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A COMPLETEHISTORY of MUSIC
A COMPLETEHISTORY of MUSIC
FOR SCHOOLS, CLUBS, AND PRIVATE READING By W. J. BALTZELL Contributions by H. A. CLARKE, Mus. Doc.; ARTHUR ELSON, CLARENCE G. HAMILTON, A.M., EDWARD BURLINGAME HILL, A.B., ARTHUR L. JUDSON, FREDERIC S. LAW, AND PRESTON WARE OREM, Mus. Bac. With Portraits, Reproductions of Instruments and Musical Examples PHILADELPHIA, PA. THEODORE PRESSER 1908 Copyright, 1905, by THEO. PRESSER. British Copyright Secured ....
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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
The plan of arrangement used in this book has in view a combination of the recitation and lecture systems, and affords an opportunity for teachers to apply the best principles of both. The paragraph headings should be thoroughly fixed in mind and close attention should be given to the words in heavy type and Italics that occur in the body of a paragraph; together they form a convenient outline for the lesson. The questions at the end of each lesson are to be used to test the pupils’ mastery of t
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INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
Purpose of the Study of the History of Music .—The purpose of the study of the history of music is to trace the development of the many phases which make up modern music which we cannot but regard as a great social force, an intellectual, an uplifting force. If we consider it from the material side, it is one of magnitude; we need but think of the money invested in buildings, opera houses, schools, concert halls, publishing plants, factories, the sums spent on musical instruments, instruction, c
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LESSON I. Music of the Chinese, Japanese and Hindoos.
LESSON I. Music of the Chinese, Japanese and Hindoos.
Sources of Our Knowledge .—When we study the music of the early period of the human race, we find no records such as we are storing today in our libraries. We must depend upon the discoveries of archæologists in the buried cities of early civilizations. Of contemporaneous books, properly speaking, tablets of music explaining the construction and methods of playing the musical instruments then in use we have few; if they exist they are in dead languages to which scholars are but slowly finding th
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LESSON II. Music of the Babylonians, Egyptians and Hebrews.
LESSON II. Music of the Babylonians, Egyptians and Hebrews.
History a Record of Change .—History is a record of changing conditions. Nations rise into prominence and fall again; cities are built to be torn down by conquerors; even the face of the earth has changed since the days when the scions of the Aryan race began to leave their home in Central Asia. Arms of the sea have shrunk to rivers, rivers to shallow streams, the desert sands have encroached on the once fertile valleys, and choked the springs and brooks of the meadows. Geologists tell us that t
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LESSON III. Music of the Greeks: Scales.
LESSON III. Music of the Greeks: Scales.
When we think of Greece, it is Athens, the centre of Greek art and culture, that comes to mind. An ancient city, Athens, as history teaches us. The record is that it was founded by Cecrops, who brought a colony from Egypt, in 1556 B. C., a period when Egypt was a centre of power, wealth, education and science. Therefore we infer that these colonists brought with them to Greece the ordinary, popular music and instruments to which they had become accustomed in their home. But there was an older Gr
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LESSON IV. Music of the Greeks (Concluded).
LESSON IV. Music of the Greeks (Concluded).
The Greek Octave System .—So far, everything is clear enough; but the next step is not quite so sure. The Greeks spoke of the Dorian Octave, the Phrygian Octave, and so on; and the word Octave, used in this way, has been thought to be synonymous with Scale, which is doubtful, for the following reasons: The standard instrument of the Greeks was the octave lyre. The lowest and highest strings were tuned respectively A, fifth line bass staff, and A, second space, treble. [Dorian Octave. Signature B
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LESSON V. Ecclesiastical System.
LESSON V. Ecclesiastical System.
Rome the New Centre .—The Power that rules in the affairs of men seems to have made provision for the elevation of the whole race by diffusing at intervals of centuries, the treasures of art, science and thought accumulated by a nation of unusual power and energy. Egypt dominated the northern part of Africa, the shores of the Mediterranean and the western slopes of Asia Minor, and in course of time yielded to the advance of the Greeks, but leaving behind, as a legacy, much that has had enduring
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LESSON VI. Notation.
