied, burst forth

a passion,an i rony

,a burn ing heat

,a prodigious

intu i tion of the e ffects of vast numbers, a fantast icrail le ry

,a power Of dramatic expre ss ion wi thout

equal . I t i s none the less true that genius radiate sfrom many pages of his other works : th e P ilgr im ’

s

Ma rch i n H a rol d : the Of er tory and the Tuha

I ll i rum in the R equiem ; the R epose of the H oly

F am i ly in L ’E nf ance o

’u Chr is t ; the I Vzght of the

B a l l,and the L ove Scene from R ome

'

o cl j ul iette ;the nocturne - due t from Bea tr ice et B e

'

néa’ict ; the

love - due t,the quinte t and the septe t in L es Troyens

are all brigh t insp irations among creation s O f,

thehighest worth

,that met wi th great favor

,al though

the works of which they are a part had not thepow er to win the masse s as they were won by L aSymphonic F anta s tique and L a D amna tion de

F a us t. These last gratify the publ i c taste (usingthe term in its broadest acceptat ion) because theyare not merely concert music, but have a closeaffini ty with the stage , in the dramatic s torie s theyi l lustrate . I bel ieve that the minute descriptiveprogramme which Berlioz has attached to L a Symphonic F antas tique has been largely instrumentalin assuring the succe ss of this work with a publicthat mentally follows the imaginary drama

,s tep by

step . as the orchestra depicts the various episodes ;now melodramatic, now rustic , now loving, sangu inary and demoni ac . Such i s stil l more the case withL a D amna tion a

’e F aus t. Berl ioz ’s work has ce r

tainly benefi ted by the attention d rawn to Goe the ’s

poem by M . Gounod ’s opera ; the great mass of thepublic knew noth ing of the original when L a

D amna tion was fi rst heard by them in 1 846. Now

adays music - lovers everywhere are equally w el l

i nformed on th is point they understood,from the

time that the ope ra was given,the meaning of what

was rec i ted to them by Berl ioz ’s s ingers,clad in black

dress su its and whi te necktie s they fi lled in thegaps in h is l ibre tto from what the opera of Fausttaught them they compared number with number ;in fact, by reason of placing side by side two worksso widely unlike each other

,they learned to ap

prec iate the warm,pass ionate and magnificent power

o f Berli oz ’s Older composit ion . Thus l ittl e by l i ttlethi s product O f genius has forced i tse lf on generaladmiration as the mode l on which Gounod ’s Faustwas planned .

I t i s no exaggeration to proclaim L a D amna tion

tie F aus t a work O f genius, and i t e xci tes all themore admiration when we know that ce rtain numbers

,among others

,the scene in which Faust i s

lul led to sle ep by elfins,came from the brain Of a

composer only twenty - five years Old,and appeared

almos t perfect in the H u i t scenes de F aust whichBerl ioz publ i shed in 1 829 , no t be ing able to have i tperformed , and which he dedicated to M . deLarochefoucauld . This fine scene

,the refore , date s

back to 1 82 8, as doe s the beauti ful song L a F etea’e Peignes and also the j oyous rondo sung by thepeasants . In fact

,not only the grand choruses, but

the shorte r p ieces,the songs of L e R a t and O f L a

Puce ; the bal lad , L e R oi a’e Thule the romance of

Marguerite,jo ined arbi trarily to the soldie rs ’ chorus

and L a Serenade o’u (l iable are al l fragments of his

youthful work that Be rl ioz retained i n the score of

hi s maturer period and had the skil l to combineanew in several scenes O f extraordinary poeticbeauty and richness Of effect . How inspired the

pre tty rustic scene into which he has inserted, judiciously or otherwi se , hi s admirabl e R ahoczy Ma rch,

wri tten to gain the good wil l o f the Hungarians ;the superb monologue Of the doctor, in troduc ingthe E aster chorus ; the animated scene at theAuerbach tavern with i ts b izarre songs and thei ronical fugue on the word Amen ; the marve l lousscene on the banks Of the E lbe with the fine appealto the demon ; the del ightful slumber chorus o f thespiri ts and the exquis i te balle t O f the sylphs thedouble chorus of students . Doe s i t not seem thatthey were al l conce ived

,composed and written down

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

686 FAM O US COMPOSE R S

the most bizarre e ccentric i t ie s eve r hatched in acomposer’s brain ; but it i s al so one of the mostimpressive . The fi rst movement

,Rever ies -pass ions ,

at once so sad and tender,i s,however

,excelled by

the Scene a ux champs , which soothe s and charmsus with i t s peacefulne ss . I t i s the most insp iredmovement O f the symphony . L e B a l and theM a r che au supp l ice are aflame with the extraordinaryverve o f the composer

,who , taking motive s that are

ne i the r very striking nor very original in themselve s,

develops them with extraordinary power,and with

such fullness that each movement at tains an almostincredible expressiveness . Though in the S onge

cl’unc nu i t a

’e S ahha t

,the D ies I ra i s burle squed and

degraded by the mocking accents o f the piccolo,

the t inkl ing O f bel ls,th e bellow ing of Ophicle ide s

,

yet thi s last part p roduce s an irresi stible effec t anddrags the bearer along in the train O f the hell i shturmoil . In H a rola

’en I ta l ic Berl ioz pushes th i s

se eking for extremely varied tone - colors,and unex

pected contrasts, and curious surpri se s for the earso far, that he frequently fall s into excess . Thefine M a rche a

’es Pe

'

ler ins has ecl ipsed the othe rporti ons o f t he symphony

,but the fi rst movement

,

H a rola’aux montagncs , i s ful l O f poet ic melancholy,

and the Serena de ci’

un montagna ra’

,breathe s a tran

qui l peace wi th which the fiery and tumul tuousOrgie a

’e hr zga no

’s forms a powerful

,nay, almost

exaggerated contrast .In the exqui si te rel igi ous legend L ’

E nf a ncc (in

Chr is t, and the graceful opera comique , Bea tr ice ct

B c'

ne'

a’ict we make the acquaintance o f a Berl ioz

tempered by age and who no longer seeks to“ make a noi se i n the world .

” The second part O f

hi s oratorio - drama L a F u i tc cn Egyp te, i s unive rsallyknown through i ts de lightful chorus o f shepherds andi ts love ly tenor rec i tative there i s also much charmin the fi rst due t O f Mary and Joseph as they watchover Jesus . The third part includes a powerfullydramati c scene i n which the fugi tives knock i n vainat every door, followed by a patriarchal scene withthe beautiful phrase O f the fathe r o f the family we lcoming Jesus, and the trio, with two flute s and harps ,o f young I shmae l i te s . This i s music that del ightsthe world . I t i s the same with the famous due tnocturne in B ea tr ice ct B éne

'

a’ict

,whose beauty

dwells in the opening strain O f H e ro ’s air,and in

the splendid andante,a la G luck

,sung by Beatrice .

What gaie ty,perhaps a l i ttle forced now and then

,

emanates from the mocking duet between Beatrice

and Benedict from the tri o O f men and the tri o ofwomen . What exquisi te sweetness there i s in theChant ci

’

hyme'

nc'

e heard from afar ; what verve inthe piquant rondo sung at the close by the reconci led loversB envenu to Cel l ini

, a work that has neve r beenrevived , i s not one O f the finer achievements of

Berli oz ; i n i t we mee t too many concessi ons tothe vi rtuosi ty O f the conventional opera primadonna, but i t i s pe rvaded by a spiri t wholly youthful

, se t Off by sparkl ing i nstrumentation . The trioof the firs t act, and the sad air o f Teresa the grandquartet i n the Place Colonne wi th i ts d ifferent themesingeniously blended and strongly marked ; thecouplets O f Ascanio the narrative air of Cell ini thescene i n which the poltroon F ieramosca simulate s adue l ; the charming love - due t between Teresa andCe ll ini , here, indeed, are page afte r page of l imp idmelody that del igh t the ir hearers

,as d id the open

ing bril l iant Ove rture with the following long carnivalscene , which reproduce s with extraordinary effectthe mutterings and rumblings of a crowd . This is

,

i n trtfth, the cl imax o f the work . TO this opera mustbe j oined the overture

, L e Ca rnava l R oma in, writtenlate r by Berl ioz , and perhaps the most beautiful ofhis i solated overtures . In any case

,i t i s that which

has had the greate s t success,ecl ipsing the overture

,

Les F rancs j uges, even in Germany where i t wasat fi rst so much applauded

,as well as the overture s

,

Waver ly , The Corsa ir , and K ing L ea r , the last,though so express ive

,having never enj oyed equal

favor with L e Ca rnava l R oma in.

The tragedy L es Troy cns, imi tated from Virgil,

marked the re turn to fi rst principle s made by Berl iozwhen maturi ty had calmed the efferve scence of

youth and the ebul it ion of middle age . I t was takenup again in a moment O f classic asp iration and showshow much the teachings O f L esueu r influenced him .

L a P r ise a’o Troie and L es Troycns a Ca r thage,

separate works,but performed toge the r for th e fi rst

t ime at Carlsruhe in December, 1 870 , are o f equalworth and O f a superior order . In L a P r ise a’e Troiethe despairing appeals O f Cassandra, the tenderrepl ie s o f Corche the fi e ry choruses , the bal le tmusic

,O f which the local color i s so appropriate the

epic grandeur of the benediction O f As tyanax byPari s the exc i ted joy O f the Troj an people welcoming the entrance o f the wooden horse ; the woefraught prophecie s o f Cassandra . In L es Troycns aCa r thage the peace ful songs O f the Troj ans ; the

H E CTOR B E RL I OZ

subl imely touching melodie s O f D ido ; the caressingre sponse s O f Anna ; [E neas ’ cal l to arms , and thest i rring orchestral scene of the royal hunt ; the thirdact

,an unmistakable masterp iece

,with i ts pre tty

dance tunes,i ts quintet, i ts incomparable septe t,

and i ts fine love - due t ; the las t two acts, with theswee t plaint of the sailor

,Hylas ; the patheti c fare

we ll of tE neas and the splendid death scene O f

D ido, — al l prove that both parts of L es Troyens

must be placed i n the same rank as two great worksthat blend into one perfec t whole .

Berli oz,in addi tion to hi s large symphonic and

vocal works,wrote numerous de tached songs wi th

L a Cap

tive,which was greatly extended from the original

orchestral or pianoforte accompaniment .

ske tch written i n I taly ; L e 5 ma i,a magnificent

song glorifying the first Napoleon ; S a ra la ha i

gneusc, and L a M or t ci’

Ophc'

l ic,l ovely works for two

female voi ces ; a fine Hymne a la F r a nce ; N eufme

'

locties I r landa ises, a youthful e ffort, i nspi red by

th e poems O f Thomas Moore ; L es nu i ts ci’c'

té , sixsetti ngs O f poems by The’ ophi l e Gauti e r

,are the

most notabl e o f thi s class O f composit ions . Byadding to these the piece s collected to form L el io ;

Rever ie ct_Capr ice, for viol in solo and orche stra ; a

charmingMed i ta tion rel igieuse,afte r Thomas Moore

and a striking M a rche F unehrc for the interment ofHamlet ; we have enumerated all the works of

Berl ioz , great and small, that are worth remembering.

The true domain O f Berl ioz,that in which he i s

really king, i s the orche stra . He gave an extraordinary impetus to the art o f instrumentation

,

even afte r Beethoven and Weber,on whom he

leaned , — by his marvellous instinct for blendingthe various timbre s Of orche stral instruments

,by his

inde fatigable search for new combinations o f tone,

by his constant e ffort to add to the power and theexpressivene ss O f the orchestra in order to make i ttranslate the most dive rse sentiments

,thus giving

to his music a s tronger rel i e f,a more animated

color . The prodigious re sul t was,that he almost

recreated the art o f orchestration,Opened a new

horizon to i t, and therefore dese rve s the ti tle of theFrench Beethoven . Is i t not also astonishing thath i s genius, audaciously innovating in regard to instrumentation

, exe rci sed an influence not only onal l those musicians who began thei r career afte r h issuccess was establi shed , but on others who were hise lders by age and reputation

,such as Meyerbeer

,or

somewhat younger, such as R ichard Wagner ?

687

These two compose rs,not the least abl e O f the i r day

,

having heard the works o f Berl ioz at a t ime whenvery few took him se riously, had an intu i tion O f h isworth and from the ve ry fi rst fe l t instinctively evenmore than Schumann

,that i t was necessary to re

spect th is young man gifted with such extraord inaryimagination .

CA R ICATURE O F B E R L IOZ .

By Benjam in Nov. I , l 83 8.

Thenceforward Meyerbee r,one Of tho se rare

music ians , be i t said to his honor, who fee l a concernfo r other creations than the ir own

,took a l ive ly and

permanent interest in al l that Berl ioz produced .

Wagner, on hi s side , admitted to friends that he nosooner reached Pari s than he made a profound studyo f Berlioz ’s ins trumentat ion ; that he had since reread his score s many times

,and that he had often

688

profi ted by the works of “ that devil ishly cleve rman .

” Moreover,from 1 84 1 , he regarded Berl ioz

as a musician fi l l ing a place O f hi s ow n,mingling

with none,whi le loving

,understanding

,worshipping

Be ethoven ; dreaming perhaps to be German in thehours when hi s genius urged him to write in imitat ion of th i s great master ; but unable to assimilateFrench love Of exte rnal e ffec t wi th Beethoven ’sprofound symphonic style ; possessing a wonderfulfancy

,an imagination Of extraordinary energy torn

between his arti st ic impulses and the taste s O f hi sfellow countrymen

,whom he

wished to win ; incapable of

asking or O f rece iving advicepossessed of that v i rtue , rareeven among Germans

,o f not

wishing to write for money ;turning h is back on all musical trivial ty eminently fi ttedby reason o f the se qual i t ie sand o f these faults to creategreat works

,popular or na

t ional as in the Symphonic a’c

f u i l let, the best i n h is eyes,of Berl ioz ’s works, and theonly one which

,to him

,

se emed destined to l ive .

The portrai t i s pre tty,and

coming from the pen of

Wagner,i s flattering enough

,

save in i ts conclus ion,which

appears somewhat absurd today . But th i s amazing aptitude fo r Obtain ing from anorchestra more than any othe rcompose r had been able tocompass

,was exactly t h e

or igin O f the misunderstanding between Berl ioz and the publi c . Certainly theso - called learned cri tici sms o f the most se ri ous j ournal s and the chaffing of the l e ss d ignified press ,contributed much to transform Berlioz

,in the eye

of the masse s, i nto a specie s o f charlatan hungryfor fame and banging hi s drum vigorously to attrac tthe mob ; denying him genius except for drawingattention to himself. Th e se slurs

,however

,would

not have taken a fi rm hold in the minds of the i rreaders if the adverse cri tici sms had been wholly

In brie f,with

what did they reproach him ? O f lacking melodicwithout an appearance O f j ustice .

CAR I CAT U R E O F B E RL IOZ .

By Carjat.

FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

invention and O f replacing i t by inextricable or

chestral tangle s O f rej oic ing in diabol ical noise andof ente rtaining a positive contempt for al l musicexcept h i s ow n . Neverthe le ss

,Berl ioz was not

wanting in melody . H is themes,when separated

from thei r compl icated accompaniments,have even

a family l ikene ss to the romanzas of 1 840 in thestyle of Madame Duchambage or O f Blangini ; his

themes,vocal o r i nstrumental

,have generally a

dreamy melancholy,which seem to recal l h is birth

place,w i th i ts tender and tremulous songs so loved

by the peasants O f Dauphiny.

These perfectly clear melodie s, whenever he was content to give them simpleaccompaniments, met with instant recognition and successfrom the publi c . Amongthem i s L a Captive in i ts fi rstversion also the tenor recitative in L a F u i tc en E gyp te.

I t seemed surprisi ng that thecompose r O f the se delicatemelodie s should be the one

who wrote such compl icatedmusic

,and so the ignorant

were taught that these melodic treasure - trove s were whollyexceptional wi th th i s troublesome

,demented and bluste r

ing composer .What repel led the public

and assi sted i ts m isunder

standing on thi s point, werethe intricacie s O f his deeplystudied and curiously - strangemethod of orchestration . Incarrying out the idea that by

the aid of the most varied tone combinations everyshade O f meaning in a piece of music can be madec lear to the l istene r, Berl ioz , imbued as he waswi th the teachings o f L esueur, had a tendency toovercharge the more novel touche s of hi s musicalpicture

,in order to indi cate the secondary details

with that di s tinctne ss which seemed indispensableto h im . From thi s pract ice arose confusion in themind of the inexperi enced hearer , and producedcloudine ss i n the music from which the dominantidea could no t be detached without an e ffort . On

the oth er hand he gave utterance to many noble

[I E CTOR B E RL I OZ

and touching thoughts with pathetic dec lamation ,poetic and richly - colored orche stration , and im

pressive sonori ty ; e ssential qual it ie s i n Berl ioz thatare real ly wonderful and on which his enemi es ,notably Feti s , were careful not to throw light . On

the contrary,they d id the i r uttermost to di scourage

the publ ic from bestowing attention on the se works ,and they succe eded only too well and too l ong .

Here then i s one of the cause s that made amateurs rebel, on principle , against the innovation so f thi s great composer but another cause , inherentin the soul of Be rl ioz, repe lled t imid people . I twas his spiri t o f intole rance and of exclusive se lfadmi ration

. Carri ed along by the impulse of the timeand the desi re to insure victory for hi s art theori e s ,Berl ioz did not hesitate to attack the reputations of

the most che rished idol s of the hour ; therefore ,whethe r he wrote

,or whethe r he spoke , he i ndulged

his natural disposi tion to exaggerate everything withvirulent indignation

,and outbursts Of mad enthu

siasm in support O f the art i s ti c faith that swayedhim . The publi c did not and could not understand him

,and i rri tated by h is fierce aggre ssive

tone,held itself i nstinctively on guard against the

creat ions O f th i s fighting innovator and stood readyto pay him the price of his contempt for i t . Be

tw een a rancorous public offended by the di sdainth is iconoclast manifested for i ts taste s , and an artistwho never exhausted the taunts he had in store fori t,there was always an antagonism , ski lfully i ntensi

hed by the personal foes O f the maste r and whichceased only at h i s death .

Antagoni sm i s the true word, for Berlioz i n h isvocal works at leas t never departed from the modelsso dear to the public . In fac t, so far as opera i sconcerned

,he . remained ever the di sciple and

admirer of Spontin i and O f Gluck , without dreamingthat he was destined soon to init iate a revolution inth is branch of musical art . E ven when

,at the

he ight of his own romantic fervor, he broke downthe barri ers O f the symphony , there always remainedin Berlioz an instinctive re spect for consecratedforms ; and as soon as he passed from the concertroom to the stage he conformed in the most ingenious manner imaginable to the Old me thods in al lhis works written with an eye to the opera house .

He was del ibe rate ly revolutionary in th e symphonyonly

,and that ch iefly in respect to instrumentation .

With thi s creator,endowed with a phenomenal

genius in a certain way,the ideas regarding the

689

e ssential condi t ions Of musical art were so unse ttled ,and changed so Often from one t ime and from one

style to anothe r,that he would have been puzzled

to formulate them with any exactne ss . He emittedfire and flame s

,he hurled curse s and roared bi tte r

denunciat ions,but when i t came to decid ing the

ideal that an arti st should follow or the absoluteprinciple s he should adopt

,he d id nothing .

There exis ts a radical d ifference between the twogreat music ians who have convul sed the musicalworld in the second half O f th i s century . Thelate r - comer

,R ichard Wagner

,pursued a fully de

fined ideal,a single problem ,

on the solv ing O f

which he had long concentrated h is thoughts andall the force of hi s genius

,v iz . : — the fus ion of

music and the drama . He kept stead ily in thi s onepath and brought the music - drama to the highestpoint i t i s possible for i t to attain . Berl ioz

,on the

contrary,real ized at one stroke al l the modifications

that seemed to him d e si rabl e to fasten upon thesymphony and the opera . He did not se ek anintegral reform

,but simply wished to enrich each

branch of musical art wi th new descriptive andpicturesque elements . But while hi s flexible brainturned now toward the stage , now toward the church ,or the concert - room

,he d id not deviate much from

the tradi t ional forms,though he endowed them wi th

new and wonderful characteri st ics .Warmly romantic wi th Shakespeare

,pure ly class i c

with Vi rgil,who were hi s l i te rary de it ie s

,he was

eclectic in l iterature as in music . The splendidlyric accents o f Gluck are not in full harmony withthe deep poetic and chivalric inspirat ion of Weber,and the lack O f re semblance between Spontin i andBeethoven i s sti l l more striking

,yet Berl ioz loved

them all . I t matters not that Berl ioz confoundedth e se masters in h is re l igious admiration O f themand made fo r h imse lf a double personal i ty , repud iating al l rule and tradition when h e wrote for theorchestra and for the conce rt s tage

,and becoming a

pious Obse rver O f hal lowed forms when he turnedto the theatre . In hi s L es Troycns , the voice partsare o f a wholly class ic purity wh i le the orch estraabounds in modern romantic i sm ; in B e

’

a tr ice ct

Bened ict, del ightful insp i rations , exquisi te in the ir

poe try, are mingled with the conventional formsthat Berlioz me rci le ssly condemned in the works ofothers : inexpl icable vocal flourishes

,repe ti t ions of

words, outrages on p rosody, the clipping O f re

bel l ious words ; al l thi s by a compose r in whose

690 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

eyes correct declamation was a fundamental e ssentialof song .

Such was the compose r Berl ioz,such the critic

,

and the cri tic was not unhelpful to the compose r .In fact

,al l that he was in France

,al l that he was

able to win,during his l ifetime

,he owed to hi s

posi ti on as a wri te r for the press and as the friendof influential j ournal i sts . But he made manyenemies

,l e ss by the aggre ssiveness o f hi s wri tings

than by hi s caustic wit . There was in h im animperat ive necess i ty to te l l th e public hi s hate s andhis love s

,and if he did not always fe e l free to give

bold expression to the d i sgust wi th wh ich ce rtainworks fi l l ed h im

,he invariably let hi s contempt be

seen through h is polished and even laudatoryphrase s . At least

,nobody was eve r dece ived . The

music ian in Berl i oz i s impassioned,now tender, now

vigorous . I t i s the same wi th the writer . His stylei s picture sque and inc i sive , sometimes trivial . S ideby side are exclamations O f admiration and con

tempt ; quasi rel igious respect and genuinely holyanger

,al l equal ly energetic and sincere the word

and the blow . To apprec iate thi s at i ts full value,

i t suffice s to select at hazard one of the coll ect ionO f articl e s publi shed by h imself in book form underthe t i tle s

,L es Soi rées a

’c l

’

or chcs tra,L es Grotesques

de la mus ique, i n which the humori st tone prevail sand A travers chants

,which contains h is most

se rious thoughts ; the two volumes o f le tte rs publ ishedafter h i s death , Cor respona

’ancc inc/l i te ct lettres

intimes ; and finally hi s amusing and fasc inat ingMe

’

moires,i n whi ch h e travest ie s himse lf unrese rvedly

and confuse s somewhat the dates and facts . Thisbook is a genuine romance .

Berl ioz,bitte r and unsympatheti c as i t here

pl ease s him to appear,was whol ly unconventional

he was the athle te constantly stripped - for the combat

,and armed for the fight . How di fferent from

the Berl ioz seen i n hi s profess ion and in socie ty !As much as those , who knowing him but slightly,j udged him hard and unsociable

, so much didthose to whom hi s affecti ons went out

,laud hi s

extreme kindness and hi s tendernes s of fee l ing .

He was not prepossessing in appearance or manner .His e steem and fri endsh ip had to be won l i ttl e byl i t tl e

,i n order to open by some means o r othe r

,th e

way to hi s heart . He no sooner found himse lf

among friends, than hi s sp i ri ts rose and often urgedhim into countle ss pleasantrie s . Neverthe le ss

,even

toward the se he showed the most variable disposit ion : he would arrive sul len and morose

,and then

without warning, would break into wi ld and infect iousgai ety, to fall j ust as suddenly into i cy reserve . A

t rouble some thought would su ffice for thi s,and i t

only needed an inopportune word to make himintractable . I f he chanced to be i n the moodfor bri l liant paradoxes or merry persiflage, i t wasnece ssary to refrain from interrupting or opposinghim . In the heat o f conversation

,no matter how

seri ous , he loved to utter wre tched puns, and absurdverbal extravagances . These i rrepress ible sall ie s

,

at which he was generally the only one to laugh,

were something very serious i n hi s eye s . Geniusi s akin to madness .”

“ Berl ioz , one O f the most eminent musicians of

all time , perhaps the most extraordinary arti s t i nevery way who ever l ived .

” Thus he was characteriz ed by M . R eyer in speaking at the foot of Berl ioz ’ss tatue . He was, truly, an extraord inary arti st ineve ry sense ; apostle and sectarian at one and thesame t ime ; one who conceived great things andsometimes partly real ized them who was in turn sarcastic and sentimental , emotional and passionatealmost to weeping who nourished an intolerant worship O f his art and never knew moderat ion i n hisj udgments who was gifted wi th admirable creativefacul tie s and opened new paths to the art of instrumentat ion who was in perpetual strife with thepre tenders O f true melody

,to whom he never

yielded ; who aimed to be at once as noble and asmaj e sti c as Spontini

,as imaginative and as impas

sioned as Weber, as swee t and as tender as Vi rgil,as sublime and as trivial as Shakespeare

,as grand

and pathet i c as Goethe and Beethoven,yet who

knew how to be himself by force O f wil l and loftinesso f genius . Berl ioz had a rare grasp of mind

, and

was keenly sensi t ive to the beauti e s o f certain greatl i te rary works

,hence the “ romantic movement ”

i n France deeply i nfluenced him With enormouswill power and bordering on insani ty

,he aspired in

his youth ful dreams to be considered,some day

,

the Vic tor Hugo,the Delacrox of musical art, and,

in some re spects,his aspiration was more than

real ized after he was dead I

AMBRO ISE THOMAS

Reproduction of a photograph f rom l ife by E . Pirou, Paris .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

69 2

Card and “ Le Songe . Again Thomas re ti redfrom view

,and thi s time i t was s ix years before he

produced anothe r ope ra .

In 1 851 he became a member of the Inst i tute ,and in 1 852 , Profe ssor of Composition in the Conservato ire. Up to this time Thomas had di stinguished himse lf as a fluent and refined melodi st,and by h is p iquant orchestration he was also notedas a maste r of musical comedy . Neverthele ss hehad not ye t been able to win for himself a rankequal to that O f Auber, and in French comic opera,Le Macon

,

” Fra D iavolo,

”Le Domino Noir,”

and “ Les D iamants de la Couronne ,” which hadbeen composed before Thomas went into his secondseclus ion

,sti l l surpassed all that the latter had pro

duced,and survive to thi s day

,while

,with the

exception O f “ Le Caid , none O f Thomas’s operasantecedent to 1 850 are ever performed .

I n 1 866 Mignon ” was heard, and Thomas atThe work had

an overwhelming success,and has be en given in

once leaped to world - wide fame .

eve ry Opera house in the world . Two years late rthi s maste rp iece was followed by Hamlet

,

” whichwas equally successful i n France , though i t has not,e lsewhe re

,proved as popular as “ Mignon .

”On

the strength Of these two fine operas he was ap

pointed,in 1 87 1 , to fi l l the posit ion o f D i rector of

the Conservatoire,l eft vacant by the death o f Auber .

His other compositions,no t ye t mentioned

,are a

cantata composed fo r the inauguration O f a statueto L e sueur (1 852 ) a Messe Solennelle (1 857 )a “ Marche Rel igi euse ” “ H ommage a

Bo i e ld ieu,composed for the centenary Of Boiel

dieu and many part songs,among them

La Vapeur,” “ Le Chant des Amis,

”Le Tyrol

,

”

L’Atlantique, Le

R ome ,” Le Traineaux,

”Le Temple de la Paix

,

”

La Nuit d u Sabbat,

” some of which are works O fthe highe st me rit

,i n the ir order .

France , ” Carnaval de

In 1 874 was produced Gille et G il leton

,

” a one- act comic opera,

wri tten, however, in 1 86 1 .

“ Psyche was revivedin 1 87 8 with additions, but though the music i s full

Ambro ise Thomas ’ l ife as a compose r for thePari s opera house s cove red fifty

- two years . I n thattime he wrote much charming music , but he never

FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

developed any ind ividual i ty Of style,never wrote

anyth ing so distinct ive ly h is own that i t could atonce be attributed to him by reason of any charac

o f graceful beauty,and was warmly prai sed

,i t made

no marked impression on the general public . After“ Hamlet, Thomas d id no t bring forward anothe ropera for fourteen years

,and then he made another

brill ian t succe ss wi th Francoise d i R imini ”i n which was some of the finest music he

had ever wri tten,e spec ially in the prologue and in

the fourth act . He was now seventy - one years of

age , and could we l l re st on the laurels he had won .

From that date unti l the present he hasproduced no new lyric work

,hi s only contribution

to the stage of the opera be ing a balle t founded on

“ The Tempest,

” by Shakespeare which,

though remarkable as the e ffort o f a man seventye ight years o ld

,was not destined to be numbered

among hi s succe sses . In fact,with this work his

career as a compose r appears to have ended . Herece ived the grand Cross O f the L egion of Honorin 1 880 . At the age O f eighty - two

,he i s sti l l ful

fi l ling hi s dutie s at the Conse rvatoire , i n whichinst itution he has worked many important and useful reforms . He has improved the method O f

i nstruct ion,has insti tuted lecture s on the general

hi story O f music ; has founded an orchestral classand compulsory vocal c lasses fo r reading at s ight

,

and has rai sed the standard o f solfeggio teaching .

Not only th is,but he has been largely instrumental

in increasing the salarie s o f the professors,and has

enlarged the prospe ri ty of the inst i tution until it hasreached a point that makes i t almost self - paying .

Thomas has l ived a wholly artistic l ife and has,

fortunate ly , e scaped most of the severer[ trials

experienced by the maj ority o f those who havedevoted themselve s to that branch o f h is art wh ichhas brought h im fame and competence . He isgiven to physical exercise

,i s fond O f country l i fe

,

has a villa at Argenteui l and an island home atZ ill ieo , in Bri ttany . He is not without l i te rarytalent and his taste s are refined . He is an enthu

s iast ic collec tor O f bric - a - brac,and rare ly fai l s

attendance at any of the more important auctionsat the Hotel Druo t .

dart/10 1 .74 4 4

Fac - s im ile autog raph manu script Of an Album Leaf w ritten by Ambro ise Thomas .

694 FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

teristics be longing peculiarly and dist inguish ingly tohim . His earl i e r operas

,produced be tween 1 83 7

and 1 848, are marked by refinement of taste , andgrace ful finish in workmanship . Afte r that and un

t i l 1 860 h i s method underwent a change , and hesough t bril l iancy and piquancy , as instanced in Le

Card ,

” and gradually warmed into poe tic fee l ingand de epe r sentiment

,departing

,in the meanwhi l e ,

from the conventional i tie s that R ossin i and othe rI tal ian composers had fastened on French operamusic . His growth i n h is art has been stead y fromthe ve ry outse t

,but if he has ceased to wri te afte r

Le Roman d ’E lvire

,

” which ended th i s period O f

h is musical development,h is fame as a compose r

would hardly have survived down to th e pre senttime . From the Opera j ust named to “ Mignon ”

was an enormous stride,and the bril l ian t reputation

th i s work made for h im was sustained by Hamle t ”and “ Franco ise di R im ini .” But even the se , h ismaste rp iece s

, do not present h im in the l igh t O f acomposer who had something to say that had not

been said before . His art evolut ion had enlargedhis me thod o f thought and had enabled him to givea wider scope to h is talents

,but i t had not endowed

him with a style that se t h im apart from othe r compose rs . We hear of the s tyle O f Auber, and i tbrings a c lear idea o f a strongly marked musicalindiv idual i ty to our mind . The same may be saido f the style O f Meyerbee r and al so that o f Gounodbut to speak o f the style of Thomas would be toconvey no such di stinct and instant suggestion of adefini te and an unmistakable original ity, l ike thatwhich pertains e ssential ly to B ize t .The mus ic o f Thomas i s alw ays pol ished and

del icate ; h is operas show that he has an innatefee l ing for dramatic effect ; h i s musical comedie sare models for the int imate blending O f music withthe spiri t o f the words and the stage si tuations . Hisharmonies are ri ch and flowing

,and impart to h i s

work a dec ided air o f refined e legance . His instrum entation emphasize s convincingly h is thoroughmastery over the re sources of the modern orchestraand a sensi tive apprec iat ion Of the characteri stict one - color O f the diffe rent instruments . His score sare neve r overloaded, and as the rule the right touchi s always put by him in the right place . The voicei s never overwhelmed by the orchestra . With al lthe se merits he i s rarely i f ever emphatic

,and

s trength and intensity o f pass ion are not among hismusical gifts . Love , melancholy, gaie ty and poetic

tenderness are th e sentiments in which he exce ls.

Fire , and a vigorous sweep o f emotional fee l ing arenot wi thin hi s p ower to depict . The changes in th estyle of his score s are the changes that the varyingmusical taste s of the t imes brought about . Henever formed these taste s

,but he invariably fo l

l owed them . His earl i e r Operas are in the vein Of

Auber or of R ossini , sometime s Of both in combination . When the fash ion O f the day called for moredramatic expression h e followed in the footstep s ofHalevy. Later, when bril l iancy, tunefulness andgraceful commonplace were the vogue

,he had no

scruple against model ling himself on C lapisson.

I t was no t unti l Gounod had risen into fame and“ Faus t ” became the rage

,fi ll ing the music - l oving

world wi th del ight, that Thomas found i t poss ible to wri te “ Mignon ” and “ Hamlet

,

”in both

which operas the influence O f the younger compose ri s shown on almos t eve ry p age . Thomas has no t

the gift o f original i ty,but he has the gift O f re

cep t ivity and the facul ty of assimilat ion largely developed . Twice he wen t into seclusion

,and each

time when he reappeared i t was with a styl e in harmony wi th that of the favorite opera compose rs Of

the hour . There i s nothing culpabl e in thi s,for

i t prove s conclus ively,that Thomas was always

an untiring student . I t i s undeniable,that on every

occasion h is style underwent a rad ical change,

i t showed an advance in the broade r and moreimpre ss ive e ssential s of h is art

,and added to the

fame o f the composer . The works in which he willl ive are those which belong to his last period .

Not so with h is greater con frere Halevy,whose

fi rs t grand successe s, La

-

Juive and L’E clair

,

”

were his only masterpieces . Thomas has notreached the he ight to which Halevy soared in e i the ro f these operas . “ Mignon and “ Hamle t ” are

,

however,works o f no common orde r . The former

has won a place in the repertory o f eve ry ope rahouse in E urope . There i s much of genuine poet icfeel ing in the music

,and the score

, as a whole , i sdi stinguished by grace

,melodiousness

,del icacy o f

taste,and that effect of spontanei ty that i s und e r

s tood as insp iration . Fine d iscriminati on has beenshown in giving each character i ts appropriatemusical expression

,and the skill with which the

people of the story are contrasted cannot be too

warmly prai sed . The “ Connais - tu le pays,” theswallow ” due t

,the praye r O f Mignon, the romance

o f Wilhelm,the polonaise O f Felina, have become

CH ARL E S L OUI S AMB R O I SE TH OMAS

justly ce lebrated . The orche strat ion i s exqui si te i nits del icate finish and its ingeniously varied but

That i t has achieved a permanent place on the opera stage i s beyond question .

H amle t i s more ambi tiou s,and though not without

always arti stic color .

a ce rtain nobil ity o f style,i s l i ttl e el s e than a more

elaborate “ Mignon . In i t the compose r says

695

noth ing that h e has not already said in th e las tnamed work

,the only change - be ing a somewhat

more earnest me thod o f expression . In th i s operaThomas has

young composers the l ine at which the new schooli t was claimed that indicated to

should s top,unde r penalty of exce eding the bounds

O f lyric art ” ; but Thomas , though undoubtedly

AMBRO ISE THOMAS .

Reproduct ion of a lithog raph port rait published by Becquet of Paris.

a music ian O f tal ent,knowledge and experience

,

has never shown such original i ty as to entitl e h imto be considered a reformer

,and as ye t there has

not been,even in hi s own country

,any propaganda

to spread a knowledge o f him through the world .

“ Hamle t ” may be considered the extreme pointthat French grand opera had reached in the dirce

t ion O f the Wagnerian music drama up to the timethat i t appeared . The Gounod i nfluence i s s t i l lclearly apparent in i t

,but the Wagner influence al so

makes i tsel f fe lt in the e ffort to break awayfrom conventional models and to substi tute express ive declamation for more rhythmical melody .

The mad song o f Ophelia is, perhaps , the mos t.

69 6 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

effective number in the Opera .

“ Francoi se deR imini ” went a step furthe r than did “ H amle t ”toward a prede termined departure from the Oldschool O f Ope ratic music to the new . The compose rauthorized the statement that the prologue to thework would be a profess ion O f musical faith

,which

he had long contemplated and in which he wouldmark definitely how close ly symphonic music can beall ied with the lyric drama ; afte r which the curtainwas to ri se on music e ssentially theatri cal,” or

,if a

be tter word should he demanded , “ human .

” Theprologue i s certainly as strong and masterly

,but i t

has in i t nothing o f a symphonic qual i ty,and

,as a

pro fe ssion O f fai th,proved to be O f no permanent

value save as an evidence o f the highest point whichthe composer ’s musical deve lopment had reached .

Thi s port ion O f the opera and the fourth act areby far the finest achievements O f Thomas . Theorche stra through the whole opera i s treated withconsummate powe r

,notably in the beautiful effec ts

Obtained by unaccustomed groupings o f the d i ffe rent instruments . In the ingenious blendings o f tonecolor that are produced by combining widely varying timbre s with a skil l as profound as fel ic i tous therichne ss

,ripeness

,and perfection O f the scoring

generally as wel l as the masterly discre tion Observedin maintaining a judic iou s balance be tween theorche stra and the s ingers

,the score may be j ustly

given a place among the most masterly that modernmusical art has produced . For the rest, desp ite

some splendid dramatic moments in the work andthe faul tle ss finish of i ts workmanship as a whole

,

i t i s to be doubted i f i t wi ll l ive . But how few worksdo l ive ! Many glorious Operas have been writtensince “ Don G iovanni ” and “ Fidelio ” saw thel ight, and ye t no t one has appeared that has ye tbe en accorded a place by the ir s ide . H undreds O fOperas that met with a bri ll ian t and dese rved successin the i r day

,have fallen gradual ly into the back

ground ope ras by Spontini,who

,in “ La Ve stale

,

”

j ust escaped producing an immortal masterp iece ;by Cherubini

,whose “ Les Deux Journées ” came

nearer winning the t hi rd place than any operas ince by R ossini

,Be ll ini

,Donizett i , Ve rdi, Meyer

bee r,whose “ Les H uguenots ” i s h is only work

that bids fair to survive ; by Weber, whose “ Der

F reischutz” alone promise s to last . The supreme

Operas O f th e world might be named on the fingersO f one hand . Mention of Wagner has been avoidedbecause he i s ye t to experience the test o f t ime ,that i ncorruptible and most pi tile ss of critics . I t i sthe fate o f some admirable and j ustly honored compose rs to learn the ir ultimate reputation wi thposteri ty during the i r l ife - t ime . Among these , weth ink

,i s Ambroise Thomas

,and that reputation will

include re spectful consideration for an eminent andable musician

,who constantly grew in his art ;

while i t wi ll accord him a prominent place in theranks O f wholly e s timable opera compose rs O f thesecond order .

GEO RGES BIZ ET

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698 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

he gave music le ssons . Dreaming of dramatic si tuat ions and grand finales, he made pianoforte arrangements O f airs from Ope ras wri tten by others .The Count Walewsk i granted Carvalho, the man

age r of the Theatre - Lyrique,a subsidy o f

francs,on the condi tion that an important work by

a prix de Rome should be produced each year .B ize t was the fi rst to profi t thereby . He wrote themus ic for “ The Pearl Fishers .” The text was byCarré and Cormon, and the ope ra was producedwith gorgeous sceni c se tting

, Sept . 30 , 1 863 . TheO pera was given e ighte en t imes

,and i t was not sung

again in Pari s unti l 1 889 , at the Gaite’

,and in I tal ian

,

with Calvé and Talazac, when i t was only heards ix t ime s .I t i s stated in Pigot’s B ize t et son (E uvre that

B lau and Galle t wrote a l ibre tto,

“ Ivan,the Ter

rible,

” which was se t to music by Bize t in the styleo f Ve rdi . Galle t says that ne ither he nor Blauwrote a word of such a l ibre tto .

In 1 866 Bize t worked at the orche stral compos it ion which three years late r was played at a ConcertPasdeloup and was then cal led Souvenirs deR ome ”

; he temporarily abandoned i t on the re

c eipt O f a l ibre tto by Saint - George s and Adenis,

founded on Sir Walte r Scott’s “ The Fair Maid of

Perth .

” While he composed the music O f thi so pe ra

,he supported himse lf by giving le ssons

,cor

recting proofs, arranging dance music for orchestra,and wri ting songs . He Often worked fi fteen or sixt een hours a day . His le tters O f thi s year end withone and the same cry : I must make my l iving .

Thi s pursu i t of a l iv ing brought early death .

The score of The Fair Maid O f Perth was finh i shed in six months

,but the Opera was not pro

d uced at the Theatre - Lyrique unti l the 26th o f

December,1 867 . There were twenty - one repre

sentations . I n 1 890 there we re e leven representat i ons at the E den Theatre (Theatre Lyrique ) .

I t was in 1 867 that B ize t wrote the fi rst act ofMalbrough

,

” an opére tte bouffe,which was given

at t he Athénée . In 1 868 o r 1 869 he wrote themusic of an opé re tte - vaudeville

, Sol - s i - ré -

p if- pan

,

”

f or the Menus - Plai sirs, and he d id no t s ign thescore .It was also in 1 867 that he appeared as a write r on

musical subj ects . His fi rst and last article was publ ished in the fi rst number Of the R evue Nationale ,Aug. 3rd . His pseudonym was Gaston de Betz i .”And then Bize t busi ed himself i n the comple tion

of Noah, a bibl ical opera left unfini shed by H a

levy ; in arranging operas for pianoforte solo ; inoriginal composi tions for the pianoforte

,as hi s

“ chromatic variations . He wrote music for thetext O f The Cup of the King of Thule ” he cal ledi t “ wretched stuff ” and destroyed i t . His “ Son

venir de R ome , fantai s ie symphonique wasplayed at a Concert Populai re in 1 869 . In thatsame year

,June 3rd , he was married to Genevieve

Halevy, the daughte r O f the compose r . Afte r theinvas ion of France , B ize t se rved in the NationalGuard , and his le tte rs during those bloody days reveal the depth of his patriotism and h is di sgust atthe incompetence and corruption in high place s .In 1 87 2 (May 2 2 ) a l i ttle work i n one act was

brought out at the Opera Comique . It was cal le dDjam ileh the text was by Galle t, the music wasby Bize t . I t was given ten or eleven t ime s ; andSaint - Saéns, infuriated at the Pari s ian publ ic , wroteb iting verses

“ The ruminating bourgeois,pot - bel lied and ugly

,

s i ts in his narrow stall,regretting separat ion from

his kind ; he half - opens a glassy eye,munches a

bon - bon, then sleeps again, th inking that the or

chestra i s a - tuning .

”

Carvalho, manager of the Vaudevil le , dreamed Of

reviving the melodrama . He fi rst caught his playwright, Daude t he secured Bize t as the music ian ;the resul t was L

’Arlésienne

, which was fi rs t produced Oct . 1 , 1 87 2 . The music included twentyfour numbers, orchestral and choral . The scorewas designed for the particular orche stra o f the

Vaudev ille . B i ze t rearranged for full orchestra thenumbers that make up the Suite N O . 1 , and the

Sui te was fi rst played at a Concert Populai re Nov .

1 0 , 1 87 2 . He also revi sed the other numbers,and

the rev is ion was used at the revivals at the Odéoni n 1 885 and 1 887 . The Sui te NO . 2 was arrangedby E rne st Guiraud .

The overture,

“ Patric, was fi rst played at aConcert Populai re in February, 1 874 . Bize t ex ~

perimented with texts sugge sted for an operacomique he finally chose “ Carmen,” th e text ofwhich was drawn by Me ilhac and Halevy from atale by Merimee . The opera was produced at theOpera - Comique , March 3 , 1 875, with the followingcast : Carmen, Galli—Marié ; Mica

'

ela, Margueri teChapuis Don Jose , Lhérie ; E scamillo, Bouhy . I twas about thi s t ime that Bize t was decorated w i ththe red ribbon of the L egion of Honor.

ALE XANDRE CE SAR L E OP OLD B I ZE T

“ Carmen was no more successful than i ts predecessors. Bize t mourned its failure . For sometime he had fought bravely against melancholy . At

the age O f thirty - six,he exclaimed , “ I t i s extraor

d inary that I should fee l so old .

”Attacks o f angina

699

had been periodical for some years . He would j e stat his su ffering : “ Fancy a double - pedal

, A flat,E

flat, which goe s through your head from ear to ear .He had abused hi s s trength by over - work . Sud

denly, at midnight, he died in Bougival , where he

B IZ ET’

S TOMB IN P‘

ERE LACHAISE. PARIS.

From a pho tograph mad e spec ial ly fo r th is w ork.

I t was June 3rd , three months afte rThe widow

was re sting.

the fi rst performance Of “ Carmen .

”

was left with a five- year - old son .

Biz e t le ft few manuscripts . He burned manys h or t l y before h is death . The fragments Of “ Don

Rodrigue and “Clari s se H arlowe were left i n acurious notation that is nearly hieroglyphi cal

,not to

be deciphered .