LESSON VI. Notation.
System of Notation by Letters .—The earliest system of Notation, attributed to Boethius , the Roman philosopher, seems to have been the placing of letters over the syllables, thus: C C D B C D My country ’tis of thee. Boethius’ Notation [Listen.] During the period of history dominated by Pope Gregory the Great, a change was made in this system by which capital letters, small letters and double letters were used, an improvement, since only the first seven letters of the alphabet were emp
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LESSON VII. Music Outside the Church.
LESSON VII. Music Outside the Church.
Up to this, our study of music in the Christian Era has traced the development of the art as fostered by the Christian Church, and mainly among the people of Southern Europe, in whom there was a strong admixture of the Latin blood and spirit. Before going farther on this line we will look into the record of music among the races of Northern Europe. Music of the Gauls .—Roman writers give us some account of the character of the music of the Gauls, which differed much from the Greco-Latin songs. R
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LESSON VIII. The Causes of Polyphonic Development and the Importance of the Polyphonic Era.
LESSON VIII. The Causes of Polyphonic Development and the Importance of the Polyphonic Era.
In the Introduction attention was called to the fact that the labors of musicians to develop an art of music varied between the effort to make artistic use of the material of music, that is, to give it definite form, and to make it express the feelings of mankind; the first is in the line of construction, the second, content. The period we now take up was concerned most deeply, in its earlier stages, as we shall see, with finding adequate and logical principles of construction by which a musical
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LESSON IX. The Paris School.
LESSON IX. The Paris School.
Influence of Art on Music .—All of the fine arts, with the exception of Music had, by the year 1100, reached a fairly high stage of development due, no doubt, to the fact that they are to a great extent composed of concrete materials. Music, owing to its lack of the concrete and the inability of men literally to place their hands upon its material, had lagged behind, so that in 1100 we find only a small amount of material, and that in a most chaotic condition. This material was, however, suffici
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LESSON X. The Gallo-Belgic School.
LESSON X. The Gallo-Belgic School.
A New Art Centre .—The development of any art, and more especially Music, requires the dominance of wealth, learning and general civilizing forces, to form an epoch-marking school. Paris for a time satisfactorily filled these conditions, and then gave place to a school, stronger and better equipped: that of the Netherlands. There were several reasons for this change in the centre of musical activity. So long as Paris was dominant in wealth and civilization, and so long as she maintained her supr
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LESSON XI. The English School.
LESSON XI. The English School.
The English Polyphonic School is at once the least important and the most peculiar of all the schools of the Polyphonic Period. It is usually ignored by the writers on early music, not because there was no musical culture, but because there was not continuous and original development. English writers on this phase of musical development are too apt, through a pardonable pride of nationality, to exaggerate the value of British music, and in consulting such authorities, one should be careful to ex
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LESSON XII. The School of the Netherlands.
LESSON XII. The School of the Netherlands.
The Dominance of the Netherlands .—The most important asset of a nation is its commercial activity, for upon that depends its art life. The fine arts are to an extent luxuries, and until a nation has, by commercial activity, acquired wealth, they cannot be earnestly cultivated, for all arts require from the artist his entire time and life, and until there is money and inclination enough among the people to support an artist in his commercially non-productive state, there can be no art; hence we
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LESSON XIII. The Italian School.
LESSON XIII. The Italian School.
Italy the New Centre .—Music developed in the Netherlands because of commercial supremacy and the consequent world association. We shall now see it pass to Italy, but because of a very different reason. From the earliest Christian days Italy was the centre of religious influence; it is only necessary to examine history to observe the ramifications of that power in England, France, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries. This influence, often more political than religious in character, gave
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LESSON XIV. Palestrina and His Influence on the Music of the Italian School. The Madrigal.
LESSON XIV. Palestrina and His Influence on the Music of the Italian School. The Madrigal.