When Louis Gallet fi rst me t Bize t,he saw a forest

of blonde hair,thick and curly

,which surrounded

7 00

a round and almost child - l ike face . Bizet’s figurewas robust . In later years h is features were fi rm

,

and hi s expression was energe tic,tempered by the

trust,the frankness

,and the goodness that characH e was very short - s ighted

,and

His mouth lentteriz ed hi s nature .

he wore eyeglasse s constantly .

i tse lf as eas ily to expre ssion O f mocking wit as tokindne ss . His love for hi s parents has been alreadymentioned ; hi s d evotion toward h is wife was suchthat she told Gounod the re was not one minute o f thesix years of marriage which she would not gladly l iveove r . H e was a we lcome companion

,fond of j e st

and paradox, frank and loyal . At the house o f

At the age of fourte en Bizet was a master o f thepianoforte ; his techn ique was above reproach ; hewas parti cularly ski lful in mixing hi s colors : anexqui si te ly defined melody had i ts proper and characteristic background . Halevy and L i sz t are O f themany wi tne sse s to his extraord inary talent for readi ng from score at sight . R eyer speaks Of hi s re

And ye t Bize t neve r appearedin public as a p ianist although in ce rtain salons of

markable memory .

Pari s h i s abili t ie s excited l ively admiration .

SO too his gifts as a composer for orchestra weremore than ord inary but whenever he had an oppor

tunity to write for the stage , he abandoned anyinstrumental work that had inte re sted h im .

Fo r Bize t obeyed the instincts of the French mu

sician and looked to the stage for enduring fame .

There i s no need O f close examination o f “ ThePearl Fishers

,and The Fair Maid O f Perth .

”

We know the later w orks o f Bize t,and there fore we

find hints o f genius in the early operas . With theexception of the duet of Nadir and Zurga and O f afew pages saturated with local color

,there i s l i ttle in

The Pearl Fishe rs ” to herald the arr ival o f amaste r o f the stage . There are delightful example sof instrumentation in The Fair Maid of Perththe opera. as a whole i s conventional

,and the solo

passage s and the ensemble are Often remini scent :there i s continual homage to famous men Gounod

,

Halevy,Ve rdi

,Thomas

,ct a l . Bize t had no t ye t

found the use Of hi s own voice .

Nor would “ Djamileh,” the sati sfaction of the

longing o f Camil le du L ocle for ideal musical rev

FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

Saint - Saens he played gladly the part O f Helen inO ffenbach ’s opere tta . H e was eve r fi rm

,even

extravagant in fri endsh ip,as when at Baden - Baden

i n ’

62 he challenged a man who spoke l ightly of

Gounod ’s Queen of Sheba . When _ the talk wasconcerning musicians whom he loved

,Bach

,Mozart

,

Rossini,Verdi

,Gounod

,hi s voice would lose its

pecul iar s ibilance,and his hot e loquence showed

honesty as we ll as nimble wi t and power o f expression . In all O f th e recol lect ions o f troops O f friends

,

in h i s le tte rs to acquaintance s and friends there i sno t a suggest ion O f mean action, scheming purpose ,l ow or narrow thought .

ery,the sounding O f the revolt against the school of

Scribe , carry the name O f Bize t to afte r years . Itsperfume is subtle and penetrating ; i ts colors del ighttrained eyes . I t i s a tour deforce. I t has the affected frankness of a paste l in prose . The hearermus t be mas tered by the spi ri t O f the O rient tothoroughly enj oy . The three comedians should beseen as in an opium dream .

The fame o f Bize t mus t res t eventually on twoworks : L

’

Arlé sienne and Carmen .

”

I bel ieve L’Arlésienne i s the more artist ic

,the

gre ater work . In “ Carmen ” i s the greate r promise Of what Bize t might have done . The music o f

L’

Arlésienne,” i s inseparably assoc iated with suc

cess or fai lure o f the play it self and the abil it ie s o f

play - actors . I f the concert - suite i s p layed , i tpleases ; but apart from the representation o f thedramatic scene s

,the music loses i ts true signifi

cance . The saxophone solo in the Pre lude , withi ts marvellous accompaniment, grat ifies the ear i n theconcert room ; but i ts haunting and melancholybeauty i s intensified tenfold when i t i s associated withthe apparition of The Innocent .” I t i s impossibleto ove r - rate the beauty

,th e passion , the dramatic

fi tness O f the music that accompanie s the variousscene s in the simple and terrible drama o f Daudet .The dialogue between Mere R ena ua

’ and B a l thaz ar

when they mee t afte r fi fty years i s touching ; butthe actagietto, that softly tells O f humble he roi sm,

l ove pre se rved without shame,the kiss given at last

and without passion,longings and regre ts endured

in s i lence,rise s to a he ight of pathos that i s beyond

ALE XAN DR E CESAR LE OP OLD B I ZE T

the reach of words or pantomime . In connectionwith the scene and the dialogue the aa

’agietto i s

irre si stible in i ts e ffect ; in the concert room , i t i ss imply a beautiful p iece for muted strings . Thisplay O f Daude t i s so simple , so devoid O f trickerythat i ts popular and universal success i s extremelydoubtful . The average spectator would fain see theunworthy Woman of A r ies for whom F réa

’cr i burns

in agony ; the shepherd B a l thaz er se ems to him agood

,t i re some o ld man with a beard The I nnocent,

unless the part i s played with rare fine sse , becomesalmost ludicrous . Not unti l there i s a return to theappreciation O f simplic i ty will th i s music of Bize t beknown as the supreme example O f music in thedomain o f melodrama .

Meilhac and Halevy in the l ibre tto o f Carmen ,fee l constantly the pulse Of the audience .

The Opera i s not a sustained masterp iece . Thewant o f action in the th ird act i s not atoned for bya display o f musical inspi ration . With the excep

t ion o f the trio O f card—playe rs,the music o f th i s

act i s far below that O f the othe r three . But,with

the omiss ion O f thi s act, how frank,how intense ,

how characte ri st ic , i s the musi c that te ll s of a tragedy O f unive rsal and eternal i nterest .For Ca rmen l ived years before she was known by

Merimee . She die s many deaths,and many are her

resurrect ions . When the world was young,they say

her name was L i l i th,and the serpent for her sake

hated Adam . She peri she d that wild n ight whenthe heavens rained fire upon the C i t i e s O f the Plain .

Samson knew her when she dwelt i n the valley ofSorek . The mound builde rs saw he r and fel l at he rfeet . She d isquieted the blameless men o f E thiopia . Years afte r she was the friend O f Theodora .

In the fifteenth century she was noticed in Sabbaticreve ls led by the four - horned goat . She was inPari s at the end O f the last century

,and she wore

powder and patches at the dinners given by theMarquis de Sade . In Spain she rolled cigare tte sand wrecked the l ife o f D on j osc

'

.

Th e dramat ic genius Of Bize t i s seen fully in h istreatment O f thi s character . She sings no idlewords . E ach tone stabs . There are here no agreeable or sensuous love passages ; as Bel laigue re

marks,the re i s not a touch o f voluptuousness in the

opera. The sold ie r i s under the spel l o f a vain,

coarse , reckless gipsy of maddening personal ity . Heknows the folly

,the madness O f his pass ion ; he

see s as from a tower the end O f all .” These char

7 0 1

acters are sharply drawn and forcibly painted .

There i s free u se O f the pale tte knife ; the re i s fineand ingenious detail . The singe rs sing because i t i sthe natural express ion O f the i r emotions ; they donot sing to amuse the audience or accommodate thestage carpenter . The orchestra with wealth of

rhythm and color i talicize s the song prepare s theaction ; accompanie s i t ; or moralize s . Apart fromthe technical ski l l shown in the instrumentation

,the

great abil i ty of B iz e t i s se en in hi s combining theFrench tradi t ions Of the past and the German spiri tO f the present without incongruity . Here i s a departure from Old models, and yet a confi rmation .

The quinte t i s sung because thereby the fee l ing O f

the scene i s bes t expressed five people are not introduced because the quinte t i s an agreeable com

bination of voice s . The unmeaning vocal ornamentsfound in the earli e r operas of Bize t have d isap

peared . He uses h is own manly, intense spe ech .

He expre sse s h i s .Own thoughts in his ow n way .

He does not care whether h i s work i s opera - comiqueor grand Opera, o r melodrama . His sole obj ecti s to te ll h i s story as directly and as forcibly a sposs ible .

In a world of art that i s too Often ruled by ins incerity, a lusty, wel l - trained voice aroused the attention . Suddenly the voice was hushed . Only withthe s i lence

,came the hearty approval of the great

aud ience . Bize t me t with no popular succes s during hi s l ife - time . Now Carmen ” holds the stage ;L

’Arlésienne

” exc ite s the admiration o f al l musicians ; the earl i e r operas have been revived andsung in fore ign languages . In his own country h ewas from the start known vulgarly as “

one O f themost ferocious o f the French Wagnerian schoolan absurd charge : for in no one o f his operas i sthere recogni tion o f the pecul iar theorie s o f Wagner . Bize t followed the trad itional formulas : he usedthe air

,th e concerted pi eces

,the formal d ivi sions

and subdivi sions . The orche stra assi sts the singer ;i t doe s not usurp h is place . Without doubt helearned from Wagner in the matter o f orchestralexpre ss ion, as Wagner learned from Weber andMeyerbeer ; as one sensible man does from his p redecessors . There was nothing new in Bize t ’s use of

the typical motive ; i t was s imilarly employed byGretry

,Auber

,Halevy .

Melody,expressive harmony

,ingenious counter

point, an unerring sense o f the value of a pecul iartone of an instrument o r th e advantage O f a combi

7 0 . F AM O O S COMP OSE R Sn

nation o f instruments,

— the se were used by theB iz e t of later years s imply to express truth . Thiswas the purpose of his l i fe ; this was the motto o f hisexi stence . N O one could be more refined than hein musical express ion no one could be more seemingly brutal . The glowing words that he wroteconcerning Verd i in the R evue Nationale show h isone prevai l ing thought Let us then be frank andtrue ; l e t us not demand O f a great arti s t qual i tie swhich he lacks, and let us profi t from the qual i tie swhich he possesse s . When a pass ionate

,vio lent

,

even brutal temperament when a Verd i presents uswith a strong and l iv ing work full of gold and mud ,Of gall and blood, l e t us not go to him and say

coldly, ‘ But , my dear S ir, thi s i s want ing in taste, i ti s not D is tingue

'

Are Michae l - Angelo,

H omer, Dante , Shake speare , Bee thoven , Ce rvante s,and Rabe lai s a’is tinguésI t i s presumptuous

,i t i s impossible to anticipate

the verdict O f Time the Avenger . I t i s not improbable

,however, that the future h i storian o f th e opera

wil l class B i ze t with Wagner and Ve rd i as the meno f mighty influence over the Opera of the last yearso f thi s century . Carmen ” was

,perhaps

,a prom

ise,a starting - point

,rathe r than a fulfi l lment . But

if the young and fiery compose rs of Italy of to - dayturn reverently toward Verdi and Wagner

,they also

read lovingly the score of Carmen .

”

CAMILLE SAINT- SAENS

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704 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

order,or O f brill iant genius

,wri te s the criti c O f the

Gazette Musicale,i t could be wished that the com

pose r showed a li ttl e more f ouguc and dash , were i tonly i n a few paltry fl ights which reveal a young artist

’

s desi re to create for himself an ind ividual style .

”

With Saint - Saens inspi rati on came late r , and i twas pure inspiration

,without f ault, and was not

wanting in original ity .

The young composer soon avenged h imse lf forthe se harsh cri tic i sms

,by composing hi s fi rs t sym

phony, in E - flat,which was also executed by the So

c ieteSainte - Cec i le . The great arti s t O f the futurehad not then reach ed hi s sixtee nth year . The workwas well calculated to encourage the highe st hope sfor the future of the symphoni st

,and the se hope s

were abundantly real i zed by hi s last and admirablesymphony in C minor, a composi t ion which indeedmay be conside red a genuine maste rpie ce . Thefirst symphony by the lad o f s ixteen met with a ful lmeasure O f applause i t has been publish ed and i sst il l frequently played with succe ss . I t appears inthe catalogue of h i s complete works as the musicalleafl e t N O . 2 . The second symphony

,in F maj or

,

was performed for the fi rst t ime in 1 856 by the Phi lharmonic Socie ty O f Bordeaux

,and also me t with a

warm welcome . A th ird symphony i n D does no t appear in the catalogue

,which a l so doe s not menti on

the second symphony,th e only symphonie s named

be ing those in E - flat, in A minor (L eafle t 56) andin C minor (Leafle t I t would seem

,the refore

,

e i the r that two O f the five symphonie s wri tten bySaint - Sa '

ens have not been published,or that th i s

complete catalogue,printed by his publi she rs

,

Durand et Schoenew erk , of Pari s, i s incomp lete.

I have purposely omitted to mention four con

certos for piano and orche stra,because these pro

duct ions, which are o f a high order, have brought tomind an incident which is worthy a special place inthi s biography.

These four fine works were bri l l iantly performed onthe same evening in the Salle Pleyel by Mme . MarieJa

'

él l,the pianist so famous fo r her extraordinary

,

not to say marvellous, powers O f execution . Thi swas

,i ndeed

,a feat on the part O f the virtuoso as

we ll as an interesting exhibit ion of arti stic talen t,

and its succe ss was complete . The performance sbegan at nine O ’clock in the evening and ended athalf—past e leven . Throughout th i s long and d ifficul t te st there was not the sligh te st momentary defee t, e i the r in the playing o f th e orchestra or in that

O f the experienced and skilful p iani st . For thesuccess o f so difficult a task the most subtle art ist icfee l ing and exceptional muscular force were mecessary . Mme . Ja

'

él l posse ssed these qual i ti e s insuch measure that the soiree devoted to the fourconcertos O f Saint - Saéns will neve r fade from thememory O f those who were pre sent . Beside s theseconcertos we should menti on a concerto - fantai si efor piano and orche stra wri tten i n 1 89 1 for Mme.

R oger - N iclos,which she played with great success

at the Colonne concerts . This work has recentlybeen publ ished .

In h i s work enti tled Vi rtuoses Contemporains,our dear maste r and fri end

,Marmontel , has fe lic i

tously described the style O f piano - playing characteristic Of Saint Saéns .

“Saint - Sa '

ens i s as aecompl ished a pianist as he i s an organi st . He attacks thepiece i n hand with great energy

,and keeps perfect

time . His fie ry and bri l l iant execution i s flawlesseven in the most rapid passage s . His powerful butadmirably modulated playing i s full Of maj esty andbreadth ; and the only fault that can be found withhi s masterly execution i s

,perhaps

,the exce ss Of

rhythmical precis ion . E ver master o f h imself, SaintSaens leave s nothing to chance and does not, perhaps,always yie ld suffic ientlyto the pathe tic . On the otherhand

,the virtuoso always acquits himself with i rre

proachable accuracy .

”

For many years Saint - Saens has quitted Pari s i nthe winte r

,to seek the warm sunshine under the blue

skies O f those favored countri e s to which the sun remains eve r faithful . In order to trave l and pass histime free from al l annoyance , the composer hasadopted the excellent custom of departing from Pariswi thout any flouri sh of trumpe ts, without informinganyone where he intends to soj ourn , and Oftenwithout knowing

,h imself, exactly where he wi l l p itch

his tent . On l eaving Pari s on the 3o th O f November

,1 889 , he charged hi s worthy friend and col

l eague,Guiraud

,of the Insti tut, now no more , alas I

i n case the Académie de Musique should authorizeHthe rehearsals O f h is “ Ascanio, to begin during

the composer ’s absence . I t was put in hand, andM . Guiraud , with score before h im,

followed therehearsals with the utmost care and assiduity .

The preparations for th e opera had made greatprogre ss

,and everybody expected

,at any moment,

the composer ’s return . Not only did he refrain fromreappearing in Pari s to ass i st at the last rehearsals andto give h i s final h ints to the s inge rs and the orches

CAMILLE SAINT- SAENS .

Rep rod uct ion o f a photog raph f rom l ife by Raschkow , Jr.— B res lau.

706 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

tra,but he d id not even wri te to anyone . Nobody

knew where he had conceale d himse lf . Thi s extraordinary and unheard - Of act of a composer, whogoes abroad to amuse himself by chasing butterfl i e sor col lec ting plants

,while at home the theatrical

manage rs are making preparati ons for the fi rst performance Of a work of such importance as a grandfive- act Opera

,exci ted al l Pari s . I t even disturbed

the Government,which caused inquiry to be made

for th e mus ic ian by it s d iplomatic agents throughoutthe world . The search was a vain one. I t wasgeneral ly thought that Sai nt - Saens had died in somepart o f Ceylon, where certain French travellers bel ieved they had seen h im as he was making h i s wayto Japan . The fi rs t pe rformance O f “ Ascanio” wasgiven at a moment when i t was in doubt whethe rSaint - Sa '

ens was dead or al ive . Happi ly,he was st i l l

o f thi s world and in very good health but carele ssO f h is glory

,was basking in the sunshine o f th e

Canary Islands, busi ly engaged in fini shing a volumeof ve rse which appeared in Pari s last year for SaintSaéns i s a poe t as wel l as a music ian . I t was a re

l i ef to the publ ic when an announcement was at lastmade by Loui s Galle t, the composer ’s fellow - workerand fr iend

,that the fugit ive , at the very moment

when “ Ascani o was under act ive rehearsal at theOpera, was peacefully and contentedly breath ing thewarm and balmy ai r of Palma . As soon as thenewspapers betrayed h is soj ourn i n thi s verdant andflowery retreat, the authori ti e s O f the c i ty and theprincipal inhabitants proposed to confe r honors upon the maste r . But the compose r had no t gone al lthe way to Teneri ffe for thi s purpose

,and thanking

the authori ti e s for the homage they wi shed to payhim

,immediate ly disappeared again

O f his purely instrumental music we may mention

,i n chronological orde r : “ Tarentelle

,

”for flute

and clarine t wi th orchestra ; “ O rient et Occi

dent,

” a mi l i tary march ; Ballade for piano, organand violin ; Introduction and R ondo Capricioso,

for v iol in and piano ; “ Le R oue t d ’

Omphale,” a

symphon ic poem ; Concerto for Violonce llo in Aminor ; Sonato for piano and Violonce llo ; HeroicMarch for full orchestra Ballade for horn o r violonce llo and p iano

,in F Ballade for flute or viol in and

piano ; Lullaby for piano and viol in, in B - flat ;

4 5

Saint - Saens i s a husband and a fathe r,but his

marri ed l ife has unfortunate ly not been a very happyone. H is two chi ldren both died at an early age .

One O f them fell from the balcony O f his father ’shouse

,and was killed

,while the othe r suddenly died

a short time afte rward . Thus it sometimes happensthat a man may have

,l ike Saint - Sa ’

ens,everything

that goe s to make up the sum O f human happiness— talent

,success

,honor and fortune , — and ye t

yearn in vain for that comple te fel ici ty wh ich is den ied him . Conceal ed l ike the statue Of Isi s, whoseve i l no mortal has eve r been permitted to drawaside

,i s the condition o f unalloyed happiness on

thi s earthly sphere . We know that i t exi sts ; weseek i t ; Oftt imes we think i t within our grasp ,and yet i t e lude s us IWe cannot more fi tly terminate thi s ske tch of

the great pe rsonal i ty O f Saint - Saens than by addingthat he i s one of the most maste rly readers o f p ianoand organ music who has eve r l ived

,and an impro

viser of the fi rst rank .

As a child pianist and compose r, Camille SaintSaéns was what i s cal led an infant prodigy . Thechild has come to man ’s e s tate and is

,at the present

moment,one Of the most l earned and able

arti s ts in every branch O f hi s art, that can be foundin the ranks O f modern musi cians . Since the deathof Bee thoven , Schumann and Mendelssohn , hewie lds in E urope the sceptre o f symphony ; he i srenowned as a compose r for the church and thetheatre

,and as an organi st and the maste ry he has

shown in the concerto,the oratorio and chamber

music,o f which he has produced a large number of

works,i s O f world - wide fame .

Phaeton, a symphonic poem ; Danse Macabre,

for O rchestra, arranged fo r p iano , for one or twoperformers, and for one or tw o pianos ; also for

piano due t,w i th viol in or Violoncel lo for mil i tary

band,e tc Quarte t for p iano , viol in, alto and violon

cel lo ; Allegro appass ionata, for Violoncello andpiano Bal lade for viol in and piano, i n C ; Suite fororchestra ; prelude , saraband , gavotte , ballade andfinale La Jeunesse d ’

H ercu le,

” symphonic poemBallade for Violonce llo and piano in D ; Concertofor viol in in C maj or ; “ Suite Algéri enne,” for

65

x” al l/o

“

fi g

?M t .

f /fi fl

ager , E m m a . a re,

Fac - s im ile autog raph mus ica l manus c ript cont ributed by the compo ser for use in this w o rk

7 08 FAJII OUS COMP OSE R S

orche stra Concerto for v iol in, in B minor Concertp iece for viol in and piano ; “ Une Nui t a Lis

bonne,

” barcarolle for orchestra ; La Jota Aragonai se ,” for orchestra ; Septet for trumpe t, two viol ins,al to

,Violonce llo

,contra - bass and piano ; Hymn to

Victor Hugo, for orche stra ; Sonata for p iano and

viol in in D minor ; “Wedding - Cake,

CapriceValse for p iano and stringed instruments ; Capriceon Dani sh and Russian ai rs , fo r flute

,oboe

,clari

ne t and p iano Havanai se for viol in and pianoLa Fiance’ e d u Timbal ie r,” for orche stra e tc .

,e tc .

We bear in mind several scores by Saint - Saenswhich do not appear in the general catalogue of h i sworks . Firs t O f all, there i s a very fine composi tionfor a mili tary band , which the i llustrious music ianwas good enough to wri te at my request, in 1 868, forthe ce lebration of H oche ’s centenary at Versail le s .A short t ime ago I asked Saint - Sa '

ens why he hadnot publi shed thi s beautiful work

,writte n as a tri

bute to the memory O f the great French general,

and which i s so full o f sti rring patri otic sentime nt .The compose r repl ied that h e did not know whathad become O f thi s music si nce the day on whichi t was solemnly performed before the statue o f

Hoche at Versai lle s . The full score and the or

chestral parts have remained undi scovered up to

th e present t ime . I may also menti on,as among

the composi tions o f Saint - Saens, which are notincluded in the catalogue o f h is w orks

,an extremely

original,bright and thoroughly arti s ti c work written

for seve ral i nstruments and called “ Le Carnavalde s Animaux .

”Only one o f the animals in thi s

merry Carnival has been honored by publ ication,viz . The Swan ,” whose song i s inte rpreted in th isz oOlogical symphony by the Violoncello .

The works by Saint - Sa '

ens for piano solo,due t

,

and for two pianos are ve ry numerous . Al l o f themare vigorously characteristic O f the decided andlearned style O f the master

,and are also marked by

a ce rtain individual i ty pecul iar to th i s fam ouspiani st - composer .I t i s wel l known that the compose r i s one of the

most renowned organists in E urope . As might beexpected

,he has wri tten specially for this instru

ment,which

,figuratively speaking

,i s the embodiment

o f all othe r i nstruments . We wil l only mention theRhapsodie s on the Breton canticle s also the“ Bened iction Nuptiale ” and E levation et Com

munion,

” which are noble works for the King Of

Instruments .

Saint - Saens succeeded L e febvre Wely as organistat th e Madele ine . Among his church composit ionshe has composed a Grand Mass for four voices

,

sol i and orche stra ; “ Tantum E rgo,

” a Chorus ; aChristmas O ratorio for chorus

,sol i and orchestra

Psalm XVI I I .— “ Coel i enarrant ” for sol i

,chorus

and orchestra ; “ Le Deluge,” bibl ical poem for

sol i, chorus and orchestra ; and a R equiem wh ich,with the oratorio Le Deluge,

” we include amonghi s best works . There i s al so a col lection O f

tw enty separate motets for the Holy Communion,mote ts to theVirgin

,and other misce l laneous motets .

We may furthe r mention among the characte risticcompositions which are not i n the re l i gious o r thedramati c style : Scene from Corne i lle ’s “ Les

Horaces, for soprano, baritone and orche stra ; s ixPersian melodies

,vocal and instrumental (piano )

“ Les Soldats de Gedeon,double chorus without

accompaniment Chanson d u Grand - papa,

” chorusfor female voices ; Chanson d ’un Ancétre

,

” chorusfor male voice s with baritone solo ; L a Lyre et laHarpe , ” soli , chorus and orche stra ; two choruse swi th p iano accompaniment Calme des Nuits andLes Fleurs et l e s Arbres two choruses for malevoice s without accompaniment : “ Les Marins deKermor ” and “ Les Ti tans ” ; “ Les Guerriers

,

”

chorus for male vo ic es ; seve ral o the r choruses,bes ide s some fi fty duets and melodie s wi th pianoaccompaniment . We abridge the l i s t in order tomention the composer ’s dramati c works : “ Le

Timbre d ’

Argent”

;“ La Princesse Jaune

,

” comicopera in one act ; “ Proserpine

,

” lyric drama infour acts ; “ E ti enne Marcel

,opera in four acts ;

“ Samson et Dal i la,” bibl ical opera in three acts ;Henry opera in four acts ; and lastly,Ascanio , opera in five acts .I t has been said with truth that Saint - Saens

i s O f al l compose rs the one who diffe rs most fromhimself

,in h is dramati c works . We mean by this

that he has emancipated himself from the hard andfast l ines of any particular school ; that he has nosystem and is guided wholly by h is own inspi ration

,

tempered and strengthened by great musicall earning . He could

,if he so desired , wri te accord

ing to the theorie s or in the manner O f th i s or of

that compose r,but he prefe rs to write as h i s genius

follows i ts own individual ve in , agre e ing, no doubt,with his famous col league and friend , Charle sGounod

,that if there are many systems Of composi

t ion,there are

,afte r all , only two kinds of music

CAM I L L E SAI N T SAEN S

that which i s good and that which i s bad . Hisadmiration for al l the great maste rs i s p rofound ,but he strives to imitate none

,th is has caused cer

tain crit ics to subj ect him to the reproach O f ec lec

t icism . He has expre sse d himself on this pointwith frank s incerity (for Saint - Saens i s a manas well as a musician ) in a highly inte res ting volumeenti tled “ Harmonie et Melod ie.

”Afte r declaring

that he had neve r belonged to any re ligion inmusic

,he adds : “ I claim to preserve my l iberty,

to l ike what pleases me and to re j e ct th e res t ; t obel i eve good that which i s good

,discordan t

that which i s d iscordant,absurd that which i s

absurd . Thi s i s prec i se ly what the more ardentdisciple s of Wagner refuse to concede . They graspyou by the throat, and in si st that you must admi reeverything Wagnerian

,no heed what i t may be .

With them there i s someth ing beyond love of art :the sp iri t O f sectarianism . I am afraid of sectarian s,and so keep myself prudently aloof from them .

”

I t was o f these Wagnerian critic s,who carry the i r

love for the composer o f “ music d ramas ” to thepoint o f fanat ic in tole rance

,even of feroci ty, that

Saint - Saens was thinking when h e wrote the se l ines,

as we ll as othe rs that we shal l quote presently andthese same critic s accused our compose r of thecrime o f refusing to enli s t under the banner O f th emaste r o f Bayreuth . They sought to crush Sain tSaéns i n the ir cri t ici sms O f h is las t great Opera

,

“Ascanio, by saying,no t only had he here per

petrated the he resy o f adhering to that form "

o f

opera that prevail ed before Wagner propounded histheorie s o f the “ lyric drama,” but that he had alsoforgotten himself so far as to wri te ai rs in theItal ian style These amiabl e censors showed themselves more royal i s t than the king h imse lf

, for as amatter of fact Wagner by no means desp isedItal ian airs ; on the contrary, he l iked them verymuch i f we may bel ieve what he has said . The following words Of the compose r O f L ohengrin areworth remembering : “ Afte r l i s tening to an operaby Bell in i

,that has del ighted us

,we discove r on

reflection, that i t s charm is owing to the clearmelody

,to the simple

,lofty and beautiful song of

the I tal ian composer . To treasure in the memorythese del ightful melodie s i s certainly no grave sin .

Nor i s i t a heavie r one to pray to heaven,be fore

retiring to rest,that i t may inspi re German com

posers with the secre t o f these melodie s and a l ikemanner o f using them .

”

709

The truth i s that i n music,as i n al l othe r arts

,

we do what we can rathe r than what we shouldmost l ike to do

,and h e i s wi se st who i s gu ided

by h is own genius . The genius of Camille Sai ntSaens i s so rich in re source s that he can safely t rusthimself and le t the spiri t work within h im as i twills . There are compose rs who

,forgetting that

beauty i s inseparable from high art, s trive afte reminence by seeking original ity at any cost

,and who

do not di sdain to make that art,harmonious be fore

and beyond all other arts,the art o f torturing our

ears with music that i s per se i nharmonious . I s notSaint - Sa '

ens right when,i n speaking O f the se psy

cho logical and hysterical composers, he says wi thpecul iar fel ici ty : “ I t i s ce rta in that we cannot worktoo hard to inst i l in the publ ic a taste for pleasure sof an elevated ord er ; but to Offe r i t what i s ingeniously described as ‘ painful pleasure to offe r afeast consi sting o f ‘ exquisi te suffering and ‘ poeticpe rversion

,

’ merely ends in mo rtificat ion . Whenwe wish to mortify our souls we do not go to thetheatre but to a convent .”We may be asked for the op in ion Of the com

poser O f “ Faust,

” “ Romeo et Jul ie tte ” and“ Mire i lle , concerning the compose r Of Samsonet Dal i la

,

” “ Henry VI I I .

” and “ Ascanio . I amin a posi tion to answer the que stion . Gounod hasspoken of Saint - Saens in connection with hi s lastopera as follows : “ That in the lyric drama

,music

should coalesce with the drama and blend i n one harmonious whole i s an excel len t theory

,but only on

condi tion that in th is indissoluble union,music shal l

st i l l be true and beautiful music ; otherwi se theunion i s no more than a crue l bondage for one o f

the arts so j oined,and that art i s Music . Through

out the works O f Saint - Sa '

ens we are i n communionwith an art ist who neve r for an instant forgets or

sacrifice s his art ; eve rywhere and always i s thegreat musician present

,and everywhere

,too

,the

drama appears before h im as a l aw,not as a yohc.

Passions,characters

,s i tuations

,are fe l t by him

with the same certainty O f disce rnment,whethe r in

song,declamation

,reci tative

,or i n the dramatic

part wh ich must be played by his orchestra ; and al lthi s in an id iom and a form which are musical lyi rreproachable

,i nsomuch that he has created true

and lasting ‘ morceaux de musique ’ even wherethe l ibre ttis t did not provide the frame - workexpected o f h im .

”

Were we not l imi ted as to space,i t would be

7 1 0 FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

a pleas ing task to present here a techni cal andaesthe tic analys i s Of the Operas O f the French maste rconcerning whom we wri te thus br iefly ; but thi swould carry us too far. Suffice i t, from what wehave already wri tten

,for the reader to form a satis

factory judgment On the instrumental and vocalworks o f Saint - Saens . In the Timbre d ’

Argent ,”

which has something in common with the fable of

“ Faust,

” we are in the m idst O f a musical andchorographic fantasy . Thi s score i s ve ry attractive and well emphasizes a very pretty performance .

“ La Princesse Jaune ” transports us into theE ast

,where real ity seems as a dream . It i s a

drawing - room comedy,the scene of which i s laid in

a Japanese vi l lage,where Dutch tul ip s grow as rank

as doe s the grass in the fields ; where the sky i sblue

,where everyth ing is full of color and appears

smil ing,j oyous and lovabl e .

In E ti enne Marcel,

” the il lustriou s PrevOt de sMarchands

,we have hi stori cal drama

,in the c ivi l

war waged for the tr iumph O f communal l ibe rtie s .The rioters force a v iolent entrance into the Palai sde la Cite, and the voice s O f scoffers are heardalte rnating with the cri e s O f rav ing fanatics . I t i ste rr ible

,and qu ite characteri stic of the Pari sian

mind in the troublous t imes when the stree ts became one great battle - field . Love , o f course , findsits place in “ E ti enne Marce l

,

” a love gentle andsearching. Some of the contrasts are most happy,the choruse s are sup erb, the volume of sound i ssubl ime .

“ Samson et Dal ila,

” as i s suffic iently i ndicatedby the t i tle

,i s a bibl ical Opera

,almost an oratorio,

remind ing us O f the “ Joseph O f Méhul . I wasoverflowing with enthusiasm on coming out fromthe representation of “ Samson et Dal i la .

” Thi sscore and the symphony in C minor are , I bel ieve ,the two fine st j ewels i n the crown o f thi s musicalk ing . They are works full O f the h ighe st i nsp ira

tion , o f a most subl ime cast, wonderfully e laboratein s tyle , and masterpiece s in the fullest sense O f

the word .

The gloomy subj ect o f “ Henry VI I I . openedup new fields to Saint - Saens

,and afforded h im a

local color that influenced h is music . The momentthe score opens

,we fee l that we know exactly where

we are and whithe r we are going . The principalpe rsonage s in the drama have been each and allinstantaneously portrayed and the ir d iverse characters are accurate ly represented . The king of Eng

land,the Pope ’s nightmare and the terror o f hi s

queenly wive s and victims, i s, from a musical pointO f view

,e specially wel l portrayed in his wild orgie s

and brutal amours . Anne Boleyn fai l s to hide thepride that l ie s behind her love

,al though i ts expre s

s ion is not le ss charming on that account . Catherine of Arragon

,the noble and unfortunate forsaken

one,i s superb in her '

insul ted maj esty, he r pathet icand swee t melancholy . The choruse s are treatedin a masterly manner

,and there i s one important

morceau d ’

ensemble which i s a signal triumph o fexpre ss ive and dramatic counte rpoint . The airs i nthe balle t impress us as being thoroughly E ngli sh . As

to the orchestra, the importance O f which cannot beoverestimated

,i t plays i n a measured and finished

style and produce s the effect O f a powerful organ .

Here we have local color again,cleverly used .

“ Ascanio i s the last dramatic work of SaintSaens . The fanatical parti sans O f the Wagneriantheorie s

,as we have already Obse rved

,were not

sparing of bitter crit ic i sm . Saint - Saens mus t havefound ample consolat ion for thi s i n the continuousapplause showered upon him by the publ ic whichalways cordially welcomes whateve r affords i t pleasure .

“ Ascanio ” i s indeed equal in al l re spect toHenry and worthy the compose r, which i ssaying not a l i ttle of a man who has given suchtreasure s to al l lovers of music .

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JULES EM I L E FREDERIc MASS E N ET

ULE s EMILE FREDER ICMASSENET was born on the 1 2 thO f May, 1 84 2 , at Montaud , i n thedepartment o f th e L oi re , and wasthe e leventh chi ld of hi s parents .

His musical talent devel oped at an early age .

When only e leven years O ld he was suffici ently ac

quainted with the theore t ical e l ements o f the art totake hi s place in Francoi s Bazin ’s harmony class inthe Conservatoire . I t i s by no means uncommonfo r a professor to mistake the capaci ty of hi s pupil s .Unfortunate ly Bazi n fai l ed to foresee the sp lendidfuture re se rved for hi s young pupi l Massene t : on

the contrary,he bel ieved h im to be dest i tute of al l

musical talen t and requested that he might be dismi ssed fromhi s c lass . The poor l it tl e musi cianfe lt so deeply humi li ated by thi s i nsu l t that he wasalmost incl ined to renounce musi c forev er . I t wasfive years be fore he reappeared at the Conserv

atoire, but lucki ly, at the end o f that long term,he

re turned to study under the learned Henri R eberin the harmony class .One day, shortly afte r Massene t j oi ned this c lass ,

R ebe r addre sse d him thus i n pre sence of hi sfe llow - pupi l s Monsieur

,I urge you , for your own

welfare , to qu i t my class and go into a higher one,

a class where fugue and compositi on are taught .You understand as much of harmony

,so call ed

,as

I can teach you , and you wil l waste your t ime ifyou remain wi th me . Follow my advice , for if Iam a true prophet

, you wil l make your mark .

”

Thus i t was that,di smissed from Bazin ’s harmony

class as a dunce,Massene t was advi sed to leave

Reber’

s class because he learned too rapidly . Theyoungste r followed the advi ce given by the com

poser o f Le Pere Gai llard and L a Nui t de No '

el,

”

and studi ed fugue and composi tion wi th Ambro i seThomas, the compose r of M ignon ” and Hamlet

,

”

who had been appointed director O f th e schoolafte r the death O f Auber .

In the composi tion class young Massene t so d i st inguished himself by h is ardor and application to

study,that he w on

,and ever afte r re tained

,

the fr i endsh ip O f Ambroi se Thomas . At each le sson he submitted to h is master

,in add i t ion to

fugue s and exerc i se s i n counterpoint, instrumentaland vocal works of various kinds, each bearingwitness to h is l ively imagination and to his insti nct toproduce someth ing new . O f course al l these e ffortsof the future composer o f “ Manon ” were not i rre !

proachable, and sometimes hi s comrade s rall i edhim on what they called hi s fi t s of musical intoxicat ion .

“ Let him sow his wi ld oats,

” said AmbroiseThomas

,

“ and you wil l find that when he has

sobered down and become more refl ective he wi l lach i eve something . He is a genius .The time was close at hand when Massene t was

to fulfi l th is flattering prophecy . I n the ve ry sameyear

, 1 863 , he Obtained the fi rst prize in counterpoint and fugue at the Conservatoire and theGrand Prize for musical composition (Grand Prixde R ome ) at th e I nst i tu t de France . He wasthen , we bel ieve , already married , al though physically he did no t look more than fi fte en years of

age .

As he had an annual al lowance accorded hi m bythe State

,he se t out for the E te rnal C i ty and made

a tour i n I taly,proceeding thence to Germany to

seek inspiration from the masters O f symphony .

The winner of the Grand Prix de R ome i s expectedduring his soj ourn abroad

,to send at l east one work

to the Insti tute as a proof that he has turned hi stime to good account and has made due progress .Whether o r not young Massene t l eft hi s l ightheartedne ss behi nd h im when he crossed the Frenchfronti e r we cannot say ; but the composition hesent from R ome was a R equ iem . Massenet wrotea large work for solo voi ce s

,choru s and orchestra

,

enti t l ed “ Pompeia,

” which in form as well as ini nstrumentati on showed the influence of Berl ioz .

7 1 2 FAM O US COMP OSE R S

This indicated an inquiring and meditative m i nd inthe young compose r, who was thus fe e l ing hi s waythrough the boldest and most modern school o f

music .

Massenet sent a second envoy from R ome , whichwas hi s fi rst orchestral sui te . With th i s sui te i sassoc iated an event O f great importance in themusical care er Of the compose r . Massene t te l l sthe story h imself .The composer had j ust re turned to France

,afte r

passing in I taly and Germany the regulat ion periodaccorded the laureate s O f the Inst i tute . Whilewalking in the stree t

,he met Pasd eloup , the founder

and di rector of the ce lebrated Popular Concerts .”Pasd eloup was one of the be st men in the world ,but he had the habi t o f treating young composersin a brusque and patronizing manner . He hadonly seen Massene t once

,and that was during the

performance of the cantata for which he wasawarded the Grand Prize . As has already beenstated

,Massenet always looked much younger than

he really was,and from hi s twentie th to h is twenty

fourth year he had the face and ai r of a boy O f

sixteen . Pasdeloup accosted him with a frown , asthough he had someth ing d i sagre eable t o te l l h im ,

and speaking in an offensively famil iar and condescending manner

,said

“ Ah,so you have re turned to France . What have

you been doing during your absence ?I have been wri ting music

,M . Pasd eloup .

That i s al l very well but i t i s not sufficient towri te music you must write good music . I s yourmusic really good ? ”

S ir, i t i s not for me to pass j udgment upon i t .“ You have wri tten

,I be l i eve

,an orchestral

su i teYes si r .Well

,but everybody write s orchestral sui te s .

Is yours a good one ? Are you sat isfied with i tyourse lf ? ”

“Well,Monsi eur Pasd eloup, I fe e l obl iged to

admi t that i t please s me when I play i t on the p iano,

but I have not ye t heard i t performed by an or

chestra .

”

O f course i t pleases you . But how much musici s there that pleases i ts composer

,and ye t i s not

worth a button . Can I se e your manuscript ? ”

“ You do me too much honor,Monsi eur Pas

d eloup . I wi l l send my score to you thi s ve ryevening .

Good . I wi l l t e ll you what I th ink of i t andwhether i t please s me as much as i t pl ease s you .

Let me say that I th ink very l i tt l e of the music o f

young men who win the Prix de R ome . They onlyknow how to imitate the faults o f the mastersthey study . However

,we shal l see .

”

And Pasd eloup quitted Massenet with an air O f

utte r di ssati sfaction .

The young compose r hastened home and told hi sfami ly Of the i nte rv iew and o f the faint hope hecheri shed that h i s sui te might possibly be performedat the famous Popular Concerts . He then rol ledup his score , took i t to Pasd eloup ’

s re sidence,and

l eft i t wi th the concie rge . Ten days laterMassene t rece ived , by post, a gi ft which fi ll ed himwi th equal joy and surpri se . I t was a ti cke t admitting h im to a rehearsal . He was invited to theC i rque d ’

H iver,whe re the Popular Concerts were

given , to hear a rehearsal o f hi s orche stral su i te .

Next day,ful l O f exci tement

,he se t out for the

rehearsal . On arriving at the door,however

,he had

no t sufficient courage to enter, so overcome was heby hi s emoti ons . Perhaps

,

” thought he,

“ theorchestral e ffect may not be what I intended

,and

he fe l t that he had not strength to brave the severecri ti c i sms of Pasdeloup and the j eers of the members O f the orchestra .

Massene t re turned home without having dared tol i s ten to the rehearsal O f hi s work and wholly discontented with himse lf . He cal l ed himself a cowardand a pretender

,and as he passed along the boule

vard,his eye mechanically seeking the announce

ment O f the performance s at the theatre s and con

certs,he was suddenly astounded to se e h i s Own

name on the programme of the Pasdeloup Concertto begiven on the following Sunday . They werereally going to play h is su i te I He ran rather thanwalked home to announce the glorious news .They play my sui te Sunday Popular Con

cert Oh I how my heart beats IAnd the great composer, as the memory of the

beginning O f hi s musical career came back to him ,

bowed hi s head on my breast and burs t i nto tears .I wept with him .

“Ah I” said he

,I was happier then than I am

to - day . Antic ipation i s bette r than the reali ty .

The opera Manon has a curious hi story whichMassene t related to me one day . E verybodyknows in what s ingular c ircumstances the author o f

Manon L e scaut (Abbé Prevost ) took refuge at

7 14

Th e H ague . I t was i n that ci ty that he wrote h i sMémoire s d ’un Homme de Qual i té ” to which

seems to belong as a specie s of

I n a l ike manner,and in that

Manon L escautpostscript or sequel .Dutch town

,Massenet

,owing to certain ci rcum

stance s,chanced to wri te the score o f Manon ” the

substance of which i s taken from the Abbé Prevost’sromance . Wishing to remain apart from the rest ofthe world

,in order to be qui te undi s turbed , he took

lodgings as a boarder under an assumed name at ahouse i n The Hague . TO prevent al l suspic i on as toidentity

,he d id not send for a piano

,for

,unl ike

some composers, Massenet doe s not need a pianoHe thinks out h i s

mus ic,which he hears i nwardly

,already arranged

Absorbed in hi s work,the com

to enable h im to compose .

for the orchestra .

pose r labored unceasingly . H e never went forthto take necessary exercise until afte r nightfall

,that

he might run no ri sk o f being recognized . Afterh i s walk

,which lasted about an hour

,he returned

home wi th coat c ollar turned up to conceal h i s face .

He was accustomed to write at a large table l i ttered with musi c - paper

,each sheet bearing thirty

staves . When not actual ly engaged i n composing heamused himse lf by reading the Abbé Prevost’s ro

mance , wri tten by the French author in that samefore ign town

,possibly even in that same house

,

more than a century before . And Massenet’

s arti st i c imaginati on saw in thi s fact a happy prognosti c .

(6Why,

Manon ’ be as succe ssful as was Prevost ’s immortalthought he

,

“ should not my score of

novel ? Grant, O , Sovere ign God of I nspirat i on

,

that I may cause the swee t and loving Manon tos ing

,after a lapse o f a hundred years

,under the

same sky, far away from Pari s,and in the same

happy strain as that in which the most worldly of

abbés made her speak I

Massenet’

s debut i n theatri cal work dates fromt he thi rd O f Apri l , 1 866, when La Grand ’ tante

,

” ap retty l i tt le p i ece ful l O f me lody and fre shne ss, wasr epre sented at the Opera Comique . I t was he who ,on the Emperor ’s féte, August 1 2 of the followingyear, wrote the official cantata performed at theO pera .

Afte r th i s fi rst attempt i n theatrical music,and

FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

h is cantata,Massenet produced various concert

works,among others

,

“ Poemes et Souvenirs ” andPoemes d ’

Avri l,

” the words of which are byArmandSylve stre also a boufi c scene entitled L

’I mprovisa

H is second Sui te d ’

O rchestre, — a Suite H on

groise , was played at the Concerts Populai re s . For

the Socié té Classique Arm ingaud he composedIntroductions et Variations ,” a quarte t for stringed

teurf’

The exi stence of the mysteri ous fore igner, whowas always writing musi c but who never played anyi nstrument, greatly exe rc ised Massenet

’s l andlord .

The inmate s o f the house were not le ss mystifiedthan w as he . The gossips agre ed that thi s Frenchmusician was a choirmaster — and a very originalone. At last the compose r was recognized

,and

the next day the,

new spapers i nformed the publ icthat Massene t had been for some time at TheHague . People fl ocked to see h im

,and hi s apart

ments were speedi ly crowded with fri ends or withpersons who came from mere curi osi ty . Happi ly

,

however, th e score o f Manon ’ was completed .

Massenet i s one of the m ost e stimable of men,

kind and sympatheti c to a fault,and posse ssed of

great del i cacy and considerat i on for others . Hewould enj oy the fri endship O f al l men

,were he le ss

tal ented and consequently le ss l i able to inspirej ealousy. O f medium stature , spare but we l l madeand o f striking appearance

,he has always looked

younger than he real ly was,a happy privilege

among the many others enj oyed by th is favoredson o f genius, who i s an honor and glory O f thepres ent generat ion O f French compose rs . He i snow a member O f the Insti tute of France

,a pro

fessor o f composi ti on at the Nati onal Conservatoryo f Pari s and an O ffice r of the L egion o f Honor .As we close thi s biographical ske tch , the di stin

guished composer has just given the first performance o f hi s late st opera, “ Werther ,” at the GrandTheatre O f Vi enna

,where i t me t wi th bri l l iant suc

cess . Massene t has been kind enough to be stowon us a page of the work to place in thi s biography,with a specimen o f hi s hand - wri ting

,and we tender

h im our warmest thanks . By the t ime these l i ne smee t the eye O f the reader, “Werther ” wil l have beenput upon the stage at the Opera Comique , i n Pari s .

j ULE S E M I L E F REDE RI’

C MASSE N E T

and wind instruments . In 187 2 he produced hi ssecond dramatic work

,Don Cesar de Bazan

,

” at theOpera - Comique ; but the publ i c did not give i t avery cordial reception . I t had been wri tten underunfavorable cond i tions

,improvi sed

,as i t were

,i n

three weeks . The managers o f the theatre proposedterms to the young compose r which he was obligedto accept or decl ine without amendment . Massenet took hi s revenge for thi s treatment

,however

,

in the very same year,with the del ightful scenic

music for the drama,

“ Les E rrynies,” by the Comte

de L i sle , which was repre sented at the Odéon .

The next year, 1 873 , the compose r produced one

o f hi s most exqui si t e score s, which shows hi s warmpoet ic talent i n the most characteri sti c manner .Thi s was “ Mari e Made le ine

,

” a sacred drama inthre e acts, which has had a world—wide success . Sosucce ssful was i t i ndeed that Massenet was en

couraged to wri te “ E ve,a mystery i n three acts .

This latte r, so intimate ly re lated i n character toMarieMadele ine ,” has been given at the concerts o fsacred harmony establ i shed by L amoureux . I nth i s

,too

,th e composer ’s personal i ty i s emphas ized

by exqui s i te ly de l icate and poetic touche s . Thes ame may be s aid of “

L a V ie rge ,” a sacred l egend infour parts , wri tten for th e Opéra concerts andpl ayed for the fi rs t time in 1880 . The “ S l e ep o f theV irgin in th i s l egend is one of tho se in spi ration swhich prove beyond al l doubt the measure Of a composer ’s genius .

A year before the production of “L a V i e rge

,

Mas sene t had given th e French Nat ional AcademyO f Musi c his fir s t great Opera , L e Ro i de L ahore

,

i n five acts,the succe s s of wh ich was not at fi r s t evi

den t . The publ i c cons ide red th i s beautiful mus ics l igh tly cold

,and ins trumental rather than vocal .

They said the composer had shown h imsel f w antingin melody

,and that he had sacrificed too much

to his love for s cien tific combination s , al thoughwi ld app l au se greeted a certain number of happi l yconce ived songs , among othe rs the aria so spl end id ly rendered by L as sal l e and whi ch has alwaysbeen honored with an encore .

I t is only when great works are reproduced afte ra certain interval of t ime that we can de terminew he ther they are real ly worthy a place in th emus ical repertory . The reproduction at the OpéraO f th e “ Roi de L ahore ”

w as a great succe ss,and i t

has always been en thu s ias tical ly rece ived in theprincipal theatre s of E urope and America .

7 15

The Theatre de la Monnai e,at Brusse ls

,enj oyed

the privi lege Of giv ing,i n 1 88 1

,the fi rst performance

o f Massenet’

s secondgrand opera, H érod iad e i nthree acts and five tableaux . Thi s time succe sswas beyond all doubt, and from the first repre sentati on onward , the p iec e was rece ived wi th enthusi

asm . Whatever M . Massenet may hereafter giveto the world , H érod iade wi ll undoubted ly remainone o f the finest works that have originated i nthe ferti le brain of thi s d i stinguished music ian

.

Throughout the work the divine afflatus i s main ~

tained , and melody fi ll s the audi torium . The operai s ful l o f passion and sentiment

,at once human

and rel igious,just as i n “ Mari e Madele ine .

” I tmight be said that H érod iad e i s the same sacreddrama brought upon the stage

,wi th thi s d ifference

,

that Made le ine becomes Salome , and Chri s t i s t ransformed into John .

After H érod iad e i n Brusse l s,we had

,i n 1 884,

Manon at the Opera Comique i n Paris . Were Iasked to make a definite choice between H érod i

ade and Manon ” I should he s itate but I shouldchoose Manon .

” From the fi rs t to the last notethe work i s de l ightful . I t i s not l e ss beauti fulwhen softly sung at home to the accompanimentO f the piano

,than in the theatre

,where our de l ight

neve r for an instant moderates .Following “ Manon ” i n 1 885, Massenet

’

s“ Le

Cid” i n four acts

,was performed at the Grand Opera

i n Pari s, and although reproduced seve ral times, thi swork sti l l maintai n i ts place in the repertory .

I n 1 889 , the i ndefatigable compose r re turned tothe Opéra Comique with “ E sclarmonde

,

” whichdrew crowds to th i s theatre during several months

.

In the chronological orde r of the musi c ian ’sdramatic works, E sclarmond e i s fol lowed by “Le

Mage ,” a grand ope ra i n four ac ts and six tableaux,the poem by M . Richep in,

performed at the Nat ional Academy Of Music i n Paris . I have witnessedseveral renderings o f thi s work

,and have read the

p iano score . The more I have studied the operathe more am I impre ssed by i ts wonderful beauty .

The individual i ty of the work,i ts passion and grace

and de l icacy, i ts original ity as to form and harmony,are so numerous that i t i s unnecessary to cri tici sei t more particularly .

Al l l ove rs O f music know the extent o f Massenet’

s

ski l l as a maste r of harmony . He i s a master i nthe ful l meaning of the expre ss ion . I t would be impossible for a musi c ian to carry to a higher degree

7 1 6

than he has done the complex art O f orches trati onor O f counterpoint , so much honored o f late years,though so Ofte n abused ; or to have more happyfaci l i ty as a harmoni st . Were I to presume tocrit i ci se anyth ing in the author of “ Le Mage , Ishould l imi t myse lf to mentioning hi s too clearlyapparent striving after ej ect by means of fre shcombinations of i nstruments . Massenet has toogreat a weal th O f tru ly musical ideas for him to

labor so hard for ma ter ia l e ffec ts . The true effectsi n music are produced by the thought , by the i dea,apart from the appli cation o f th e thought or i deato any spec ial i nstrument . There i s scarce anycharm O f emotion produced by musi c save throughthe music ian ’s imagination

,that i s , by the invention

which results from the inward and profoundemotion fel t by the composer . Were i t only necessary to be learned in any given art, only nece ssary

FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

to posse ss the power of cleverly combining notesand the tones O f musical i nstruments, so as to produce fine musi cal works

,every arti s t now l iving

would wri te maste rp i eces ; for, in truth , the studyO f technique has neve r been carri ed so far as it hasbeen during the past twenty years . Technique i sundoubtedly indi spensabl e

,but of i tse lf i t s e rve s no

purpose and i s O f no value,unle ss i t be used as the

exponent Of th e melodi c concepti on which is theve ry soul O f musi c .

M . Massenet has publ i shed seven suite s for

orche stra,which may be found in the repertory o f

every great musi cal soci e ty . To him we ow e variousscene s for chorus and orchestra : Narc i sse ,” and“ Bibl i s ” ; a symphoni c poem enti tled “ V i s ions,and a large number O f fugi t ive melodi e s wi th pianoforte accompaniment . He has also comple te d thescore of a balle t

,Le Caril lon ,” as yet unpubli shed .

Fac- s imi le of mus ical manuscript w ritten by Massenet .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHARLES

OUNOD,the greatest l iving musi

cian O f France i s descended froma family O f artists . His grandfather

,a very dist ingui shed eu

chaser,bore the ti tl e of “ sword

cutle r to the king,

” and as such occupied anapartment in the Louvre bui ldings , a favor whichwas granted to only art ists O f renown . His son,

Jean Francoi s Gounod,who was born about 1 7 60 ,

was a painter of considerable talent . He was apupi l o f L épicié, and he and Carle Vernet, whooccupied the same studio

,competed at the Acade

mie des Beaux - Arts for the “ Prix de R ome .

Carle Vernet obtained the fi rst prize at thi sconcours in 1 7 82 , and Jean Francoi s Gounodcarri ed off the second in 1 7 83 . The latter , howeve r

,devoted himself especially to engraving, in

order that he might always l ive with hi s father whowas getting old and needed all hi s care and attention .

J . F . Gounod was serious , melancholy and quiteoriginal in characte r

,as was shown by his conduct

on the death o f his father , who l ived to be overninety years of age . This loss was a great griefto him

,and in the hope of diverting hi s mind and

driving O ff melancholy, he undertook a tramp toVersailles . He had very l i ttle money i n his pocket .However

,be ing fatigued by hi s j ourney he entered

a public house and went to bed . He remainedseveral days at Versai l le s

,but

,far from being

re l ieved O f his sad thoughts , he was so overwhelmedby them that he dreaded to re turn to his rooms inthe L ouvre , where he had witnessed his fatherbreathe his last . H e wrote to a friend to say thathe should no t return to Paris , but intended to startimmediate ly fo r I taly ; he begged him to go to hi sroom

,take from his secretary all the money he

might find the re,and bring i t to him at Versail le s,

rece iving at the same time hi s adieux . Once inpossession o f his money, Gounod , w ho disl ikedencumbrance o f any sort

,furnished himself with a

GOUNOD

l ight carpet bag,and with this baggage se t o ff on a

j ourney which was at that t ime very long and verydifficult . He travel led al l over I taly, remainingthere four or five years then he re turned to Pari s,and to hi s rooms where nothing had been disturbed ,and resumed work as if he had left it only the evening before .

One of J . F . Gounod ’s friends has written thefollowing l ines concerning him M . Gounod hasmade a reputat ion in engraving . He has producedl it tl e and his income could scarcely have beenenough to suffice him . Neverthe le ss

,he l iked to

work and engraving o ffe red him the quie t anddel ibe rat ion which sui ted his di sposi tion . Ingeneral he spoke but li t tle . When he was obligedto qui t the Louvre , he was quite helpless in regardto the great confusion which always characteri zedhis apartment ; i t was one mass Of books , pasteboard

,drawings and art icle s O f al l sorts scattered

about,i ncluding a di smembered skeleton

,whose

bones were al l pre tty e ffectual ly separated fromeach other . Fortunate ly one o f his cousins undertook to transfer for him everything that wastransferable

,otherwi se Gounod would have aban

doued all . He concluded to marry,for i t was

absolute ly necessary that somebody should ai d himin finding himself again . He was

,neverthe less

,a

good and exce l lent man . His wife was charming,a very good mus ic ian

,and i t was she w ho educated

her son . He was ge tt ing along in years when hemarried and at his death th is son was st i l l veryyoung .

Very young indeed,for the future author of

“ Faust,

“ R omeo et Jul i e tte and “ Mire i l le ,”Charle s Gounod , was scarce ly five years O ld when helos t hi s father

,whom he had not learned to know.

L ike Herold,l ike Adam

,l ike Halevy, Charle s

Gounod was born at Pari s,where he fi rst saw the

l ight June 1 7 , 1 81 8. His mother,a woman O f fine

character and high intel l igence , neglected nothing

7 2° FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

that could contribute to hi s l iterary and arti sti ceducation . She was hi s fi rst music teacher . Hebegan very young to fe e l an intense love for thi sart , which he was to make i llustri ous . A pupi l O fthe Saint L ou i s lyceum

,he was already an excellent

p ianist wh i l e s til l pursuing h i s class ical studie s atthi s e stabl ishment

,and before complet ing these

studie s he took up a course of harmony w i th thefamous theoretician

, Reicha . He took the degree O fbachelor when he was l i t tle more than sixteen yearsO ld

, and was admi tted to the Conservatoire i n theclass O f counterpoint and fugue di rected by Halévy, and soon after i n the composi tion class O f

L e sueur,one o f the greatest masters that ever

glorified the French school . In the following yearGounod took part i n the concours o f the Insti tutefor the “ Prix de R ome ,” and carried O ff withou topposi tion a second grand prize . He was thusexempted from the mi l itary se rv ice , since the rule sof the Concours de R ome establi shed at that t imeth is exemption for any pup il having obtained aprize before the age of twenty . This was i n 1 83 7 ,

and Gounod was only nine teen .

At the close O f thi s same year L esueur d ied,and

Gounod passed under the instruction of Pa '

er,with

whom he finished hi s studie s . In 1 838 he presented himsel f again at the Insti tute

,thi s time

without success , but i n 1 839 he carri ed O ff a bri ll ian t fi rst prize wi th a cantata enti tled Fernand ,the words o f which were wri tten by the marqui s dePastoret . This fi rst prize was almost unanimouslyawarded to him , twenty - five vote s out O f twentyseven being i n hi s favor . He left at once for R omeand there devoted h imself almost exclusively forthree or four years

,to the study and composi tion

O f re l igious music,bei ng e specially charmed and

influenced by the works O f the great Palestri na .

I n 1 84 1 he had performed in the Saint - L oui s - desFrancais church, on the occasi on Of the féte of kingLoui s - Phi lippe , a grand orchestra mass , with con

tral to and tenor solos . Towards the end O f thefollowing year he made a trip through Germany

,

pausing for a time i n Vi enna,where he gave i n the

Saint Charle s church a R equiem mass wh ich prod uced upon i ts hearers a most profound impre ss ion .

Some idea of the effect produced may be had froman account addressed to one O f the Pari s papers of

the day, and which seemed invested with a sp iri tO f prophecy “ On Al l Soul ’s Day

” sai d thi swri te r

,there was performed at the Saint Charles

church a R equi em , a quite recent work by M .

Charles Gounod . One recognize s i n thi s composit i on not ‘ Only a very marked musical talent whichhas already Obtained by i ts assidui ty and experi encea high degre e of independence

,but one see s i n i t

al so a great and wholly individual comprehension ,which breaks away from the beaten tracks i n orderto create new forms . I n the melodic phrases thereare things which deeply touch and impress thehearer, things which di sclose a grandeur of con

cept ion become very rare in our day,and which

engrave themselve s ine ffaceably upon the soul,

things which would do honor to any musician,and

which seem to point to a great future . The soloswere sung perfectly, and the choruse s as we l l as theorchestra l ikewi se deserve prai se . M . Gounoddirected in person the performance of his work .

”

I t i s plain that the pace o f th e young music ianwas not that O f an ordinary arti s t

,and that h i s fi rst

steps were directed toward glory, for rarely doe s

one hear such praise accorded a composer O f

twenty - five years .Meanwhile Gounod , already haunted by an idea

which was long to pursue him,had dreamed of

bidding farewe ll, not to hi s art, but to the world ,and had seri ously considered taking eccle s iasticorders . His mind possessed by th is fancy

,he had

,

during the latte r part of hi s stay at R ome,l eft the

vil la Medeci s,where at that time the French school

was e stabl ished,and had retired to the seminary .

As soon as he re turned to Pari s,he entered as

precentor the Mi ssi ons E trangere s,where he wore

the long robe and costume of the conventual house,

and his re solution seemed thenceforth so certain thati t was accepted as an accompli shed fact . Indeeda special shee t

,the R evue ct Gaz ette I ll us ica le

,

publi shed the following under date O f Feb . 1 5,

1 846 M . Gounod,composer and former winner

of the grand Insti tute priz e , has j ust taken orders .”From thi s moment

,Gounod was called “ 1

’

AbbéGounod

,

” j ust as,sixty years before

,his master

L e sueur was called “ l’Abbe

'

L e sueur,when he

became precentor of th e Metropoli tan church .

There was th i s d iffe rence , however, that L e sueurhad never desi red to become a pri est, but according to the usage then in vogue at the Notre Damechurch

,Pari s

,he was obliged

,i n order to fulfi l l the

functions O f precentor, to don the pri e stly garb .

Gounod,on th e othe r hand , seemed to have made

up hi s mind to a religious l ife , since in 1 846 a

CH ARLE S

publi sher brought out a serie s o f religi ou s chorusesenti tl ed O ffices Of Holy Week, by the AbbeCharle sGounod .

I n hi s retreat Gounod continued to occupy himself with re l igious musi c

,and in 1 849 he had

performed at the Saint - E ustache church a grandsolemn mass which was very well rece ived . At

thi s moment he seemed absolutely lost to profaneart

,and as he was brought very l i ttle before the

public,people began" to forget about him

,when

there appeared i n the L ondon Athenaeum early in1 851 , an arti cle whi ch was immediate ly republi shedin the R evue ct Gaz ette Mus ica le of Pari s

,and

whi ch contained an enthusiasti c eulogium on severalO f Gounod ’s composi ti ons recently performed at aconcert at St . Martin ’s Hall .the wri te r

,

“ brings before us no other compose r“ Thi s music

,said

ancient or modern, e i ther by the form ,the melody

or the harmony . I t i s not new in the sense of

be ing b izarre or whimsical ; i t i s not Old , if o ld

means dry and sti ff,th e bare scaffolding

,with no

fine constructi on ri sing behi nd i t ; i t i s the workof an accompli shed arti st, i t i s the poetry of a newpoe t . aIe eIe at ale aIe

duced upon the audience was great and real thereThat the impressi on pro

can be no doubt,but i t i s the music i tse lf

,not i ts

reception,which to our minds presage s for M .

Gounod an uncommon career ; for if there be no ti n hi s works a genius at once true and new

,then

must we go back to school and re learn the alphabeto f the art and O f criti c ism .

”

This arti cl e fe ll l ike a thunderclap on Pari s,

where people werethoughtcri tic

,L oui s Viard ot

,was then i n London wi th h is

scarcely giving Gounod aA very distinguished French musical

wife,the worthy and noble s i ste r of Malibran .

This Athenaeum article was attributed to him,no t

wi thout reason,I th ink

,and i t was soon known

that Mme . Viard ot,whose experi ence

,taste and

musical knowledge everyone knows,was struck by

the music of the young master,and that she was

far from conceal ing her admiration for a talent so

pure , so e legant and so exqui si te .

E xc i ted by such a success Gounod at oncerenounced hi s orders

,and entered wi thout more

delay upon the mi li tant caree r O f the art i nterruptedfor so many years . He soon produced i n publi c apretty symphony i n E flat

,which

,performed in a

remarkable manner by the Saint Ceci l ia Soc ie ty,then a worthy rival o f that of the Conservatoire

,w on

46

G OUN OD 7 2 1

him the congratulations and sincere encouragementO f the cri ti c s . Then

,thanks to the assi stance of

Mme . Viard o t,he was charged with wri ting for the

Ope'

ra the score O f a work in thre e acts, Sapho ,”

the l ibre tto of which had been confided to a youngpoe t

,Emile Angi e r

,who was l ikewi se i n the

morning O f hi s career, and likewise destined forglory

,and in thi s work the great arti s t whom we

have just named,was to take the principal rOle.

Notwi ths tanding all, Sapho ” was not well rece ived

by the publi c, or at l east only moderately so and

scarce ly achi eved more than what i s cal led i n Francea success of e steem . Yet t he work was an exceedingly good one

,but the fi rst step on a stage so

important as that O f the Ope'

ra i s so d i fficul t for aI t must b e

however, that if the work as a whole was not

young compose r to make I said,

j udged entire ly sati sfactory,espec ially i n regard to

the scenic e ffects , e tc .,i t presented a value wh ich a

“ Theopera o f “ Sapho,” without be ing a good dramati cfastidious cri t ic stated i n these terms

work , i s the work of a di st inguished music ian whohas style and lofty tendencie s . M . Gounod hasperfectly seized and happi ly rendered al l the lyri cparts o f the subj ect which he has treated

,but he

has be en l e ss happy i n trying to express the confl i ctCer

tai n pages in the score of Sapho ” were remarked asO f passions and the contrast of characters . ”

be ing qu ite individual i n flavor,and the publi c were

e spec ial ly del ighted with the beau tiful song o f th eyoung shepherd

,

“ Brou tez le Thym,Brontes mes

chevre s,

” as well as the admirable couplets o f

“ Sapho , o f a character so melancholy,and an

i nspiration so ful l o f a deli cate poetry . The workwas performed on the roth of April , 1 851 .

A year later the Comedic - Francai se produced atragedy by Pousard

,

“Ulysse , for which Gounod hadwri tten a number O f beautiful choruses

,redolent

wi th the perfume of antiqui ty and full of a manlyenergy . Very soon the young composer appearedagain at the Ope'ra with a grand work i n five actscalled “ La Nonne Sanglante ,” the l ibre tto O f which

,

al though signed by the names Of Scribe and GermainD elavigne , was absolute ly devo id of interest . Hemade a mistake i n accepting thi s l ibretto

,previously

refused by several o f hi s colleague s,among others

Meyerbeer and Halevy,and which could not exci te

h i s inspi ration . Notwi thstanding some remarkablebi ts , some vigorous and beautiful scene s, the scoreo f La Nonne Sanglante was really only secondary

7 2 2 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

i n value,and the work achieved a very mi ld success

when i t was produced Oct . 1 8, 1 854 , wi th Mlle s .

Werthermber, Po inso t and Dameron, MM . Gueymard

,Depassio and Merly for i nterpreters . I ts

career was short,and i t only l ived through eleven

performances . Gounod had not yet found hi s ve in .

But be tter fortune was in store for him,and after

a few years o f s ilence he began the seri e s of hi ssucce sses by giving to the T/ze’ci z‘re- Ly r z

'

gue, thenvery flouri shi ng and very bri l l i ant under thedi rection of M . Carvalho, LeMéd éc in

'

Malgré Lui .”

The l ibre tto of th i s had been arranged for OperaComz

’

que by MM . Jule s Barbi er and Miche l Carré ,who had preserved the greate r part o f Moliere ’sprose . Al though from a general point of view thecomic sentiment may no t be the dominant qual i tyo f his talent, ye t that qual i ty i s far from lacking i nGounod

,as i s proved by Le Méd écin Malgré Lu i

,

”

which remains one of th e most curiou s and mostoriginal o f hi s attempts . I n th i s work

,which was

performed Jan . 1 5, 1 858, th e composer revivedwith a rare c leverness the o ld forms o f Frenchmusic

,whi le adding there to the most ingeniou s and

most piquant art ifices o f the modern sci ence,and

by cloth ing the whole with h i s masterly style heproduced a work o f a very unique color flavor andcharacter . “Le Méd éc in Malgré Lui

,which the

publ i c rece ived with marked favor, se emed to preparethe great day o f Gounod ’s arti sti c l ife . Fourteenmonths afte r the appearance o f thi s work

,that i s to

say,on March 1 9 , 1 859 , the composer gave to the

same theatre the work which was to e stabl i sh hi sfame upon a fixed basi s . The reader o f coursedivine s that I refe r to “ Faust

,

” that masterpi ecewhich can boast of such a bri l l i ant, prolonged andunive rsal succe ss

,and which wi l l remain

,perhaps

,

the author ’s best t i tl e to the remembrance andrecogni t ion o f posteri ty .

But le t i t not be supposed that the triumphalcareer of Faust was no t confronted at the outse twi th difficul ties and obstacle s which appearedinsurmountable . When i t was carried by theauthors to the T/ze’ci l re- Ly r z

'

gue, there was i n preparat ion at the Porte Saint Martin theatre anothe rdrama bui lt on Goethe ’s poem

,and bearing the

same name . M . Carvalho told Gounod that i twould be necessary to awai t the resul t of the Faust”at the Porte Saint Martin, for if that work won asuccess

,i t would be very di fficult and very haz

ard ous to offe r anothe r Faust ” to th e public . So

they wai ted , and the drama not proving a success , i twas decided to proceed wi th the study of the opera .

Gounod ’s Faust ” was presented i n the form styledi n France Ope

'

ra Comique, that i s to say, the singing parts be ing i nterspersed with spoken dialogue .

(I t was not unti l later when Faust passed intothe repertoi re of the Ope

'

ra that thi s d ialoguewas replaced by reci tat ive s . ) The rol e o f Margueri te was fi rst given to Mme . Ugalde , but Mme .

Carvalho having expressed a desi re to take therol e , afte r becoming acquainted wi th the music ,the authors transferred i t to he r and consol ed Mme .

Ugalde by giving her the part of Mé lod ine i nVi c tor Massé ’s opera

,

“ La Fée Carabosse, whichwas be ing mounted at the same time . The rehearsalso f “ Faust ” were very laborious . M . Carvalho , disconcerted by the new and daring characte r o f t hemusic

,and by the poe ti c sentiment revealed i n i t

,

which he judged incompatib le with stage requi rements

,picked a quarre l wi th the composer, declared

hi s score too much deve loped,and constantly

demanded new cuts and changes . Gounod,made

uneasy by thi s lack of confidence,had yie lded to

seve ral of these demands and had already consentedto several suppressi ons , when at last M . Carvalhocame to him one day wi th a proposi ti on to suppre ssthe beautiful final sc ene i n the garden , fearing thatth i s qui e t scene , with no outburst or noi se of anykind

,would seem cold to the publi c and fai l to

produce an e ffect . This t ime Gounod , who hadfai th i n h i s work and was conscious of i ts value ,stood fast and immovable , declaring he wouldrathe r wi thdraw hi s score than to yi eld th i s pointand consent to such a sacrifice . In short, afte r awhol e series o f combats and di scussions of thi s sort,whi ch were renewed dai ly

,the work was finally

brought out . Truth compels the confess ion that i twas not fully understood at fi rst ; that the cri ti c sstood hesi tati ng and undecided in the presence ofa work so new in form

,and that the publi c i tself

was of two minds regarding the value of th e work,some applauding wi th enthusiasm whi l e othersharshly cri ti c i sed . I t i s certai n that the firstreception was more cold and re served than couldhave been desi red

,but gradual ly people began to

understand and appreciate th e beauti e s aboundingin th i s exqu i si te score , and at last i ts success wascomple te

,bri l l i ant and i nconte stable

,s preading

fi rst throughout France,then over E urope

,then

over the enti re world,where Faust ” i s to - day, and

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

7 24 FAM OUS COM POSE R S

of La R e i ne de Saba i s o f unequal meri t and o f

a secondary characte r , i t neve rthe le ss contains somesuperb and exqui si te pages, l ike the noble air o f

Balki s,and the beautiful chorus o f the J ewesse s

and the Sabians . However,i t only l ived through

fi fteen performance s at Pari s,though i t should be

remarked that in certain fore ign c i t i e s i t wasrece ived wi th great favor

,and that i n Brusse l s and

Darmstadt,among others

,i ts success was consid

erable.

Gounod ’s unfortunate attempts at the Opera ledhim to turn hi s attention anew to the T/ze

’

eiere

Ly r ique, where he brought ou t,March 1 9 , 1 864, a

work enti tled “M i re i l le , the subj ect o f which wastaken from a pretty provinc ial poem by Frederi cMistral

,bearing the same ti tle

, (Mireio ) . Thispoem is an exqui si te pastorale

,wri tten i n that

provincial language at once so musical,so swee t

and harmonious,a language which i s me lody i n

i tse lf. Unhapp ily, th e l ibretto wh ich Gounod se t tomusi c on thi s subj ect was badly chosen

,be ing i l l

adapted to the stage,and therefore mi l i tated against

the composer ’s work,although the latte r contained

some truly charming pages . The fi rst act,parti e

ularly, radiant with l ight and sunshine , i s charminglypoetic , and espec ial ly de se rving of mention i s thebeautiful chorus o f the magnarel les and the touchi ng due t of Mire i l l e and V incent . The scorecontains sti l l othe r charming bits

,such as Magal i ’s

beautiful song and Taven’

s couple ts : Voi c i lasai son

,mignonne . However

,the defect ive l ibretto

stood in the way o f the succe ss o f the work,which

at first remained undecided . I t was found mecessary to entire ly rewri te the work

,to make large

suppre ss ions,and reduce i t from five to thre e acts

,

which did not resul t i n i ts be ing any be tte r rece ivedby the public . I t was not unti l l ate r

,when i t was

transferred to the Ope'm Comique afte r having beensubj ected to sti l l furthe r revi si ons and cast i n i tsfinal form ,

that “ Mire i l le at last found the successwhich i ts i nconte stable musical value meri ted .

Thereafte r,i t neve r l eft the repertoi re o f that

theatre .

No parti cular importance can be attached to al i ttle work in two acts

,

“ La Colombe ,” which Gounodgave to the Opera Cemz

'

gzee i n 1 866, and which hehad wri tten some years be fore for the theatre atBaden ; i t was a sort of salon opere tta, withoutspecial character or consequence . But the compose r was yet to carry o ff one o f th e most bri ll iant

vi c tori e s o f hi s care er wi th “ R omeo et Jul i e ttewhich made i ts fi rst appearance at the T/ze'a‘ freLy r ique on the a 7 th of Apri l

, 1 867 . More fortunatethan “ Faust ” and “ Mire il le

,whose success had

been so difficul t to establ i sh,

“ R omeo et Jul ie ttewas well rece ived from the very outset

,and thi s

superb score in which the pass ion of love and thesentiment of chivalry are so happi ly uni ted

,immed i

ate ly found favor wi th the publ i c . Nor has i t everceased to exc i te public sympathy

,and i t has

changed i ts bid ing - place from the T/ze'ei tre- Ly r z'

gue

to the Ope'ra Comique, and from that theatre to theOpera without experi encing any diminuti on o f publi cinte re st . “ R omeo et Jul i e tte ” has exceeded thenumber of five hundred performance s in Pari s

, one

hundred of which were at the T/ze'

ri tre- Ly r z'

gzze,

about thre e hundred at the Opera Comique andmore than one hundred at

' the Ope'ra ; Outside o fFrance i t has not been less succe ssful , and i t hasmade a part of the repertoi re o f al l the greattheatre s o f E urope .

Moreover,

“ Roméo et J ul i e tte marks the culm inating point i n the caree r o f Gounod

,who since

then has not been able to equal i ts success . I n1 870 the master went to L ondon where he remainedfor several years

,working and producing much .

There i t was that he wrote,among other things

,an

opera cal led “ George Dandin,

” to the prose o f

Mol iere,which has not yet been performed ; i t was

the re also that he wrote , for the Universal E xposit ion at L ondon in 1 87 1 a grand cantata enti tl edGall ia

,which was performed late r at Paris, where

i t was very favorably rece ived . A warm welcome Wasalso given to the music wh ich Gounod wrote for“ J eanne d ’

Arc, a drama in verse by Jules Barbierwhich was performed at the Gaie ty on Nov . 8

,

1 87 3 . Thi s musi c consi sted o f melodramas ,interludes

,choruse s

,e tc .

,and contained some very

interesting pages . The preceding year the Ventadour theatre had brought out a drama in ve rse byE rnest Legouvé for which Gounod had wri tten ascore o f the same kind this drama was cal led “ Les

D eux R e ine s de France .

In these two works the music was mere ly anacce ssory

,and the composer was only the humble

servant o f the poet, whom he di scree tly aided andsupplemented . But Gounod had not given up thei dea o f appearing agai n before the publi c as a truedramatic music i an . Ten years had elapsed s incehe had given “ R omeo et Jul i e tte ,” and the publ ic

CH ARLE S G OUN OD

were growing impat ient for a new work from him,

when in 1 87 7 the Ope'ra - Comique announced theperformance o f “ C i nq - Mars .” Thi s was an arti stictreat in which al l Pari s desi red to partic ipate , butwhich d id not wholly justify the hopes which i thad rai sed . The score o f “Ci nq - Mars was certainlyfar from being worthle ss ; i t was wri tten i n a musical language that was superb and nobl e in style , but

7 2 5

aside from a few exqui si te pages , i t d id not havethe fre shness , the abundance and the generosi ty o f

which had hi therto characterizedGounod ’s work .

inspi rati onI t was unequal , cold at intervals ,

and one no longer fe l t that vigor of youth,that

warmth of accent which had made the triumph o f

the master ’s great producti ons . In a word “ C inqMars ” was rece ived with sympathy but no t enthu

GO UN OD'

S RES IDENCE ON BOULEVARD MALESHERB ES IN PARIS .

From a photog raph made in April . 189 I .

s iasm , and as soon as the novel ty had passed i td i sappeared without causing any di squi e tude .

The following year Gounod pre sented himse lfagai n at the Opera . For a long time past he hadfe lt the desi re to attempt one of the Corne i ll e ’smaste rp ieces, and he had formed the plan o f

s etti ng Po lyeucte to music,and transforming i t into

a lyric drama . I t was a subj ect half re ligious,half

profane , which seemed pecul iarly sui ted to hi si nte lle c tual temperament . He charged his fri end

,

Jule s Barbier, with fashioning a libre tto fromCorne i l le ’s ce lebrated tragedy

,which the latte r

fol lowed step by step , even pre serving some o f thegreat poe t ’s verses, and he wrote the musi c of th isnew “ Po lyeucte,

” which was performed at theOpera , Oct . 7 , 1 878. But i t was said that the authoro f Faust and R omeo

,

” both so succe ssful atthe Opera , afte r having been born and bred e lsewhere , could never succe ed at that theatre with awork wri tten expressly for i t . Po lyeucte,

” i nde ed,

7 26 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

was not well rece ived,and scarce ly deserved to be ,

and i ts career ended wi th a seri e s of twenty - nineperformance s . The composer was no t much morefortunate wi th Le Tribut de Zamora,” another workwhich he gave to the Ope'ra , Apri l 1 , 1 881 . Thi swork , however, had been staged with great splendorand magnificence

,the costumes and decorations

were very rich and elaborate , and what was st i l lmore important

,the two principal role s were taken

by art ists of the fi rst rank,M . Lassal l e and Mme .

Gabri e lle Krauss, the latter especially being very finei n the characte r o f Xai

’

ma . But noth ing couldcounteract the ins ip id i ty and ins ignificance o f thework

,and notwi thstanding the luxury brought to i ts

support , notwi th standing the incontestable talent o fi ts i nterpre te rs

,

“ Le Tribut de Z amora ” scarce lyl ived through fi fty performances . This was the lastdramati c effort of Charle s Gounod , who seemsto - day to have finally given up the theatre

,and

whose health has be en steadi ly decl ining for anumber of years .But Gounod has no t confined himself exclusive ly

to the theatre ; hi s very remarkable fe rt i l i ty hasexerci sed i tse lf i n all di rections

,particularly i n the

re l igious genre,so wel l su i ted to hi s nature .

Gounod ’s rel igious composi ti ons are very numerous,

and since he has renounced the stage he hasachi eved some striking succe sses in oratori o . La

R edemption ,

”

(1 882 ) a sacred tri logy, of which hewrote the musi c and the French words

,and “ Mors

et Vi ta,” anothe r sacred tri logy, the L atin text o f

which he arranged himself from the Cathol i c l i turgy

In attempting to characterize the genius of

Gounod , and to de termine the place which heshould occupy in the hi story o f contemporaneousart , i t i s nece ssary to conside r principally Faust ”and R omeo et Jul i e tte .

” These are h is tw o masterp ieces, and i t i s through these works that thecomposer has truly reveal ed hi s per sonal i ty and hi sgenius ; i t i s through these works that h i s name hasbecome famous and wi l l go down to posteri ty . I ti s o f these works , then , that we must demandthe secre t o f t hat powerful i nfluence which Gounodhas exerted for more than a quarter of a centuryover the art, over arti s ts and over the public .

and the Vulgate,won for him triumphs which the

great merit of these beautiful composi ti ons fullyj ust ified . S ince hi s youth Gounod has produceda great number of sacred works

,several of whi ch

are o f rare beauty, such as the “ Messe des Orpheonistes

” the “ Messe de Sai nte Cec i l e(1 855) , a mass in C minor a mass of the Sacred Heart a mass to the memory of Joan ofArc a mass for two voice s

,a short mass in

C maj or, three solemn masse s, two R equiem masses ,a Stabat Mater,” a “ Te Deum

,

” a hymn to SaintAugustin , Les Sept Parole s d u Chri st ,” Jesus surle lac de Tiberiade , a choral psalmody

,Tobie

,

”

a li tt le oratori o,and a conside rable number of

motets o f different kinds .I n profane music

,and aside from the theatre ,

Gounod has shown himself scarce ly le ss ferti l e .

His two symphoni es, (first i n D ,

second in E flat)and hi s “ Temple de l

’

H armonie,” cantata with

choruses,are al l composi t i ons o f great meri t . I

would mention also Biondina,

” a pre tty l i ttl e lyricpoem

,and especially would I cal l attention to his

beautiful male choruse s,and to hi s songs o f which

he has wri tten more than a hundred , and amongwhich are to be found veri table masterp i e ce s of

poetry and sentiment, such as Le Val lon ,” “ Le

Soi r,” “ Medje,” “ l’

E nvo i de Fleurs ,” “ Le Printemps

,

”La Priere d a Soi r,” “ Veni se

,e tc . In

th i s styl e o f composi ti on Gounod ’s repertoire i svari ed

,substanti al and charming

,and few French

wri ters have given us a note so personal andorigi nal .

Al though not performed unti l a year afte r “ Le

Méd éc in Malgré Lu i ,” “ Faust was wri tten fi rst .

I n thi s work the music ian had been i nte l l igentlyserved by hi s col laborators

,w ho had taken from

Goethe ’s masterpi ece al l that which pertained tothe acti on and to the dramatic passion

,and l eft

judic i ously alone all the psychological,phi losophical

and metaphysical d i ssertat ions . The libre tto wasadmi rably cut for the stage

,vari ed i n tone and

coloring, and contained a fair quota of that fantast i c e l ement so e ffect ive on the stage and so welll iked by the publi c . And never was the music ianbe tter inspi red . The Ke rmesse ‘ scene i s full o f

MM

Fac- s imile autograph manuscript f rom Gounod'

s Romeo and Juliet.

ag e“

7 28 FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

warmth and sunshine ; the garden scene i s one ofan ethereal and enchanting poe try

,and the words

o f pass i on are by turns softly langui shing or ful l o fan i ntense energy ; the scene i n the church , whereMephi stophele s

,pursuing Margueri te even to the

ve ry shades o f the sanctuary,t ri e s to arrest her

prayer,and prevent the unfortunate vict im from

taking refuge i n the D ivine mercy,i s s tamped

wi th a rare fee l ing o f grandeur, and reveals aprofoundly dramatic character . Finally

,the epi sode

o f the death o f Val entine and hi s maledict ion of

Margueri te forms a patheti c . and superb scene,

which , with i ts numerous and vari ed inc idents i ssurely one o f the best of thi s remarkable work .

I t i s a s ingular thing that the two musi c iansw hose personal and original genius charac terize insome sort, from points o f Vi ew otherwise ve ryd i fferent

,the reform tendencie s of the present

French school,should both fal l upon these tw o great

m asterp iece s,

“ Faust and “ R omeo et Jul ie tte,

”

each i nterpreting them after hi s ow n manner andaccording to hi s own temperament . I t was Berliozw ho fi rst conce ived the idea o f appropriating them

,

and long before Gounod had dreamed o f such ath ing

,had given us “ R omeo et Jul ie tte ” and h is

“ Damnation de Faust . Comparison betw een‘

the

works o f these two arti sts i s imposs ib le,because o f

the dissimi lari ty o f the i r natures and aspirat ions .In regard to “ Faust

,

” however,we may say that

Berl ioz,who did not make an opera of i t

,but a

grand musical legend , pre serving thus one o f thepeculiar characteri stics of the original work , t reatedespecially the energetic and picturesque part o f thed rama, whereas Gounod chose rather to reproducethe love poe try

,the exal ted reveri e and that myst ic

and supernatural perfume which characterize sGoe the ’s poem . Al though the charming Kermessescene in Gounod ’s score

,which is an episode apart

from the action , i s very wel l executed , highly colo red

,o f a real ly exceptional musical interest, i t

cannot be denied that i n pi cturesque sentimen tBerl ioz has singularly surpassed his rival i n thevarious and typical epi sodes o f hi s Damnation deFaust

,

” the latin song o f the students,the soldier ’s

chorus,the Hungarian march

,the balle t o f the

sylphs,the mil itary re treat

,the chorus o f the sylphs

and gnomes,e tc . On the other hand, whateve r i s

tender and emotional,dreamy and poetic , has been

admirably treated by Gounod,and i t i s by certain

unobt ru s i ve f ragmen ts , certain almost hidden pas

sages in his score that the hand o f a master,the

inspiration of

. a poet i s betrayed,that the man of

genius i s revealed . Witness Margueri te ’s responseto Faust as he approaches her at the entrance o fthe chapel

N on , monsieur , je me suis demoisel le ni bel le,

E t je n’ai pas beso in qu

’on me donne l a main .

or Margueri te ’s reflect ion i n her garden,

Je voud rais bien savoir quel était ce jeune homme,

S i c’est umgrand seigneur et comment i l se nomme.

Not only are these two fragments perfect,fini shed

,

exqui si te , from a musical point o f view,but they

exhale besides I know not what mysteri ou s perfume .

They give the hearer so comple te a perception o f

the sentiment which Margueri te is fated to prove for“ Faust, ” that they have , aside from the sceni cimport, a kind o f mystic and profound meaningwhich seems imposs ible to translate into music

,and

which strikes, neverthele ss , the most indi fferentears . I t i s thi s pecul iar

,we may say hi therto

unknown sense,which give s Gounod ’s “Faust” i ts

true color,i ts characte r at once tender and dreamy

,

mysteriou s and fasc inat ing,melancholy and

‘pass ion ~

ate,and which assigns to i t a place apart

,a unique

place among the number of the most original worksof contemporary art . I t i s easy to see i n thi s workthat Gounod ’s i nte l lectual tendenci es

,hi s youthful

sympathie s,his leanings toward a rel igious and

monast i c l ife,have not be en without influence on

hi s musical temperament,and on the very nature o f

hi s talent .I f “ Fau st i s an exqui s i te work , “ R omeo et

Jul i e tte is a superb one,of a grand and spi ri ted

style,i n whi ch the external and material pic ture o f a

chivalri c world contrasts strikingly wi th the i nternalanalysi s of a pass i onate love , constrained to conceali tse lf from al l eyes , yet from thi s very cause becomingal l the more pow erful . I f one wished to enter intowhat might be call ed a psychological analysi s of thescore

,i t would be necessary to di scover how great

were the difficul tie s o f the composer in writing"R omeo without repeating himself

,after having

wri tt en “ Faust .” F or, al though the subj ects of thetwo works di ffer widely, we see the same si tuationsreproduced in each

,und er the same scenic condi

t i ons,and the stumbling block was al l the more

troublesome since these si tuations were the mostsal i ent one s

,and const i tuted

,as i t were , the very

core of the dramatic acti on . Witness th e balconyscene o f Romeo and the garden scene of Faust

7 30FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

or the due l o f Romeo and Tybal t wi th th e death o f

the latte r,i n the fi rst

,and the due l o f Faust and

Valentine,also mortal

,i n the second . Truly a

musici an must have a singular power, a veryremarkable facul ty o f re i te rati on

,to attempt suc

cess ful ly such a repe ti t i on of s imi l ar epi sod e s .And what scene so marvel ou s as that balcony

scene of R omeo,chaste and pas s ionate th roughout !

Wh at earne s t and t remb l ing accen ts o n th e l ip s of

the two fond lovers whom the world — a world o f

stri fe and contention— seems bound to separateforever ! And what newne ss

,w hat a winning fear

le ssness,what a balmy fre shness i n th e melod ic

sentiment which the composer employs to expre ssthe sensat ions which st i r the hearts o f hi s tenderhe roe s I Cou ld love be expressed i n a more exqui siteand more touching manner ?On the othe r hand , and by contrast , what scene

more striking i n i ts grandeur,more spi ri ted

,more

manly,than that o f the double due l

,Tybal t and

Mercutio,Romeo and Tybalt I Here the music ian

has so wonderfully colored hi s inspiration that hehas ra i sed up a world o f the past be fore our veryeyes

,and

,whi le l i s tening

,we fee l that sure ly we

must be present at one o f the crue l ep i sode s o f thatlong and bloody struggle between the Capule ts andthe Montagues . The insult slung by Tybal t i nthe face of Romeo

,agi tated

,but contained

,

Mercutio ’s objurgations, the fi rst due l of thelatte r wi th Tybalt

,w ho strikes h im to the heart

,

R omeo ’s rage at see i ng hi s fri end expi re,the fury

with which he throws himself i n h i s turn uponTybalt

,and the second combat

,fatal to the latte r

,

al l thi s the compose r has rendered i n an admirablemanner

,wi th a sp i ri t

,a verve

,a pow er

,a dramatic

movement and a picture sque fee li ng which make o f

thi s episode a page ful l o f grandeur,and worthy to

compete with the painting o f a Ti tian or o f aVerone se . I n considering thi s remarkable score

,

so rich from beginning to end and so vari ed in i tsunity

,we cannot pass over the austere and touching

marriage scene , the lark duo and the episode o f thed eath of the two lovers . Truly

,i t i s a work o f the

highe st order, whi ch yie lds in noth ing to Faust,

”

and i s perhaps superior to i t in certain parts andi n certain ways .I t i s i n “ Faust and Romeo that Gounod has

not only given the full measure o f hi s genius,but has

made most conspi cuous the true personal tendenci e sof that genius and hi s ow n original i ty . I t i s there

that hi s musical phrase , so fascinating, so new inform and characteri sti c in outline

,i s developed i n

al l i ts fullness and al l i ts freedom . I t i s there thath i s harmonies

,so ri ch

,so refined

,so piquant, and

sometimes so unexpected , are the most abundantlyand happi ly di splayed . I t i s there that hi s i ngeniousinstrumentati on

,full o f color and grace and always

e legant,that transparent instrumentation we might

say,at the same time dignified and full

,has

braced those exqui si te passage s which always thril lde l icate and sensi tive ears . I t i s there that passionspeaks a truly enchanting language

,that emotion

attains the highest l imi ts of i ts power,and i t i s the

aggregate o f al l the se qual i tie s which make themaster ’s genius stand out in bold rel ief and whichshows i t o ff i n the most comple te and strikingfashion .

But if “ Faust and Romeo are worthy of so

much admirati on,that does no t mean that no import

ance or sympathy should be attached to the composer’s other works , which , though less perfect and lesslofty in character, are none the le ss deserving of themost act ive appreci ation on the part o f the publicand o f true artis ts . “ Philemon et Bauci s

,

” Mire i l le,

”

Le Méd éc in Malgré Lu i,

” are producti ons of

unquest ionable merit , and even in Sapho and La

R e ine de Saba, ” weak and unequal as they undoubted ly are , one may find pages of the rarest beauty .