Palestrina . A Church Composer .—But one master of the Italian Polyphonic schools is worthy of lengthy notice, more because of his influence on the music of the Church than his contribution to the new instrumental school then only in its infancy. Palestrina, while acquainted with Galilei, the reformer of Opera, and Neri, the originator of Oratorio, and with many of the men identified with the new style of vocal and instrumental music, gave his entire life to the composing of Church music, though
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LESSON XV. Musical Instruments.
LESSON XV. Musical Instruments.
Classification of Instruments .—The means for the production of musical sound are few in number, and of such universality and antiquity that we cannot say when, how, or by whom they were invented. Modern skill has not added one new means, but has simply improved the contrivances by which musical sound is produced. We can, however, trace the evolution and growth of the various instruments with considerable accuracy, and to this end it is of the utmost importance to have a clear understanding of t
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LESSON XVI. The Organ, Organ Playing and Organ Music.
LESSON XVI. The Organ, Organ Playing and Organ Music.
In the book of Genesis it is written: “Jubal, he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.” It is not to be understood that the word organ in this passage meant an instrument anything like that heard in our churches at the present day. In fact, as St. Augustine tells us, there was a time when all musical instruments were called organs. The Germ of the Organ .—The invention of the organ is veiled in deepest darkness. Its development from its earliest forms to its present state has
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LESSON XVII. The Beginning of the Opera.
LESSON XVII. The Beginning of the Opera.
The Renaissance .—The Opera, in its inception, was literary rather than musical in nature. It was a result of what is known as the Renaissance, so-called because its most prominent manifestation in Italy was a revival of the learning of the ancients. This phase of the movement was initiated by Petrarch (1304-1370), who devoted his life to the study of the classical past of Italy. The Latin classics had never been entirely lost, but those of the Greeks had become practically extinct during the da
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LESSON XVIII. The Oratorio. Development of the Opera.
LESSON XVIII. The Oratorio. Development of the Opera.
The First Oratorio .—The novelty of the new style, which was called the stilo rappresentativo (representative style), the vigor and freedom it gave to an impressive delivery of the text, aroused universal attention. Among the composers who essayed it was Emilio del Cavaliere (1550-1599). By applying it to a sacred subject, he originated the Oratorio. Roman by birth, he had passed part of his life in Florence, and though not a member of the Camerata , was familiar with its aims and practice. The
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LESSON XIX. Alessandro Scarlatti and the Neapolitan School.
LESSON XIX. Alessandro Scarlatti and the Neapolitan School.
The Neapolitan School .—What in the Venetian school had been a reaction in favor of form and melody became the established practice of the Neapolitan school. Political disturbances had hindered the spread of the Opera in southern Italy, particularly in Naples, but at the end of the 17th century it assumed the position formerly occupied by Florence and Venice. Before this, however, a strong influence had been exerted by certain composers in Rome, of whom Carissimi was first in importance. Had it
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LESSON XX. Singing and Singers.
LESSON XX. Singing and Singers.
Early Methods of Singing .—As has been noted by the reader, music, up to this time, developed principally along vocal lines. We have no details as to the character of the training of singers among the Chaldeans, Egyptians and Greeks except such as indicate that their idea of singing was a sort of musical declamation. Such seems also to have been the idea of the nations in the north of Europe. We have seen that the Welsh bards were required to undergo a very thorough and exacting course of study,
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LESSON XXI. Opera in France and England.
LESSON XXI. Opera in France and England.
Spread of Italian Opera .—The fame of Italian opera soon spread to other countries. Princes and kings, eager to hear the new style of music, held out golden inducements to Italian composers and singers to come to their courts; it was generally thought that none but an Italian could compose an opera or sing an aria. The consequence was that in almost all countries during the 18th century the prevailing musical influence was Italian; native composers and singers were obliged to study Italian model
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LESSON XXII. The Opera in Germany. Handel and Gluck.
LESSON XXII. The Opera in Germany. Handel and Gluck.