I t should be remarked that even in hi s least successful works , What we may always admire i n Gounodi s the noblesse o f hi s language and the splendor o f

his style . I t is nece ssary to add that if, as i s generallybel ieved

,ferti li ty i s a sign of force , Gounod deserves

to be classed among the stronge st ! Few artists,

i ndeed,have produced more or i n greater varie ty

,

opera,oratorio

,symphony

,re ligious music

,cantatas

,

vocal chamber musi c, (se t to French , E ngl ish or

I talian words ) choruses with or wi thout accompaniment

,composi t ions for piano or organ

,he has

touched them all,and i n all has given proof o f the

most substantial and bri l l i ant quali t i e s .A very convincing proof o f the power o f Gounod ’

s

personal i ty i s the influence which he has exertedfor more than quarter o f a century on the youngFrench school o f music . The author of Faust hasbrought into the art a note enti rely new andunknown before him . This dreamy

,poetic note is

stamped with a grace and melancholy which charac teriz es al l of Gounod ’s work , and vainly haveyoung musicians sought to reproduce and tri ed their

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\l

(

plv

There has remainedby Gounod a sort o f recol lec tion o f hi s first yearsand the storms o f the heart .

vowed by him to theologi cal s tudi e s and o f hisleaning toward a monast i c li fe and the seclus i on o f

the cloi s te r ; possibly i t i s thi s wh ich characterize shi s genius i n such a special way, which gives i t i tsoriginal i ty

,i ts pecul iar and i ts exceptional flavor,

al though i t i s d i fficul t to de termine wi th preci si onhow much hi s arti s ti c personal i ty gained and howmuch i t lost by the influence of the ideas andaspirations o f his youth upon hi s late r imaginati on .

Musi cal ly and dramatically Gounod i s more of aspi ri tual i s t than material i s t

,more poe t than pain ter ,

more e legiac and vigorous than deep ly pathe ti c ;

F AM’

OUS COMP OSE R S

th i s i s perhaps the reason that some have pronounced him lacking i n dramatic sense . I n thi sthey are mis taken , for i t i s not dramati c sense

,

that i s to say,impass ioned percepti on

,which

sometime s fai ls Gounod ; i t i s , properly speaking,temperament . But afte r al l i s said

,the author of

Faust ,” o f “Mire i lle and o f “ R omeo remains at rue poet

,an inspi red creator

,an arti st o f the first rank

,

and if not one o f thos e who il lumine the world wi tha dazzl ing li ght

,at least one o f those who charm i t

,

who touch i t,who make i t l i sten and make i t think

,

His part i s a su ffici ently beautifu l one,with which

he may wel l be sati sfied .

PUBL I SH E RS ’ Nor a — Since the foregoing was wri tten , the death of Charle s Gounod has been an

nounced . On Oc tober 1 6, 1 893 , he was stricken with apoplexy, and l ingered unti l the 1 8th. He died atSt . Cloud ,

and was buried in the family vaul t at Auteui l .

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7 36 FAM O US COMP OSE R S

fortune left nothing to be desired . A music ian o f

genius, having an innate sense of all that re lated tothe stage

,with an unusual faculty for managing ,

Lully was the k ing o f h is theatre,where everyth ing

passed through h is hands . He did not confinehimself to writ ing each year a new opera to one of

the beautiful poems which Quinault furnished himhe staged the works h imself

,supe rintended the edu

cation o f the s ingers whom he assembled at h is ow nhouse in order to make them work

,directed h is

orchestra,took charge of the decorations and cos

tumes, and sometimes even gave the step to the

dancers . This man was a universal arti st . And ashi s operas we re often masterp ie ces, as they wereplayed in a really superior manner

,as he spared

nothing in furnishing them with richne ss and magnificence of spectacle

,success never failed him , and

the Opera soon became the glory of Paris and themarve l not only of the French but

i

of outs iders asw e ll . I t i s thi s sumptuousness

,thi s richness

,th i s

pomp o f spectacle,j o ined to the meri t o f the works

produced,which have d ist inguished the Ope'ra s ince

the days of Lully up to our own t ime,and which

have made i t a un ique theatre in the world . The

most important of Lul ly ’s works are Arm z

'

zz’e,Cem

’mzes

,

P/zae'

fmz , P roserp ine, Alees fe,B el/er Op/zon, A l

‘

ys ,

R OZcm /z’

,1525

,and the most famous s ingers o f the

time were Beaumaviel le, Gl edicre , Dumeny, Mlle . Le

Rocho is, the two s iste rs Fanchon and Louisa Mo

reau and Mlle. Desmat ins.

But Lully during his life had no t permi tted a singlemusic ian to make his appearance at the Ope'ra , sothat when he was dead great d ifficulty was expe

rienced in finding composers who were able to writenew works . During the ten years which followed therewas no success to record . His pupil Collasse broughtout a few operas of l i ttle meri t Ad d/[e e! PO/z

'

xef ze,

n e’

el’

s ef Pe'

le'

e,E nee e/ L am

'

nz'

e,As fre

'

e, f aw n .

Lul ly’s son

,Louis de Lully, wrote Orp/ze

'

e with hisbrother Jean - Louis h e wrote Z e’pizy re ez

‘ F lore, andwith Marai s

,There were also Me

'

dée,by

Charpentie r C07 07223,by Teobaldo d i Gatti D z

’

a’en

,

Cz'

ree'

,T/zéagene e! [es Amou rs (ZeM amas

,

by Desmarets Méez’zese,by Gervais Ar z

'

a zze et B ae

e/zm,by Marais Ar id e

,by Lacoste

,e tc . O f all these

works,T/ze

'

l z’

s eZ Pe'

le'

e was about the only work thatfound favor w i th the public . I t was necessary toaw ai t the coming o f Campra to find an arti st trulyworthy o f the Opera , and who should do honor tothe French school .

And re Campra (1 660— 1 744) was a musician of

the fi rst orde r . He was an original and fe rtile composer of sacred as we ll as pro fane music . He waschapel - master of Notre - Dame o f Paris at the time ofthe performance of his first works

,which obliged

him to renounce these functions . He occupied avery important place in the history of dramatic mu

s ic in France , and i s properly the l ink which connects Lully to Rameau . His abundant and generousinspiration was fortified by a good and sol id musicalinstruction . He was also gifted with a strong dramatic sentiment

,and exci ted attention now by his

tenderness, pass ion and pathos, now by his grace,

e legance and v ivaci ty . He broke with the tradi tionso f Lully and his somewhat formal noblesse

,in bring»

ing to the theatre the sense of rhythmic movementand force . One might say of his music that i t saw,that i t acted

,that i t fel t . During his forty years ser

vice to the stage Campra offered to the public morethan twenty important works . In the serious anddramatic genre, his H e

'

sz’

one and Tanerea’e,which are

almost master- pieces , must be mentioned fi rst ; thenA/ez

'

ne,[pnzgénz

'

e en Tanr z'a’e,C(uni/[e rez

’

ne O’es Vols

gnes , [do¢nénée, Tnap/i In the lightgenre, and what was then called the Ope

'

ra - ba l let;

he gave Z’E nrope gel/a nte which was hisbril l ian t debut on the stage o f th e Ope

'

ra then theCa rnava l de Venise, les Anw a r s O

’e Af a r : et Ve

'

nns,

Are'

z‘lznse

,les E e

‘

z‘

es [eB el /[er O’es riges , [es

111mm ,e tc . Campra, who wrote also a great deal o f

excellent religious mus ic,was the teacher of Destou

che s and Phil idor . He lived long enough to witnessRameau ’

s début and fi rst successes, and renderedfull ju stice to the genius of that great man . He iscertainly one o f the most interesting artists whichFrance has produced .

By h is s ide , but a l ittle below him ,his pupi l Des

touches d ese rves to be mentioned . André CardinalDestouches (1 67 2 who first took mil itaryorders

,and was an office r in the King ’s nzenr

gneta z'

res , afterwards gave himself up to music .

He made his fi rst appearance at the Ope'

ra with awork enti tled [me to which his master Campra was not an entire s tranger, and which was verysuccessful . A music ian by inspiration more than bystudy

,Destouche s distinguished himself more by

grace and elegance than by force and depth . Amonghis o ther works

, Onzpna/e, [e Ca rnava l ez‘

[a E OZz'

e,

and Ca l l ie/we, were the ones best rece ived by thepublic

,which cared le ss for Amad z’s a

’e Grece,

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738 FAM OUS COMP OSERS

at the Ope'ra a troupe o f I tal ian singers had givenat that theatre some performance s o f I talian OperaCot/fies , which had made a great impress ion on thepublic . This was in 1 7 52 . The repertoire of thesesingers compri sed some real masterp ieces

,such as

la Seroa Pa a’rona and ii [Maest ro o

’

i jif us iea ,by

Pergo lese, [a F infa Camer iera by Lati lla, la Sea/tr agooerna i r iee by Cocchi , i Waggia zor i by Leo , la

D onna s uperOa and [a Zinga ra by R inaldo deCapoue, e tc . A great many people w e re infatuatedwith these operas

,full o f charm and melody

,and

the Paris ian d il lettanti were d ivided into two factions,

one of which favored I tal ian and the othe r Frenchmusic . The conte st became se rious

,and each party

sent forth storms of pamphle ts and article s de fending thei r ow n ideas and attacking their adversarie s .This l i ttle war was dubbed /a guer re a

’es Ooufi

’

ons.”

Jean - Jacques R ousseau , the famous phi losopher whowas at the head of the I tal ian l mufions , wrote at th i st ime h is li ttle pastoral of the D evin o

’u ni l/age, com

posing both the words and the music . This p iecewas conceived in the style o f the I ta l ian in/ermez z i

,

and was played at the Opera with great success .I t was then that the director o f theOpe

'

ra Com i

que, named Monnet, thought of a w ay to profi t bythe infatuation o f the public for p iece s of thi s sort,and had one se t to French words

,written for h is

theatre . He demanded a poem of the song - writer,Vade

,who gave h im that of the Troqueur s . The

music was written by the compose r Dauvergne , whowas afte rwards orche stra l eade r and director o f theOpera , and les Troqueu r s , performed July 30 , 1 7 53 ,

at the Ope'

ra Comique, met wi th a bri lliant succe ss .This l i ttle work

,full o f vivaci ty, grace and gaie ty,

i s considered the fi rst attempt at French Ope'

ra

Comique, and i ts appearance marked an importantdate in the h is tory o f dramatic music in France .

I t need hardly be said that Monnet d id not stophere . He had t ranslat ions made for h i s theatre o fth e two I tal ian infermea’es played a t t he Opera ,

i i

Cinese and la Zinga ra ,afte r wh ich he gave a num

ber of l i t tl e eome'

ai es a a r iez‘z‘es writ ten e speci allyfor th e Ope'ra Comique by composers h i the rto uh

known . The fi rs t o f these composers was the I tal ian Duni

,who wrote [ePeinz‘i e amoureux de son fil o

{an and [a Venue inde'

cise. One o f the ac tors a tthe Ope'ra Comique, Laruette, also composed several works

,— ie D octeur S ang raa

'

o,[e Af éo’eein a

’e

Z’

amour,Z’Jurogne cor r ige

'

. A l i ttle l ater two arti sts,

Phil id or and Monsigny, entered thi s fie ld of l abor,

and won dis tinction and glory . Phi lid or, who hadrece ived from Campra a solid musical educat ion

,

was the most l earned music ian o f his time,and was

gifted with a vivid and fer ti le imagination . Hegave to the Ope

'

ra - Com ique, B ia ise Ze Saoezier,

Z’

H uz‘

l re ef les P ia ia’eurs

,[ej a ro

’inier et son Sezgneur ,[eM a rée/za i fer rant

,[e So/o’a t M agicien, all of which

were remarkably succe ssful . Monsigny,-

a music ianof gen ius more than of knowledge , but possessing atender and pathet ic soul

,brought out lo Can’i dupe

and On no s’am

’

se jama is a’e l ou z

‘.

The Come'

ri ie- [Za iienne, see ing how we ll the mu

sical genre was rece ived a t the Opéra Com ique, re

solved to fol low i ts example . Accordingly i t began by having tran slat ions made o f certain pieceswhich the I tal ian Ooufions had sung at the Ope'ra ;la Seroa paa

’rona

, i i M aes i ro a’i mus iea

, B er fo/o’o

in Cor ie,[a Zinga ra , Traeo/o, [a D onna S uperOa .

Then i t summoned to i ts s ide the composerswho were working for the Opera

- Comique . Dun i ,who gave i t Ma z e! and Z’I ie a

’

es fous ; Phil idor,

who contributed [e Quiproquo, Laruette, who wrote[e D e

’

p i’

r gene'

reux . These attempts were assuccessful as s imilar one s had been at the Ope'raComique. But the latte r theatre was fe lt to be a

dangerous rival by the [fa/ienne,which re solved to

be rid o f i t . The Coméa’ie- [ta/ienne was powerful,

i ts actors bearing the titl e o f “ comedian s to theking

,

” and the king granting i t an annual subvent i on from hi s private purse . I t had l i ttle trouble inobtaining the suppression of a trouble some rival

,

whose doors i t closed in 1 762 , and rejoiced in thepossession of a fre e fi eld . From that moment theComéa

’ie- [ia iienne became the home o f th e l ight

ope ra . Duni,Phil idor and Monsigny, who had

already written for i t,became i ts regular contribu

tors,and before long they were j oined by Gretry .

These fou r art ists, who may be considered as thefounders of Ope

'

ra - eomioue, endowed th e Come'a’ie[fa l z

’

enne with a long li st o f masterpi eces,which

formed a reperto ire full o f beauty, grace and charm,

and which will continue to be th e glory of theFrench musical school . Duni gave [es D eux Chas

seurs ei [a L a ifiere, Z’

E eo/e de [a jeunesse, [a f ee Ur

geie, Zes Moissonneurs , [a Cioenetz‘e,les S aOoz‘s

,while

Monsigny brought out [e R oi ez‘

ie F ermier,[eB e

'

ser

z‘eur

,R ose et Coias , ie F a ueon, [a E el/e Arsene

, andPhil idor wrote S ane/l o Panea , [e B zZefzeron, [e Sor

eier,Tom j ones , les F emmes oenge

'

es,[e ja ra

’inier a

’

e

S in’on . As for Gretry, he produced L uei/e, ie Ta

M US I C I N FRAN CE

bleau pa r/ant, Sy loa in, les D eux A'

oa res , Z émire et

Az or,l’

Ami zl e la Ma ison,l’

Am i tié a l’

éjfireuoe, lo

Magnzfioue, la F a usse l l/[agie, l’

Epreuz/e Vi l lageoise,

e tc . With these justly c elebrate d arti sts should benamed Gossec , who wrote les Pee/teurs , lo F auxL ora

’

,Toinon et Toinette

,la D ouble Déguisement,

and Dézed es, who won applause with j ul ie,l ’E r

reur ti’

un moment,les Tr ois F erm iers , E la ise et B a

Oet Alex is et j us tine, and othe r works . Variousother composers

,more or l e ss forgotten, such as

Kohau l t,Tarade

,Vachon , Saint - Amans , D esbrosses,

C ifolel l i,Alexandre , Frid z eri, also contributed a num

ber of works to the Coméel ie- Z ta l ienne, whose popularity increased day by day .

Meanwhile,the fortune o f th e Opera was visibly

decl ining . R ameau , the man o f genius , had diedwithout leaving a succe ssor

,and the works o f certain

lesse r lights did not su ffice to sati sfy the desire s andthe curiosi ty o f the publ ic . These music ians wereBerton

,Trial

,R ebe l and Francoeur (who always

worked toge ther) , Laborde , Card onne, and finallyDauvergne , perhaps the most distinguished o f themall

,who wrote during a very few years Canente, H er

Phil idor and Monsigny also made one appearance eachi t the Ope'ra ,

the fi rst with E rnel ina’e, p r ineesse (le

Noroege, the se cond with A l ine, reine a’e - Goleono

’e,

eule mour ant,P olyxe

’

ne and la Véni tienne.

two operas which , notwi thstanding the ir real merit,"eceived only a courteous welcome . The only greatsuccess which could be registe red during this uninteresting period was that o f l ’U nion tl e l

’

Amour et

l es Ar ts,a work by a young composer named Floquet ,

w hich the publ ic rece ived with considerable enthu

siasm . But F loquet , who moreover died young,did no t se e a repeti t ion o f this triumph , althoughhi s second opera

,le Sezgneur bienfa isant, was re

While Ra

meau was l iving, Mondonvil l e had obtained a conceived with some degree o f sympathy .

s id erable succe ss wi th two important works , Ti ton et

l’

Au rore and D ap/znis et Aleimaa’ure ; he d id not

appear again on the stage,howeve r . At the period

at wh i c h we have arrived the dance i s carrying al lbe fore i t at th e Opera ,

thanks to the admirable corpso f (ianseur s and a

’a nseuses which this theatre pos

sesse s . Vestris,father and son, Dupre’ , Laval, Lyon

nois,Lany, Gardel , Dauberval

,Mmes . Camargo , Pu

vigne,Vestris

,Lany

,Gu imard , Heine ], Al lard , Pes

l in, Carville . The singers of Rameau

,who were

Chassé , Jélyo tte, M lle s . Fel , Cheval ie r, Coupé, havebeen succeeded by Legro s, Larrivee , G l in , Soph ie

7 3 9

Arnould, Mme L arrivee , Mlle s Duplant, L evasseur,Beaumesnil . The se arti st s

,who are not by any

means without talent,are powerle ss to assure success

PH IL IDOR

From an eng raving in C Iément’s Les M us iciens Cé lébres .

to works which are unworthy of them . But an imGluck i s

coming to Pari s,and h is masterp iece s

,which are to

revolut ionize the ci ty and the court,wil l rouse th e

portant even t i s about to take place .

Ope'

ra from its torpor,and restore i ts anc ient glory

,

— the l ife,the movement

,the eela t

,o f which i t has

been so sadly d ivested .

The future queen o f France was at that t ime archduchess o f Austria

,the prince ss Mari e Antoine tte .

She was betrothed to the Dauphin who was to beLoui s XVI . Gluck had been her teacher in Vi enna

,

and she was a powerful protector for him,assi s ting

him to ge t some o f h is works performed at the Ope'ra .

This great man had long cheri shed the hope o f a reform in the lyric drama

,which he wished to render

more pathetic,more true

,partly by free ing i t o f cer

tain conventional it ie s,fal se as they were rid iculous

,

partl y by doubling i ts dramatic power by means o f asevere

,touching

,and sol id dec lamation . Powerle ss

to real ize th is re form in h i s ow n coun try,owing to

the prej udice o f the people and the vani ty and ignorant obstinacy o f th e singers

,he had turned h i s

740 FAM O US COMP OSE R S

eyes on France , where the soi l seemed favorableto h is proj ects

,by reason of the arti s tic fee l ing of

that country,i ts natural and enlightened taste

,as

we ll as i ts innate sense of everyth ing relating to thetheatre .

He was not mistaken,and i t was with a veritable

enthusiasm that France rece ived the works which hesubmitted to i ts apprec iation . I t must be confe ssed ,however

,that thi s enthusiasm exci ted opposi tion

,

and that Gluck had to struggle against bi tte r adversaries and v iolent cri tic isms . His pre sence in Pari seven rev ived the pen battl e

,which

,twenty years

before, had signall ed the appearance of the Ooufi ons

ita l iens on the stage o f the Opera , and people weretreated to a renewal of that deluge of pamphle ts, l ibe ls

,and writings of al l sorts which had characterized

that curious ep isode of the h istory of dramatic mu

s ic in France . Once more two partie s were formed ,of which the one val iantly defended Gluck, and theother energe tically combatted him . The conte st became espec ially sharp when Piccinni was called toPari s and se t up i n oppos ition to Gluck, and thi spolemic was cal led The quarre l o f the Gluckists andthe Piccinnists.

”Among the first were found Jean

Jacques R ousseau , Suard , director of the j ourna l dePa r is , and h is collaborator the Abbé Arnaud . ThePiccinnists counted in the ir ranks Marmontel , laHarpe

, Ginguené , D’

Alembert and F ramery, andal together the se wri ters turned out about fifty pamphl e ts oh the subj ec t .In real i ty

,Gluck did not win wi thout a struggle .

But his gen ius asserted i tse lf so powerfully that hi svic tory was bri l li an t and comple te . I t i s certainthat the five master - p i eces which he gave successfully to the Ope'ra , produced a deep impression onthe public

,s tirred again the l ife and movement that

seemed to have gone out of thi s theatre , and re s toredto i t all i ts ancient splendor . The fi rs t one, [pagenie en Antia

’e,appeared Apri l 1 9 , 1 7 74, and was t e

ceived with surpri se mingled w i th admiration . L i ttl eaccustomed to thi s -musical language of a charac ter atonce sober

,bold and severe

,to th i s noble and in

tense dramatic expre ssion,the spec tators were e le c

trified,and

,carri ed away by the ir emotion , tendered

to the composer the ir loudest applause and acclamations . Orplze

'

e,performed three months later, was the

crowning point of his glory . This work,to be sure ,

had already been played in I tal ian at Vi enna, as hadalso Alees te

,which followed i t

,but in adap ting both

of the se operas to the French stage Gluck made im

portant changes in them which brought in to rel iefthe ideas and sentiments which he was striving tomake prevail . He was rewarded by success . Ar

mia’e and [pnzge'nie en Ta ur in’e achieved the reform

ation wh ich he had dreamed o f accomplishing inthe character and style of the French opera .

I t was during the latte r part o f his soj ourn inFrance that Piccinni was cal led to Pari s . There wasno sense in thus call ing togethe r and bringing intoconfl i ct two arti sts who had noth ing to quarre l about .I f Picc inni was not able to cope succe ssfully withGluck

,i t i s neverthe le ss true that he was a mus ician

of a superior order, and that some of h i s Frenchoperas

,such as R olana

’

,A tys , D ia

’on and Pe'ne'lope,

are°d eserving o f th e warme st sympathy . I t would

seem as if the Ope'ra at thi s period had become theprey o f fore ign composers . After Gluck and Piccinni,i t was Sacchini, then Sal ie r i who contributed to itsrepertory . Sacchini brought out C/zimene, R enaua

’

,

D a ra’anus

,G rape a Colone and Arvi re et E vel ina .

R enaud i s a truly remarkable work , and as for G a’ipe

a Colone,in which pathos i s pushed to i t s most sub

l ime expre ssion,it i s one of the most admirable

masterp ieces with which the French stage has be engraced . Salieri, a pup il of Gluck , was not unworthyof h is maste r . O f th e three works which h e wrotefor the Ope'ra , two at l east, les D ana ia

’es and Tara re

are powerful productions, and were rece ived withgreat favor by the publ ic . L es H oraces was le ss successful .

However,the Opera was not wholly closed to

othe r composers,and i t i s necessary to mention here

a number of works which were brought out the re atthi s period . Gret ry

,among others

,gave good proof

of his fecundity in contributing successively Ce'

p/za le

et P roer is,Ana

’romague, l

’E mOa r ras (les r ie/zesses

,

la Ca ravane o’u Ca ire, Panurge o

’ans l

’i le (les lan

ternes , Amp l i i tr ion, and Aspas ie. Only one of theseoperas

,Ana

’romague, was se rious , and i t did not suc

ceed . The othe rs were of a demi - character, andsome were downright comic

,l ike la Ca ravane and

Panurge, which were very successful . At the sametime they were playing Per se'e and l e

'

mis toele, by

Phil id or Tlze'sée, by Gossec A lexana’

re aux [na’es

,

by Méreaux E leetre,Pram , N ep/z te

'

, by L emoyne,a vigorous music ian

,but of a secondary order ;

D e'

mop l zon, by Cherubini , who made with this operahis début in France ; la Toison (l

’or and another

D émop lzon, by Vogel , an art ist of very promisingtalent

,but who di ed young .

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742 FAM OUS COMP OSERS

first works at th e Come'

zl ie- [ta l ienne,l’

Amant sta tue,

l’

E el zpse tota le,le Corsa i re

,les D eux T uteurs

,had

attracted attention to him he achieved striking andprolonged successe s wi th those wh ich followed : la

D ot,N ina

,or la F ol/epa r amour , Az ém ia

,R enana

’

(l’

As t,les D eux S a ig ines, les D eux Peti ts

Savoya r a’s,R aou l s i re a

’e Cro

'

gni . Some of the seworks were stamped with a gay and grace ful vivacity

,

others with a melancholy and touch ing tendernessor with an intense and sti rring dramatic sentiment .I f d

’

Alayrac was not a pro found music ian,he

possessed rare natural gifts,and an abundant ih

sp iration ful l of elegance and charm .

I t i s nece ssary at l east to mention here the namesof a certain number o f composers who gravitatedabout those whom I have just mentioned

,and who

,

though le ss fert il e and le ss happy,ye t gave to the

Comézl ie- [ta l ienne some excellen t and popular works .These artists we re R igel

,Désormery, Saint—Georges

(the famous viol in ist) , Bianch i, Propiac , Deshaye s ,Bruni

,Ragué

, Cambini, Désaugiers, e tc . I t wouldbe unj ust also to ignore the wri ters who furnishedal l these composers with the poems

,often charming

,

which the latte r se t to music . In th i s genre o f

opera- com ique, so e ssentially pecul iar to France , the

value o f th e poem i s o f great importance,and the

names o f Anseaume, F avart, Sedaine, Marmontel ,

Marso l l ier,Monve l and Laujon are int imate ly asso

sociated with those o f Phil idor,Monsigny, Dézed es ,

Martini,d

’

Alayrac and the i r l ess ce lebrated confrere s .As to the art i sts who were charged with interpretingthese poets and music ians

,they were absolutely of

the fi rst order,and the i r names have remained

justly famous i n the annals o f French art . Theywere Claviral

,Laruette

,Chenard , Thomassin, Trial,

Menie r, Narbonn e , Michu , Mmes . Favart , Trial ,L aruette

,Dugazon

,Colombe , Gontie r, Adel ine

,

Desbrosses, Carl ine and R ose R enaud,

i

w ho formedin the ir ensemble a troupe equal to that o f the Comezl ie- F r a nmise. Under such conditions i t i s easy tound erstand the populari ty which Ope

'

ra - Com ique ob

ta ined at the Comézl ie- [ta l ienne,where i t attracted

al l Paris .This p icture of the state of music in France in

th e e ighteenth century would not be comple te without due reference to the Coneer t sp ir i tuel . TheConeer t sp ir i tuel was an enterpri se founded in 1 7 25,

and i ts ente rtainments were given during the periodsof inte rmi ssion which the theatres were obliged to observe on the occasion o f re ligious festivals

,notably

during the three consecutive weeks from PassionSunday to the Sunday o f Quasimodo . The se entertainments were very bri ll iant

,and one heard there

no t only the be st singers and virtuosos which Francecould produce , but soon there was not a foreignarti st o f any worth who did not hold i t an honor toappear and be applauded the re . I t wi l l suffice torecall such name s as Be sozzi

,Heisse r

,Rodolphe

,

Viotti, Jarnow ick, Farinel l i, Caffare ll i , Davide , Men

gozzi , Mmes . Todi, Mara, e tc . I t goe s wi thoutsaying that rel igious and symphonic music occupieda good part o f the p rogramme . The orchestra andthe choruses were large and excel lent and the Coneer t sp i r i tuel was one of the most ce lebrated institut ions of Paris .Another enterprise o f the same sort and likewise

very interesting,was that o f the Concer ts a

’es ama

teu rs, founded about 1 7 75, by a former general, M .

de La Haye,and organized by subscript ion . The

orchestra, excel lent also, was directed by Gossec,and i t was there that one heard for the first timethe symphonie s o f Toesky, o f Vanhall

,of Van

Mal d er,o f Stam itz , of Gossec, and finally those o f

Haydn which were fi rst heard in France in 1 7 79 .

I t was expre ssly for th is insti tut ion,which took in

1 780 th e t itle o f Coneer t de l a L oge O lymp ique, thatHaydn wrote several of h is famous symphonies .These two enterprise s

,far from being unfriendly

rivals,grew and prospered side by side

,and gave

every sign of a long and vigorous l ife , when theevents which were to change the face o f Franceand unsettle E urope came to give them a mortalblow. The R evolu tion was muttering, 1 7 89 wasapproaching

,and with the new regime was to open

a new and brill iant phase for the history of Frenchmusic .

To the R evolut ion, indeed , may be traced thethree principal cause s o f thi s magnificent fl ight ofmusical art : fi rst

,the l iberty o f the theatres

,de

creed in 1 7 9 1 by the National Assembly, and whichresulted in several new theatres

,devoted wholly or

in part to the lyric genre ; second, the founding o f

the Conserva toire which spread the instruction o f music, and cultivated a general tastefor i t ; finally

,the ce lebration o f the great public

republican fest ivals, at which much attention wasgiven to music

,and for which grand symphonies

and patriotic songs were written and performed .

Bear in mind also that just at th i s t ime France sawthe sudden deve lopment o f a l i ttle group o f gifted

M USI C I N FRAN CE

musicians,

Méhul,L esueur

,Berton

,Boie ld ieu

,

Cate l,beh ind which was a whole army o f charming

composers of the le sse r magnitude,such as

Devienne,Gaveaux

,Sol ie, Kreutzer, Jadin , Gres

nick,De lla Maria

,and it i s easy to bel ieve that a

period opening under such favorable auspice s musthave been a brill iant one fo r the art .One more important fact remains to be ci ted , in

orde r to explain the enormous deve lopment of themus ical movement i n France at th i s t ime . In1 7 89 a new lyric theatre was establ i shed under thename o f th e T/ze'atre a

’eM ons ieur

,which i t was to

abandon a l i t tle later for that of tlze'ci tre F eydeau .

This theatre,which played Ital ian opera and French

ope'

ra com ique, brought be fore the Pari s publi c thebest troupe o f I tal ian singe rs which i t i s poss ibleto imagine . These singers

,whom the great viol in

i st Viotti sought out in I taly,were Raffanel li

,Man

dini , Mengoz z i, Viganoni, Roved ino , Mmes . Morichell i

,Balett i and Mand ini . They performed the

delightful ope ras of Paisie l lo,Guglie lmi

, C imarosa ,Picc inni

, Sarti , Sal ie ri , and the ir marvellous talent,quite as much as th is easy, vivacious and melodiousmusic, exe rcised a refining influence on the taste ofthe public and of the French singers . Then

,the

events of 1 79 2 having caused them to disperse ,th e tl ze

'

ci tre cle M onsieur (become the theatre F eya’eau ) devoted i tse lf to French ope

'

ra comique, andthus entered into competi tion with the Come

’

cl ie

I ta l ienne,which had abandoned thi s name and

adopted that of tl ie'

atre F ava r t. For ten yearsthe se two theatres were engaged in an energeticand uninterrupted struggle

,disastrous for both from

a financ ial point of view,but benefic ial to art

,

and astonish ingly fru itful in re sults . There wasduring thi s period a marve llous blossoming out of

masterpiece s on these two rival stage s,and i t may

truth fully be called the hero ic epoch of Frenchmusic .

In the course o f these ten years,th e composers

who made the glory o f these two theatres,and who

,

in almost every case,were just beginning the ir care ers

,

mani fe sted prodigious act ivi ty and an inexhaustiblefertil i ty . Such works appeared as E upnros ine, S tra

tonice,Mél icl ore et Pnros ine

,la Caverne

,le j eune

H enr i,Ar ioa’ant

,l’

I ra to,by Méhul l a F ami l le

Su i sse,Z ora

'

ime et Z u lna re,la D ot a

’e Suz ette

,B eni

ousRi le Ca l zf e cle B agcla rl , by Boie ldieu ; L oa’o '

isRa,

Me'

a’ee l

’

H o‘

tel ler ie por tuga ise, E l isa,les D eux

journees , la uni tion,by Cherub ini ; les P romesses

743

cl e ma r iage, l’

Ama nt a l’

e’

preuve, les R igueu r s (in

Cloi tre,M ontano ct S tep/i anie, P once a

’e Leon

,le

Del i re, by Berton l a Caver ne, Ye'

le'

mague, Pau l ct

L E S U E U R .F rom an eng ravmg in C lément 's Musmiens C é leb res .

Vi rginie, by I esueur ; ie P r isonnier,l’

Oncle va let,

l Opera Comique, by De lla Maria . Moreover,the

ancients continued the ir career,and Gretry pro

d uced P ier re le Gra na’

,L isOet/z, Gu il la ume Tel l

,

E l isca, while d Alayrac came forward wi th la S oire'e

orageuse, Cami l ie or le S outer r a in, R ome'

o etj nl iette,Gu lna re, Aa

’ete et D orsan

,Leon or le C/zci tea u a

’

e

M ontenero,P/i i l ippe et Georgette, Aa

’olpne et Cla r a

,

Ambroise and la Ma ison i solc‘

e. Somet ime s thel e sse r musicians met with great succe ss

,as for instance

Devienne with les ViSi ta ncl ines and les Come'

a’

iens

ambulants ; Gaveaux with l’

Amour fi l ia l , te Tra i té

nul,le Peti t M a telot

,le D ia li l e cou leur o

’e rose

Kreutzer with L ozlo'

isRa and P au l et Vi rg inie ; Soliewith le D iaOle a qua tre,j ean et Genevieve

,le Secret

,

le j ockey ,le C/i ap i tre secoua

’; Bruni with l ’Ofi cier

cle for tune,Z oOerne

,la R encontre en voyage, les

SaOotiers,le Major P a lmer and l ’Au teur cl ans son

744FAM OUS COMP OSERS

I t was not until 1 80 1 that the rivalry betweenthese two theatres ceased

,a consol idation be ing

effected in that year . The new theatre thus formedfrom the two old ones styled i tse lf Tt eem de l

’

Opera

Comique, a name which i t st il l bears to - day . But i thas been observed that the decree of 1 7 9 1 cause da great many othe r theatres to sp ring up

,some o f

which were in part devoted to music ; these latte rwere the Tfiéa‘ tre- N a tiona l

,the Tt eem L ouvois

,th e

TheatreM ontansier,th e Tlzéatre a

’es j eunes Ar tis tes

,

and some othe rs o f le ss importance . The ir repertoires were furni shed for the most part by th e youngcompose rs who could not approach the great stage sof the F ava r t and the F eydea u . I t was the se secondrate theatre s that brought out l ’

Amantja loux ,Sel ico

and la j ourne'

ea’

e l’

Amour,by Mengoz z i les E roui l

ler ies,l

’

Orage, les N oces {te L ucette,l

’

Antzpa t/zie,le Pe

’

lcr in, leMont Alp/Zea , les Peti ts Montagna ra’s,

by the e lde r Fo ignet Alp/zonse et L eonore,te Peti t

P age, le R a iser a’onné et rena

’u,les F aux Monnay

cur s,le T uteur or igina l

,by Gresnick Ze'l ia

,le Peti t

,

O/p/zée, by De shaye s L is ia’ore cl M onrose

,le Tam

Oou r in a’e Pr ovence, by Scio le Coucou and A l is

bel le,by Jadin ; l

’H is toire universel le, M arie/on

,

Tur lu tutu and les D eux Clza rOonniers , by CousinJacque s F lora , by Fay, e tc .

I t i s easy to understand the development and theimportance wh ich such abundant production gaveto dramatic music . I t may be declared that fromthis pe riod date s a true French school o f music ;that i s to say

,a company of arti sts united by the

same ideas,th e same trad itions

,the same tendenc ie s

,

working towards the same end,pro fess ing the same

principle s,and giving musically

,by th e ir particular

and personal understanding of the art, proofs o f avery real and strongly characteriz ed national ism .

These doctrines and principle s were greatlystrengthened through the teaching o f the Conservatoi re

,where the French musicians who professed

them had every opportuni ty to apply and propagatethem . Ind eed , the Conserva toire founded in 1 7 94

by the National Convention and placed under thedirection of Sarre tte

,uni ted in its corps o f instruc

tors a ll the d istinguished arti sts which the countryafforded . There were Méhul

, Gossec and Cherubinifor composi tion ; Cate l and Be rton for harmony ;Garat

, R iche r, Plantade, Mengoz z i, Lasuz e, Guichardand Jad in for melody Rode, Kreutze r, Baillot andGrasse t for the viol in ; R omberg and L evasseur forthe Vio lonce llo Louis Adam _ and Boie ldieu for the

p iano ; L efevre , Duvernoy, O z i, De lcambre, H ugot,

Devienne, Dornnich and Sallentin for the wind ihstruments ; and Tourette , Widerkehr, Gobert andRogat for the solfeggio . Finally

,to insure perfect

uni ty to the system of instruction, Sarrette had the

profe ssors draw up a serie s of Methods cal led the

M ét/zoa’es o’

u Conserva toi re, which were published atthe expense of the Government for use in the various classe s . Thus i t was that Rode

, Kreutzer andBail lot wrote a Me

'

tnoa’e a’e violon

, Lou is Adam aMetnoa’e a

’e p iano, Mengoz z i and his colleague s a

Met/l ode zle clzant,e tc . In this way the unity of the

principle s was rigorously maintained,and i t is for

thi s reason that the Paris Conserva toi re has remainedto thi s day at the head o f all the e stabl ishments of

thi s kind in E urope .,I t i s for thi s reason also that

i t has prese rved intact i ts vigor and its personal ity .

I t was at th i s time,that i s to say during the rev

o lut ionary period , that French composers had 0c

cas ion to exerc ise the ir facult ie s i n a special d irect ion, in wri ting by orde r of the Government, for thegreat republ ican festivals, some elaborate choral andsymphonic composi tions, and patriotic songs designed to be sung in the op en air by vast numberso f people . Al ready , i n a burst of patriotic zeal,R ouget de L i sle , a natural musician , but without instruction , had endowed France with the be st w arsong ever written, that Marse illaise (war song of thearmie s o f the Rhine ) which has become for his compatr iots the symbol of independence and of l iberty .

On the occasions of th e fe s tivals of which I speak,

France ’s most celebra ted artis ts produced somenoble and superb composi tions

,which

,unhappily

,

were destined to disappear wi th the epoch and thec ircumstance s wh ich gave them birth . I t was inthi s way that Méhul wrote

,among other things

,his

maj estic C/zant o’u depa r t (the only one which hassurvived ) and h is splendid Cl i ant o

’u 25 Mess ia’or

,

for th re e choruse s and thre e orchestras ; that Gossec gave the Clzant an 1 4 j uil let, the H ymne a

‘

la

Victoire and the Hymne a l ’H umanité ; Cherubini ,anothe r Hymne a la Victoi re, and the Ode sur le 1 8

F ructia’or Cate l, the Hymne a l ’E ga l i té, the C/zant

o’u I O AozZt and the Clzantpour l ’anniversa ire cl e la

f ona’a tion de la R e

’

publ ique Gretry,the ArOre de la

L iber te' Berton

,th e I fymnepour la f t te a’e l ’Agr icul

ture ; L esueur, the C/zant du 9 Tnermia’or ; Pleyel,the I fymne a la l iber te', etc . ,

etc .

From all that has been said one may see c learlythat the close o f the e ighteenth century was a de

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746

to the front those two talented arti sts Herold andAuber

,who

,each in h i s ow n genre, will rai se to such

a he ight the glory and fame of French art . I t i sthe Ope'ra Comique which wil l be the special fi eld of

As to the Opera ,i t w i l l reflect

for a while the radiance of two famous compose rs,al l the se music ian s .

L e sueur and Spontin i, to fal l back afte r a few years,in to an apathy from which i t can be roused only bythe thunde r ~ clap o f l a M uette a

’e Por tici .

While d ’

Alayrac was giv ing his last works P ica ros

et D iego, une H eure cle ma r iage, Gu l is tan,L ina ou

leM 's/ere,Méhul pursued the course o f h is bri ll iant

career,and brought out in quick success ion uneF ol ie,

H e'

lena,les deux Aveugles a

’e Toletl e

,Utlza l

, Ga

Or iel le zl’

E s tre'

es and finally his admirabl e j osep lz ,which had a wide - spread reputation, and sufficed toimmortal ize h is name . L a j ournée a ux aventures

and Va lentine a’e [Milan (posthumous work ) were

the last mani festations of h is genius at the OperaComioue. During th is time Berton had given to

thi s theatre,Al ine, reine a

’e Golcona’e, les M a r is ga r

eons, F rangoise cle F oix and IVinon c/zez I II me. a’o

Se'

vigne' Cate l had won applause with l ’

Aq rge cl e

B agneres , les Ar tis tes pa r occa s ion,les Aq rgis tes

a’e qua l i té and Wa l la ce or lo M e

'

nes trel écossa is,and

Nicolo entered the l i s t with I II ic/zel —Ange, l’I ntr igue

auxfenetres , les R ena’ez - vous bourgeois , les Confiden

ces , Cena’r i l lon and le B i l let cle loter ie. With these

works N icolo had gained great favor with the public ,but h is star was destined to pale at the re turn of

Boieldieu for notwithstanding his grace , h i s charmand fac il i ty, he was obliged to lay down h is arms before h is rival . Boieldieu gave j ean de Pa r is , whichenchanted i ts hearers ; Nicolo responded with leP r ince cle Ca tane ; Boie ldi eu reappeared with le

N ouveau Seigneur a’e vil lage, Nicolo repl ied with

jocona’e and j eannot cl Col in

,hi s two masterpiece s .

But Boie ld ieu ’s la F ete o’u vi l lage carried al l be fore

i t,and Nicolo

,vanqu ished, gave up the fight and

died afte r bringing out h is l ’

Une pour l’

a utre andles D eux M a r is . Boie ldieu then gave succe ssivelyle Pet it Clz aperon rouge, les Voi tures ver se

'

es and thatdelightful D ame Ola /rel i c

,which

,played to - day after

a lapse o f seventy years, seems as fre sh as on theday o f i ts birth, and counts more than fi fte en hundred performance s . L a D ame Olanc/ze was thecrowning point of i ts author ’s glory, to which hislast opera

,les D eux N ui ts

,could add noth ing .

But two stars were ri s ing, Herold and Auber, whowere beginning to endow the Opera Com ique with a

FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

With Bo ield ieu , with Herold, with Auber,the

genre of ope'

ra - comioue assumed a musical importance

,a fullnes s of form and an intensi ty o f expression

More thanthi s

,in the hands of the se richly gifted artists, style

had taken a new characte r,an independence o f

rhythm which i t ce rtainly had not posse ssed in

wh ich was as ye t almost unknown to i t .

France before that time . The formula had d isappeared and made way for a melodic form more nimble

,more vivaciou s and more fre e in its movements .

On the other hand, harmony had become more richand more abundant

,the orchestra had taken a dis

t inc t and conside rable importance,and the union o f

the instruments and voice s produced effects of whichthe p receding music ians had furnished no example .

R oss in i ’s powerful influence made itself fe lt byFrench music ians

,and the means which he em

ployed seemed to them good to apply to the i r own

works . But whatever they appropriated in thi s waydid not in the slightest degree affect the independence o f the ir musical or dramatic insp i rat ion .

The revolu tionary period had not been so favorable to the Opera as to the Ope

'

ra Comique. Duringthe se disturbed times

,not a single interes ting work

had appeared at thi s theatre,which contented itse lf

with playing numberle ss so - called patriotic p iecesin which poli tical passions held a much larger placethan the musical element . Only one serious work,

success ion o f charming works,s tamped on the part

o f the fi rst with passion,tenderness and melancholy

on the part of the second with a lightness and airygrace that was ful l o f charm . Both

,moreover

,were

gifted with very personal qual i t ies and an incontestable original i ty . Herold had made a bril l iant débutwith les R os ieres and la Cloclzette

,after which he had

written,among other works

,les Troqueurs , le M u le

tier,and above allM a r ie

,which gave proof already of

his dramatic and passionate temperament . Auber,l e ss happy at the outset

,had quickly risen into emi

nence with la B ergere Cnci tela ine, E mma and L eicos ter , which promptly followed la N eige

,L e

'

ocaa’ie,

F iorel la and le Concer t a la cour . While these twoarti sts were thus winning fame for themselves

,some

composers o f lower rank,whose works are to

day well - nigh '

forgotten,were making a place by

thei r s ide . They were Catrufo , Fréd éric Kreubé ,

Bochsa,Dourlen

,Feti s

,and chief among them

, Ca

rafa,who i s sti l l remembered by such works as le So

l i ta ire,la Violette

,le Va let cle Cl i amOre and Masa

M US I C'

I N F RAN CE

Ad r ien, appeared at that time , and if the ti tle of

another work,Anacre

’

on clzez Poly cr a te, be l ikewiseremembered , i t i s sole ly out of re spect for th e nameof i ts author

,Gretry . When internal equil ibrium

was re- established by the advent of the consulate ofBonaparte , the pol i tical p iec es disappeared from therepe rtoire of th e Ope'ra , but few new works, if weexcept Catel ’s Semiram is and L e sueur ’s Oss ian, orles P a r ties

, obtained real success . One recalls suchtitles as As ty anax ,

by Kreutze r Tamer lan and Castor cl Pol lux

,by Winter P roserp ine, by Paisie llo

and Ma/zomet I L,by Jad in but not one of these

operas was able to make a biding place for i tse lfupon the stage .

I t was rese rved to Spont ini to arouse at lengthfrom i ts le thargy both the t heatre and the public

,

and i t was la Ves ta le which was to accompl ish thegreat deed . Al though Spontin i ’s music may be sometimes incorrec t

,it would be imposs ible to deny the

superb power, the manly and heroic characte r of thegenius o f th i s great arti st . Moreover

,by the s ide of

the weak and languish ing works which appeareddaily at the Opera , the score o f la Ves ta le

abounding in l ife , in movement and pass ion, with i tsmarvel lou s dramatic fe e l ing

,with i ts rec i tative s ful l

o f color and breadth,with its fine pathetic passage s

,

could not but enthus e a public weary o f so manyinane produc tions

,and which found i tself at las t i n

the presence of a noble,vigorous and really touch ing

work which took a v ital hold upon i t,and quickened

its heart - beats . This début o f Spontin i ’s was amaster—stroke , and hi s success was complete , aidedas i t was by the bril l iant talent o f his interpre ters :Laine’ , Lai's, Dérivis, Mme . Branchu and Mlle .

Mail lard .

L a Ves ta le had placed Spontini ve ry high in public e steem . F ernancl Cor tez

,produced two years

late r, added sti l l more to hi s renown . There was inthi s new work a fullness o f form

,a power o f expre s

s ion, the secret of w hich had se emed to have beenlost with Gluck and i f Spontin i ’s puri ty o f styl ewas le ss great than that of h is immortal maste r

,the

power of hi s work was augmented by the color,the

movement, the scope which he gave to the orche stra .

The triumph of F ernancl ..Cor tez was even greaterperhaps than that of la Ves ta le

,and Spontin i was

placed once for al l in the fi rs t rank o f composerswho worked for the great French lyric stage .Be tween Spontin i ’s two master - p iece s L esueur

had again appeared upon the stage o f the Ope'ra

74 7

with a new work,la Mor t rl

’Ao

’am

,which was far

from be ing as happy as h is preced ing opera,Oss ian,

or les P a r ties . The truth i s that L esueur,though a

great music ian,was not a great dramatic musician

,

notwithstanding his succe sses at the Opéra Comiguewith la Caverne and Pa ul et Virginie. Chapel—mas

"

te r at Notre - Dame , Pari s , his severe , solemn andpompous style was bette r su ited to the church thanto the theatre ; thus i t i s e specially in his religiouscompositions

,in h is Masses

,his Te Deum and his

oratorios (Debora/z , R a cli el,R u t/z et N oem i

,R u t/i

et B ooz ) that one must look for the powerful andmaj e stic genius of L esueur .L a Mor t cl

’Ao

’am

,brought out e ight months be

fore F ernana’ Cor tez , had been coldly rece ived onthe contrary

, Catel’

s les B ayacleres , performed eightmonths after, excited some degree of enthusiasm onthe part of the public . Cate l , an artist too l itt le remembered to - day

,was a music ian of rare talent

,a

remarkable theore t ic ian,and a composer o f a gen

erous and abundant insp irat ion . One need not seekin the B ay aa

’éres

,the elements o f a new theory ap

plied to dramatic music ; but i t i s an interes tingwork

,of excel lent style , pleasing in i ts form ,

full ofgrace and elegance

,with a l iving orche stration

wri tten by a maste r - hand . One can scarce ly understand

,in study ing h is works , how the name of an

art i st so remarkable,so richly gifted as Catel, could

have disappeared so comple te ly from the musicalworld . Truly he dese rve s to be remembered

,and

his B ayaa’eres

,which kept i ts place in the repertoire

of the Opera for nearly twenty years, had quite adifferent value from the j e

'

r usa lem cle'

l ivre'

e by Persuis

,which appeared at thi s theatre shortly after

,and

which left the publ ic wholly ind iffe rent . Cherubini’

s

les AOencérages did not succeed much be tte r ; butCherubini , an artist of superior genius

,though a

trifle cold,had proved hi s talent at the Ope'ra - Com

ique, where he had mad e a strik ing and prolongedsuccess . However

,i t i s perhaps to h is religious mu

s ic,to his superb masse s

,espec ially h i s incomparable

consecration mass,rathe r than to h is operas

,that

Cherubini owed the high situation and the immensefame which he had come to conquer in France , hi sadopted country .

The Ope'ra was at that time , and had been forsome years

,in a d ifficult si tuat ion

,which only grew

worse frornday to day . Gluck ’s five master - piece s,A lces te

,Armio

’e,Orp l i e

'

e and the two Iplzzgénies

whose appearance had been so triumphant,had

748 FAM OUS COMP OSERS

comple tely ki lled the anc ient repertoire and rendered thence forth imposs ible the performance o f theworks which had preceded them . But the Ope’rahad l ived on these masterp ie ce s for nearly half acentu ry

,and as the spectators knew them al l by

heart, they at length weari ed o f l i s ten ing to them .

L a Ves ta le and F ernana’ Cor tez had offe red a pleasing variety

,but the maj ority of th e new works, of

l i t tl e or no value,only appeared to d isappear . L es

B ay a/leres obtained a sort o f vogue, and the samemay be said of Alaa

’in or la L ampe merveil leuse, a

posthumous opera by N icolo . But the se were thetwo e xceptions

,and the public had only ind iffer

ence or merited disdain for the works which wereoffered them during this barren pe riod . Some o f

the se were AOel and la P r incesse o’e E aOy lone by

Kreutzer,Méa’ée et j ason , by Fontenel le A lcibiaa

’

e

sol i ta i re,by Al exandre Piccinni N a tna l ie or la L a i

tiere Suisse,by Reicha R oger cle S ici le

,by Berton

les j euxfloraux,by Leopold Aymon al l of which

rece ived the same welcome,and after a few meagre

representat ions,disappeared

,l eaving no trace be

hind them . Spontin i h imself ran aground with a newwork Olymp ic, which was powerle ss to renew thesuccess of the olde r ones . Then there followed inrapid succession la M or t zl u Ta sse and F lores tan, byGarcia (the fathe r of Malibran ) Sap lzo, by ReichaVirginie, by Berton ; Ips iOoe’, by Kreutzer and laB el le a u lzois a

’ormant

,by Carafa, and the public

continued to remain impassive . Gluck ’s reperto iregave way more and more

,but all efforts to replac e

i t by works of value cont inued fru i tl ess .I t was then that Rossin i, that bri l l ian t genius

whose fame had spread over all E urope,was called

to Pari s and charged with writing some new worksfor the Ope'r a . People looked to him to rouse thistheatre from the le thargic state into which i t hadfallen . But before committing himself too far, Rossin i wished first to try the ground

,and to fami liarize

h imself with a language of whose secre ts he had buta very imperfec t knowledge . He commenced the refore by adapting to the French stage two of hi sItal ian operas

,M a ometto secona

’o,which he called le

S iege a’

e Cor int/ze,and M ose which became M oise

,

and brought out one on Oct . 9 , 1 826, and the othe ron March 26

,1 82 7 . At last the publ ic found some

th ing to wonder at in thi s l iving,vibrating

,volup

tuous music o f the s outh,and rece ived i t wi th verit

able enthusiasm . I t comprehended the importanceof the evolution wrought by R ossin i in the style of

dramatic music,was struck by the novelty o f the

means employed by the composer,and fe lt instinc

t ively that an era o f re juvenation was about to openfor the lyri c drama

,so long stuck fast in a rut from

which i t could not fre e itself.However, i t was not Rossin i himself who was to

give the signal for the important evolu tion which thegrand lyric drama was about to undergo in France .

This honor was re served to a national composer,

Auber, who excited great publ ic enthusiasm by theproduction

, on Feb . 2 9 , 1 828, of la M uette cle Por

tici . L a M uette,indeed

,was the fi rs t work con

ceived in the ideas of the modern school,with the

vast proport ions,the great dramatic sentiment and

the varie ty of means which are its distinguish ingtrai ts . L a M uette was a revelation

,in the sense

that from the first stroke and without he sitation i tgratified the unformed d esi res and satisfied the vagueaspirat ions o f the public . The ampleness of thedevelopments , the original ity and refinement of theharmony

,the richness and solidity o f the orchestra

,

the fre shness and abundance of the flow of melody,

the trimness and prec is ion of the rhythm,finally a

dramatic expre ss ion ris ing often to a towering height,

such are the qualiti e s which characteriz ed th i s remarkable work

,which was afterwards surpassed by Wi l l iam

Tel l,les H uguenots and le Propnete, but which , l e t i t

be remembered,remained the point of departure of

the new e ra opened to dramatic music . The influence exe rc ised by l a I ll uette was so great

,so power

ful,that i t was to the sounds o f the superb due t o f

Masanie llo and Pie tro,

“ Amour sacré de la patrie I ” that the Belgian revolution o f 1 830 brokeout , to which i t s e rved as a rallying cry .

From this moment the way was open,and the

comple te transformation o f the lyri c drama in themodern sense was about to be accompl ished throughthe labors o f Rossini, Meyerbeer and Halevy, threegreat music ians

,th re e noble artists

,o f different tem

peraments, but whose efforts were al l to convergetowards the same end . Afte r writing that charmingbit o f comedy, le Comte Ory , R oss ini gave to the Opera his splendid Wi l l iam Tel l

, and if thi s work, le sshappy than la M uette

,did not obtain at once the

success which i t merited, i t came o ff victorious inthe end

,and stil l remains one of the most magnifi

cent masterpieces eve r put upon the French lyricstage . Unfortunate ly, certain c ircumstance s whichremain a mystery to this day, arrested Rossin i in hisFrench caree r and prevented him from giving a

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750 FAM OUS COz I/P OSE RS

succe ssor to thi s maste rp iece . I t was at this t imethat Auber brought out h is two pretty operas, loP l zi l tre and le D ieu et la B ayao

’ere then came

Meyerbeer,who took the publ ic by storm and scored

a splendid triumph with h is R oOer t le D iable.

At last there was a departure from the school ofGluck

,and dramatic music had found in France a

new form . Afte r Auber and Meye rbeer,Halevy

ente red the lis t,and la j u ive (1 83 a superb and

nobly inspired work,placed him in the fi rst rank of

artists on whom the future had good reason to count .Halevy approached Meyerbee r in the power of

dramatic sentiment and the skill in managing greatcombinations

,but he prese rved his ow n personal i ty

,

and was distinguished by c haracteri stic s which wereh is alone . In la R eine { le Clzyp re, C/za r les VI .,

Guicl o et Ginevra ,as well as la te r in te j u if er rant

,

and in la M agicienne, which deserved a be tte r fate ,these qual iti e s stood out i n bold re lief . However,Halevy had given his ful l measure in l a j uive, whichhe never surpassed

,whereas Meyerbe e r reached

a greater he ight with les H uguenots than with R oOer t .

L es H uguenots produced an immense impression ,but afte r bearing away thi s vic tory

,Meyerbee r was

si lent for thi rteen years . I t was during th i s t imethat Niedermeyer

,a music ian possess ing undoubted

talent,but not o f the fi rst orde r

,ventured upon the

stage o f the Ope'ra with S tra zz’el la ,followed byM ar ie

S tua r t, and a li ttle later by la F ron/le. Not one o fthese works held i ts place for any length of t imeupon the stage . I t was then also that Berl ioz cameforward with h is B envenuto Cel l i ni , which fai led socompletely that noth ing was prese rved intact butthe beautiful overture known since then under thename o f Ca rnava l R oma in . Then Donize tti wrotefor the Opera ,

la F avor i te,which met with great

succe ss,and les M a r ty rs (Pol iuto ) , after which he

gave in French h is L ucie a’e L ammermoor

,which

was almost as successful as la F avor i te. Soon Verdiappeared with an adaptation o f h is opera i L omOa ra

’

i which he brought out under the title o f j érusa lem

,and in which the ce lebrated tenor Duprez

appeared for the last time . The most renownedsingers of th i s long period of the h i story of the Ope'rawere Adolphe Nourrit, Se rda , Dérivis

,L evasseur

,

Duprez,Barro ilhet, Al iz ard , Mmes . Branchu , Jawurek,

Cint i - Damoreau , Falcon , Dorus - Gras and Stoltz .

R e turning to the Ope'

ra Comique, we wil l findthe re Herold ’s two great maste rp iece s

,the works o f

Aube r ’s second manne r, and the fi rst attempts of

some young music ians such as Adolphe Adam ,

Halevy,Ambroise Thomas

,Grisar

,Hippolyte Mon

pou and Clap isson,some o f whom were to become

famous . But first i t i s necessary to note an important fact ; th e founding of th e S ocie'te' o

’es Concer ts

(in Conserva toi re due to the enterp rise of

Cherubini , who had become director of the Conservatoi re

, and o f H abeneck then l eader of the orchestraat the Opera . Under H abeneck

’s energetic and in

tel l igent di rection the Société des concer ts soon became the most ce lebrated assoc iation of the kind inE urope

,and i t i s acknowledged that nowhere

,not

even in Germany,have Beethoven ’s works been ex

eCuted with greater,

perfection . H abeneck’

s successors have been Girard

,Tilmant

,George H ainl

,

Deld evez,Al tés and Garcin .

At the Opera Comique Herold and Auber pursued the ir brill iant career . That of Herold was toosoon cut off by death

,l eaving him only time to write

two splendid masterp ieces,Zampa and P re

'

aux

Cler cs . But for more than thirty years Auber occupied the stage of the Opera Comique with a seriesof charming works

,among which should be men

tioned especially l a F iance'e F ra D iavolo, L es tocg,

le C/zeva l a’e Oronz e

,Acteon

,l’

AmOassaa’r ice

,le

D omino noi r,les D iamants a

’e la couronne

,la Pa r t

o’

u D iaOle,la S i rene

,H aya

’ée

, j enny B el l,Manon

L escau t,leP remier jou r cleOonneur . Very soon came

Adolphe Adam and Halevy to take the i r places bythe side of Auber . Adam was an amiable musician

,

full of good humor which sometimes bordered on

vulgarity . L ike Auber he showed a remarkable fer~t il ity, and won great success with le Clza let, la Ma r

qu ise, le Pos ti l lon a’e L onjumeau

,le B rasseur a

’e

P res ton,la R eine zl

’

un f our , la R ose a’o Pe

'

ronne,la

R oi d’

Yvetot,Gi ra la

’a,le Sour/l , le Toreaclor and

othe r works . During this t ime he also wrote for theOpe

'

ra the charming music o f several balle ts : Gisel le

,la F il le o

’u D anq

,le Corsa i re

,la y ol ie F i l le

cle Gana’. Halevy, a musician of l e ss abundant

inspirat ion,but more even than Adam

,l ikewise

attained marked successe s,notably with l ’

E cla ir,

les IVI ousgueta i res a’e la reine

,la F e

'

e aux roses,le

Va l d’Ana

’or re. Next i t was M . Ambroise Thomas

,

who made a mos t happy beginning with la D ouOle

E clzel le, le Panier fleur i,I ll ina , le Per ruquier de la

R e'

gence, and who afterwards won distinction withR aymond or le Secret cle la reine

,le S onge cl

’

un nui t

cl’

e'

té,le Ca

'

ia’

,Psy clze

’

,.M

'

ignon,his masterpiece , and

G i l le et Gi l lotin .

M US I C I N F RAN CE

To the same generation be longed Grisar,who gave

to the Ope'ra Comique, S a ra/i , l’

An mi l, Gi l le ravis

seur,les Por c/zerons

,B onsoi r

,monsieur Pa nta lon

,

leCa r i l lonneur a’eB ruges Hip

polyte Moupou,who brought

out le L a t/t ier a’e Vienne

,P i

qui l lo, les D eux R eines ; C lapisson

,who produced la F igu

r ante,la Per ruc/ie

,le Coa

’c noi r

,

Gibby la cornemuse ; Gomis,who wrote lo D iable a Sevi l le

,

le R evenant,le Por tefa ix ; also

a number of others whom Imust limi t myse lf to namingwithout mentioning their worksBatton

,Gide

,Rifaut

,Thys

,Des

préaux,E ugene Prevost

,the

younger Bo ie ld ieu,Georges

Bousque t, Justin Cadaux, HenryPotie r

,Francoi s Bazin

,E ugene

Gautier, Onslow, Theodore La

barre,Bal fe

, E rne st Boulanger,Duprato , Jule s Cohen , e tc .

Then came a new generationo f musicians who gave a serie so f admirable works to the OperaCom ique. The se men wereH enri R ebe r

,to whom we owe

la N u i t a’e N oe

'

l,les Pap i l

lotes a’e M . B enoi t

,le Pere

Ga i l la ra’

,les D ames cap i ta ines

Victor Massé , who won muchapplause with la C/zanteuse voi lée

, Ga la tee,les N oces

zlej eannette, la N ui t dc Cleopci tre ; Fél icien David ,who scored a triumph with L a l la R oule/z .

About th i s t ime another musical s tage started upin Paris

,which greatly fac il i tated the debu ts of the

young arti sts,and which increased production to a

conside rable extent . In 1 847 Adam founded theOpera N a tiona l

,which soon became the Tlzéatre

Ly r ique, and which afte r a few struggles became oneof the most important arti st ic inst i tu tions of Pari s,and so remained until i t di sappeared in 1 876.

There,fo r more than twenty years, flourished a

considerable repe rtoire o f works , often very re

markable,which the Ope

'

ra and Ope'

ra Comique

afterwards seized upon, and some o f which were theglory of France and o f the ir authors . I t was at theTneatre- Ly r ique that M . Gounod

,who had started

his career at the Opera with Supp/to without great

75 1

success, gave one after anothe r le Meu’ccia ma lgre’

lu i, F aus t, R ome

'

o et j u l iette, M i rei l le,P/z zle

'

mon et

B a ucis . I t was there tha t Aimé Maillart mad e

A DO LPH E AD AM .

From a d raw ing by F . Krii ger, l it hog raphed by Rem ij.

himself known wi th Ga s tibel z a and les D r agons zle

Vi l la rs,

’ M . R eye r with M a itre PVol/ram and la

S ta tue M . Poise with B onsoi r Voi s in and les

C/za rmeurs,

’

B iz e t wi th les P ic/teur s a

’e per les and

la j ol ie F il le a’e Per tli M . Gevaert wi th Georgette,

le B i l let a’e M a rguer i te and les L ava na

’ieres a’e

S anta rem Th . Semet with les N u i ts cl’

E spagne, G i l

B las and la D emoisel le cl’

l zonneur,Leo De l ibe s with

M a i tre Gr ifi a rcl and le j a r rl inier ci son seigneu r .

Seve ral o the r young arti sts also appeared at th eTl i éci tre- Ly r ioue : MM . Jule s Cohen , Lou is Deflé s

,

Th . de Lajarte, Jonciéres , Vogel , Wekerl in,Boisselo t

,

Dautresme. I t was to thi s theatre also that Halevygave j agua r i ta l

’

I na’

ienne,Grisar les Amours a

’

u

(l iable and la C/za tte mervei l leuse, Adam le B ijou

p era’

u,le M u letier a

’e Tolecl e

,la P oupée (l e N a rem

berg, S i j’

éta is roi / C lap isson la F ancl i onnette,

Ma igot, la P romise,Berl ioz les Troyens, Fel ic i en

52 FAM OUS C OMP OSE R S

David la Per le o’u B re

'

s i l,V ic tor Massé la R eine

Topaz e and la F e'e Ca rabosse.

But the Tbeatre- Ly r ique did no t confine itse lf to

RE B E R.

From an eng raving by C . Deb lo I S,I S67 .

bringing ou t new works,and a part o f i ts bril l ian t

existence was devoted to reviv ing the earl i er worksand t ranslating foreign ones

,al l o f which were

mounted with extreme care and sung by first —classarti sts . Thus i t attrac ted al l Pari s i n offering to thepublic Gluck ' s Orp l i eus , Mozart ’s F iga r o, D onj uan,T/ze M agic F lu te and T/ie Seragl io, Beethoven ’sF idel io

,\’Veber

’

s Oberon,D er F reis c/i u tz

,E ury antbe

and Abou H assan,Monsigny

’

s F e'

l ix,Berton ’s Al ine

,

Mehul ’s j osep l i , Gretry ’s R ic/za r fl Cceur - cle- L ion,

Wagner ’s R ienz i,etc . One heard in the se operas

such artists as Micho t,Troy

,Montjauz e, I smael ,

Barre,Wartel

,Lutz

,Puget

,Mmes . Marie Cabe l

,

Carvalho , Ugalde , Marie Sasse , Viard o t , Marimon ,Chri stine N ilsson , Charton - Demeur

,de Maésen

,

Devries, Lefebvre , Rey Balla, R osine Bloch , Dara in ,

etc .

The caree r o f the Tl zea tre—Ly r ique, interrupted in1 870 , was renewed on various occasions

,but always

under difficul t conditions . At long inte rvals i t sti l lbrought ou t important works : Pau l et Vi rginie by

Victor Massé, le Timbre d ’

a rgent, E tienne IVI a rcel ,

S amson ci D a l i la by M . Sa int~ Saéns, D imi tr i by M .

Jonc ieres, le B r avo by M . Salvayre, le Capi ta ine

F r aca sse, by M . Emile Pessard , les Ama nts de Ve'rone

by M . R ichard Yrvid . But a number o f years agoi t seemed to d isappear for good

,a fact greatly to be

deplored, since for more than a quarte r o f a centurythe Tlzéatre- Ly r ique had rendered ines timable serv ice , and i ts exi stence had lent to dramatic musicin France a power o f expansion which i t i s far frompossessing to - day

,owing to the absence of stimulus

to the composers .we have now arrived at the last period o f thi s

rapid sketch o f the history o f musical art i n Franced uring two centuri e s that i s to say

,the contempo

raucous pe riod , o f which Gounod i s assuredly themost i l lustrious repre sentat ive . Afte r the appearance a t the Ope‘ra o f Meyerbeer ’s P rophet, whichdid not rece ive at the outset the welcome w hich itmerited , afte r the representation o f two o f Auber’sworks , justly forgotten to - day : l ’

E nf a nt p rod igueand Zer l ine, Gounod gave to thi s theatre threeoperas which were not abl e to keep their: place on

th e repe rtoire : S ap/t o, la N onne sangla nte and laR eine de S aba . I t was at the Tl i éatre- Ly r ique

especially that Gounod was to triumph with F aust,R ome

'

o et y u l iette, I II i rei l le, le Me

'

decin ma lg re'

lui,

and P l t i lemon et B aucis . Fel ici en David ’s H erca

la num and the shame ful downfall of R ichard Wagner ’s Tannlza

’

user,due to a silly cabal

,preceded

the appearance o f Meyerbeer ’s last work,l’Af r ica ine,

given a short time after h i s death . Afte rwardscame R oland a R oncevaux by Mermet

,a produc

tion of no appreciable value,les Vep res S ici l iennes

and D on Ca r los, two operas wri tten by Verdi expressly for France

,and H amlet by Ambroise

Thomas,a work whose success seemed to mark a

step in the h istory o f the Ope'

ra . I t was also aboutth is period that Leo De libes fi rst won renown withhis del ightful balle ts la S ource

,Coppel ia , Sy lvia .

The t ime was now approaching for the youngFrench school to make i ts triumphant entry at theOpe

'

ra . I f Ambroise Thomas appeared again withF rancoise de R imini , Gounod wi th Polyeucte and leTr ibut de Zamora ,

rathe r feeble manifestations ofthe ir genius

,which could add nothing to their

glory,th e standard was again upl ifted by Massenet

’

s

le R oi de L ahore, le Cid and le Mage, R eyer ’sS igurd , and S a l ammbo‘ , Saint - Saens’ H enri VI I I .

and Ascanio,Palad ilhe

’

s Pa tr ic and Bourgault - Du

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754

These efforts,which denoted great vigor

and force of wil l aided by powerful faculties, wereBefore that t ime

music .

crowned with bril liant succe ss .

JACQU E S O FFE N BAC HIn early manhood

,w hen he w as a mem ber of the orches t ra at t he Opera Com ique,F rom a port ra it by Laem lein, l 850, in t he l lbraryin Parts .

of t he Paris Opera .

symphonic musicians were rare in France,and of

the few exceptions Hector Berlioz was wi thoutquest ion the most glor ious . We all know now howdeserving o f fame was th i s great arti st

,so scorned

by hi s compatriots during hi s l ife time,but whose

glory to - day is radiant . Tbe D amna tion of F aus t,the fantastic symphony

,l’

E nf ance da C/z r is t, R ome'

o

etj u l iette, are works which the publ ic dai ly applaudwith enthusiasm . Fel ic ien David dese rve s to bementioned with Berl ioz

,were it only for his charm

ing symphonic poem le D e’

ser t,and for h is oratorio s

l’

E den and M oise a u S ina i . Gounod,who has

FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

wrestled succe ssfully wi th al l kinds of music , broughthimse l f in to notice in h is youth by some prettysymphonies

,as did also Onslow

,Henri R eber and

Theodore Gouvy . But all these attemptswere individual and isolated ; now, they

I t was to thefounding of Pasdeloup ’

s popular concertsare o f daily occurrence .

o f class ical music that was due that intere sting and curious movement on the partof our young composers in favor o f symphonic music . Pasd eloup dese rves lastinggrat itude for hi s efforts i n th i s direction ,for he d irected thus the education of thepubl ic

,and rendered an incalculable ser

vic e to the young compose rs . I t was atthe se popular concerts that Georges Bize t

,Saint - Saens

,Massenet

,E rnest Guiraud

,

Lalo,Th . Dubois

,and Charle s L efebvre

first made the ir names known to thepublic by bringing out the i r symphonie s ,orchestral su ite s

,overture s o r grand re li

gious works . By a singular phenomenonin the h istory of the art in France

,i t i s

with concert music that our artis ts fi rstgain notori ety

,and that they afte rwards

force the doors of the theatre,being no

longer unknown to the public when theyappear upon the stage . When

,following

Pasdeloup’

s example,MM . Colonne and

Ch. Lamoureaux e stabl ished the ir fineconcert enterprises

,the movement was

general ized,al l th e young composers vied

with each othe r in participat ing there in,

and now there i s neve r a programme ofone o f the se conce rts which doe s not

bear the name o f one or more o f themfor some important work . I t was thusthat B ize t brought out a symphony and

hi s two overture s Pa tr ic and Cid ; Saint - Saensseveral symphonies

,concertos and hi s symphonic

poems le Deluge, P/i ae'ton, l a D anse macabre,le

R ouet d’

Omp l i a le ; Massene t h i s orche stra su i te s,the Phedre overture and his o ratorios Ma r ie- M ag

delcine,E ve, la Vierge ; Mlle . Augusta Holmes her

symphon i c poems I r lando,Pologne, les Argonautes ,

L udus p ro Pa tr ia ; Lalo the F iesoue ove rture , theNorwegian R hapsody and several concertos Charle s L e febvre several symphon ic pieces and theoratorio s j ud i tlz and D a l i la ; Vincent d ’

I ndy achivaleresque symphony

,the Wallenstein tri logy

,

756 F AM OUS COMP OSE RS

the overture o f Antoine c l Cle'

opa tre, and the symphonic poem la Cloc/ze ; Cesar Franck th e oratoriosRedemp tion ,

R u t/z,les Bea ti tudes ; Th . Dubo i s

some orchestral p iece s and the oratorio le P ara d is

perdu Benj amin Godard le T asse,symphonic

poem ; Alphonse Duvernoy la Tempe‘

te,symphonic

poem ; Salvayre a S taba t M a ter and the orator iola Resur rection ; Ch. Lenepveu a R equ iem ; Mme .

de Grandval seve ra l suite s,a mass

,an oratorio

Sa inte Agnes , and a symphonic poem l a F oret ;

Chabrie r an orchestra fantasia E span'

a,

‘ Henr iMaréchal an oratorio l a N a tivi té. Afte r the se mustbe mentioned the . names o f our young compose rs

,

MM . Gabrie l Faure, Henry Duparc , And reMessager ,Widor

,Paul Lacombe , Bourgault - Ducoud ray, Emile

Pessard , Alexandre Gu ilman t, Will iam Chaume t ,Georges Pfeiffer, Joncieres, Auguste Chapuis, Lucien

Lambert,Alfred Bruneau

,And reWormser, Gabriel

Pierne’

,Paul Vidal

,Emile Bernard

,Mlle . Cecil e

Chaminade , e tc .

The inte re st and original i ty o f th i s movementcons ists not only in i ts power but in i ts general i ty

,

for to - day there i s no t one of the young music iansdesiring to make a name who does not address himself to the concerts be fore turning his eyes towardsthe theatre

,and who does not court the approbation

of the publ ic by some work of a serious characterand inconte stable te chnical skill . I n any case thelarge number of important works wri tten by somany diffe rent composers

,prove beyond question

the remarkable vital i ty,the power of expansion and

the force o f production o f the French musical schoolat the end of the nine teenth century .

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7 60 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

hold the ir own . But what of Madame Jus tinaChopin ? d id the compose r d erive h is impre ss ionable temperament from her ? d id he inheri t h i sSlavonic melancholy

,h i s Slavonic pass ion, from

her ? No le tter of h is to her has been pre served ;and the only matter - o f- fac t witne ss i s a Scotchlady, who me t Justina Chopin in her old age , andwho d escribed her as a neat

,quie t

,i n te l l igent o ld

lady, whose activene ss contras ted s trongly wi th thelanguor of her son, “ who had not a shadow of en

ergy in h im I ”What sort ofeducation d id Frederick Chopin

rece ive at h i s father ’s school,and at the Warsaw

Lyceum ? A smattering of L atin,obl igatory in the

school s patronized by gentle folk,a fair acquaint

ance wi th French (he never l iked to wri te inFrench ; he would traverse Pari s rathe r than r i ska l i ttl e note ) , the rud iments of mathematics , al i ttl e geography . There i s no trace o f h i s hav

ing had any real acquaintance wi th L atin or Gre ekl i te rature

,or wi th I tal ian or German

,or even wi th

French,other than the wri t ings o f R ousseau and

Voltai re,— e. g .

,R ousseau ’s La Nouve l l e Helo i s e ,

the “ Confe ss ions,

” and Vol taire ’s “ D i c tionnairephi losoph ique ,” — which latter Madame GeorgeSand probably pu t him up to .

What i s meant by phys ical training never en

tered th e mind of the fathe r . Certainly such an id eawould have been re j ected by the son as anti - arti st ic

,anti - sp iri tual . The s tre ss in the father ’s teach

ing was laid on“ l

’educa tion da ns les bons p r in

cipes ,”i . e.

,a moral training

,meaning l i ttl e more

than to pre serve the manners and sentiments o f

an ari s tocracy already somewhat e ffe te . And thecurious thing i s that Chopin ’s mus ic so accurate lyreflects the sentiments of a grea t Pol i sh aristoc

racy,such as may or migh t have been

Frederick Chopin l earnt the rud iments of musicand of pianoforte p laying from Adalbert Z ywny, anative of Bohemia, and a good all - round music ian ,viol ini s t

,p ianis t and composer ; who continued

to ins truc t h im unti l he was abou t twe lve , according to what i s d e scribed as the old German classical method ; probably accord ing to one o f the“ methods

,

”or schoolbooks

,based on C . Ph. E .

Bach ’s “Versuch .

” I t would se em that the chi ld ’s

C. Ph . E . Bach’s “ Versuch ueber d ie w ahre Art das

Clavier z u spielen ”(E ssay on the true w ay of playing the

harpsichord ) . Turk ’s and L ohlein’s School s ”

w ere the cur

rent popular im itations .

progre ss was rap id , for there i s a record o f hi splaying a concerto by Gyrowetz at a concer twhich took place on the 24th of February

, 1 81 8,

before he had comple ted h is ninth year . Peopletalked of a second Mozart ; and li ttl e Frederickbecame the pe t of a hos t o f ari stocrati c lad ie s wi thunpronounceable names . In 1 820

,Madame Cata

lani , the ce l ebrated s inger , heard him play,and

pre sented him wi th a watch on which was en

graved,

“Donne par Madame Catalani a F redericChop in , age de d ix ans .” He began to composetoo — i t i s said

,be fore he could wie ld a pen

mazurkas,polonaise s

,valse s

,e tc . When he was abou t

ten years o ld , a march of hi s was d ed icated to theRussian Grand Duke Constantine , who ordered i t tobe scored for a m i l i tary band and played on parade .

I t i s doubtful whe ther h is parents at thi s time contemp lated his becoming a profe ss ional music ian .

Any way music was not permi t ted to interfere wi thschool work

,and he was coached for the Lyceum ,

which he entered in 1 824 . His father , l ike a wis eman

,chose to have him instructed in harmony and

counterpoin t . Joseph E lsner , also a good all - roundmusic ian

,was engaged

,and to him remains the

honor of having be en Chopin ’s only master in composi tion .

What,and how

,E l sner taught Chop in can only

be gu e ssed at . I n a l e tte r wri tten to Chopin in1 834 he sp eaks of himsel f as “ your teacher of

harmony and counterpoin t,of l i t tl e meri t, but for

tunate .

”L i sz t wri te s E l sne r taught Chopin those

things that are the mos t d ifficul t to learn and mostrare ly know n : to be exacting to one ’s se lf, and to

valu e the advantage s that are obtained only byd in t of pati ence and labor .” Probably ne i the rZ ywny nor E l sner pu t Chopin through any severescholas tic dri l l ; they appear to have permi ttedhim rather to deve lop hi s s ingular gifts i n h i s ownway . Chopin himself was very grate ful to E l sner .Allus ions and message s to E l sner are frequent inhi s le tte rs

,and fromfirs t to las t there i s abundant

evid ence o f affec tion and e s te em be twe en thetwo .

Frederick Chopin entered the fourth class atthe Lyceum ,

and twice managed to gain a prizefor something or o ther . There i s no trace of hishaving taken up Greek or advanced mathematics ,or that he ever exceeded the average schoolboy ’

s

modicum of Latin . His school fellow s l iked himfor hi s l ive ly ways and the scrapes he go t into

F RE DE R I CK CI I OP I N

for lampooning the Dons . He o ften took part on a journey to Berlin .

ale

7 0 1

He must have practis edi n private theatricals at hi s father ’s house

,be ing assiduously

,with a vi ew to obtaining novel effec ts ;

always ready wi th an improvi sation when anotherfe l low happened to forge t h i spart .” A Pol ish actor

,who was

stage manager on such occasions

,gave i t as hi s opinion that

Frederick was born to be a greatcomedian .

In 1 82 5 he again appearedin public

,playing the firs t move

ment o f a concerto by Moschele s , and improvis ing on anewly invented instrument

,the

aelopantaleon,— an attempt at

o f theharmonium wi th those of thecombining

_ the e ffec ts

p ianoforte . There i s no d irectrecord of the qual i ty of hi s p laying on th i s occasion

,but a War

saw corre spondent of the A l lgemeinemus iba l isc/ze Zei tung , L e ips ic (thi s i s the fi rs t profe ss ionalnotice o f Chopin ) , reported that“ young Chopin dis tinguishedh imse lf i n h i s improvi sations bythe abundance of h is ideas .Soon afterwards he played uponthe aelomelod icon

,another in

s trument of th e harmonium k ind,

before the Russ ian EmperorAl exander I .

,who rewarded him

wi th a d iamond ring .

In 1 825 also was publi sh edChopin ’s op . 1

,

“ Premier R ondeau ,” C minor . From this timeonwards to 1 82 7 , when he leftthe Lyceum

,i t i s clear that the

study of music had got the upperhand .

through some school work as well : perhaps to theH e se ems to have tri ed his bes t to ge t

de triment o f his heal th,as i t has been suggested . At

the final exam i '

i ation he jus t managed to pass w i t/zou t d istinction .

H enceforth , with the full consent of hi s parentsand the encouragement o f E l sner

,music was to beTaking the l i ttl e

Rondo in C minor as th e gauge o f hi s attainmentsin 1 825, we must suppose that h i s powers developedrapidly ; for in 1 828 he was al lowed to

his sol e aim and hi s profe ss ion .

s tart

and wi th the aid o f the new pianoforte tech

FREDERICK CHOPIN .

Reprod uct ion of portra it after a d raw ing by A. Duval .

nique , which then dawned upon h im,to have

s triven hard to ge t out of the beaten tracksi n composing for the ins trument E xcepting the

“ La c i op . 2,and the

There is no need to chronicle minor excursions, such as

Variations on darem,

those to Reinerz , a little w atering place in Siles ia, w here hestayed w ith his mother and sisters, and gave a charity concert ;to the country residence of a member of the Skarbeck family,his father’s friends ; to the seat of Prince Rad z iw ill, governor ofPosen, and d istinguished musical amateur. L isz t’s assertion,by the w ay, that Prince Rad z iw ill paid for Chopin’

s education,rests on mere gossip, and is entirely w ithout foundation .

7 62 FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

Trio, op . 8,which was then almos t comple ted , and

which he publi shed himse lf,the efforts of these

years are contained in the posthumous works : thePolonaise s in G minor

, D minor,and B flat, the

Nocturne in E minor,the Rondo for two pianos,

the Sonata, op . 4, e tc .

In 1 829 , Hummel , then in th e zeni th of hi s fame ,but wi th hi s powers as an executant beginning todecline , visi ted Warsaw . Paganin i soon followedhim . Unfortunately no trustworthy record remainsas to the impression the performance s of thesemasters produced upon Chopin . Chopin in thoseearly days closely studied

,imi ta ted and emulated

the concertos and certain minor pi ece s of Hummel ; and we know that he continued to holdHummel ’s work i n high es teem all along

, particu

larly for teaching purposes . Yet, admi tting thatChopin i n h is early compos i tions appears as adisciple of Hummel

,i t i s doubtful whe ther the ex

ample of Hummel as a player counts for much inthe development of Chopin ’s styl e . O f Paganini ,who so powerfully influenced L i sz t, there i s hardlya trace .

!

About the middle of July, 1 820 , Chopin se t out,

accompani ed by thre e fri ends,on a journey to

Vi enna . Some time previously, various manuscriptsof hi s had been sent to Hasl inger

,a leading Vi ennese

publ i sher . On pre senting himself at H asl inger’s

wi th a le tte r of i n troduction from E l sner, he wasrece ived wi th profuse expre ss ions of good - will

,and

told that one of hi s composi tions would soon be inprint

,th e Var iations on Mozart’s La c i darem la

mano,

op . 2 .

“ Count Gal lenbergfi who happened to come inopportune ly

,

” urged him to give a concer t at theKarntnerthor theatre

, of which he was the le sse e ;a lucky chance

,as i t s e emed to Chopin and actu

ally proved to be .

He paid many vi s i ts in Vi enna . And whereverhe went he got the same advice Give a concert .”

A comparison of dates show s that H ummel , who w as born

1 7 78, and d ied in 1837 , w as Chopin’s senior by thirty - one

years ; Chopin’s date being 1809

—49 . Cramer, 1 7 7 1

— 1858,

w as thirty - eight years older ; R ies, 1 784- 1838, tw enty - five

years ; F iel d , 1 782— 1837 , tw enty - seven years ; Kalkbrenner,

1 788— 1849 , tw enty - one years ; Moscheles, 1 794

— 1870, fifteen

years ; Cz erny, 1 79 1— 1857 , eigh teen years ; Mendelssohn,

1809—47 , w as born a month before Chopin and d ied tw o years

before him ; Schumann (1810—56) w as his junior by one

yea r.

jThe husband of the Contessa Giulia Guicciardi, to w homBeethoven’

s Sonata in C sharp m inor, op . 2 7 , is ded icated .

Capellmeis ter Wurfel (one of H asl inger’s people ) ,

who had known him at Warsaw,asserted that i t

would be “ a d isgrace to himself,h i s parents

,and

hi s teachers not to make an appearance in public,

and that no one who has composed anything newand wishe s to make a nois e in the world can do sounless he performs the work himself.” Moreover

,

he was assured that the newspapers would saypleasant things . In short, Haslinge r, an astu teman of business

,who had a vis ion of a mone tary

succe ss wi th Chopin ’s p ieces,was pulling the wires

wi th a wi ll ! Various p ianoforte makers offeredthe ir ins truments . As I c laimed no honorarium(of course , there was none to be had ) , “ Gallenberg hastened on my appearance .

”On the r 1 th of

Augus t,

1 82 9 , when all the world was out of

town,the concert took place , and H asl inger

’

s

j ournals pronounced i t a great succe ss .Chopin improvi sed on a theme from La Dame

Blanche ,” and on a Poli sh tune, Schmiel,” whichal though i t d id not sati sfy himself

,pleased the

audience .

“ The members of th e orchestra cursedmy badly wri tten music ”

(i . e.,the de fective band

par ts) “ and were not at all favorably incl inedtowards me

,unti l I began the improvi sation ; but

then they joined in the applause .

”On the 1 8th of

Augus t he appeared again ; producing the Krakowiak

,

” and repeating the Variations . There was apaying aud i ence on th i s occasion ; profe ssionalmusic ians were s truck by the charm of hi s s tyle ;the cri tics appreciated him at some thing l ike h istrue value ; everybody appeared kindly d i sposedtowards h im .

One of hi s pecul iari ti e s as an executant touchedupon in the report of th e “Theateriz eitung was“There were de fects noticeable in the young man ’splaying

,among which we may special ly mention

the non - observance of the ind ication by accent ofthe commencement of a bar,” that i s to say, he wasremarkable for jus t and del icate phrasing, and didnot choose to beat time wi th h is fi s ts ! Anotheraccount emphasize s the fac t that “ he i s a youngman who goes h is own way, and that “ he desire s to produce good mus ic rather than to please .

“He executed the greate s t d ifficul ti e s wi th precision and accuracy, rendering al l sorts of passageswi th the utmost neatness .” The principal s tric tureamounted to no more than that hi s tone was“ insufficient for a large room . He in hi s turnasserted that the Vi enne se people had a taste for

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704 F AA/OUS COMPOS E RS

of Warsaw by the Russians . Wri ting from Pari s,

Dec . 1 6, 1 83 1 , he says, “ Al l thi s has causedme great pain . Who could have fore se e n i t ? ”

His impass ioned study in C minor (op . 1 0 ,

No . with i ts wi ld cry o f de spair, i s said tohave been conce ived at thi s time .

Chopin arrived in Par i s in the au tumn of 1 83 1 ,

depre ssed , discouraged , and rather short o f money .

He was in the habi t of saying that he had come toFrance en route for E ngland and the Uni ted State sbut Pari s became hi s true home .

Apart from h is genius for music,several th ings

told in favor of h i s obtaining a good footing therein a comparative ly short time . Some such th ingswere h i s del icate ly refined appearance and manners

,

hi s knowledge of French (he spoke French wi theas e , though wi th a sligh t fore ign accent) , and thefact of h is be ing a Pole . Jus t then

, P oland ’s fateattracted much attention and sympathy in France .

Al l sorts and condi tions of Poli sh refugee s arrivedand were ass i sted by government. A Poli sh name

,

in certain c i rc le s , was as good as a le tter of in troduction . The Poli sh insurrection formed the subject of a play which night afte r nigh t drew crowds ,eager to s e e the representation o f combats anddance s in the national Pol i sh costumes .Chopin ’s pe rsonal appearance at thi s time i s

thus d e scribed by Prof. N iecks : “ His face wasclearly and finely cut

,e specially the nose wi th i ts

wid e nostri ls ; the forehead was high , th e eyebrowsdel i cate , the l ips th in , and the lower one somewhatprotruding .

” To thi s may be added “ eyes of atender brown,” “ beer colored

,

” as Count Wodzinsk i quaintly has i t, and rather dreamy ; hair of aligh t ch estnut, which he wore long ; del icate lyformed hands ; small fee t ; a pale complexion ; anda prevai l ing expression of languor and melancholywh ich , however, was always ready to change to one

of l igh t - hearted merriment . “ Chopin was at h i sbe s t i n the company o f young people o f h i s ownnation .

” He brought a few l e tters of in troductionto mus icians and publi shers

,and se t to work

,with

what for him was very great energy,to make

acquaintances, and to pave the way for someappearance in publ ic . E re long he knew mostmusical people of note , and was on good termswi th some of the leaders . Several ari s tocraticPol i sh fami li e s , w ho se ttled in Pari s , welcomed himas they had done of o ld at Warsaw. He wasasked to give lessons, etc .

There i s plenty of what looks l ike genuineinformation to be had in prin t and from privatesources as to hi s manner of l ife and work . Uh

fortunate ly, even the fami l iar le tters of h is fr i endsand companions show the mythopoeic faculty verybusy inde ed, so that one has to read between thel ines , and carefully guard against mere goss ip . I tappears be s t to extrac t l i ttle touches from the

master ’s own le tters showing h is re lations to,and

hi s e s timate of, music ians and things musical“There are more piani s ts i n Pari s than in any

other town, and among them a greater p ercentageof impostors .” You will easi ly imagine how curious I was to hear Herz and Hiller ; they areciphers compared wi th Kalkbrenner . Hones tlyspeaking, I play as wel l as Herz, but I wish I couldplay as we ll as Kalkbrenner . I f Paganin i i s perfee t, so also i s be, bu t in another way . His repose

,

h i s touch , the ease of hi s playing,I cannot

d escribe to you ; one recognize s the master inevery detai l . Kalkbrenner offered to take Chopinas a pup i l, - a preposterous offer i t appears to usnow, and Chopin ac tual ly at tended some of Kalkbrenner ’s classe s ! Whether he d id th i s partlywi th a vi ew to attain status in Pari s i s an Openquestion .

“ Kalkbrenner remarked that I had thestyle of Cramer

,but the touch of Fie ld . I t

amused me that Kalkbrenner when he played tome made a mis take , and did not know how to goon ; but i t was wonderful to see how he found hisway back again .

” “ I told h im I knew very wellwhat I lack ; but I w il l not imi ta te li im .

” “ Hehas convinced me that I play well only when I amin the righ t mood for i t, but le ss wel l when thi s i snot the case . Thi s cannot be said o f h im , whoseplaying is always the same .

“ Perhaps I cannotcreate a new school

,however much I may wish to

do so,because I do not real ly know the old one ;

but I certainly do know that my tone - poems havesome individual i ty in them

,and that I always s trive

to advance .

How odd all thi s sounds nowadays I t i s, however

,qui te conce ivable that Chopin , at that time,

had not a comple te command of technique , i . e.,

the manipulative process by means of which anartis tic re sul t i s produced wi th something l ike certainty

,no matter whe ther the player be found in

the mood for playing or not, which makes the performances of men of inferior talent such as Kalkbrenner

,Moscheles, or Thalberg so much more

F RE DE R I CK CH OPI N

sure of succe ss when they reci te in publ ic . Be

sides,it i s admitted that Chopin did no t particu

larly exce l in the rendering of music othe r than h i sown. Whils t s ti l l attending Kalkbrenner ’s classe s

, Chopin wrote to E l sner ina bolder s train : “ So much is clear tome

,I shal l neve r become a Kalkbrenner

he wi l l no t be able to al ter my perhapsdaring

,but noble re solve , to crea te a new

era in a r t. I f I now continue my studi e s

,I do so only in order to stand , at

some fu ture t ime,on my own feet .”