Opera in Germany .—The introduction of the opera into Germany dates from 1627. In that year a German translation of Rinuccini’s Dafne , which, it will be remembered, was the text of Peri’s first opera, was set to music by Heinrich Schuetz (1585-1672) and performed on the occasion of the wedding of the Landgraf of Hesse. Schütz, who also composed the first German oratorio, Die Auferstehung Christi (The Resurrection of Christ), had been sent by the Landgraf to study in Italy in 1609, only two year
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LESSON XXIII. Mozart to Rossini.
LESSON XXIII. Mozart to Rossini.
The Opera after Gluck .—After Gluck the first great name is that of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Haydn had indeed written a number of operas, but they were, in the main, light in character and exercised no influence whatever on the development of the form. At the age of twelve, Mozart had composed two operas, but the first to receive public performance was Mitridate, Re di Ponto (Mithridates, King of Pontus), which was produced at Milan two years later under his own direction. This was f
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LESSON XXIV. The Oratorio.
LESSON XXIV. The Oratorio.
Oratorio in Italy after Carissimi .—After the beginning made by Carissimi, the next work of importance in Oratorio is that of Alessandro Scarlatti , who established the Aria form as explained in the study of the Opera. The composers of the Italian school of the last part of the 17th and the early part of the 18th century used practically the same methods in Opera and Oratorio, the difference being mainly in the character of the text, and in the earnestness or religious feeling of the composer. S
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LESSON XXV. The Evolution of the Pianoforte.
LESSON XXV. The Evolution of the Pianoforte.
While the violin, on account of the simplicity of its construction, arrived early at a stage of perfection, the complicated mechanism of the pianoforte required many generations and many scores of more or less successful experiments to attain anything like a corresponding plane. Indeed, such experiments are still constantly in progress; so that the pianoforte of the future may conceivably realize possibilities as far ahead of the present piano as that is ahead of its predecessors. The first atte
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LESSON XXVI. The Early Italian Clavier Composers.
LESSON XXVI. The Early Italian Clavier Composers.
Early Instrumental Music .—The history of pianoforte composition and playing really begins with that of the preceding keyed instruments with strings, to all of which the convenient name of “Claviers” will be given. As these early instruments were at first merely substitutes for the organ, which in turn was used simply to reduplicate voice parts, the music first played on them was in no wise different from the vocal and organ music of the day. When, moreover, music written for the organ had some
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LESSON XXVII. The Early English and French Clavier Schools.
LESSON XXVII. The Early English and French Clavier Schools.
English Schools to Henry VIII .—Popular music, both vocal and instrumental, was an early English institution. The many Folk-songs which have come down from a very early period bear witness to the English love of conviviality. Dance tunes, sometimes based on these Folk-songs, were played on the instruments of the minstrels, which, as early as 1484, included the clavichord; and the fact that such instruments were cultivated by people of higher rank is shown by the record that James IV of Scotland
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LESSON XXVIII. The German Polyphonic Clavier School.
LESSON XXVIII. The German Polyphonic Clavier School.
German Mastery of Polyphonic Music .—The Italians, with their quick perception of structural beauty, have been the pioneers in the invention and use of most art forms. So it happened, in the history of instrumental music, that they were the ones to invent and give to other nations the vehicle of expression, while it remained for their pupils, notably, in this case, the composers of Germany, to fill these forms out with the expression of real and deep feeling. The German tendency toward serious a
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LESSON XXIX. The German Sonata Composers, to Haydn.
LESSON XXIX. The German Sonata Composers, to Haydn.
Formation of Harmonic Design .—Side by side with the ultimate development of polyphonic music in its perfected instrumental form, the forms of the new harmonic style were being worked out, by long processes of development. Finally, just as the Fugue came to be adopted as the highest form of the old school, so the Sonata was chosen as the most dignified exponent of the new art. But, while the old school arrived at a high state of perfection at the hands of Handel and Bach, the necessity for inven
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LESSON XXX. Franz Joseph Haydn.
LESSON XXX. Franz Joseph Haydn.