E l sner wanted him to attempt an opera,and i t would seem that he actually oncehad a libre tto in hand

,but, in the end,

he confined himse lf to record ing someof hi s dreams at the pianoforte, wisely,as w e al l now think . The reverse s ideof the Kalkbrenner medal i s amusingKalkbrenner had , as Marmontel records,certain etroitesses de caractere ,” which

“ narrownesse s ” brought the evi l tongueo f his younger contemporari e s down uponh im . Heine called h im a “ mummy,”and d escribed h im as be ing dead longago and having recently marri ed Helooks l ike a bonbon that has be en inthe mud .

” When Chopin publi sh ed hi sConcerto in E minor, he ded icated i tto Kalkbrenner .O th er o f Chopin ’s fri ends and ac

quaintances were Cherubini , Bell ini , Bai llot the viol ini st, Brod the oboe player,Franchomme the violoncel l i st (his fri endfor l i fe ) , Hill e r, O sborne , Pixis, Berl ioz,Meyerbee r, L i sz t, De lacro ix .

Afte r sundry delays and difficul ti e s , Chopin’s fi rs tconcer t came off on th e 26th of February

,1 83 2 .

The rece ip ts fai led to cover the expense s . Theaud ience cons is ted chi efly of Poles

,who

,l ike mos t

of the French people pre sent, had free t icke ts . Buti t was a capi tal adverti sement

,many musical ce leb

rities attended , and Chopin’s performances astonished th e experts . After th i s , says H ille r, noth ingmore was heard about the lack o f technique ; andMendelssohn applauded triumphantly .

”

(Mendelssohn deemed Chop in worth twenty Kalkbrenners . )On May 2 0 , 1 83 2 , Chopin played again in publ icat a concert given by the Prince de la Moskowa

for the benefi t o f the poor.

765

There i s no be tte r evidence o f hi s profe ss ionalsucce ss than the fol lowing l ine s from a le tte r of h is ,wri tten towards the end o f January, 1 833 “ Pupi l s

FREDERICK CHOPIN .

Reproduction of a portrait after a sketch by Winterhalter.

of the Conservato ire , nay, even private pupi l s of

Moscheles, Herz, Kalkbrenner, choose to take l e ssons of me , and profess to regard me as the equalo f Fie ld .

”

apparen t boasting, he continue s “ To - day I haveAfte r some mode s t excuse s for such

five le ssons to give ; you wil l think I mus t beamassing a fortune , but the inevi table cabriole t andthe whi te glove s almos t consume the earnings

,and

wi thou t the se th ings people would deny my bon7 )

ton . With the latte r remark he touche s upon th edark sid e of his apparently bri l l ian t l i fe in Pari s .Al l along c ircumstance s compe ll ed him to l ive afte rthe fashion of people wi th ten time s h i s means .This was a source o f trouble and downright embarrassment to him later on, when his heal th

766

began to fai l . I n the winte r o f 1 83 2—

3 he tookpart

,toge the r wi th Hille r and L i sz t

,i n a perform

ance of Bach ’s Concerto for thre e harpsichords (ofcourse they played upon grand p ianoforte s ) , andwas again assoc iated with L i sz t, i n a due t whichthey played during the interval s of a dramaticperformance for the benefi t o f Miss Smithson , theI ri sh actre ss

,and now bankrupt managere ss, who

afte rward s became the wife of Berl ioz .

John Fie ld came to Pari s after along res idencein Russ ia during the winte r o f 1 83 2

—

3 . Hewas then abou t fi fty years o f age , and pas t hi sprime both as a man and as music ian .

“Un

was hi s de scrip tion7talent d e chambre d e rnalad e, ’of Chop in, dic tated probably by a comparison o f

Chop in ’s nocturne s wi th his ow n. What Chopinsaid or thought of Fie ld as a playe r i s not on record ; that he acknowledged many an obl igation tohim as a composer i s

,however, c ertain . Fie ld ’s

cantilena,i n the nocturne s , fore shadows Chopin ’s ;

so doe s h i s use of the pedals and the p ecul iar formof his accompaniments based on the e ffec t of thepedals . But, after al l , Fie ld ’s canti lena , l ike Chopin ’s

,re s ts on that of the I tal ian opera , and the mos t

characteri s tic pedal e ffec ts d erive from Bee thoven .

About the same time Berl ioz re turned from Italy,and Chop in, through the mediation of L i sz t, hadfrequen t opportuni ti e s of mee ting him . Therecanno t have been much sympathy be twe en thetwo men at the outse t ; and as far as Chopini s concerned

,i t grew le ss i n course of t ime .

Chopin had a very exclus ive tas te wi th regard tothe adjus tment o f arti stic means to arti s tic ends,and a refined

,emotional s tandard o f his ow n.

Some o f the eccentric i ti e s and exce sse s in whichBerl ioz and L i sz t were prone to indulge appearedto him rid iculous . Franchomme asserts that asearly as 1 833 (probably later ) , Chopin said thathe had expec ted be tte r things from Berl ioz, anddeclared that Berl ioz ’s music was such as to j us tifyany man who chose to break wi th him . A s ingularly violent and exceptional expre ss ion of sentiment on the part o f Chop in , if i t i s true as re

ported . I l se mourai t tou te sa vi e I ” was Berl ioz ’ssne er at ChopinFrom 1 833 , when he publi shed the thre e Noc

turnes,op . 9 , to 1 84 7 , when hi s last work, the

Sonata for pianoforte and Violonce llo , op . 65, l e ftthe pre ss

,each year ’s catalogue of musical nove l ti e s

contained some i tems signed Frederie Chopin .

FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

Probably the Andante sp i ana to w hich stands as the I n

trod uction to the Polonaise in E flat, op. 22 .

j L isz t used to relate that Chopin had al ready been sad lyd iscouraged by the cold reception he met w ith at Berlioz ’s concert, some months ere this .

Publi shers paid fair,sometimes rather high

,

pric es, the musical pre ss u ttered i ts oracle s i n anapprec iative , or depreciative , or abusive tone pro

fessional pianists and the most advanced amateursbough t copi e s i n a suffici ent number to keepthe bal l roll ing, e tc . Schumann already in 1 83 1

gree ted the Variations, op . 2

, with a shou t, “ Hatsoff

, gentlemen I a genius I ” and the musical worldsoon took up the cry .

- Before 1 840 i t was clear tothose who had eye s to s e e and ears to hear that agreat E uropean reputation was be ing formed .

The winter of 1 834—

5 saw the las t of Chopinas a professed virtuoso . He played in publicsubsequently, but on rare occasions , six or e ight inall . The thre e quasi - private concerts h e gave in1 84 1 , 1 842 , and 1 848 were di stinctly composer

’

s

concerts, i . e.

,the thing played was the po in t

,rather

than the manner o f playing,however exquis i te .

The record of 1 834—

35 i s as follows : On Dec . 7 ,

1 834 , he played an Andante; at the third and las tof Berlioz ’s concerts given at the Conservatoire,when the programme included Berl ioz ’s overture s“ Les Franc - Juges

,

” “ Roi L ear,” and the Symphony

,Harold en I tal i e .

”

Again,on Chri s tmas Day, 1 834, he played , to

gether with L i sz t, Moscheles’

s“ Grande Duo a

quatre mains, op . 4 7 , which was execu ted , as th e

Gaz ette Musica le reports, with a rare perfection of

tal ent by the two greate s t p ianoforte virtuosos of

our time . They also played a duo for two pianoson a theme of Mendelssohn ’s, wri tte n by L i sz t,th e manuscrip t of which has di sappeared .

Apri l 5, 1 835, s eems to be the true date of anunfortunate evening concert at which Chop in ’sp laying of hi s Concerto in E minor met wi th so

lukewarm a reception that he came to regard anappearance be fore a misce llaneous concourse of

people as a kind of martyrdom .

“ The plaudi ts ofhi s fri ends and a few connoisseurs alone d isturbedthe cold and somewhat bewildered at ti tude of themajori ty of the He appeared oncemore

,and for the last time in public , at H abeneck

’s

benefit,— the only one o f the great and justly

cel ebrated concerts of the Societe des Concer ts daConserva toire he ever took part in . Here , before

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768 FAM OOS COMP OSE RS

es tabl i sh busines s connections which resul ted inthe succe ssive publication of h is works by the fi rmo f Wessel Co .

He played at Mr . James Broadwood ’

s privateres idence in Bryans ton Square ; but, according to

Moscheles’

s D iary, “ vi s i ted nobody, and d id not

wish to be v is i ted , as every conversation aggravate shi s ches t complaint .” Allusions to h i s frai l heal thnow become more and more frequent, wheneverh i s name occurs in contemporary private records .There can be no doubt that the outward signs ofphthi s i s

,probably inhe ri ted from his father , now

began to show themselves in an unmistakablemanner .I t i s hardly poss ible to - day to wri te a few j u s t

l ine s on Chopin’s fr i endship wi th George Sand ,Madame Dudevant . The wi tnesses

,nine out of

ten,are suspect. One canno t move a step wi thou t

treading on dangerous ground . The o ld mytho

poeic facul ty appears, again, to have been part icularly busy, and even to have jo ined hands wi tha more re cent gift of barefaced lying ! I t i s hardto d i scern who i s w ho ,

and what i s what . E arly i n1 83 7 , L i sz t i n troduced Monsi eur F rederic to Mad ame George , or, with a sl igh t and perhaps correctchange in the appellations

,Monsi eur George to

Mademoi se ll e Frédé ric . Monsi eur, or Madame ,the s enior by about five years , the mother of twochi ldren

,and separated from her husband , was

known for her l i te rary gifts and the wild Bohemianl i fe she had been lead ing . A pleasant acquaintancegradually develop ed i nto something like a civi lmarriage . I t ended

,after about nine years, i n a

comple te rupture,which saddened the clos e of

Chopin ’s l ife . The fi rs t h in t at the in timacy i scontained in the postscrip t to a l e tter wri tten byChopin in 1 83 7 , I may p erhaps go for a few daysto George Sand ’s .” He did in fac t go to Nohant,Madame Sand ’s country house

,near La Chatre ,

i n Berry,i n the summer of that year, and again in

the summer of 1 838. I t was dec ided that theyshould spend the winter of 1 838 i n th e sou th .

O ne o f the Balearic I s lands, Majorca, was fixedupon . Madame Sand would economize , and wri tea book about the l i ttl e - known island . Chopinwould recover his heal th , and be happy in hercompany .

The l i ttl e fami ly party, Madame Sand , her son

Maurice,her daughter Solange , a maid - se rvant,

and Chopin, me t at Perpignan, i n the beginning

of November,1 838, and proce eded by Port - Ven

dre s and Barce lona to Palma . They re turned to

France by Barcelona and Marse i l les early in March,1 839 .

A few extrac ts from le tters wil l show the sh iftingaspec t o f th ings outward and inward . Here i sChopin, basking i n the sun (l e tte r to Fontana,Palma

,Maj orca

,N ov . 1 5) I am at Palma

,among

palms,c edars

,cac tuse s

,aloe s, and olive , orange ,

l emon,fig

,and pomegranate tre e s

,e tc .

,which the

Jardin de s Plante s posse sse s only,thanks to i ts

s tove s . The sky is l ike a turquois e , the sea l ikelap is lazuli , the mountains l ike emeralds . The

air ? The air i s j us t as i t i s i n “ Ishal l probably take up my quarters i n a del ightful monastery in one of the mos t beau tifuls i te s i n al l the world : sea

,mountains

,palm - tre e s

,

cemetery, church of the Knights of the Cross, ru inso f mosque s , thousand - year - o ld olive - tre e s !Ah, my dear fri end , I am now enjoying l ife a l i ttlemore I am near what i s most beautiful ! I am abe tter man .

”

The temperature was st i l l s ixty - four degrees Fahrenheit . They inhabi ted the vi lla Son- Vent (Soundof the Wind ) furnished with a garden

,and a mag

nificent View,for fi fty francs per mont/z . But th e

we t season se t in suddenly,and the temperature

fe l l to thirty - four Fahrenhe it ! The v illa Son - Ventwas more than draughty ! “ The wall s were soth in ”

(Madame Sand wri te s ) “ that the l ime withwhich the bes t room was plas tered swe lled l ike asponge . The house

,w ithou t a chirnney, w as l ike

a mantle of i ce on our shoulders . We could notaccustom ourse lve s to the s tifl ing odor of the braz iers (charcoal fi re s i n portable iron grates ) , and ourinval id began to ail and cough . We became anobj ec t of dread and horror to the population . Wewere accused and convicted of pulmonary phthisi s

,

which i s equ ivalen t to the plague , i n the prejudice s regard ing contagion entertained by Spanishphysic ians . ” “ Gomez, the landlord , declared , inthe Spanish style , that we fiel d a person who lzel da disease

,and requested us to leave forthwi th .

”

He made them pay for the l ime - washing of theentire house , which he fi el d to have been infec ted byChop in .

They resolved to take refuge in the monas tery,

! See George Sand’s

“Uh H iver a Majorque, and the

account of the sojourn at Palma in “ H istoire de ma Vie.

”

Cou leur de r ose both, but acceptable read ing w ithal.

7 7 o F AM OUS COMP OSE R S

as no su itable lodgings could be got for love or

money . Madame Sand to Madame Marl iani

Mon D ieu , how hard , d i fficul t and miserable thephysical l ife i s here ! I t i s beyond what one canimagine .

“ The good Chopin misse s h i s p ianovery much . I t has l e ft Marse i l le s, we shal l perhapshave i t i n a fortnight . “ By a s troke of goodfortune I have found for sal e a clean sui te of

furni ture , charming, for thi s country, bu t which aFrench peasant would not have . I had unheardof troubl e to procure a stove

,wood , l inen , and who

knows what e lse . To - morrow we d epart for theCarthusian monastery of Valdemosa, the mos tpoe tical re sidence on earth

,e tc . the l e tter e nds

wi th a blunt s tatement : “ i n short, our exped i tioni s,i n many re spects , a frightful fiasco .

”

Jan . 1 5, 1 839 , to Madame Marl iani : Thereare rains here of which one has e ls ewhere no idea ;i t i s a frightful d e luge . Le pe ti t Chopin ’ i s verydepressed

,and always coughs very much . His piano

has at las t arrived at Palma ; but i t i s i n the clu tche sof the cus tom - house officers, who demand from fiveto s ix hundred francs du ty

,and show themselve s ih

tractable .

” I n February it was at las t re leased on apayment of three hundred francs . Chopin fini shed ,and sent to Pari s th e Prelud es ; and promised aBal lad e , op . 38, i n F, a Polonai se , op . 40 , No . 2

, inC minor , and a Scherzo , op . 39 , i n C sharp minor .Madame Sand went to work, with the energy of

despair,to make things e ndurabl e for Chopin ; i f

her own account can be taken to repre sen t thereal i ty

,her conduct under the most trying c ircum

stance s speaks greatly in favor of her kindnessof heart and matronly ins tincts . E verything, i tse ems

,devolved upon her . She ac ted as physic ian,

nurse,schoolmistre ss, housekeeper, cook, facto tum

worked as such al l day, and wrote ti l l midnight he rch ief d ifficul ti e s consi s ted in vain attempts to keepthe rooms warm

, or rather to ke ep the s tove fromsmoking

,and to contrive some thing which Chopin

could eat . He grew more languid and l i stl es s,day by day ; hi s cough and hi s mental d i squie tincreased .

“ He took an intense di sl ike to Majorca

“ the pauvre grand a r tis te was a d e te s tablepati ent

,e tc . He began to sp i t blood , and was in

a v ery bad way indeed .

He ins i sted upon a speedy re turn to Franc e ; on

the ir re turn,early in March , he was carefully nursed

at Marse il le s ti l l May ; and after a l i ttl e excurs ionto Genoa, the summer was spent at Nohant .

Chopin had go t into debt . Naturally,he was

anxious to make the most of hi s manuscrip ts ; andmoney transac tions wi th publ ishers form the s tapleof hi s l e tters a t thi s period .

R eference has already been made to th e shadys ide o f the l ife in Pari s . Chopin had to l ive on whathe could get from publishers and pupi ls . I t i s true

,

publ i shers were always ready to pay a good price forhi s manuscrip ts, and hi s terms for l e ssons were high,twenty or even twenty - five francs per lesson of

about three quarters of an hour . But he did no tcompose for th e marke t

,and paying pupils in

sufficient number were forthcoming only duringthe season, that i s to say, from about the middleo f October to the end of June . His heal th did not

permi t h im to exce ed an average of five or sixlessons pe r day . His tas te s incl ined towards elegance and a certain amount of luxury

,hi s lodgings

were expensive , he had to keep a man - servant ;moreover, he was rarely wi thou t some parasi te ,some needy compatrio t, who adored him ,

wrote hisbusines s l e tters, ran hi s errands, and shared his

purse . Several attempts at saving some thing for arainy day proved futi le ; and when i llness se t induring the troubled times previous to the revolu tionof 1 848, the master was indeed in sad pligh t. The

numerous publications in 1 840 and 1 84 1 extendfrom op . 35 to 50 , and include some of hi s finestworks .During the greate r part of seven years afte r the

re turn from Majorca,1 840

—4 7 , we must suppose

Chopin fairly content and happy, in the re ti red butbusy l ife he led as a member of Madame Sand ’sfamily . They resided , fi rs t at No . 1 6 Rue Pigalle ,then in the quie t and ari s tocratic - looking Cite

(court or square ) d ’

Orleans when they were inPari s

,and generally spent the summer hol idays at

Nohant . Chopin played a good deal in private ;appeared at St . Cloud before the Royal family,toge ther wi th Moscheles, in the winter of 1 839 ;

gave a l i ttle concert of his own on the 26th Apri l,

1 84 1 , at Pleyel ’s rooms ; and another on the 2 r st

February,1 842 . Barring these concerts, and the

meeting wi th Moscheles , of which some l i ttle ac

count ought,but for want of space cannot be given,

there i s nothing that demands spec ial record before1 847 , when Chopin re turned to bachelor’s quarters.

“ Semi - public benefi t concerts ” i s pe rhaps thebe st d e scription o f the two occasions whenChopin d id himself j us tic e be fore a s el ect aud i

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7 7 2 FAM OUS COMP OS E R S

ing off obtrusive s trangers wi th distant pol i teness ?H ow e lse can an arti st i n a quasi - public posi tiondefend himse lf agains t importuni ty ? I t would ind eed be far from the mark to fancy Chopin cold .

”

His emotional nature was volcanic . But music absorbed hi s energy. From first to las t he se t thebest of h imself to musi c . I s i t fair

,or even deco

rous , to demand anyth ing else ?The range of hi s reading was narrow

,hence

the few books that pleased h im ”can well serve toi llustrate hi s mental ways . Rousseau ’s “ Nouvell eHeloi se ” was h is song of songs ; next to that hedelighted i n “ Consuelo and other of George Sand ’snove ls and i t may be surmised that he would haveread these latter wi th avid i ty, even i f the authore sshad no t been h i s fri end . S tephen Heller told thewri te r that Chopin read and liked a French translation of O ssi an . Possibly he d id really admire themusical sugges tivene ss of Macpherson ’s spuriousstuff. He read li ttle poetry, however . Too muchof a fore igner to have an ear for th e harmonie s ofFrench verse, with l i ttl e Latin and a minimum of

I tal ian,Pol i sh verse was all he had to fal l back

upon ; for one can hardly fancy Chopin readingGerman vers e , though he understood the language .

He w as lavi sh in h i s prai se of Micki ewicz,some

of whose poems are supposed to have suggestedthe Bal lades .

’le In sp i te of h i s connection wi thGeorge Sand and her fri ends, he d id not consciously take part in the romantic movement i nFrance

, yet he , rather than Berlioz , i s in very truththe musical poe t of French romantici sm .

When teaching, Chop in took great pains wi th h i s

pupi ls ’ touch . Scale s had to be played Zega/o and

with full tone,very slowly at first

,and gradually

advancing to a qu icker pace . The pass ing of thethumb was faci l i tated by a sligh t turning of thewris t . The scale s wi th many black keys (B, Fsharp

,D flat) were taken firs t ; C major, las t of

all . In about the same order h e gave C l ementi ’s“ Preludes et E xerci se s , beginning wi th the “ exerc ise i n A flat i n the second book . After the sehe recommended a se lection from Cramer’s E tude s ,C l ementi ’ s “ Gradus ,” Moscheles

’

s stud ies, sundrysui te s and pre lude s and fugues of Bach ’s , andfinally some of hi s own E tude s . A few of Fie ld ’sand his own nocturnes were also used as s tud ie sfor the production o f a rich singing tone . E very

The German translation of the Polish poet’s w orks affordsno clew .

thing, he said , i s to be read cantaéz’

le,even the

rapid passage s ; everything must be made to sing,the bass, the inner parts, e tc .

”Double note s and

chords are to be struck toge ther,no a rpeggz

’

o i s perm itted , unless indicated by the composer . Shakes ,which be generally began in the old tradi tional way,with the auxi l iary note, had to be played with perfeet regu lari ty he did not care so much for rapidi ty — al l l i ttl e ornamental notes wi th del icate grace

,

and usually a l i ttle precipi tated towards the nextmain note . Whatever Chopin expected hi s pupilto do , he was always ready to do himself. To favori te pup il s h e played a great deal

,— Bach ’s fugues

and h is own works,by preference .

In the notation of fingering,especially of that

pecul iar to himself, Chopin was not sparing .

ale I nthi s respect p ianoforte p laying owes him great innovations, which , on account o f the i r exped iency

,

were soon adop ted,notwi thstand ing the horror

wi th which authori ti e s l ike Kalkbrenner and Moschele s at firs t regarded them . Thus, for ins tance ,Chopin , wi thout hes i tation , would pass the thumbunder the l i ttle finger or vice versa , both wi th ad is tinc t bend o f the wris t . With one and the samefinger he often took two adjoining keys , and thi snot only when glid ing down from a black to thenext wh i te key . The pass ing of the longer fingersover the shorter wi thout the aid of the thumb (seeE tude No . 2

,op . 1 0 ) he made use of very fre

quently, and not only in passages where the thumbhappens to be stationary . The fingering of obromatic th ird s based on such practice (he has markedi t in E tude N o . 5, op . 25) affords the poss ibi l i ty ofperfect lega/o with a quie t hand .

Madame Dubois s tates that Chopin made herbegin with the second - book of Cl ementi ’s “ Pre

lud e s et E xerci se s, ” and that she also s tudi ed underh im the same compose r ’s “ Gradus ” and Bach ’sforty - e ight pre lude s and fugues , a large numberof which latter he used to play from memory . O f

h is h igh op inion of the teaching value of Bach ’sp i ece s we may form an idea from what he said ather las t l e sson :

“ Practi s e them constantly, thi swi l l be your bes t means to ge t on .

” The pieces shestudied under h im included the following : Hum ~

mel,Rondo bri l lant sur un theme russ e (op .

La Bella capricciosa, Sonata in F sharp minor

See Mikul i’s ed ition, the fingering there given being inthe main taken from Chopin’

s pencil marks on copies belonging to his pupils.

CHOPIN ’

S TOMB m P‘

ERE LACHAISE, PARIS .

From a photog raph made spec ial ly fo r th is w o rk.

7 74 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

(op . 8 the Concertos in Aminor and B minor, andthe Septe t ; Field , Concertos in A flat and E flat,

and several nocturnes ; Beethoven , three Concertosi n C minor, G and E flat

,and several Sonatas (th e

Moonligh t, op . 2 7 , No . 2 the one with the

Funeral March , op . 26 and the Appass ionata,op .

57 ) Weber,th e Sonatas in C and A flat (Chopin ,

says L enz,made hi s pupils play these two works

wi th extreme care ) Schubert, th e Landler,

” al l thewaltzes

,some of the duets

,the marches

,polonaises

,

and the D ivertissemen t a la hongroise Mendelssohn

,only the G minor Concerto and some of the

songs without words L i szt,La Tarantelle de Ros

sini,

” and the Septe t from Lucia,” mais ce genrede musique ne lu i allai t pas .” (Nothing of Schumann ’s i s mentioned here , and very l i ttle e lsewhere . )As regards correct time, Chopin was scrupulously

particular . I t wi l l surpri s e many to hear that healways kept a metronome on his teaching pi ano .

His tempo ruéa fo was not an eccentric swaying to

To a s tudent the perfec t finish of Chopin’s p iecesaffords ample evidence of the care and labor hehas expended upon them . A compari son of theposthumous p iece s wi th those he '

publ ished h imselfshows that he must have re j ected copy enough tofi l l score s of pages . As he preferred forms in whichsome sort of rhythmic or melod ic type i s prescribed at the outse t, he virtually se t h imself thetask of saying the same sort of th ing over and overagain . Yet he seems inexhaustible ; each Prelude ,E tude , Impromptu , Scherzo , Nocturne , Bal lade ,Polonai se and Mazurka pre sents an aspect of th esubj ec t not pointed out before , each has a birthrigh t of i ts ow n . Chopin appears as one of therarest inventors

, not only as regards the technical it i es of p ianoforte playing, but as regards compos ition . That i s to say

,beside s be ing a great mas ter

of his instrument, he i s a great s inger, in that highsense in which Keats and Coleridge and Tennysonare s ingers . He has to ld us of new things wel lworth h earing

,and has found new ways of saying

such th ings . He is a master of s tyle , a master of

pui ssant and refined rhythm and harmony, a fascinating melod is t . The emotional materials he embodie s are not of th e highest. His bias i s romanticand sentimental . In h is earl ies t productions, his

and fro in point of speed .

“ The singing hand , hetaugh t, may deviate ; the accompanying mus t keeptime !” “ Fancy a tree wi th i ts branche s swayedby the wind

,the stem i s the s teady time

,the moving

leave s are the melod ic inflections . I t follows thatcertain readings ” of Chopin, which form thes tock in trade o f many an accredi ted virtuoso

,

are mere caricatures .He disl iked exaggerated accentuation . I t pro

duce s an effect o f d idactic pedantry .

” “ You mustsz

'

ng if you wish to play, hear good singers, and learnto s ing yourself.” E very promising pupi l was sentto his fri end , Henri R eber, for harmony and counterpoint : you ought to know what you are about,from a grammarian ’s point of view . Pupi l s werealso advi sed to practi se ensemO/e playing ; duos,trios , quarte ts, if first - class partners could be had

,

o therwis e p ianoforte due ts . He liked to have asecond pianoforte at hand to accompany the pupi l

,

and to show by example what he wanted .

matter, and also hi s way of putting things , are frequently weak ; i n h i s lates t, now and then turgid .

He was particularly careful to avoid melod icrhythmic or harmonic commonplaces ; a vulgarmelody or a hal ting rhythm was revolting to him ;and as for refined harmony

,he strove so hard to

attain i t that in a few of h is las t p i eces h e may besaid to have overshot the mark

,and to have sub

til iz ed hi s progre ssions into obtuseness .His pupils and other witne sse s agre e in using

the same words and phrase s to convey a notion of

th e effect of hi s p ieces and h is mode of play ingthem “ ve iled

,graduated

,accentuated , evane s

cent,

” “ the harmonic notes vaguely blending, ye tth e transi tions from chord to chord and phrase tophrase clearly indicated

,

” “ ever changing andundulating rhythms

,

” “ i ndescribable effects of

e/zz'

a roseuro (z e.

,effects of sus tained tone pro

duced with th e aid of the pedals ) .

One damaging remark can be appl i ed withoutinjus tice to everything he wrote wi th orchestralaccompaniments : the re sul t i s more sati sfactoryif the accompaniments are played upon a secondp iano Chopin was not at home in the orches tra ;hi s scoring i s s ingularly inept ; he doe s no t knowenough about orchestral instruments , alone or in

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7 76 FAM OUS COMP OSERS

combination,to employ them wi th proper effec t .

His {a ffix lack sonori ty,and when the pianoforte

enters, the would - be accompaniment fai ls to blendwi th the solo ins trument.In his two Concertos he intends the orchestra

to play the rol l i t p lays in the concertos of Hummel and Moscheles but wi th the latter masters,whatever i s expected of the orches tra

,be i t ever

so l i ttle,actually come s to pass

,whereas wi th

Chopin the case i s often reversed . One or twofine effects, however, ought not to be overlooked ,_ the lovely al ternation of strings

, pianissimo andunz

’

sono,with soft chords of wood - winds

,in the

beginning of the Larghe tto in the F minor Concerto

,and the long fremolo of s trings

,in terspersed

with solemn of the double - basse s,which

supports the reez’

la z‘i zfo of the piano forte i n the

same movement . Here the composer’s imagination was at work . Notwi ths tanding the drawbackof weak scoring, Chopin ’s concertos rank wi ththose of Hummel in A minor and B minor

,and

Moscheles in G minor,which works

,as far as

Hummel i s concerned , they close ly resemble indesign

,r ival in the nove l and te l l ing treatment of

th e solo ins trument, and surpass in warmth andbeauty . The Fantasia on Poli sh airs

,op . 1 3 , and

the Variations on“ La c i darem

,

”op . 2

,fasc inat

i ng from a virtuoso ’s point of vi ew, and very cleveras compos i tions

,yet appear hardly worth offering

to the publi c nowadays . The “ Krakowiak,

” op .

1 4 , a bright and effective p iece , akin to the rondosin the concertos, deserves, however, to be heardagain . The orche stra here has l i ttle to do ; andit i s at l eas t not a source of annoyance . Withregard to the Polonaise in E flat

,op . 2 2

,i t wi l l be

best to do as Chopin himself did,that is

,to drop

the orche stra al toge ther . He was wont to play theintroductory Azm’

anfe spz'

ana lo i n G as a solo,and

he permi tted hi s pupi l s to do th e same wi th thePolonaise . I f th e Concertos are to be played on

two pianos , — certainly the mos t effective way,

Mikul i ’s arrangement of the orchestra parts for asecond piano will be found se rviceabl e i t i s s imple

,

and adheres fai thfully to the composer 5 text. TheTrio in G minor, for piano, viol in and Violoncel lo ,op . 8, i s an immature work . The Sonata in Gminor, for piano and Violoncel lo, op . 65, be traysloss of power, despi te of the pains h e has takenwi th i t.The solo sonatas may fi tly be mentioned here.

Two only count : op . 35, in B flat minor, and op .

58, in B minor ; the third , op . 4 , in C minor, beingimmature .

Op . 35, th e Sonata wi th the Funeral March, i s anoriginal and a great work

, Chopin’s ow n,from the

fi rs t note to the las t . There i s no hint as to th ecomposer’s meaning in the ti tle of any o f the movements . Al l we know is that the highly emotionalmusic was called forth by the fi erce struggle for independence in Poland

,a nd that the spiri tual con

nection of one movement wi th another i s to besought in th i s d i rection . The Sonata might havebeen headed Poland . The fi rs t movement conveysa sense of s tr ife — of a resolve to conquer or die .

I t i s a true sonata movement,having the usual tw o

contrasting subj ects,an admirable working - out

section,and the proper recapi tulation . Then fol

lows a Scherzo having something of the same fierceimpulse

,with a p z

'

u lem‘o exquisi te ly tender . Then

the man ia f aneére, with the d ivine eanfz'

lena we allknow by heart . Final ly there i s a wai l of unutteraable desolation

,as of the night - Wind ’s cry, as i t rushe s

over the graves o f vanqu ished men .

! Carl Tausigused to play thi s movement exactly as Chopindirects i t to be played ; z

'

. e.

, wi th the soft pedalonly (z wa eom

’a throughou t and no loud pedal) ,

lega to, p resto, p ianiss imo, and wi th hard ly any

gradation of tone . The effec t was weird in theextreme

,and perfectly convincing. This i s th e

movement of which Mendelssohn is reported tohave said

, Oh ! I abhor i t ! There i s no music,no art !” and of which Schumann asserted that i tcontained more mockery than music .

” But, suppos ing it to be on the verge of, or even outs ide thepale of music proper, what i s i t to be cal led ? A

piece of genius ? Yes, unique in i ts way, andthus on a par with the thre e movements precedingi t . The Sonata, op . 58, published some five yearslater (1 84 i s le ss conci se and d efini te in outline ,and less wel l designed

,particularly the firs t move

ment,of which the working - out sec tion i s lax as

well as overwrought, and consequently somewhatchaotic in effec t ; the long - drawn - out melodies,however

,in the a l legro maes toso and the L a rgo are

remarkable,even in Chopin , the supreme master of

e legiac melody .

The majori ty of Chopin’s E tudes , unl ike Cle

menti ’s and Cramer’s, have no d idac tic purpose ;th e best are characteri stic p iece s, s tudie s for mas

See the corollary, Preludes, op. 28, N o. 14, in E flat minor.

fi KE DE /r’

l CK

ters,no t for pupil s . The Studien of Moscheles,

op . 70 and 95, “ E tude s, op . 2 and 5, o f Hensel t

,E tudes d ’

execution transcendante and“ E tudes de Concer t ” of L i sz t , may be said to

vie with them . But if we look for original i ty,

beau ty and vari ety of effec t, both Moscheles’

s andH ensel t

’

s s tud ies are left far behind ; and L i sz t’s,remarkable though they are from a virtuoso ’s pointof vi ew, lack the musical cal ibre of Chopin’s .! Ina number of instances Chopin contrive s to exhibi tthe subj ec t of an E tude in different aspects andunder different lights . The E tude in A flat

,for

ins tance (op . 1 0, No . i s a veri table patterncard of diverse aspects of the leading figure . O thersuch E tudes are op . 25, N os . 3 and 5. But

,tech

nical ities apart, the most glorious of the E tudes arethe two in C minor, op . I O and 25, No . 1 2

, op . 25,

No . 1 1 , in A minor, — poems in the form of s tudi e s .The Preludes

,op . 28, go hand in hand with the

E tudes ; they are for the mos t part only ske tchestowards E tudes, ye t h ighly original and valuable .

The Impromptus have the same shape as certainImpromptus of Schubert’s . The exquis i te matte rand manner are of course Chopin’s own. Two or

three of the early Nocturnes,op . 9 , No . 2

,parts of

op . 3 2 , Nos. 1 and 2,show traces of Fie ld ; in al l

the re st Chopin speaks h is own language . TheNocturne in G,

op . 3 7 , N o . 2, must be mentioned

as one o f th e most original and subtly beautifulp ianoforte p ieces extant . O ther superb piece s arethe tragic Nocturne in C minor, op . 48, No . I ;

the dreamy and perhaps somewhat too elaborateNocturne

,op . 62

,No . 1

,in B major ; and the Due t

Noc turne i n E flat,op . 55, No . 2

,which profe ssed

s tudents of Chopin appear to have overlooked .

I do not care for the Lad ie s - Chopin, ’ z'. e.,cer

tain drawing - room pieces of Chopin ’s,

” Wagner remarked to the wri ter i n 1 87 7 ,

“ there i s too muchof the Parisian sa lon in that. Yet, whether one

cares for the sa lon or not,the espr it and finesse, the

refinement and cheerful gaye ty, of French societyseem to be more accurately caught and reflected inChopin’s l ighter pi eces than anywhere e lse in art .Undoubtedly, with in these confines of e legance andpleasant tr ifl ing, Chop in i s unrivalled . Bu t le t no

I n tw o instances at least they are merely Chopin at second

hand . Compare L isz t’s E tude de Concert in F minor (No . 2 )and his E tude d

’execution N o . 10 , in the same key .

H ensel t, too , imitates and d ilutes Chopin. Compare his

op . 5, N os. 2 , 9 , 10.

CH UP/N 7 7 7

one suppose that the true we igh t and significance ofhi s music

,at i ts best, i s here apparent . I t i s d iffi

cul t to say anything adequate o f that glorification of

Poli sh national music which Chopin has accom

pl ished in hi s Polonai se s and Mazurkas . His Pol ishpie ces form a l i terature apart and for themse lve s .They range from mere trifles to grand iose pictures

,

such as the Polonaise in A,A flat

,F sharp minor.

And what shall be said of the four Scherzos, thefour Ballades

,the Fantasia, op . 49 , the Barcaroll e ,

the Berceuse , e tc ? “ J ’en passe — et des mei ll eursIn the Ballades, Chopin delights in a form of

expre ssion pecul iar to h imse lf ; th e music here appeals to the imagination, l ike a narrative poem .

The th ird Ballade,in A flat

,i s the most perfec t

as a we ll—balanced,care fully designed p iece ; the

second , in F, i s the mos t fantastic , one longs for aclew to the mysterious tale the music unfolds ; thefi rs t i s perhaps the mos t impass ioned ; th e fourthi s d i s tinctly the most e laborate

,as i t i s th e riches t

,

we ighti est, and one of the most important of al l hi sworks .Has Chopin in any way real ized h is asp iration to

create a new era in music or,at leas t

,in music for

the p ianoforte ? Why has no school o f piani s tsari sen from him ? The answer to the secondquestion i s that the only specially gifted profes

s ioual pup i l h e ever had,

“ l i ttle Fil tsch,

” theHungarian , d ied youngnl' The dozen or more menand women of average talent

,who were proud to

call themselve s h i s pupi ls,have done plenty of good

work in the ir time,and i t canno t there fore be said

that h is efforts as a teacher were in vain . But i t i salways a mere matter of chance whether or not aman of genius has thegood fortune to mee t wi ththe right sort of disciples .Chop in, none the le ss, has made hi s mark, an

indel ible mark . H e lzas given as a new vision and

a new version of beauty . His influence i s apparen tin Schumann , in L i sz t, in Wagner, in the musi c ofmost l iving men . H e is tlze poet of the p iano, th egreatest special i s t in the treatment of th e instrument . Whose pianoforte music , indeed , amongcontemporaneous and later masters, wil l s tand acompari son wi th his ? N ot L i sz t’s , assuredly ;not Schumann ’s

,— Schumann who now and then

TFil tsch w as a genius as regards the pianoforte.

“Whenthat youngster starts on his travels,

”said L isz t, I shall shut

up shop .

”

7 78 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

worked on l ine s paralle l to Chopin ’s ; not Mend elssohn

’

s, or Brahms’s, whose means and ends are

radically different, and whose leaning towards ab

stract music i s patent, even when they are con

sciously aiming at p ianoforte effec ts . Chop in atthe p ianoforte and as a compose r for the instrument i s unique , in imi table , endowed with a senseof beauty peculiarly h is own. I f perchance Keats

had l ived and wri tten verse for ten years longer,we might have had something l ike a l i teraryequivalent to the bulk of Chopin ’s music

.In

the vast mass of work extant for the harps ichordand the pianoforte thre e groups of compos i tionsstand forth , conspicuous and pre - eminent : Bach ’sPre lude s, Fugues, Sui te s , Parti tas ; Beethoven ’sSonatas ; Chopin ’s piece s, from op . 9 to op . 65.

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ANTON DVORAK!

N his novele tte “ A Pilgrimage toBee thoven ,” R ichard Wagner describe s h i s hero as entering Bo

bemia,

“ the land o f harp - playe rsand street - musicians

,

” where hecame across an i tinerant band on a country roadplaying

,for t/zez

'

r ow n Beethoven ’ssepte t “ with a preci s ion and a depth of feel ing

This imagi

amusement,

rarely equalled by a trained virtuoso .

”

nary scene strikingly il lustrate s the opinion whichprevai ls in Germany regarding the Bohemians , whoare supposed to be all natural mus ic ians who do notneed to learn the ir art any more than a duck needsto learn to swim . A German writer, H . Krigar,

re lates that in travell ing through Bohemia he oftenheard

,i n v il lages and in the country, small bands ,

which,l ike the gypsie s

,played wi thout the ir note s,

and who could rare ly tel l the origin of a pi ec e theyhad j ust played to perfection . Such are the em

dowments of the German Bohemians ,” he continues .I f we penetrate into the interior o f the countrywe come upon the Slav ic race , the Czechish populat ion

,which

,as regards musical talent

,does no t

fall below the German , but rathe r manife sts a sti l lmore pronounced and striking pecul iari ty in i tsmusical doings

,which are an accurate mirror o f the

O f al l branche s o f the Slavicrace thi s one i s the most gifted artistically .

A Bohemian write r,E . Melis, in a h istoric sketch

o f music in his country , note s the fact that in the

Czech character .

e ighteenth century music was greatly fostered bythe custom wh ich prevailed among the nobi li ty o f

The people had th ei r folksongs and the i r dance tunes

,and musical instruction

keeping private bands .

was carefully attended to in the primary schools,

“The second halfof the e ighte enth centu ry ,” says Mel is, “ was theas the historian Burney noted .

golden age o f Bohemian music ; i n the metropol is ,as in the country

,everybody breathed a musical

atmosphere ; on every clear summer night serenadesand nocturnes resounded on al l the streets ; al l thenoble s and monasteri es had thei r orche stras

,

” e tc .

As early as 1 7 3 2 Prague ’s fame as a centre o f

musical activi ty was such that Gluck went there topursue his studies

,and every musician knows that

i n 1 785 Mozart ’s F zga ro was so badly sung and sounfavorably rece ived in Vi enna

,while in Prague it

was a brill iant success,that he wrote his next opera

,

D on j uan, for the Bohemian cap ital, where i t was '

at once appreciated,while in Vi enna thi s opera too

was coldly rece ived ; so that Mozart had reason to7exclaim The Bohemians unde rstand me .

’

Amongthe famous musicians that Bohemia herse lf has givento the world may be named the national composersSmetana , and Czermak Kal l iwoda , piani st and composer ; Dreyschock , pianist ; Tomaschek

,organist

and composer ; Dussek,piani st and composer ;

Cz ibulka, director and composer ; Benda, viol ini stand compose r ; Kittl , composer (for one o f whoseoperas Wagner furnished the l ibretto ) ; D ionysWeber

,theori st

,compose r and fi rst d irector of the

Prague Conservatory, founded in 1 8 1 0 ; Labitz ky,

known as “ the Bohemian S trauss ” ; the greatheroic tenor Tichatschek the fi rst singer who mastered Wagner ’s heroic role s ; and A. W . Ambros

,

t he dis t ingu ished musical critic and historian .

Al l the se names are well - known to those who arefamiliar with the musical records and l iterature o f

the e ighteenth and n ineteenth centurie s,but as

regards the l ist o f composers i t wi l l be notedthat none o f the names rises to the fi rst or eventhe second rank . I t remained for our generat ionto produce a Bohemian composer o f the fi rs t rank

,

if original i ty i s the crite r ion o f rank . In AntonDvorak the national musical endowment for thefi rst t ime reached that sustained cl imax which wecal l genius . He was born on Sept . 8

,1 84 1 , the

o ffspring o f a humble couple who dwelt in the l it tlePronounced Dvorz hak .

7 79

7 80 FAM OUS COMP OSERS

town of Muh lhausen,near Prague . His father

,

Franz Dvorak,was a tavern keeper who also slaugh

tered animal s for h is own use and that of h isne ighbors ; and young Anton was intended to behis assi stant and successor . But the fate s hado rdained h im fo r a higher funct ion .

Franz Dvorak,l ike other inn - keepers

,always

engaged a strol l ing or v illage hand during thechurch fairs, to play for the danc ing couples assembled in hi s tavern . From those bands youngAnton rece ived h is fi rst mus ical impre ss ions .“ E ntranced he stood before the fidd lers an ‘d trumpeters, ” says Krigar, and followed the music withreddened cheeks and sparkl ing eyes . I t was notmusic of an elevated kind that those bands playedneverthele ss the genuine Bohemian polkas andmarches sufficed to se t the musical child ’s puls ethrobbing .

” His father was fond of music and wasa good performer on the z ither . Unlike the fatherso f so many othe r musical geniuses

,he saw no harm

in Anton ’s love o f music,but encouraged i t by

giv ing him in charge o f a school teacher,who

taught him to sing and to play the v iolin . Twoyears late r he had made sufficient progre ss on theviolin to be able to play a solo at a church fairsuccessfully . He also had a vocal solo

,but in th i s

he was le ss successful ; he became frightened, h isvoice fal tered and h is passage was spoi led . Thisfai lure made such a pain ful impression on his sens ibil ity that he could never be induced to sing againin public .

He was now sent to l ive with a relat ive in Zlonitz,

Where a music ian named L iehmann taught h im theo rgan and harmony . Liehmann was a church or

ganist whose eccle siastic functions did no t make himany the l e s s devoted to worldly music . He wasfond o f composing dance pieces and arrangingthem for orchestra . Anton had to copy the partsf rom the score , which was good pract ice for him ,

asi t gave him an insight into the mysterie s o f instru

mentation . His ambition soon led him to composea polka o f his own and arrange i t for orchestra .

The teacher was not ini tiated into the secre t,as he

wished to have al l the re sponsibil ity and credit forthi s pe rformance for himself . The intention wasgood

,but i t l ed to a sl igh t disaste r . Afte r the piece

had been comple ted,he took i t home

,intending to

surprise his parents wi th i t at a church fair . Theparts were di stributed to the musicians and the polka began ; but hardly had the music ians played a

few bars when they stopped abruptly and with goodreason ; for never before had such dire cacophonybeen heard in the peaceful v i l lage of Muhlhausen .

Poor Anton would have welcomed an earthquake toswallow him up with his mortification

,and everybody

was mystified until the trumpeter discovered that theyoung composer had erroneously written the F trumpet in F instead o f transposing it . The partwas rewritten in the proper key

,and the polka was

played to everyone ’s satis faction . Perhap s poorAnton would have been le ss mort ified had he knownthat the great Schumann once made a similar mistake in scoring one of his symphonie s .I n al lowing h is son to take music lessons

,Franz

Dvorak had no intention of training him to be a professional musician . He had eight ch ildren to support

,and Anton

,be ing the olde st

,was expected to

assi st h im in this task,when he became a youth

,by

engaging in a more lucrative business than that o f aBohemian mus ic ian . But Anton begged h im

,with

tears in his eyes,to be al lowed to devote himself to

mus ic,and his father finally consented . Anton re

mained in Zloni tz t i ll 1 856, and then spent a yearat Kammitz , near Bodenbach , to learn the Germanlanguage and to continue his organ and harmonyl essons . In the following year his father succeededin saving enough money to send him to Prague

,

where an opportunity o f getti ng an appointment asorganis t might pre sent i tse lf. Krej c i and Pitsch o f

the Conservatory were his teachers, and the organcourse was to las t three years . His father ’s contributions soon ceased

,and the young man was now

thrown on his ow n re source s . He was a good vio

l inist,i t i s true

,and he succeeded in getting a posi

t ion as v iol in player in a local tavern band, but t heincome from this source was bare ly enough to keepbody and soul together .Matters were somewhat improved by the establ ish

ment,in 1 862

,o f a National Theatre o f whose or

chestra Dvorak became a member.’ But he was sti l l

too poor to be able to buy a p iano or such scores ashe wanted for his studie s, and i t was lucky for himthat he found in Carl Bend l , conductor o f a localchoral society

,a friend who was will ing to place his

musical l ibrary at hi s di sposal . He was also befriended by the conductor o f the National Theatre ,Smetana, and with such encouragement he began tomake serious efforts at composition , his fi rst stringquarte t be ing written in 1 862 . O f course it re

mained unnot iced,but he consoled himself by

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782 FAA/GUS COMP OSE R S

quite apart . This E ngl ish op inion i s here quotedon purpose to cal l attention to the fact that al thoughDvorak was “ discovered ” by German composersand cri tics

,i t was in E ngland that he subsequently

rece ived the most practical and substantial encouragement . In 1 887 Dvorak remarked to a Londonjournal ist

,

“ You wil l think i t s trange that a com

plete performance o f my S taOa t jV/a ter , which al lthe E nglish choral societ ie s do very often , has neve ryet been given in Germany . And except at Vi enna,where i t was sung in a church

,with the organ only,

i t has not been performed in Germany .

”

The cause of Dvorak’

s early popularity in E ngland l ie s largely in the fact that large choral societ ie s abound ih that country , each o f which i s eagerto secure interesting novel tie s for i ts annual orbiennial festivals . I t was the London MusicalSociety that fi rst introduced the S taOa t M a ter

, i n1 883 , and the composer personally conducted i t .In 1 884 he conducted i t at the Worce ster Festival ,where he was invited to wri te a cantata for theBirmingham Fest ival in 1 885. This gave ri se tohis finest work

,T/ze Speetre

’s B r ide. I n 1 886

,he

wrote the oratorio S t. L nrl nzz'l la for the L eeds Festival . He has al so conducted some of his works atconcerts o f the London Philharmonic Soc ie ty ,greatly to their advantage , as he renders hi s workswith the requisite Slavic rnOa to, and, as Mr . Shed

As Dr. Dvorak i s s ti l l in the best period o f hisc reative caree r

,an attempt to pass a comprehens ive

and final judgment on his work would be premature .

But so much may be said safely, that, apart fromthe original ity of hi s musical ideas, he wil l begranted an honorable place in the history o f musicfor having turned the rivul et o f Bohemian nationalmus ic into the general E uropean current, therebyenriching and coloring i t as Chopin , L i szt andGrieg did by introducing the Pol ish

,Hungarian and

Scandinavian tributarie s . The great variety o f B0hemian rhythms may be inferred from the fact thatthere are more than forty d i fferent kinds of nationalBohemian dances

,the best known be ing the polka,

while Dvo i'ak has also given the furiant and thee legiac dumka general vogue

, raising them even tosymphonic rank .

lock wrote regarding his reading of the S taba tM a ter

, by many del icate nuance s and momentarychanges of tenp added greatly to the meaning andeffect of the music . In 1 89 1 , the Univers i ty o f

Cambridge con ferred on him the honorary degreeo f Doctor of Music

,on which occasion the S taOa t

Ma ter was sung,the soloi sts be ing Mme . Albani

,

Miss H ilda Wi l son,Mr . L loyd and 'Mr . Henschel

,

who gave the ir se rv ice s gratu itously .

I n the same year Mrs . J eannette M . Thurber,

pres ident of the National Conse rvatory o f Music,

i n New York,succeeded i n persuading Dvo i 'ak to

l eave the Conservatory at Prague,where he had

been teaching for some years,and accept the

post o f D i rec tor o f the National Conservatory .

The prel iminary contract i s for three years . Dr.

Dvorak rece ive s a year,and while he is

expected to superintend the advanced pupi ls,he

wil l s t i l l have plenty o f t ime to devote to h is composi tions . His brain teems wi th new id eas

,and i t

i s h is habi t to s i t up al l nigh t composing. Personally he is very modest

,and the childlike s impl ic i ty

of hi s manners at once . proclaims him a genius andendears h im to al l who come into contact withhim . To Mrs . Thurber he once remarked that theonly t hing that made h im angry was a lack o f firein a performance

In saying that Dvorak turned the stream of Bohemian national i sm into the general current o f E uropean music

,I by no means meant to convey the

idea that be merely selected current folk - songs andincorporated them in his works . The fact i s that hehardly eve r adopts a ready - made tune

,as many even

o f the greatest composers have done , but he createsnew Slavic tunes in the mould o f the folk—songs . L ikeR ober t Franz, he pre sents that modern phenomenono f a great composer creat ing those folk - songs whichformerly came anonymously from the people themselves . In play ing for the danc ing youths and maidens o f hi s native - village h is mind became so imbued with the sp iri t of Bohemian rhythms that whenhe began to compose , everything ‘was tinged withnational colors and so far i s th is from be ing a defectthat hi s greatest admirers must hope that he will

AN TON D VORA'

K

never abandon th is trai t for a monotonous “ Cos

mopol itanism” in mus ic which suggests the grow

ing uni formity of modern costume . Variety i s thespice o f l ife .

Dr . Dvorak’s fourth symphony i s marked opus 88,

and i t was preceded by works in almost every brancho f composition . The leas t important are his p ianoforte p ieces . For that instrument he seems almostto show a slight contempt

,l ike Wagner and other

born orchestral composers . Most of his compositions for piano are dance piece s mazurkas, waltzes ,

Fae- s imile autograph mus ical manuscript w ritten by Anton Dvola'k.

voted himse l f l ess to piano and song than to chamber music

,orchestral works

,opera and oratorio .

His chamber music include s several quartets, aquinte t

,a sexte t

,three trios

,a violin sonata

,etc .

Among these the trio in F minor and the sexte t areespecially noticeable .

As an orchestral write r Dr . Dvoi ’ak has few equal sand hardly a superior among l iving compose rs . I t i si n th i s department in particular that he please s boththe followers of the classical and of the modernschools

,because , while retaining the orthodox sym

phonic forms,he at the same time enriche s h is melo

di e s with the most modern harmonies and frequent,novel modulations, and clothe s them in a del ight

783

furiants a sort o f wild sche rzo and other Slav icdances . His concerto for piano , opus 33 , bristle swith d ifficu l t ie s which are not always showy andp ianistic

,and the refore not “ grateful ”

as the German players say . His songs are muchmore in vogue

,and among them are some real gems .

Some o f the best and best - known are the MoravianE choe s and the Gypsy Songs, ” in both of whichcollections

,as in the piano pieces , the Bohemian

pecul iari t ie s o f rhythm and melody are charminglyconspicuous . In recent years Dr. Dvoi'ak has de

fully colored and refined orche stral garb . Indeedone might say that

,as regards instrumentation

,

Wagner ’s mantle has fallen on Dvoi 'ak,whose orches

tral colors are modern,varied and richly colored

,

without ever offending one by the noisy extravaganceof R ichard Strauss and other young men o f the t ime .

The wi ldness o f Dvoi 'ak ’

s furiants i s not sensationalextravagance

,but natural Bohemianism . Among the

best - known orche stral p ieces are a se renade,sym

phonic variations,the four symphonies

,the

H ositz ka” overture (which is as deeply, as fran

tically national as the Hungarian R okocz y march ) ,and the Scherzo Capriccioso, his masterwork . WereI asked to make up a programme of a dozen of my

784 FAM OUS COMPOSERS

favori te orchestral p ieces,th i s Scherzo would b e one

of the fi rst in the l is t . I t i s the most W agnerian of

his p iece s in orche strat ion,and at the same time the

most original .O f the symphonie s lack of space prevents a de

tailed analys i s,but i t may be said in a general way

that in the las t two the Slav ic e lement has becomele ss noticeable than in former works

,and that

,while

thoroughly original,they betray occas iona lly the in

fluence of the German classical composers,pre - emi

nently o f Schubert . Indeed,i f i t i s necessary to

class Dvorak,I should place h im in the Schubert

school . Schubert has not ye t had ful l j us tice doneto him

,ne ithe r as regards the rank he can jus tly

claim among composers,nor as regards h is influ ence

on othe r compose rs . The most important sectionin Rub ins te in ’s book “ Mus ic and its Masters ” i sthat in which he seeks to prove that Schubert i s oneof the three greatest of al l composers . He mighthave added among h is proofs the great influenceSchubert has exerted on L i sz t

,Franz

,and Dvorak

in particular . I t i s not so much by an occasionalreminiscence (as by a certain cadence in the fi rs tmovement of the fourth symphony which recall s“D eath and the Maiden ”

) that Dvoi'ak suggests Shubert as by a general artis tic re semblance . He isparticularly addicted to the delic ious and frequent interm ingl ing or alte rnation of maj or and minor adevice by which Schubert enriched a ce rtain harmonic monontony of his predece ssors and which i sperhaps h is mos t valuable innovation . Dvorak alsoresemble s Schubert by the wonderful vari ety and inexhaustible fancy shown in the treatment o f minutedetails by his freedom as regards tonal ity, and hishab it of repeating the same idea in d iffe rent keys ;by the chaste simpl ic i ty o f instrumentation withwhich he secures some of the most exqu isi te orchestral effects by the spontanei ty o f invention and consequent rapid workmanship , l eading occasionally to

excess ive diffuseness and an inab il i ty to stop at therigh t place . As regards the rapidi ty with which hi spen travels Mr . Joseph Benne tt say : I have hisown authority for s tating that the S taOa t Ma ter wasbegun and finished

,even to scoring

,within s ix

weeks — a feat,in it s way

, qui te as remarkable asHandel ’s composition of the Mess z

'

a/z — while thesymphony in D was completed in three weeks . Schu

bert, we all know, composed six of the Winte rre isesongs on one morning, and wrote almost one thousand piece s in e ighteen years .Dvorak has written no fewer than six operas but

the ir fate has been such as to lead one to suspectthat the ir composer also shares Schubert’s trai t ofbe ing dramatic in songs and in orchestral de tailswithout yet having the theatrical instinct for bolda lfresco operatic strokes . The names of his operasare D er K

’

o’

nig und der [Col t/er, D ie D ieRsel ta

'

del,

Wanda, D er B auer ein Se/zelnz

,D imi tr i] , and Ka

leoOi . He seems to have been unfortunate in h isl ibrettos, wh ich helps to account fo r the fact thatbut one or two of his operas have been heard out

s ide o f Prague . I have been informed that he i sanxious to write an opera on an American subj ect

,if

he can get a good l ibre tto . O f his last opera,Lud

wig Hartmann says that whi l e retaining the Czechsp irit i t betrays the in fluence of Wagner : “ Al together enchanting, inexhaust ible in the ir me lodiousness and quaintne ss o f rhythm are the brighterportions o f the work , accompanied as they are by arunning commentary o f an orchestra o la fif eis ter

s inger .

Next to h is orchestral p iece s,the be st and best

known of Dvorak’

s works are h i s choral composit ions , o f which there are five . The H eir s of the

W/zi te Mounta ins i s an early work of local famemerely but h is S taba t Pl a ter e stablished h is famein E ngland, and by the favor i t found called forth thedelightfully romantic and dramatic Speetre’

s B r ide,

h i s master - work ‘

of this class . In the oratorioL ud nzil la he not only had an inferior subj ect

,but

he attempted to suppress h is own individual i ty andadapt his style to the E ngl ish taste formed on Hande l and Mendelssohn

,the resul t be ing somewha t un

sat isfactory . Ful l atonement for th i s was made,

however, by his last choral work, the R equiem,

which has al l the characteri stics o f his best worksoriginal themes, nove l modulations and exqu isite orchestration. The voices, both solo and choral, aretreated with the same sk i l l as the instruments

,and

the re are several b its of a eapel la song of ravishingeffect . Nor i s the Slav ic color absent

,espec ially in

a plaintive theme which keeps recurring as a sort ofl eading motive .

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MICHAE L IVANOVITCH G L I NKA

I CH AE L IVANOVITCH GL INKAborn June 1

,1 804 , at a

l i ttle v illage,

wasNovospasskoi

’

e,i n

the government of Smolensk . I tmay here be remarked that

,even

when allowance i s made for forge tfulne ss o f theR uss ian Calendar, the dates of important events i nthe l ife o f Glinka, as given by leading b iographers ,as Pougin, Fouque , and Cui, do not agre e . I havefollowed in thi s arti cl e the date s fixed by Dr . HugoR iemann in his “ Musik - L exikon G l inka

’s

fathe r was a re ti red army captain . Michael wasraised and spoiled by hi s grandmother . He wasnervous and sickly

,and hi s health was not improved

by a dress of furs, confinement in an overheatedUnti l

h i s death he was the prey of quacks and the suproom ,

and a die t of cake s and sweetmeats .

port o f physic ians .The sounds of church bells del ighted hi s early

years,and he imi tated them by striking meta l

basins . Then he heard the orchestra o f h i s maternal uncle ; he l i s tened greedi ly to peasant songsand the music o f strol l ing players . A governesstaught h im Russ ian

,German

,French

,geography

and the elements of music . He studie d the pianoand the v iol in : the latte r he abandoned afte rward

,

as he found early faul ts beyond correct ion .

In 1 81 7 he attended at St . Petersburg a schoo lfounded for chi ldren of the nobi l i ty ; he addedLatin , E ngli sh and Persian to his l i s t o f language s ;he became profici ent in mathematic s and zoology .

He took fo r a time piano le ssons of John Fie ld ;then he studied the piano wi th Carl Meye r, whotaught him without price . Harmony was repugnantto Glinka neverthe less be composed

,and he learnedWhen he was

twenty years o l d,he went to the Caucasus to drink

the use of orche stral i nstruments .

m ineral waters ; he was inj ured physical ly thereby,On h is re turn

to St . Petersburg he was appoin ted ass i stant sec<0

but his imagination was quickened .

rotary o f the Department o f Publ ic Highways.The work was light ; he had ample t ime to amusehimse lf with music ; he assoc iated wi th rich amateurs who gave concerts ; he wrote melancholyromance s .In 1 830 his physic ian recommended a change of

cl imate,and Glinka travelled with Ivanof

,afte rward

a famous tenor. They passed le isurely throughGermany and Swi tzerland , and at Mi lan theystudi ed . Gl inka tri ed to learn counte rpoi nt under

He preferred tohear the s ingers at the opera house and wri te pianopieces .and he moved them by hi s play ing . O th e r towns

Basi l i,but the study was i rksome .

The I talian women looked kindly on him,

i n I taly were vis i ted,but i t was on h is re turn to

Mi lan that he dete rmined to write R ussian music .

He crossed the Alps, vi s i ted Vi enna, where he subm itted to “ a homoeopath ic cure

,

” and li stened to

At Berl in hes tudied composi t i on for five months under Dehn .

In 1 836 the e lder Gl inka di ed ; the son le ft Berlinfor Novospassko

'

ie.

He had fall en in love wi th a Jewess o f Berl in .

She was a singer and for her he wrote six studie sAnd he longed

to se e her, so that he sought the pre text of accom

the orchestra of th e fi rst Strauss .

for contralto besides love - l e tte rs .

panying a German girl,his si s te r’s maid

,to Berl in .

He started with her,but

,as he r papers were not in

order, he was obliged to go to St . Petersburg, wherehe saw hi s mother and met Maria Petrovna Ivanof,young and pretty .

marr ied her .He courted Maria vigorously and

The maid re turned to Berl in alonethe J ewess dropped out o f G l inka’

s l ife as the boyKury out o f R ob inson Crusoe .

”

Glinkawas at fi rst passi onately fond o f her

,and i t i s said

that she insp ired the trio o f th e fi rst act o f A L ifefor the Czar . ” Maria cared more fo r dre ss and ball s

Maria was not a woman o f sense or tact .

than for music or her husband . She complainedbecause he spent money for mus ic paper ; she

7 86 FAM OUS COMPOSE RS

nagged him,a man of natural ly swee t disposition .

Her mother,a mother - in - law o f comedy, came to

her aid . There were quarrel s ; then there was aseparation . Maria married again : Glinka l ivedwith hi s mothe r

,and when she di ed, wi th hi s si ste r,

Mrs . Schestakof, w ho was devoted to h im in life ,and to h is memory .

L iving in St . Pe tersburg, Glinka associated withPushkin

,Gogol and othe r spiri ts o f the Russian

renai ssance . He meditated Russian opera . A

l ibre tto shown him by Joukow ski pleased him on

account of i ts romantic , popular and nationalcharacte r . He began with the overture , and workedfeverishly . I n the spring o f 1 836 he signed a paperby which he renounced the rights o f authorship , andthe opera was rehearsed under the generous Cavos ,who had wri tten an opera with the same subj ect i nItalian .

“A L ife for the Czar ” was first givenDec . 9 , 1 836, at the Bol shoi theatre . The Czarwas present

,and there was a bri l l iant audi ence .

The success was overwhelming . The Czar, to whomthe opera was dedicated

,sent Gl inka a ring valued

at four thousand rouble s .E arly in 1 83 7 Glinka ivas made Instructor o f the

Chorus o f the Imperial Chapel ; the yearly salarywas twenty - five hundred rouble s, lodging at court,and heating . He taught dil igently ; in 1 838 he“ wassent by th e Czar to L i ttle Russia in search of fre shvoice s ; he brought back nineteen boys of talent

,

wi th whom N icolas was pleased mightily, so that h egave Glinka friendly taps and fifteen - hundred rouble s .The trouble wi th h is wife we ighed heavily on the composer

,and in Decembe r, 1 839 , he resigned h is po si

tion . He then worked at h is second opera, Ruslanand Ludmi lla .

” The text was taken from a romancein verse by Pushki n . The fi rst performance was Nov.

2 7 , 1 84 2 . With the exception of the fi rs t act, theopera fel l flat : there were h i sse s . Glinka ascribedthe failure to malic ious s ingers, lack o f rehearsal ,and inadequate scenic decoration . The th ird eve

ning Mrs . Pé tro f sang the part o f Ludmilla and wasloudly applauded . There were thirty - two performances during the winter of ’

42—

43 ; the next seasonthe opera was she lved and not unti l afte r G l inka’

s

death was i t heard again then frequently and withdel ight . Glinka was sore distre ssed . He soughtcomfort in Pari s .There Berl ioz included some of hi s works in a

seri e s of concerts . In April,1 845, Glinka gave a

concert of h is own. The life in Pari s pleased him .

He was seen often with grise tte s and cheap actresse she drank freely of the wine s o f France . In 1 845

he travelled i n Spain,where he col lected folk - songs .

R e turning with the orche stral pieces Jota aragonaise and A n ight at Madrid

,

” he vi si tedh is mother, and then wandered from town to town .

His mother died . In 1 852 he went back to Pari sand spent much time at the Jardin de s Plante s

,

watching the monkeys . He returned to Russ ia viaBerlin, vi si ted h i s sis te r and wrote h i s memoirs,which were not publ ish ed unti l in 1 870 . He madeske tche s for an opera The Bigamist he med itated orchestral works ; but in the spring of 1 856

he went to Berl in,to s tudy again under Dehn . He

seemed happy and conten ted . In leaving th e royalconcert hal l where the trio from “ A L i fe for theCzar ” was sung with flatte ring success

,he caught

cold ; in fl ammation o f the lungs se t in ; his stomachand othe r organs were diseased

,and he did not

rally . He died Feb . 1 5, 1 857 . In May o f thesame year the body was borne to Russ ia and buriedin the cemetery o f the Nevsky Monastery . Manyhonors were paid h i s memory

,and in 1 89 2 his

name was given to one of the finest stre e ts in St.Pe te rsburg.

Accord ing to hi s s i ste r,Gl inka was like a child in

disposi tion,tender

,affectionate “ capric ious per

haps,a l i ttl e spoi led

, for he was fond of having h i sow n way . He was quick to acknowledge a faultand atone for i t . H e was grate ful for any kindness .He was incapable of looking afte r h i s affai rs household economy was d istaste ful to h im . His faultswere exce ss ive sensitiveness and d iffidence.

”

He was a slave to supersti tion . Three burningcandles frightened him he was subj ec t to fantastichal lucinat ions ; the letter that announced hi smother ’s death gave him a nervous shock before heopened the envelope . He feared perfumes, odorsof every sort ; camphor was to him rank poison .

He could not endure the thought of spices in hi sfood . He once said I do no t l ike laure l on myhead or in my soup .

In constant fear o f death he consul ted phys ic iansand hunted out strange cures . He carried withhim a medicine chest . H e considered the ad van

tages of magne tism and trance s . In Berl in in 1 856

he abandoned “ triumphant globule s of belladonnaand sought advice of a cultured allopath, ” who

recommended much exerci se and l i ttl e medic ine .

According to the test imony o f al l that knew h im,

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788

H e was aman of the world

, pol i shed , free from se lf - di splay,

an obse rve r of all social dutie s .

Glinka was “nu homme distingué .

H is bearing wascharacterized by fel ine grace . A cosmopoli tan

,

he was devoted to the Russ ian government,and he

was a fi rm believer in the national church . Thesufferings o f his las t years brought excusable i rritabil ity in argument, so that D ehn, hi s host, was inthe habit of saying to guests

,

“ Please leave yourumbrellas, galoshe s, and pol iti cs in the hal l .”Glinka was generous in h is treatment of the

A catalogue of Glinka’

s works in chronologicalorde r may be found in Pougin’

s S upp lement to F étis ’

B iograp/z ie universel le des M us ieiens , 1 878, vol . 1,

Pp o s87 , 388

pieces, chamber music , vocal quarte ts , choruses,The works o f

The study o f

singing under Bel lol i was of advantage to him ,as i s

This catalogue include s songs,piano

orche stral p iece s and two operas .h is youth do not cal l for attention .

se en in the vocal compositions o f the middle andthe late r period . Nor would i t be worth the whileto examine minutely h is composi tions for orchestra

,

piano and other instruments,al though such an

orchestral fantas ia as Kamarinskai’

a” shows um

deniable talent . As th e compose r o f two nationaloperas

,Glinka demands respectful considerat ion .

Before the performance o f “ A L ife for the Czar ”fore ign opera - makers ruled in Russia . Sarti, C imarosa, Pai sie l lo , Martini , Steibel t, Boield ieu , Cavosvisi ted or tarried in the Russ ian opera house .

Fore igners, as Araja, Sarti, Soliva , Sapienza andCavos wrote operas with Russ ian texts there werealso Russian opera - makers

,as Volkoff

,Fom ine

,the

brothers Titoff, Alabieff, Verstow ski . The se menwrote operas of merit or of l i t tle worth ; no one of

them can be regarded as a creator or renovator inthe school o f Russ ian music .

E ven when he was mere ly a boyish amateur,

Glinka col lec ted folk - songs and had ideas concerningdramatic music . In 1 82 6 he wrote

,

“ music trulyd ramatic fi t s exactly the sense o f the words .” Henoted carefully al l songs of the peopl e he l istenedattentive ly to Finnish posti l l ion

,Persian diplomat

,

Spanish idler . In Milan under an Ital ian sky,inti

mate with famous s inge rs o f the I talian school,he

despised h i s composi tions ; and longing for Russ ia

FAM O US COMP OSE R S

young music ians o f his day. Nothing musicalfrightened h im because i t was new or unexpected .

He was e special ly fond of the music o f Bach,Han

del , Bee thoven and Berl ioz . He composed onlywhen he was in the vein ; he was mode st i n h i se st imate of his own musical worth ; at the sametime he said to h i s s i s te r

,

“ They wil l understandyour Micha when he i s dead

,and ‘ R uslan ’ in a

hundred years . Unfortunately,perhaps

, for hi s art,he never fe l t the spur o f pover ty .

brought with i t th e ambition to wri te Russian musicmusic with the ineffabl e ecs tacy or infini te b itterness ” of R uss ian sentiment ; for he could notendure the sentz

’

ntento Or il lante of the I tal ian com

pose rs o f that day . When he studi ed for the firstt ime with Dehn

,his themes were general ly o f Rus

sian origin .

“ The de si re of creating nati onalin 1 83 2 he declared in a le tte r ;

“ my opera must be absolute ly national,both the

text and the music ; I wi sh my dear land sfo lk tofind themselve s there in at home . And ye t mode stydelayed the completion of the opera .

I n “ A L ife for the Czar Gl inka attempted thecombination o f two national i ti e s

, Russian andPol ish . E ach nati on should be characte rized bythe rhythm , the tonal i ty, th e parti cular harmonic

music haunts me,

’

structure o f the music . Rubinste in,who should

here speak with authori ty,c laims thi s as the resul t

of the attempt The characte r o f each national i tyi s maintained throughout

,and at the same time the

nat ional i t ie s are un i ted wi th rare technical mastery .

”

Yet the opera shows decided traces of the influenceof the I tal ian conventional ity o f the day . There isthe tr io in the fi rst ac t, for instance ; and , i n fact,nearly al l of the ensemble work of the fi rst act isfree from Russian characte r . Nor in th i s act i s themelodic form of pronounced originali ty .

The dashing Pole s were to be represented byinc is ive rhythms

,bril l iant themes

,while the Russians

were to be described as restle ss , melancholy, inmoods of shift ing tonal i ty . Only in the great triumphant hymn of Russ ian patriot i sm at the end of

the ope ra was there to be tumultuous joy withoutalloy . I t i s a singular fact that the scenes in whichthe Poles are chiefly concerned are the most char

M I CH AE L I VAN O VI TCH GL I NKA

acterist ic o f the opera ; so that Fouque perhaps i sjustified in saying

, G l inka thought to exal t Russ ia,

and,10

,i t i s Poland that triumphed . On the other

hand,the re are features o f marked original ity — o r

original i ty based on comparatively unknown folksong in the two last acts . Glinka employs

, for in

789

stance,in the melancholy romance of Vania

,the G

scal e with the F natural,as does Mascagn i i n the

fi rst ac t o f L’

Am ico Fri tz .

” The R ussian composersof to - day do not regard “A L ife for the Czar ” as thebe st or the most characteri stic work o f Gl inka . I ti s true that Cesar Cui, perhaps from patrioti sm

,

BUST OF GLI N KA.

Red raw n for th is w ork, by S d ney L. Smith, from an illustration in a Rus s ian magaz ine.

speaks of i ts “ remarkabl e originali ty and “pro

found depth,

Tade Bulgarine i n the other, when he wrote thegoing as far in one direction as

bi tte r attacks afte r the fi rst performance .

The text of Ruslan and Ludmilla ” i s a fai rys tory . Here G l inka combine s the Russian and the

C i rcassian nat ional i tie s . He himself said that hewrote the music in fragments and the loose str uc

ture o f the l ibre tto warred undoubtedly against th eimmediate succe ss o f the opera, al though to - day“ Ruslan ” i s regarded in R ussia as Gl inka ’

s masterp iece. In this opera he tu rned del iberate ly hi s

790 FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

back on E uropean musical conventional it i e s andtraditions

,and looked confidently toward the E ast .

He dreamed o f strange scale s,of new moods, o f

o ld church tone s curiously modified ; he pursuednew rhythms ; he sought painfully afte r unheard - of

harmonie s . Here in a word was the founding of

the modern Russ ian school , which , according toGustave Bertrand

,wishe s to have a language o f i ts

own as well as a style . So afraid i s i t st il l of beingaccused o f imitation

,that i t pretends to repudiate

the Italo - Franco—Germanic scale,and the whole

system of tonal i t ie s and modulat ions,which have

been considered for th ree centurie s the base of musical c ivi l izat ion i t would fain set up another systemof scale s

,another grammar

,anothe r syntax .

”

Now th is music o f Ruslan is as fore ign as i sthe original text

,and ye t i t i s impossible to deny i ts

passages o f rugged power, strange , exotic beau ty,overwhelming effect . Fi fty years ago was thi s musicwri tten

,and we find in i t much o f the ul tra - modern

Russian school . Take the wi ld,barbarous music

that accompanie s the seizure and carrying away o f

Ludmilla by two monsters , the music o f Tchernomorthe magic ian

,the descending scale

,te rrible

,harsh

,

wi th i ts bizarre harmoni es,and the haunting meas

ure s that follow (page 65 of Furstner’

s edition fo rvoice ' and p iano ) do not these measure s seem asthough they were signed by Tschaikowsky

,or R imsky

Korsakoff,or by any one o f the men that si t at the

fee t of Glinka ? I t i s in thi s opera that we real izethe mighty i nfluence of the - compose r on the menthat followed him i t i s in th i s work that we real izethat Glinka was a revolut i onary .

Fouque has drawn a paralle l be tween Glinka andWagner ; bu t when he claims that Glinka was thefirst i n E urope to employ a r appel ea raete

'

r is tigue,

he forge ts history and such men as Gretry andWeber . O ther theori e s or practice s of Glinka andWagner were ant icipated by Georg Reinbech i n thepreface to h is heroic opera O re ste s but theorie swere not enough to save O re ste s ” from the dustbin of antiqui ty . I t i s that which a compose r maydo with hi s theori e s or in spite of them that i s of thefirst importance to the inquirer into the worth of

h is music . Nor i s the fact that Glinka bel ievedthat in opera the music should be intimate ly con

nected with the meaning of the words enough tomake h im a remarkable figure in the hi story of

music for his bel ie f was shared by Frenchmen andItal ians who di ed long before he saw the l ight .G l inka was great i n thi s that for h is own people hefounded a school that by the influence o f his musiche has turned Russian musicians who followed himaway from the contemplation and the imitation of thegreat works of I tal ian

,French and German masters .

The Frenchman Berl ioz,himse lf a revolut ionary

,

wrote o f Gl inka that “ his talent i s supple ; he canbe simple , even naive , without descend ing to thatwhich is common or vulgar . His melodie s have passage s of a strange fascination . He i s a master ofharmony, and he write s for the instruments with acare and a knowledge of the i r most secret re sources

,

which makes h is instrumentation among the mostfre sh and vivacious o f al l modern instrumentations .”But the music o f Glinka i s known chiefly i n

Russ ia, and hi s operas do not find an abiding plac eouts ide the boundarie s of Russia . Will not theintense national i ty o f G l inka ’

s best music preventunive rsal recognition and affection ?Pushkin wrote a prologue to the story on which

the l ibre tto o f Ruslan is founded,and in thi s pro

logue are found the se wordsBy the side of the Blue Sea is a great and green oak

tree, girt w i th a golden cha in .

Day and nigh t , a marvel lous and learned ca t craw ls

around this oak .

When the cat craw ls to the right he sings a song ;

w hen he craw l s to the left he tells a story.I t is there you mus t sit d ow n and learn the under

stand ing o f Russian legend s .

There the spirit o f Russia and the fantasy o f our

ancestors come to l i fe again.

Pushkin and Glinka sit beneath th is oak ; theyl i s ten to the cat that crawls about the oak . To

him who i s unable to tarry by the side of the BlueSea will the music that come s from far away bemoving

,i rre s ist ible

,pertaining to common human

ity ? O r wil l the music o f th is ultra - Russ ian schoolentertain for a time on account of i ts apparents ingulari ty

,and then be forgotten by the Western

hearer o f pale r blood and carefully combed imaginat ion ?

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ANTON RUBlNSTE lN

T is re lated of Chopin that hewould go from one end o f Pari sto anothe r rather than wri te ashort note . Rubinste in appearsto have fel t a s imi lar d isinc l ina

t i on to le tte r - wri t ing,or l i te rary

work of any sort , unlike many other modern composers

,e spec ial ly the three whom he di sl ike s most

of all,Wagner

, L i szt and Berl ioz . As if by wayof retal iation

,th e writ ers on musi c ignored him

almost comple te ly,so that

,if we except a few

e ssays,brief biographi c notice s (ful l of e rrors) ,

and the current cri t ic i sm o f new works in thenewspapers

,i t may be said that the re was no

Rubinste in l i te rature unti l a few years ago . InNovember

, 1 889 , however, Russia ce lebrated theRubinste in Jubi l ee , and on thi s occasion thereappeared two brief

,but valuabl e books on the

great piani st composer . One of these i s ent i tl ed“Anton R ubinste in ; A Biographical Sketch” byAl exander M ’

Arthur (E dinburgh , Adams Charle sBlack

,which i s described i n the preface as

“ a se ri e s o f facts i n the l ife of Anton Rubinste in,

col l ected in St . Pete rsburg from intimate fri endso f the composer - piani st

,from Russian j ournals

,

books and papers,and from such informati on as

came to l ight during various conversat ions he ldwith himse lf — Mr .

some time R ubinste in ’s se cre tary . Sti l l more valuable i s an autobiographic ske tch which appearedabout the same time .

M ’

Arthur having been for

Rubinste in did not writethi s himself, but a stenographer took down thestory of hi s l ife and Rubinste in revi sed the proofs

,

so that i t may be regarded as authentic and accurate (E ngli sh translat ion by Al i ne De lano Boston

,

L i tt l e , Brown Co . ) Beside s these two bookle tson Rubinste in there i s only one other that I havebeen abl e to find — an 80 - page treat i se

,

“AntonRubinste in , by Bernhard Voge l (L e ipsic , MaxHesse , devoted chi efly to an analys i s o f

Rub inste in ’s principal works .

Anton Rubinste in ’s b i rth place was the vi l lageof Wechw o t inez , near Jassy, i n Moldavia . Owingto a lapse o f memory on hi s mother ’s part hebel ieved al l hi s l ife that h i s birthday was November1 8

,1 82 9 , but an examination o f t he local records

showed that he was born on the 1 6th (2 8th newstyle ) however, he says, “ now that I am in mysixti e th year i t i s rather late to al ter thi s fami lyfete day

,and so I shal l continue to ce lebrate the

1 8th (3oth) of November .” H is fathe r,Gregor

Rubinste in,was a Pol i sh J ew

,and hi s mothe r

,

Kaléria Christo fd rovna (née L evenste in ) , a GermanJ ewess

,born i n Prussian S i l e s ia .

About the time o f Anton ’s bi rth the oppre ss iono f J ews by the Emperor N icholas had reached thehighest degre e of crue l persecuti on . To escapethi s and save hi s possessi ons

,R oman Rubinste in

,

Anton ’s grandfathe r, gathered together all themembers of the several branches of the R ubinste i nfami ly, sixty i n al l , and had them baptized as Chri sti ans . Four years afte r thi s event

,when Anton was

five,hi s fathe r moved to Moscow

,where he started

a pi n and penc i l factory . The importance o f thi sevent in Anton ’s l ife cannot be overest imated

,for

if hi s family had remained i n the smal l vi l lage,he

would not have had an opportunity to cult ivate h i smusical procl ivi t i e s .I t was h i s mothe r who fi rst d i scovered hi s talent .

She had rece ived a good musical education,played

the piano well , and oft en noti ced how her oldestl i tt le boy l i s tened whi le she played

, or e lse sang toSo she

made up her mind to become hi s teacher,and the

l i tt le curly headed boy l earned so rapidly that shesoon found him more than a match ; whereuponshe resolved to give h im the benefi t o f the besti nstruct ion obtainable i n Moscow . Professor Al exander Vi l lo ing, who was reputed the best localteacher, was consulted , and he came to hear Antonplay .

“My mother then told him how she hadearnestly hoped that he would consent to become

himse lf,or tri ed to make a toy viol i n .

79 2 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

my teacher,but that owing to our l imi ted means

she was unable to pay a large pri ce for l e ssons .Vil lo ing hastened to reply that h e was not pre ssedfor money, and would wil l ingly undertake my musi cal educati on free of charge , and with him mylessons began and ended

, for no other teacher d idI have .

Anton was between five and s ix years old whenhi s mothe r comm enced to teach him . She gavemore t ime to him than to her othe r chi ldren , asshe found him a more apt pupi l . ProfessorVil lo ing was not much o f a virtuoso

,but he knew

how to teach,and was e speci ally careful i n regard

to the correct posi t i on o f the hands,and the

production of a good to'ne . I n hi s absence Anton ’s

mothe r watched over hi s exerc i se s . “ I n thosedays the method of teaching was very stern

,

”

wri te s Rubinste i n ; “ ferule s,punche s and even

slaps on th e face were of frequent occurrence .

”

But th e re sul t was a thorough foundation in technique

,and Rubinste i n adds that i n al l h i s l ife he

neve r met a better teacher than Vi l lo ing. Thougha stri c t maste r, he soon came to seem like a fri endor second father to Anton

,who found hi s le ssons

a pleasure and a recreat i on :“ I cannot cal l them

lessons they were a musical educati on .

”

So great was Anton ’s i nte re st i n musi c and hi sprogress so rapid , that h i s general education wasrathe r neglected at the t ime .

“ I do not rememberwhen or how I l earned my alphabet .”Vi l lo ing was evidently proud o f hi s pupi l who

,

when he was i n h i s t enth year,began to be talked

of i n Moscow as a prodigy ; and he finally succeeded i n overcoming Gregor Rubinste in ’s opposition,

and Anton was permi tted to make h i s fi rstpubl i c appearance at a char i ty conce rt

,on July 23 ,

1 839 . He played pi ece s by Hummel,Thalberg

,

L i sz t, Fie ld and H ensel t,was warmly applauded

,

and a local paper spoke of hi s “ beautiful,c l ear

tone,

” and the wonderful manner in which thechi ld arti s t entered into the compose rs ’ i deas .The succe ss o f thi s concert convinced Mme .

Rubinste i n that he r son was dest ined to be a greatarti s t

,and in order to afford him greate r advan

tage s than Moscow offered,she was now anxiou s to

send him to the Pari s Conservatory . Vil loing notonly approved thi s plan but even offered to accompany hi s pupi l . Strange to say Anton was refusedadmi ssion to the Conse rvatory.

“Whether theyconsidered me too young, or too far advanced i n

music,I cannot te ll

,but I suspect that Vil lo ing,

who regarded me as h i s own creat ion,was re luctant

to part wi th me,or to i ntrust my musical education

to any other than himself,even to the teachers in

the Pari s Conservatory .

” Possibly the pol icy of

Cherubini had someth ing to do wi th hi s exclusion .

Seventeen years previously that austere musi c ianhad refused L i szt (then 1 2 years o f age ) permi ssi on to ente r the same conservatory because hedi sl iked prodigie s . To some extent thi s d i sl ikewas justified , as the world was at that t ime full ofprodigie s

,most o f whom came to naught .

Anton did not fee l di sappoi nted at thi s exclus ion . His le ssons with Villo ing cont inued and hewas al lowed to give a few concerts i n the pianorooms of some great manufacturers

,on which oc

casi ons he met L i szt, Chopin and other famousmusi ci ans . Vil lo ing was pleased with the succe sso f hi s pupi l , who wri te s, however, that he lookedon al l thi s i n the l ight of an amusement and that,whi le hi s t eacher was s tri c t

,he himself was “ a great

rogue . Thus the year spent in Pari s was of l i tt l ebenefi t to h i s musical progre ss

,except in so far as

i t gave him opportuni ty to hear Chopin (at hi sown house ) and L i szt

,whose playing made him

cry and who,at one o f Anton ’s concerts

,embraced

the lad and predicted that he would be hi s successor . L i szt advised Vi l lo ing to take hi s pupi l toGermany for further study ; but before act ing onthi s advi ce a seri e s of concerts was given by Antonin E ngland , Holland , Norway, Sweden and Germany. In London he doe s not appear to haveattracted much attent ion

,al though the E xaminer

devoted to him a long arti cle i n which these significant l ines occur : “ To grati fy those whose tastel eads them to prefer fashionable music , he playsthe fantasias o f L i szt, Thalberg, Herz, etc ; butwhen exhibi ting be fore real connoisseurs hechoose s for hi s purpose the e laborate composi tionsof the o ld German school — the learned and d ifficult fugues of Sebasti an Bach and Hande l — al lwhich he execute s wi th an ease as we l l as preci sionwhich very few masters are able t o attain ; and toadd to the wonder, he plays everything frommemory

,thi s faculty being, apparently, _ as fully

developed in him as i t i s now and then, thoughrare ly

,i n adults who have perfected i t by long

pract i ce .

”

He was also rece ived by “ the young and handsome Queen Vi ctoria, as he wri te s

,

“ and subse

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7 94 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

p reference to any othe r musical c entre . ButL i szt was not i n hi s u sual amiable mood whenAnton cal l ed

,and he gave him to understand that

every man must pave hi s own way . Nor did thel e tters o f i ntroducti on w hi ch h e had brought fromBerl in open a fri endly house to h im . He gavesome l essons for a mere p ittance , l ived in an atti c ,and often had

,for several days

,no t enough money

to pay for hi s dinner,and so went hungry .

His only solace was composi ti on . Before leaving Berl in he had already succeeded i n findingpubli shers for a few o f th e pi eces

,i ncluding a study

for th e piano on the subj ect o f Undine , whichwas even honored by a notice from the pen of

that professi onal di scove rer of geniuses, Schumann ,

who prai sed i t for i ts melodious character , whi leobj ecting to some errors i n the harmony

,and

pointing out that i n a pi ece by so young acompose r

,real original i ty was of course out of the

que sti on . Concerning hi s Vi ennese composi ti onsi n the atti c

,Rubinste in says : “What d id I no t

wri te in these days o f hunger ! E very sort of

composi ti on,not only i n the department o f music

— operas,oratorio s, symphoni e s and songs — but

arti cle s phi losophic,l i terary

,and criti cal as we ll .”

O f thi s musi c but a small part appeared in print,and in most case s the young composer had to be“glad to find a publi sher wi thout expecting anyremunerat ion .

Tw o months afte r Anton had taken up h i s re sidence i n the garre t

,L i szt cal led upon him and

tri ed to make amends for hi s previous curt behavi or by i nvit ing him to dinner ; an i nvi tati on whichthe poor fe l low accepted only too gladly

,for th e

pangs o f hunger had been gnawing him for severald ays . “Afte r thi s ,” he wri te s, “ I was always ongood terms wi th L i sz t unti l the t ime of his death .

”

In 1 84 7 he undertook a concert tour in Hungarywith the flut ist Heinde l . At i ts c lose these tw o

,

with another fri end,decided to emigrate to Amer

i ca,via Berl in and Hamburg . When they got to

Berl in in 1 848 Rubinste i n told hi s former teachero f the i r plan , but D ehn ‘di ssuaded him

,and so he

abandoned his companions,and took up his

re sidence in Berl in once more,

“ L ead ing the Bohemian l ife of an arti st — feasting when money wasplenty and going hungry when i t was gone .

” But1 848 was no t a good year for ge tting an arti sti cfooting in Berl in, for the great revoluti on hadbroken ou t . He witnessed some of i t s stormy

scenes , but h is occupation was gone ; there wasno demand for le ssons or concerts

,and finally he

concluded that the wi sest thing he could d o was tore turn to St . Pe tersburg .

The sixth chapter of Rubinste in ’s autob iographyl S devoted to a detai l ed narrative of the adventureswhich befe l l h im on hi s return to hi s nat ive country — incidents which he presents i n an amusingl ight, but which must have been very annoying, ifnot alarming, at the t ime . He had forgotten toprovide h imself with a passport

,i n consequence of

which he narrowly escaped arre st,and was even

threatened wi th deportati on to Siberia . What wasworse sti l l , the pol i ce suspected the box in whichhe carried his manuscripts of be ing a receptacle o fsedi tiou s documents i n cryptograph

,so i t was

detained, and the contents afterwards sold tomerchants as waste paper before Rubinste in hadheard of the ir being adverti sed ; and so his earlyworks were lost , excepting such as he reproducedfrom memory .

The five. years from 1 849 to 1 854 were spentmostly in St . Petersburg where the young piani stcompose r

,now in hi s twent ie s

,continued to lead

the same kind o f l ife that he had led i n Berl inr ich one moment

,poor the next

,i ndulging in

luxurie s to - day and walking to - morrow because hecould not pay h i s cab fare . In giving le ssons headapted h i s charges to the wealth o f his pupi ls

,

some paying him one rouble an hour,othe rs

twenty - five.

The Grand Duche ss Helen,s i ste r of the Em

peror Nicholas, a great patrone ss o f the arts andartis ts , took him under her protect ion, and madehim accompanist i n general to the court s ingers ”and gave him frequent opportuni ty to play be forethe emperor and the aristocracy at her soirées towhich the best art is ts were always invi ted .

I t was during these years, too, that he cameforward prominently for the fi rst t ime as a composer . “ I wrote operas i n I tal ian and German ,”he says

,

“ for at that t ime,with the excepti on o f

Glinka,there were no Russian composers — noth

ing but amateurs,di le ttanti landlords, di lettanti

cle rks musicians — real art i sts — who looked upontheir art as the very essence of the i r l ives, werenowhere to be found .

9“ i f TheR ussian opera was as ye t i n embryo , as far asregards the singers .”The fi rst of Rubinste in ’s operas was D imitry

AN TON R UE TN S TE I N

Thepose r conducted personal ly

,but the singing was so

wretched that the opera fai l ed to please thepubli c

,al though i n later years i t won some popu

larity . At the request of the Grand DuchessH e len

,he next wrote thre e

Dons/eoi,which was produced in 1 852 .

one—act operas toi l lus trate some o f the vari ous national i t i e s o f thevast Ru ssian Empire . One of these , produced in1 853 , enti tl ed Thomas the Pool , but thesinging was so outra

W218

geons that Rubinste infl ed from the theatre

,

and on the followingday he appeared at theo ffice to demand there turn of hi s score . Theother two o f these op

eras,Vengea nt e and the

S iber ia n H unter,were

never performed ; in

deed,i l l luck once more

befe l l h im regarding h i searly works, for th eMMS . o f the se operaswere burned wi th thetheatre . A copy o f th eS iber ian H unter

,how

ever, sti l l exi sts, as Mr .

M ’

Arthur

i n Rubinste in ’s musicalinforms us

,

l ibrary at Peterhof .In the

Mme .

poli cy of interrupting

mean timeR u b i n s t e i n ’ s

her son ’s caree r as achi ld prodigy and causing him to settl e downto study hi s art seriously, had been proven a

F or,had

continued to amusewi se course .

Anton the curiosi ty of

prodigy lovers, he might have degenerated into amere tri cky vi rtuoso

,or come to gri ef entirely

Instead o f thi s hehad al lowed hi s faculti e s to mature

,and now

,

thi rteen years after h i s fi rst concert tour,the young

man o f 2 5 made up hi s mind to show the worldwhat he had learned i n the i nterim . A concerttour was undertaken , l asting from 1 854 to 1 858,

during which time he vi si ted the principal c i t i e s

through overworked nerves .