The Three Great Sonata Writers .—In the year of C. P. E. Bach’s death, 1788, three men had already entered the arena as champions of that Sonata Form to which he contributed so much. Haydn was then fifty-six, Mozart thirty-two and Beethoven eighteen years of age. All three added to the glory of Vienna by making it their dwelling-place in their later years; and the three formed a triumvirate which not only gave to the Sonata a permanent and complete form, but also brought this form into absolute
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LESSON XXXI. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
LESSON XXXI. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
While Haydn’s genius was shining steadily as a fixed star, Mozart flashed across the musical heaven, meteorlike, throwing a flood of light over the music world. The knowledge which others spent years in acquiring seemed his by birthright; and thus, although the years of his life were few, the period of his artistic activity was proportionately long. Mozart’s Early Musical Training .—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born at Salzburg, January 27, 1756. His father, himself of some reputation as a compos
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LESSON XXXII. Ludwig van Beethoven.
LESSON XXXII. Ludwig van Beethoven.
Formalism of Haydn and Mozart .—It has been seen that the forms of harmonic music, growing out of numerous and sometimes crude experiments, were brought to a high state of perfection through the genius of Haydn and Mozart; and that they left a definite structure, nicely balanced, capable of expressing definite thoughts in a unified form, and at the same time of allowing free rein to the composer’s fancy. Of their instrumental works, the definition of the musician-philosopher J. J. Rousseau (d. 1
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LESSON XXXIII. Beethoven and the Sonata.
LESSON XXXIII. Beethoven and the Sonata.
Bach and Beethoven Contrasted .—We now consider the exact nature of the work which Beethoven did, in distinction from that of Haydn and Mozart. It has been said that Bach gave the Old Testament in music, while Beethoven gave the New; that is, that Bach consummated the old polyphonic school, while Beethoven did an equal work for the new harmonic school. Yet this is only a half truth; for Bach, besides perfecting former styles, gave glimpses of modern chromatic modulation and free expression; whil
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LESSON XXXIV. The Violin and its Makers.
LESSON XXXIV. The Violin and its Makers.
Change from the Viol to the Violin .—The reader who has studied the principles of construction and playing of the old string instruments, as explained in Lesson XV, or examined them in museums, will not have failed to note that they were complicated and limited in technic. The members of this family were large and cumbersome, troublesome to handle and not particularly graceful or pleasing to the eye; the position in which the player was forced to hold them was difficult to maintain and not condu
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LESSON XXXV. Violin Playing and Violin Music.
LESSON XXXV. Violin Playing and Violin Music.
Reciprocal Influences of Instruments and Composition .—The development of the violin, of violin playing and violin music, in a certain sense shows reciprocal influences, and went hand in hand. This was the more certain because the composers who wrote for the instrument were also players, in almost every instance the virtuosi of their times. During the polyphonic period, composers were singers or organists; during the period when the violin dominated instrumental composition, composers in that fo
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LESSON XXXVI. The Orchestra and Absolute Music.
LESSON XXXVI. The Orchestra and Absolute Music.
The Orchestra as a Means of Expression .—The most perfect means for expression in music is presented by the orchestra, which, in its complete form as shown today, is the result of a long development in many directions. To give us this magnificent mass-instrument required a sifting of the various instruments and the choice of those that offered the best possibilities, a perfecting of these instruments, a shaping of systems of playing them, of technic that should draw out all possible effects, and
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LESSON XXXVII. The Romantic Opera. Weber, Spohr, Marschner.
LESSON XXXVII. The Romantic Opera. Weber, Spohr, Marschner.
The Romantic Movement .—The revolutionary spirit which arose in Europe toward the end of the 18th century had its counterpart in a similar intellectual and artistic reaction, commonly known as the Romantic Movement. In Literature, this movement was led by France; in Music, by Germany. Briefly described, it consisted in casting aside the classical traditions which the Renaissance had imposed upon art in general and in a substitution of themes and a treatment more in consonance with the atmosphere
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LESSON XXXVIII. The French School of the XIXth Century.
LESSON XXXVIII. The French School of the XIXth Century.