ANTON R U B INSTE IN.

A most characterist ic s ilhouette sketch by Mrs . Behr made in 1886 in

St . Petersburg . The fac - s im i le autog raph I S Rub in hestein

’

s name in Russ ian .

7 9 5

o f Germany, Austria, France and E ngland . Hismain obj ect was not to shine as a pi ani st

,but to

introduce himself to the world as a compose r .But

,as usual i n such case s

,the publ ic and the

ci ti e s were much quicker i n appreci ating hi sinterpre tative than hi s creative genius .The questi on i s often asked whether Rubinste in

was eve r a pupi l of L i szt . He was not — at l easthe never took l essons of L i szt .

however , he may beIn a wider sense

,

cal led a pupi l o f L i szt,

for we have alreadyseen how greatly thel i t tle Anton had beenaffe cted by L i szt ’s p layi ng i n Pari s

,and how

he had copied hi smethod and hi s mannerism s .

In 1 854 once morehe came under L i szt ’s

At that t imeL i szt was l iving at Weii nfluence .

mar, the centre o f anadmiring host o f pupi l sand m u s i c i a n s

,the

patron general,so to

speak , o f al l young andambitious composers

,

theWagner . I t was naturali ncluding exi led

that Rubi nste in,eager

for recogni tion as ac r e a t i v e m u s i c i a n

,

should also have turnedto Weimar . He wascordially rece ived byL i sz t, i n whose house

l ived five or sixmonths

,dining at the

house of th e Princess Witgenstein, who hadbeen the cause o f L i sz t ’s giving up the l ifeo f a virtuoso and fol lowi ng the more thornypath o f a composer . But though L i szt

,during

these months,may have often played for R ubin

ste i n and given him hints,i ndi rectly

,i n piano

playing,he fai led to make an impressi on on

h im as a composer ; for Rubinste i n wri te s i n hi sautobiography that he always esteemed L i sz t as“ a great performer

,a performing virtuoso

,i ndeed

,

7 9 6 PAM OUS COMP OSE R S

but no compose r ; adding,

“ I shal l doubtle ss bedevoured pi ecemeal for giving such an opini on .

”

The od d fact i s menti oned by Rubinste i n thati n Russi a h e was considered a German and inGermany a Russian . But al though at the time o f

the Crimean war all E urope was host i le to Russi a ,t hi s hosti l i ty did not extend to the domain of

music , and Rubinste in , the pi ani st, was applaudedeverywhere as the true successor of L i szt . ToE ngland he could not go at fi rst because i t wasclosed to al l R ussians ; but afte r the war, i n 1 857 ,

he went there,and although some o f the cri t i cs

attacked him,popular sentiment was overwhelm

ine on hi s s ide , and the conductor o f th e MusicalUnion , John B l lah, wrote that neve r since the lastappearance o f Mendelssohn in 1 847 had so muchenthusiasm been expressed as at Rubinste in ’sdébut in 1 857 .

The winter of 1 856 to 1 857 Rubinste in hadspent at N ice

,where the Grand Duchess Helen

had bought a vi l la,and the widowed Empress

Al exandra was lamenting her late husband , andthe resul t o f the Crimean war . At the numeroussoci al gatherings o f thi s winter

,musical subj ec ts

were frequently discussed , says Rubinste in , “ andal l acknowledged that the state o f musi c i n Russi awas deplorable . We al l agreed

,unanimously

th e Grand Duche ss favoring i t parti cularly — thaton her re turn to St . Petersburg someth ing must bedone for the musical education o f Russ ian soci e ty,and i t was there i n Nice

,under the beautiful skie s

o f I taly,that the fi rst conception of the Russi an

Musi cal Society in St . Petersburg took i ts origin .

”

H aving re turned to St . Pete rsburg, Rubinste indevoted al l h i s energie s to the founding o f th enational Conservatory, and i t was in 1 862 thatRuss ia rece ived i ts firs t high school o f music .

Previous to that,musi cal education had consi sted

chi efly in the memori zing of a few simple tune si n the fami ly ci rc le . There were no profe ss ionalmusi ci ans but only amateurs

,and the profe ss ion of

musician was not recognized officially . To securethe necessary funds for the conservatory

,Rubin

ste in and hi s col leagues went about from house tohouse

,l ike Russian pri e sts, sol ic i t ing subscriptions .

Concerts were also given to add to the funds .Rubinste in assumed the directorship , and suchfamous teachers as Wieniaw sky and L eschet iz ki

asked only a roubl e a l e sson . The re sul t was thatthe c lasse s were soon crowded and the school

prospered i n spi te o f i ts enemie s,who denounced

the school as the production o f “ a se t o f Germans,

profe ssional pedants , and who opened a rivalschool where tui ti on was given free . That Rubinste in should have enemies among the R ussianmusic i ans was not to be wondered at

,for he had

,

some years previously, wri tten for a Vi enne sej ournal an arti cl e on Russi an musi c in which hespoke very highly o f Glinka

,whi le the other com

posers fared i l l at hi s hands .That h e should have given so much o f hi s time

to the e lementary and di fficul t task o f founding aConservatory, i s the more to hi s credi t when webear i n mind that al l thi s time he might havemade a fortune by giving concerts i n the variousc i ti e s o f E urope . F or several years

,however

,he

confined hi s labors chi efly to St . Petersburg,where

he often appeared as pi ani st and conductor . In1 865 he marri ed Vera Tschekouano ff, who accom

panied him in a concert tour the same year . In1 867 he re signed from the posi tion of director ofthe C onservatory and once more devoted himselfchiefly to concerts . The number o f pupi ls had inthe meantime grown to 7 00 , and among them wefind such eminent names as Tschaikowsky andMadame E ssipo ff. The cause of h i s l eaving theConservatory was a di sagreement wi th i ts professorsas to the obj ects and methods of instructi on .

O f the concert tours which now followed,the

most giganti c was that which he undertook toAmeri ca in 1 87 2 wi th the viol i ni st Wieniaw sky .

For 2 1 5 concerts h e was to rece ive andthe viol ini st hal f that sum ; and thi s contrac t wascarri ed out to the le tte r .

“ For a time,he wri te s

,

“ I was entire ly underthe control o f the manager . May heaven prese rveus from such slavery ! Under these condi tionsthere i s no chance for art — one grows into anautomaton

,performing m echani cal work ; no dig

nity remains to the arti st , he i s lost . 9“

I t oft en happened that we gave two or threeconcerts i n as many di fferent ci ti e s on the sameday . The rece ipts and the succe ss were invari ablygratifying, but i t was al l so tedious that I began todespi se myse lf and my art . This

,combined wi th

hi s great ave rs ion to an ocean trip,has prevented

him from returning to America, although managershave often offered him immense sums, the highestbe ing for fifty conce rts, which he refusedi n 1 89 1 . I t i s i nte resting to note that R ubinste in

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79s FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

found the Americans more musical than the E ngl i sh

,whom he regards as the least musical nat ion

in the world,only two per cent . of them having,

in h i s opini on,any knowledge of thi s art, whi le o f

the French sixteen per cent .,and o f the Germans,

fifty per cent . are musi cal .The proce eds of thi s Ameri can tour laid the

foundation of Rubinste i n ’s prosperi ty . On hi sre turn to Russi a he bought a vi lla at Pe terhof, nearSt . Petersburg, which thence forth remained hi srefuge

,where he could compose without inte r

ruption i n the i nterval s between h i s concert tours .In 1 885

— 1 886 he prepared a grand finale for hi scare er as piani st by giving a seri e s of seven historical concerts i n St . Petersburg, Moscow,

Vi enna,Berlin , L ondon, Pari s and L e ipsi c . They wereintended to il lustrate the gradual deve lopment ofpiano - forte musi c and with hi s usual generosi ty herepeated each concert on the subsequent - day forthe benefi t of s tudents . The instructive programmes are reprinted in M ’

Arthur’

s biography,pages 86—

90 .

I n 1 887 Rubinste in was asked to resume thedirectorsh ip of th e nati onal Conservatory andaccepted the offer on condi ti on that he couldmanage everything in his own way. Thi s he proceed ed to do wi th a vengeance , for he no t onlyturned away pupi l s

,and comple te ly al tered the

programme of study , but also sent off professorsand gave others lower places . The resul t was agreat outcry and commotion

,but i n the end things

adjusted themselve s again . Al though he refusedto play any more i n public except for charity,he continued to give

,for the benefi t o f students

and privileged fri ends,l ec ture - rec i tal s at which

,

according to Mr . M ’

Arthur,he was almost always

i n good humor,enthusiast ic

,

“ I n love with themusi c he was interpre ti ng

,and hi s remarks to the

pupi ls de l ightfully witty and learned .

”

Only one more event o f spec ial b iographicimportance remains to be recorded — the officialj ub ile e on Nov . 30 , 1 889 , o f his fi rst publi c appearance as p ianist fifty years previously

,coinciding

within a few months wi th hi s s ixtie th bi rthday .

The festivi ti e s lasted six days and were parti c ipatedi n by the royal fami ly, the ari stocracy and theart i s tic c ircle s of the Russian capi tal .There was a reception at which fi fty - four addresses

were presented to Rubinste in, and a number of

pi eces p layed by former pupil s of the Conservatory,

i ncluding Tscha ikowsky . There were also concerts at which Rubinste in played

,and performances

were given o f hi s Tow er of B abel and F eram ors,

and o f hi s new opera,Goruscha

,the fest ivi ti e s

winding up wi th a grand ball . “ During the fi rstday,” wri te s Mr . M ’

Arthur i n the New Y orkM us ica l Cour ier (Jan . 1 5,

“300 te legrams

were rece ived,and Rubi nste in was pre sented with

the ci tizenship of th e borough of Peterhof — a greathonor i n Russ ia — an annui ty of 3000 roubles fromthe Czar ’s private treasury, and numerous localand fore ign honors .” Many years previously hehad already been appointed Imperial concertdi rector and court piani st

,and i n 1 869 he had

rece ived the Vladimi r order,which rai sed h im to

noble rank . I n 1 87 7 the President of France ,MacMahon

, handed him personally the order of

the L egion of Honor .Rubinste in ’s head has often been compared to

Beethoven ’s,and hi s long, shaggy, dark hair, thrown

back from hi s broad,high forehead

,give s him a

strikingly leonine appearance . I am simplymuch hai r and li ttl e nose

,

” he once said o f himself,

and Mr . M ’

Arthur adds these graphic touche s“A pecul iar droop of the upper eye - l ids at the rightand left si de s o f the forehead

,give s an od d

expression to hi s face,and the se rene thoughtful

ness o f hi s forehead i s strongly at variance withthe l ines of passi on and impe tuosity about hi smouth . He wears ne i the r beard nor moustachios .”His extensive travels made him a good l ingui st .

He understands I tal i an and Spani sh , and beside sRuss ian speaks G erman , French and E ngli sh flu

ently . He was always fond o f good company anda game o f whist . He i s very sensi t ive to femalecharms and chivalrous toward women the amountof marriage dowers he has given to penni le ssmaidens when he was amassing wealth on hisconcert tours i s said to be a standing j oke amonghi s fri ends . Had he saved al l hi s earnings hemight be a mill i onai re . A foot - note in hi s autobiography state s that “ I t has been ascertained thatduring the twenty— e ight years which have e lapsedsince the foundation o f the Conse rvatory, Rubinste in devoted the proceeds of his chari ty concerts ,amounting to more than roubles, to thebenefi t o f the poor and t o othe r good works .”The t ime which he gave to the Conse rvatory andi ts pupil s

,financial ly cons idered

,was worth at

least another sum o f that s ize .

AN TON R UB I N S TE I N

At the piano, Rubinste in, i n h i s chi ldhood ,imi tated the manneri sms of L i szt, as we have se en ,but i n mature years he preserved a quie t, dignifieddeportment which added much to the impress iveness of hi s performance s . His massive, manly,l e onine appearance in i tse lf se emed to augmentthe force of hi s p laying of a tumultuous, agi tatedmovement ; but the same hands which at onemoment seemed to be the paws of an angry l i on,at the next moment danced on the keyboard withthe dainty lightness o f fai ry fingers . N o one hasever sung more beautifully on the keyboard thanRubinste in, no one ever brought an audience to ahigher pitch of exci tement than he has by hi simpe tuous exhibi ti ons of pass i onate pianism .

For several decades cri t ic s have de l ighted inmaking compari sons between R ubinste in and Dr .

Hans von Bulow. The latter i s represented as anobj ect ive piani st

,who interpre ts each composer

truthfully, as an obj ect i s reflected i n a mirror,and R ubinste in as a subj ective piani st who addsto each p i ece more or l e ss of hi s own personal i ty .

There i s some truth i n thi s ; for R ubinste in i s agenius

,and a genius cannot help coloring every

thing wi th his own moods and passions ; but i twould be enti re ly wrong to say that R ubinste in ’sMozart i s l e ss Mozartean

,hi s Beethoven le ss Bee

thovenish,his Schumann less Schumannesque than

Bulow’s . His practi ce s as a teacher as we l l ashi s playing refute thi s noti on . He was alwaysangry when a pupi l brought h im an “edi ted ”

edit ion of the class i cs, and insi sted on having theunadulterated art ic le . I n case s where he undoubted ly gave a personal vers ion of a p i e ce — as forinstance of Chopin ’s funeral march , which hebegan very softly

,swel ling i t gradual ly to forti ss imo

and ending agai n piani ssimo — as if to suggest apassing proce ssi on

,he d id not al low his pupi l s to

copy hi s example . I f at t imes he has al lowed hi shands to run away wi th hi s judgment, l ike a pai ro f unruly horse s

,i t was l e ss wi th the vi ew to dazzle

the publ i c wi th a di sp lay o f digi tal vi rtuosi ty thanbecause h i s animal spi ri ts overpowered him . Henever played at the audience but only for himse lf,i t s eemed ; and to an ignorant American whoonce asked him why he did ’nt play “ somethingfor the soul , he said, “We l l

,I have played for the

soul,for my soul, not for yours .

Being a creat ive genius, Rubinste i n preferred

7 99

composing to pract i sing,and in consequence

hi s technique occasional ly became “ rusty,” andwrong note s were struck . But ne i ther thi s nor h i soccasional capric i ousness i n the treatment o f acomposi t ion

,nor the fac t that he hardly ever

played a piece twice i n the same way,detracted i n

the least from hi s populari ty ; hi s concerts we realways crowded

,the enthusiasm unbounded . And

th e secre t o f thi s success was that Rubinste in , (asWagner said o f L i szt) did no t s imply reproducewhen he was playing, but actual ly re—produced or

re—created the pi ece s . When he could give somuch pl easure to the musical world by hi s playing

,

i t se emed crue l that h e should have ceased h i scaree r as performer wi th hi s hi stori cal concerts somany years ago ; but there was a special reasonfor th i s i n the gradual weakening o f hi s memory.

He himse lf re late s that up to hi s fi ft ie th year h i smemory was prodigious , but that s i nce that t imehe has been consciou s o f a growing weakness .“ I began to fe e l an uncertainty ; something l ikea nervous dread often take s possess i on of mewhi le I am on the stage i n presence o f a largeaudience . Thi s sense of uncertaintyhas often infl i cted upon me torture s only to becompared wi th those of the Inqui si t ion, Whi le thepubli c l i st ening to me imagines that I am perfectlycalm .

”

What i t means to have a musical memory l ikeh i s i s graphically shown by the figures provided byan enthusiast i n Vi enna who made hi s pupi ls countal l th e notes p layed by Rubinste in at one concertand found that there were As Rubinste incould have given more than a dozen such concertswi thout exhaust ing hi s mental repertory

,he must

have had about a mi l l i on note s stowed away inthe i r proper place in h i s memory ! No wonderthat such elaborate machinery should occasi onal lyge t out of gear afte r forty years of constant use .

Mr . Joseffy relate s an i nc ident he once wi tnessedat a Rubinste in concert . The R uss ian l i on wasplaying the Schumann concerto when suddenly hi smemory fai led him ,

and for several page s of the scoreh e could no t find h i s place . The conductor,becoming ne rvous

,handed him hi s score , but

Rubinste in se ized i t and angri ly dashed i t on thefloor — which acti on seems to have aroused hi smemory to a sense of i ts duty

,and the re st of

the pi ece was played with tremendous passi on .

800 FAA/[OUS COMP OSE R S

Fac- s imile autog raph manuscript w ritten for E. Naumann, the musica l h isto rian.

Rubinste in,the

known to the publi c than Rubinste in,the compose r

,

piani st,i s s ti l l much bette r

although hi s act ivity as a creat ive musi c i an i seven more astounding than hi s ski l l as a virtuoso .

Jubi le e the publ i she ro f most o f hi s works

,Bartholf Sen ff o f L e ipsi c

,

On the occasion o f hi s

i ssued a “ Rubinste in Katalog ” containing a l i sto f al l h i s composi ti ons

,excepting the not incon

s iderable number o f h i s early works that were lostor accidental ly burnt — i ncluding a piano concertoand two operas . Thi s catalogue contains fortye ight page s , and i n looking through i t one neve rceases wondering why so few o f these p i ece s areknown to the publ i c

,and where the composer

found time , amid h is labors at the Conse rvatory,and hi s constant travel s as vi rtuoso

,to wri te suchAs he i s st i l l

busy with hi s pen,a defini tive l i s t of hi s worksThe “ Kato log

”

(1 889 ) endswith opus 1 1 3 , but thi s doe s no t i nclude ten

an enormous number o f pi ece s .

cannot be given .

youthful composi tions,and many other piece s

(page 2 1 — 24 o f “Katalog that have no opusnumber ; and i t must also be remembered that asingle “ opus ’ often i ncludes from half—a—dozen toa dozen or more songs or pianoforte p i ece s . O f

hi s operas Senff has publ i shed not only the vocalscores

,but all the principal songs separate ly

,with

arrangements for piano solo,for violi n

,for violon

cel lo,e tc . for a ful l l i s t of which the reader must

be re ferred to the “ Katalog,

” i n which he wil l findIn thi s bri e f

essay only hi s principal works can be refe rred to .

many a gem that wi l l de l ight h i s soul .

His own instrument i s natural ly the most abund ant ly provided for . I n the pianoforte solo secti onof the “ Katalog ” the re are no fewer than 14 2

publi cat ions of single pi eces,colle ct ions

,operati c

score s and potpourri e s, arrangements of songs , e tc .

Among hi s be st - known pi ece s are the Melod i e inF, opus 3 , the R omances , opus 2 6

,No . 1

,and

44 , No . 1 , the Barcarol le , opus 30 , theopus 44 , His

pi ece s might be divided into three classe s .

opusImpromptu , N o . 3 . pianoforte

The

fi rst i s noth ing but drawing - room music,sometime s

rathe r trivial and i nsipid ; the second embrace s anumber o f pi ece s which show the i nfluence on

Rubinste in ’s genius o f Chopin,Mendelssohn

,and

occasional ly of Schumann and Schubert the thi rdi nclude s many composi tions

,e specially o f the late r

peri od , which are Rubinste in,pure and simple .

The influence o f Chopin i s e special ly perceptib lei n such piece s as the Mazourka

,opus 5, and

the Mende lssohnpeeps out o f the R omance

,opus 26

, N o . 1,and

The Valse Al l emande,

i n every bar,

Melancol i e,opus 51 ; whi le

many o f hi s weaker pieces .82

,i s Schubert

i ntentionally, and the l i te ral quotation of theF reisc/z z

'

i tz Waltz i n N o . 5 of th i s p i ece recal l s the

opus evidently

fact that Rubinste in i s al so a great admire r of

Weber .favorable menti on i s due the de l ightful seri e s of

pi ece s grouped togethe r under the name of Ba]

O f hi s piano pi ece s for four hands spec ial

These have also been arranged for

they are sti l lCostumé .

orchestra,i n wh ich dress more

charming .

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80 2 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

doro,

” “Mein Herz Schmuckt S i ch , e tc . Hi svocal duos are also charming . Some of hi s songsexi st i n three and four separate arrangements forthe piano .

I t i s strange that Rubinste in, if he really consid ered vocal and operati c musi c so inferi or toi nstrumental

,should have wri tten as many operas

as Wagner. The l i st i nc ludes the Russ ian works :D imi tr i D onshoi

,the S iber ian H unter

,Toms the

F ool,The R evenge, The D emon

,Ka la schnihofi ; the

German operas : The Chi l d ren of the H ea th,F er

amors,the M accabees

,-N ero

,S u lam i th

,and the

one—act comic operas,Among R obbers and The

Pa r rot . The D emon i s popular in Russia wherei t has been performed perhaps 200 t ime s

,but

outside of Russi a only F eramors , the M accabees

and N ero have had any succe ss,and that only

temporary . L ike Schumann ’s Genoveva , the seoperas are brimful of good musi c , but they are no tdramatic . Rubinste in was unfortunate i n appearingwith hi s operas at a “ t ime when Wagner was teaching the world the magic power o f genuine dramaticmusic . At an earl i e r peri od , when musical i ntere stalone

,without dramati c real i sm , sufficed to make

operas popular (as witne ss the succe ss of theI tal ian composers) , he might have been the heroof the day . H e knew insti nctive ly what thetrouble was and consequently hated Wagner cord ial ly . Had he been more sensib le and tri ed tolea rn from Wagner

,hi s operas would not have

PUBL I SH E R S’ Nor a — At the t imethe above w as wri tten , Anton Gregor R ubin s te in w as i n the fullv igor of heal th . He di ed of heart di s eas e at Peternof , near S t. Pete rsburg , on November 20 , 1894.

been such fai lures . At the same time i t must besaid that wi th al l the i r dramati c shortcomingsthese operas deserve to be heard more frequently,for the sake of the i r often ravi sh ingly beautifulmusi c .

The same may be said of hi s oratorios, or rather

sacred operas,i n whi ch he has tri ed to revive the

practice of the first oratori o composer Caval ie ri(1 7 th century) — and which Handel would havetri ed i n E ngland had not the censor i nterferedo f giving oratori os wi th costume

,scene ry and

action . Rubinste in ’s plan,as explained i n a long

e ssay i n the L eipz ig S igna le, was to e rect specialtheatre s i n large c i t i e s for the performance of suchsacred operas ; and he sums up hi s plan i n thesewords : “Thus I myself al lowed my P a rad ise L os tto appear as an oratori o

,al though in my imagina

ti on I had composed i t for the stage ; later,however

,prompted by my idea , which I had never

abandoned,I changed i t and called i t a sacred

opera . The same thing happened wi th the Tow er

of B abel . And si nce I have not given up hope tothi s day that my planwi l l sooner or later be carri edout , I am wri ting my Ca in and Abel

,M oses

, theSong of S ongs and Chr is tus i n thi s manner, nomatter

,whether the day o f the i r sceni c repre senta

t i on may ever come or not . O f the sacred operashe re menti oned only Ca in and Abel and Chr istusremain to be wri tt en .

PETER l L ITSCH TSCHA'

IKOWSKY

Rep roduction of a photograph f rom l ife by Sarony , of New York .

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804 FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

speaks as follows i n an autobiographi cal commu

nicat ion to the author“ I was seventeen years o ld when I made the

acquaintance of an I tali an singing master namedPicciol i , the fi rst person who interested h imse lf i nmy musical cond i t ion . The influence he gainedover me was enormous

,and even now I have no t

qui te outgrown i t . He was an out - and - out enemyo f German musi c , and through him I became anenthusiasti c admirer o f R ossini

,Bell ini and Doni

ze tt l , considering i t as an accepted fact that Mozartand Beethoven d id excel lent se rvic e only in sendi ng one to sle ep . The composer lost hi s exclusivefondne ss for I talian music i n later years

,but

,he

adds, “ the re are melodi e s of Bell in i which I cannever hear wi thout the tears rushing to my eye s .”About thi s time hi s father saw that hi s musicalgifts were worth cul tivati ng

,and put h im unde r

R udolph Kundige r, a competent teacher of th epiano, who had gone to St . Pete rsburg fromNuremburg . Kundiger took hi s pupi l to concertso f classi c music and hi s prej udice s began todi sappear . One night he heard Mozart ’s “ Don

Giovanni , which came to him as a revelation .

I t i s imposs ible to describe the de light,the

rapture , th e intoxi cation wi th which i t i nspi redme . For weeks I d id noth ing but play the operathrough from the vocal score . Among al l th egreat maste rs Mozart i s the one to whom I fee lmyse lf most attracted .

He left the law school i n 1 859 and was occu

pi ed two years as an under - secre tary i n the mini stryof Justice . He was then a fai rly accompli shedd i l letant and did not push forward hi s musicalknowledge . I n 1 86 1 he became acquainted wi tha young office r who had studi ed under Zarembaand who was astoni shed at the young man ’simprovi sat ions . The office r was convinced thathi s fri end ’s duty was plain

,and he therefore

urged him earnestly to re sign hi s office and devotehimself to musi c . He succeeded i n persuading theyoung man to do the latte r

,and at once introduced

him to Zaremba . I n the following year Rubinste infounded the St . Pete rsburg Conservatory andZaremba became teacher o f theory there . Tsohaikow sky enrolled himse lf as a pupi l , sti l l re taininghi s government posi t ion . I t became impossiblefor him to continue hi s two course s of labor,and hi s father ’s kindness enabled him to devotehimself wholly to music . He now entered upon

an exhaustive course o f study,embracing har

mony, counterpoint and fugue under Zaremba, andinstrumentati on and composi tion under Rubinste in , o f whom he speaks with the highest admi rat i on . He comple ted hi s course at the Conse rvatory i n 1 865, rece iving a diploma and a prizemedal for a cantata on Schi ller ’s “An di e Freude .

”

I n 1 866 Rubinste in ’s brother N icolas e stabli sh edthe Moscow Conservatory and invi ted Tsohaikow sky to be hi s teacher i n harmony, composi tionand history of music . The invi tation was opportune , for the compose r’s fathe r had lost h i sproperty and had be en re ti red from office on

account o f o ld age , so the young man was glad toget an opening to earn hi s own l iving . Hishi story during the ensuing ten years was uneventful . He spent h i s days i n teaching and composing .

He di sliked teaching very heart i ly,and the burden

of thi s task , togethe r with the labor o f originalproduction

,brought on i n 1 87 7 a severe attack of

ne rvous prostrati on . On recovering from his i l lne ss

,he returned to the Conservatory, but remained

the re only a short t ime . Since 1 878 hi s wholelabor has been composing . He passed some timei n I taly and in Switzerland, but o f recent yearshas resid ed most o f the time at Ki ev

,near Moscow .

I n 1 89 1 Tschaikowsky vi si ted America, con

ducting performances o f h i s own works i n New

Y ork,Pi ttsburgh and othe r ci ti es . His first

appearance i n thi s country was at the concertgiven to open the new Musi c Hall i n New Yorkon May 5, when he conducted the SymphonySocie ty’s orchestra i n a performance of his “ Marche Solenel le.

”On the afte rnoon of May 7 , he

conducted hi s th ird sui te wi th splendid vigor andfirmness . He aroused great enthusiasm

,be ing

recall ed several t imes wi th che ers and waving of

handkerchi efs . On the evening of May 8 heconducted two a capel la choruses, a “ Pater Noste r ” and a “ L egend ,” which had not been heardbefore i n thi s country. Apropos of hi s conductinghe re late s that up to the age of forty - s ix he alwayssu ffered from stage fright at the desk and was afai lure as a di rector . But when hi s opera “Tschar

odyeika”

(“ The was i n preparat ion

,

Al tani, the conductor at Moscow, was taken sick,and he himself was compelled to conduct therehearsals . He succeeded i n finally mastering hi ste rror and continued to d irec t even afte r Al tani ’srecovery .

PETER [LITSCH TSCHAI KOWSKY.

Reprod uct ion of a pho tog raph from life by K . Shapiro of St . Petersburg .

806 FAl k US COMPOSE RS

The following are Tscha ikowsky ’s principalworks : operas 1 869 ;

“ Opritch

nnyk , 1 874 ;“Vaku la

,the Smith , 1 87 6 ;

“ Yev

genyie Onegin , 1 87 9 ;“ The Maid of O rl eans, ”

1 881 “ Mazeppa,

”1 882 ;

“Tscharod yeika,”

1 887 .

Two masse s, a Coronation cantata for sol i , chorusand orchestra ; five symphoni es — G minor

,opus

1 3 ; C , opus 1 7 ; D ,opus 26 ; F minor, opus 36 ;

and E M i nor,opus 64 ; symphony on B yron ’s

“Manfred ,” opus 58 ; fantas i e s for orchestraFrance sca da R im ini

,opus 3 2 ; “ Romeo and

Juli e t, ” no opus number ; “ Hamlet,opus 67 ;

thre e su i te s for orche stra,

“ Marche Slave ,” opus3 1 , Coronati on march , two concertos for piano andorche stra, opus 28 i n B flat minor and opus 44 i nG maj or, and a conc e rto for viol in and orche stra,opus 35 i n D , i n addi ti on to many othe r orche stralworks , chamber music, sonatas, songs, piano p ieces ,e tc .

Tscha ikowsky ’s operas are wholly unknown out

side o i Russi a . This i s probably due to the factthat the composer trod the path opened by Glinkai n hi s “ L i fe for the Czar . Thi s work was thefi rst Russian opera

,and i n company with the same

compose r’s “ Russlan and Lud amil la”has been

regarded by Russians as of national importance .

Rubinste in ’s “D imi tri Donsko i and other Russianworks together wi th the o peras o f Tschaikowskyhave compelled a recogni t ion of th e exi stence ofa school o f Russian opera

,though i t must be

admitted that outside o f the Czar ’s dominionsthere are few who have heard the productions of

th i s school and fewer s ti l l who are capable of

pronouncing upon the i r arti s ti c value . I t wouldrequi re a much more intimate acquaintance wi thRussian l ife and thought than fore igners are l ike lyto obtai n i n the present ci rcumstance s to enableany American to speak judic i ously o f th e operasof the i r composers . I t may be said , however ,arguing from general principle s , that these works ,employing as they do national characte r and thefolk - melody of the people , must have an arti sti cvalue in so far at l east as they lead the i r publ i c bythe t i e s o f patrioti sm to the considerat ion of musi cin i ts highe r forms .In thi s country

,and outside o f Russia generally

,

Tschaik owsky i s known by hi s i nstrumental andchoral works and songs . In America hi s orchestralcomposi tions are those which have made hisnamemost fami l iar, though Ade le aus der Ohe, Franz

Rummel , and other piani sts have taught the publi cthe value o f hi s p iano concertos . I n consideringthe works o f any Russian compose r who has s trivento re tai n national characteri sti cs and to avoids inking the trai ts o f hi s country beneath the sea of

imi tat i on of Germany, i t i s necessary to takeaccount o f the important part which song plays i nthe dai ly l i fe o f the Russian . There i s no peoplewhich has a more extensive l i s t o f folk - songs .They have appropriate songs for al l peri ods of l ife

,

for al l seasons o f the year,for al l sports and

occupati ons . There are the Byl inas, or metricromances o f the minstrel s

,te l l ing the deeds o f

dread Cossacks or more dreadful robbers ; theKo lyad ki , o r season songs, for Chri stmas and NewY ears , se ed t ime and harvest ; the Khorovod , orspring songs of the young ; the Z ap lachk i, or songsof sorrow ; and ye t others for marriages , chri stenings and othe r ceremoni es o f domest ic l ife . I nwhat i s cal led Great Russi a the happi er moods of

song prevai l, whi le in L i tt l e Russia we meet wi thmore songs i n which the i rre si st ible melancholy of

t ender and sensi tive n atures i s expre ssed . Curiousand unrestrained rhythms

,uncommon cadence s

,

c losing on the supertoni c sometimes, fre e and

pliable metre s,and dark harmoni e s are the sal i ent

characteri sti c s o f these Russ ian melodie s .We would natural ly expec t to find some of these

characteri st ic s reproduced i n the music of sodi st inctive ly national a compose r as Tschaikowsky .

An examination o f hi s most individual productionsshows us that h i s deeper sympathy has be en withthe melancholy o f L i ttle Russ ia, which l i e s j ust tothe eastward of Poland and assimi late s the emot ional moods of that unhappy country . L argenessof form ,

grandeur of outl i ne,we find in the music

o f Tschaikowsky, but always in company wi th anunder—color

,a priming (to borrow a term from a

si ste r art) o f sadness and o f discontent . Despi tethe l imi ts of L i t tl e Russia th i s under - current o f

feel ing i s an inseparabl e trai t of the nationalcharacte r

,and i s to be accounted for by the years

of oppre ssi on which the common peopl e of theentire empire have suffered . As the wri te r hasalready noted

,Confucius declared i t to be hi s

bel i ef that the songs o f a people betrayed thecharacte r of i ts government and i ts morals . Inany nati on where the hand o f government i s so

powerful as to i nfluence the hourly fee l i ng of thepeople the bel i ef o f Confucius wil l sure ly find good

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808 FAM OUS COMP OSE RS

support . There i s always melancholy,or th e

resul t o f melancholy,i n Russian music , even when

i t i s bold and vigorous,i t i s sti l l sombre

,fore

boding and sometimes desperate .

The musi c o f Tschaikowsky,then

,i s largely

d i stingui shed by i ts e loquent voicing o f nati onalfe el ing . The compose r i s

,i n the higher sense o f

an often abused word,a representative man .

Whether the future wi l l regard Tschai’kowsky as ac reat ive genius or not i s a quest ion that cannot bed i scussed wi th profi t at thi s time . We of thepresent are enti rely too close to the man

,too

d i rectly under the dominati on,o f hi s personal

force , to fairly measure h is arti s ti c value . Wea re qui te as l ikely to underrate him as to overestimate h im . But we cannot be mi staken in

r egard to the immense vigor of hi s i nte llect,the

fine sinceri ty of hi s art,and the fullne ss o f hi s

equipment . N or shal l we be l ike ly to go far

a stray i n our vi ews o f the value o f the new matte rwhich he has beautifully formulated for us

,i f he

has not himself originated i t . I f we are to prai sepoets who have enshrined i n thei r verse nati onall egends almost, if no t qui te , as highly as those whohave given birth to new fanci e s

,surely we are jus

t ified i n offering our grati tude and our admirati onto a musi cian who has sung to al l the world thes ong of a remote and l i tt l e known people . I t i snot to be quest ioned

,i n the wri ter ’s opinion

,that

Tschaikowsky has done thi s,even when he has

s ought h i s i nsp i rat ion i n the l i te rature s of othern ati ons than hi s own. Sure ly the Manfred, theHamlet, the R omeo of Tschai’kowsky were chi ldreno f the L i tt l e Fathe r who si ts upon the banks of theN eva .

Let us,i n considering the music o f thi s composer

,

not lose sight o f that vigor which sometimes se emst o be the outcome o f a certain grim determinati ona lways present i n the Russian heart . Let us notfal l i nto the error o f supposing that Tschaikowskyb reathes always the measure s of a hopel ess gri ef .Must we no t read in the intense spiri tual strugglet hat i s depic ted in the “ Hamle t overture - fantasyand i n the “ Manfred symphony the upri si ng o f

an inward revol t that i s continual ly surging with inthe R ussian soul ? There i s a splendid force i nmuch o f thi s man ’s musi c

,such as we find in the

fi nal movements o f the C major and E minors ymphoni e s, which i s qui te as nati onal ly character is t ic as the we i rd grimness o f the valse i n the

latte r work — th e valse of a people that i s fullyready to dance the carmagnole in the streets o f

St . Petersburg when the hour comes .How d o the melancholy and the vigor o f which

we have taken a vi ew express themselve s musi cally ?I n the first p la ce the re i s the broad digni ty of

pathe ti c utterance common to al l music . We findi t i n the opening measure s of the “ Hamlet

,

” i nthe truly inspi red andante of the

.

E minor symphony . Phrase s such as the composer has usedhere belong to the universal voice of human song .

But more characteri sti c melodi e s are such as thatwhi ch Tschaikowsky has employed to indicate thegri ef o f Ophel ia i n the “ Hamle t ” overture . I nthe se we find the rhythms and cadence s of thecompose r’s nat ive land . I f, on the othe r hand

,

we turn to the last movements o f the symphonie si n C and E minor we mee t wi th i deas which areundoubtedly sprung from the song - tune s of GreaterRuss ia, translated into dance s . And such dan‘ce sI n them the wi ldest barbari sm

,th e grossest nu

couthness, the unrestrained passion of a pui ssant

race are le t loose , and we ge t a gl impse o f whatmight be the triumphant madness of a people whoman i ron hand restrains .Minor modes and sombre chromati c harmony

play a most important part i n Tscha ikowsky’slarge r orchestral composi tions

,and the se are

i ntensified by the marvelously gloomy eloquenceo f the instrumentat ion . No composer has u sedthe deepe r accents o f the orchestra with morete l l ing effect . The uni son of the E ngli sh hornwith the lower stri ngs i n the cantabi l e o f the“ Hamle t overture - fantasy i s a striking exampleo f hi s ski l l i n th i s particular ; and constantly i nh i s works we meet with 50103 for the bassoon , withcombinat i ons of

,

bassoons and clarinets,bassoons

and E ngl i sh horns, divided Violas, and the overwhe lming sadness of the French horn i n slowmeasure s . Indeed i t i s imposs ible. to avoid aconvict ion that the instrumental color o f someo f th e most influential passages i n Tscha ikowsky ’scomposi tions contributes qui te as much to theire ffect upon the bearer as the individual i ty of thethemes or th e nature o f the harmonies .Perhaps we shal l do well now to pass from

general ization to an examinati on of one or two

of the composer ’s representative works . The

“ R omeo and Juli e t overture - fantasy begins wi than introductory sect ion founded on two themes

,

PE TE R [L I TS CH TS CH AI R OWSK Y

one o f which i s one o f the two chi ef melodi es of

the whole work . The composer ’s l eaning towardmelancholy and sombre i nstrumental color i s atonce shown in the sad theme i n F sharp minor,announced by clarine ts and bassoons . The secondmelody

,also minor

,i s u ttered by flute s and clari

ne ts,the accompaniment be ing on the violas .

These two themes are worked up by the commonorchestral device o f gradually adding to th e number of i nstrumental voice s , and increasing thetempo unti l the first subj ect i s repeated by the ful lwood choi r wi th stri ng accompaniment , and thesecond by the viol ins wi th an accompaniment bythe oboes

,bassoons and harp . We begin to see

that there i s troubl e ahead of us and the com

poser ’s mind i s i ntent upon the impending strugglebetween the Capule ts and Montague s .A sharp , vigorous theme i n C and B minor i s

announced by strings, wood and horns in unison .

A figure expressiveo f rage i s worked up after thi s,and we have a grand orchestral p ic ture of the waro f the two houses . A decre scendo follows , andthe E ngl i sh horn and muted viol i ns si ng a newmelody i n B flat m inor . Al l the strings mutednow breathe a passage i n close harmony . Thi s i sworked up in a crescendo by the use o f the harp andscal e passage s i n the wood

,and passe s i nto a new

tempo marked dolce ma sens ibi le. Some interestingepisodal bits lead into a somewhat extended development o f the C and B minor theme , in whichthe composer uses much variety of color and aplenti tude of force . After a decrescendo a newmelody appears in the oboe and clarine t, and leads ,through a general amplification in the wood - windinto the theme previously given out i n B flat minorby the E ngli sh horn . This melody i s now sungby the strings and flutes

,and i t l eads to the finale

,

i n which the vigorous theme in C and B minor i streated in a new fashion

,and the work close s with

a solemn presentation o f the former E ngli sh horntheme . The reader wil l perce ive that the struggleo f the two houses and the melancholy fate o f thelovers rather than the throbbing intensi ty o f the irpassion have been the source s o f the composer ’sinspiration in this work

,and that hi s voicing o f

these things has led him to use just such barmonies , melodies and instrumental treatment as havealready been described .

In regard to the “ Manfred symphony thewr i te r can do no better than to quote the appre

80 9

c iat ive words o f Mr . Krehbiel : “ I t i s a highlyimaginative and beautiful work , qui te as remarkablefor the deep

,poetical feeling pervading it as for

the ingenui ty of i ts instrumentat ion , which wouldno t be shamed by a comparison with the beste fforts of Berl ioz . I t would no t be altogethe rfanciful if one should cite a dozen or so composit ions of the young Russian school as argumentsthat the musical sceptre which the Teutons havewie lded for so long I S i n danger o f passing intoSlav ic hands . 9" Look out for theMuscovi te ! He ’s a dangerous power in pol i tics ,and the musical supremacy o f Germany i s be ingthreatened .

”

The four movements into which the work i sdivided represent Manfred seeking forgetfulnesso f hi s lost Astarte i n mountain wanderings , theWitch o f the Alps

,the peace of a mountaineer’s

exi stence , and the culmination of the tragedy i norgies i n the hal l of Arimanes and the death of

Manfred , afte r the summons to Astarte . In thi slas t movement we mee t wi th a ful l exhibi tion of

that desperate energy o f which the wri ter hasalready spoken

,but the movement i s ne i ther so

beautiful nor so i rre s i stibly eloquent as the fi rst inwhich the abandonment o f Manfred ’s gri ef i svoiced in al l the gloom o f dark orchestral color .The close of the movement i s a broad and eloquentmelody with organ accompaniment

,in which the

writer o f thi s article may be pardoned for discerning evidence o f the aspirati on which dwells inthe souls of every oppre ssed people .

The composer ’s fi fth symphony di splays all o f hisnati onal and personal characteri st ic s in a highl ight . In thi s work

, too , he has made use of theidéefixe afte r the manner o f Berlioz

,repeating the

gloomy, threatening motive o f the introduction tothe fi rst movement at e ffective points throughoutthe enti re work

,to which further compactness i s

given by the employment o f the first subj ect of thefi rst movement as the final measures of the last .The symphony as a whole is one o f the composer ’smost characteri sti c works

,and i t bears wel l one of

the most exacting tests to which music can besubj ected , namely, repeti t ion . The andante i s oneo f the most spontaneously beautiful u tterance s of

any contemporaneous composer .I n another symphony, that in F minor, Tschai

kow sky has shown that the s trong influence whichthe p ure beauty of the I tal ian write rs exerci sed over

8 1 o FAM OUS COMP OSE R S

hi s youthful mind has never been wholly removed .

The andantino in modo di canzona,and the scherzo

pizz icato ostinato o f the F minor symphony areset between a long and learned fi rst movementand a last movement which is full o f the tragicrudeness o f the Russ ian . The andantino i s ravishingly sweet and full of graceful tenderness . Thecontinuous pizz icato o f the scherzo i s a playful bi tof wri ting, ye t even here the Russian nature makesi tself fe lt in the extravagance of the humor . Themovement i s fe lt to be just a l i ttle more farcical than the requirements o f symphonic digni tydemand .

A charm ing ev idence of Tscha ikowsky ’s love forMozart i s found in the sui te cal led “ Mozartiana .

”

I t consi sts of four movements,a gigue

,a minuet

,a

prayer, and a theme wi th variations , and was madeby the Russian composer wi th the design of cal l ingattention to some o f Mozart ’s more modest works .The re sult i s so del ightful as to make the bearerwish that the compose r had spent more time atsuch labors . The gigue and minuet are in Mozart ’smost charming style and are winning i n thefreshne ss of the i r beauty and the grace of the i rmovement . The prayer i s full of poetic dignityand the work as a whole i s a modernized edi tion of

Mozart,e specially as to instrumentation

,which

reflects great credi t on Tschaikowsky .

In conclus ion i t may be as well to quote theopinions o f two excellent crit i cs on Tschaikowsky .

M . Arthur Pongin has wri tten hi s v iews i n thesupplement to Fét is ’

s“ Biographi e Universel le des

Musici ens,and as they are most frequently re

peated , the i r principal points may be reproducedhere .

“ M . Tschaikowsky,

” he says,

“ i s one o f

the most highly gifted and interesti ng o f the arti s ts,

belonging to the young musical school of Russia .

O f somewhat undecided spi ri t perhaps , and a li ttletoo much imbued w i th the vexati ous ideas whichfor a quarter o f a century have exerci sed so manyminds

,hi s rather cloudy eclect ic ism has , no doubt,

PUBL I SH ER S ’ Nor a — S ince the above was wri tten, the death of Peter I l itsch Tschaik owsky has beenannounced . He was attacked by cholera in St. Pe tersburg and di ed there October 5, 1 893 , after an

i llness of only a few hours.

prevented him from giving us the full measure o fhi s worth .

if But none the less i t remainsthat Mr . Tschaikowsky i s a very remarkable arti st

,

a learned and often inspi red master of al l thesecre ts of hi shrt, knowing and using in a surpri singmanner the resources of the orchestra

,and open

only to the charge of sometimes sacrificing theideal side of music to the search after wild andmassive e ffects . ” The opinion o f Mr . E dwardDannreuther, recorded i n Grove ’s “ D ictionary o f

Music and Musicians,

” appears to the presentwri ter to be based on a keener ins ight into theorigin, nature and purpose of this composer ’swork .

“ Tschaikowsky ’s compositi ons,

” says thiswri ter, more or l e s s bear the impre ss of Slavonictemperament — fiery exultation on a basi s o f languid melancholy . He i s fond of huge and fantasticoutl ines

,o f bold modulations and strongly marked

rhythms, of subtle melodic turns and exuberant

figuration ; and he delights i n gorgeous effects of

orchestrat ion . His music everywhere makes theimpression of genuine spontaneous original i ty .

”

The writer does not wi sh to be charged withhaving produced another man ’s v iews s imply forthe sake o f di screditing them

,but M . Pougin

’

s

obj ection to Tschaikowsky ’s “ cloudy eclecticism ”

seems to have been made with the composer ’s own

account of his ear ly musical tastes , rather than withhi s most admirable works

,in mind . I t appears to

the pre sent wri ter that the national and personalcharacteri stics o f the composer dominate in hi smusic

,and that the “ ful l measure o f his worth i s

shown in them . By the vexatious ideas ” whichhave troubled him

,M . Pougin undoubtedly means

the bel iefs o f the romantic school as to the emo

t ional commun i cat iveness of music . The presentwri ter has already expressed hi s fi rm convictionthat the troubled spir i t that breathes through somuch of Tschaikowsky ’s music i s of a poli ticalrathe r than an aesthetic origin .