French Schools of Opéra .—As already explained, French opera is divided into two styles, known as Opéra Comique and Grand Opéra, according to the use of dialogue or recitative. Not that this is the only difference. The Grand Opéra is naturally adapted to subjects of a large or heroic scope; the Opéra Comique, like the Spieloper in Germany, to lighter episodes of a romantic or humorous nature. As will be seen, however, it not infrequently happens that the latter form is adopted for serious subjec
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LESSON XXXIX. The Italian School of the XIXth Century.
LESSON XXXIX. The Italian School of the XIXth Century.
Later Italian School .—While Meyerbeer was dominating the French stage and through it exerting a powerful influence on serious opera in all countries, the Italian school was recovering in part from the impulse given it by Rossini. The highly ornamented style which he brought into vogue was modified in the works of several composers who also gave more consideration to truth of expression. With these, melody still reigned supreme, but it was shorn of the excessive ornamentation which overloaded Ro
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LESSON XL. Richard Wagner’s Music Dramas.Other Schools.
LESSON XL. Richard Wagner’s Music Dramas.Other Schools.
Wagner’s Theory of the Music Drama .— Lohengrin , like The Flying Dutchman , was transitional in character and led into Wagner’s third manner. It was his last opera; all his later works were known as music dramas. In these he pursued unhesitatingly the logical conclusions of the theories which he expounded at great length in his controversial writings, though he was far from being always consistent with himself. Thus he reasoned that since in the spoken drama but one speaker is heard at a time,
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LESSON XLI. Piano Playing and Composition: Clementi to Field.
LESSON XLI. Piano Playing and Composition: Clementi to Field.
During the period after Mozart to the beginning of the Romantic movement, one name alone attains the first rank—that of Beethoven. At the same time there are several epoch-making pianists, whose compositions display talent rather than genius, but who have each rendered indisputable service in accomplishing the transition from the classic to the romantic composers. The landmarks, so to speak, of this period are Clementi, Cramer, Hummel, Czerny, Moscheles and Field. Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) was
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LESSON XLII. Franz Peter Schubert.
LESSON XLII. Franz Peter Schubert.
The rise of the Romantic school involves a greater freedom in form, a fuller play of poetry and imagination, a general artistic evolution and independence in comparison with the formality of the Classic period. The struggle to establish these principles was long and obstinate, but the outcome was as inevitable as the victory won by Beethoven’s sonata and symphonic forms over the more primitive types of Haydn and Mozart. The first departures from the classic attitude were made by Schubert, whose
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Mendelssohn.
Mendelssohn.
The influence which Mendelssohn exercised during two-thirds of the 19th century among the more conservative German musicians and in England was nothing short of extraordinary. He undoubtedly gave great impetus to the study of the classic masters, especially Bach, and his romantic tendencies were so balanced and controlled as to gain a speedy recognition for his music. Today, Mendelssohn the classicist is less admired, and his music will live chiefly for its romantic qualities. Mendelssohn’s Life
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LESSON XLIV. Robert Schumann.
LESSON XLIV. Robert Schumann.
The Romantic Movement before Schumann .—Schubert gave a decided impetus to the Romantic movement through his spontaneous melody and deep fund of imagination. He infused poetry into the classic forms, his piano works in the small forms showed the way to future achievement in these lines, but especially he founded German song, which had scarcely been hinted at by Mozart and Beethoven. Although Weber extended the province of piano technic, and exhibited further possibilities of romantic feeling in
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LESSON XLV. Frederic Chopin.
LESSON XLV. Frederic Chopin.
Schumann and Chopin .—Among Schumann’s many able reviews of new music, showing the keenest critical insight, none exhibit a more just appreciation of an original talent than his article on some variations by a young composer who was destined to exert so deep and widespread an influence on piano style and piano composition. Chopin’s romanticism, somewhat affected at first by both Hummel and Field, is one of the most individual developments of the entire period. Chopin’s Early life .—Frederic Chop
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LESSON XLVI. Franz Liszt.
LESSON XLVI. Franz Liszt.
The piano music of Chopin and Schumann reached the highest level attained during the Romantic period, in subtle originality of style and deep human sentiment, respectively. Notwithstanding their preëminence in these particulars, a master was destined to come who summed up the entire development of piano technic in his achievements, the greatest virtuoso of the century, to whose influence all piano playing since has been obliged to acknowledge its indebtedness. In addition, his services in breaki
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Pupils of Liszt.
Pupils of Liszt.
Liszt was undoubtedly the greatest revealer of the secrets of piano playing in the 19th century, and his pupils and those who have assimilated his teachings occupy a large part of the pianistic activity of today. Among the first of Liszt’s pupils to become famous were Tausig and von Bülow. Carl Tausig , born in 1841, died in 1871, was trained by his father, and later studied with Liszt, under whose guidance he achieved a phenomenal accuracy of technic, and a commanding power of interpretation. H
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Russian Pianists.
Russian Pianists.
Of a somewhat independent development from Liszt, although much influenced by his personality and his method, was Anton Rubinstein , born in 1829, died in 1894. He studied the piano at Moscow with Villoing, who gave him so thorough a training that he had no other teacher. From 1840, after concerts in Paris, he had universal recognition as a pianist. Further European tours increased his fame. He lived successively in Berlin and Vienna, and later returned to St. Petersburg. In 1872-73, he made a r
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French Pianists.
French Pianists.
In presenting the famous French pianists, Charles Henri Valentine Alkan , born 1813, died 1888, must not be forgotten. A brilliant pianist, he claims our attention chiefly on account of his etudes, introducing novel and extremely difficult problems of technic. Musically his studies cannot be compared with those of Chopin or Liszt, but they merit attention, particularly in the modern editions. Although Camille Saint-Saëns is known chiefly as a composer, he was, during his early years, a remarkabl
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American Pianists.
American Pianists.
The rapid progress of music in America renders it impossible to do justice to piano playing in this country. However, the pioneer work of William Mason , a pupil of Moscheles, Dreyschock and Liszt, active as pianist and teacher, the author of “Touch and Technic” and other technical treatises; of B. J. Lang, a pupil of his father, F. C. Hill, Salter and Alfred Jaell, an active pianist, teacher, and conductor, of W. S. B. Mathews, Otto Dresel, Ernst Perabo, and others, was of great importance. Lat
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Women Pianists.
Women Pianists.
Of the many distinguished women pianists since Liszt, the most eminent was Mme. Clara Schumann , a pupil of her father, Friedrich Wieck. She played in public from the age of thirteen, winning instant recognition. Her marriage to Schumann diminished her public activity, but after his death in 1856, she resumed her career. She taught at the Hoch Conservatory at Frankfort, besides playing in public in Europe and England. Among other famous women pianists were Madame Clauss-Szavardy, Mme. Arabella G
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LESSON XLIX. The Art-Song. Oratorio after Mendelssohn.
LESSON XLIX. The Art-Song. Oratorio after Mendelssohn.
Development of the Art-Song Idea .—A most significant phase of musical activity is that centred around the art-song for solo voice. In the period before the opera, choral singing was the principal medium for vocal music. With the Opera came a style of composition from which was developed the principle of the Aria, the latter dominating both Opera and Oratorio for many years, as the form for an art-song for a solo voice. In this form, as we have seen, the production of vocal effects, the making o
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LESSON L. The Symphonic Poem in Germany.
LESSON L. The Symphonic Poem in Germany.
Wagner’s Influence .—The genius of Wagner produced and applied to Opera a far richer and more complicated orchestration than had existed before his day. Since then, in many periods and in many countries, composers have tried to adopt his style, and apply it to the symphonic as well as to the operatic stage. In the field of purely orchestral music, Liszt and Berlioz had already formulated a free style, and their symphonic poems, departing from the set form of the symphony, have also served as mod
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LESSON LI. German Opera Since Wagner.
LESSON LI. German Opera Since Wagner.
Goldmark .—Among those opera composers who are not direct imitators of Wagner, Carl Goldmark (Keszthely, Hungary, 1830) is the most noted. Son of a cantor in a synagogue, he showed decided musical taste while still a child, and at twelve played the violin in public. After a few conservatory lessons at Vienna, he was forced to make his own way, and live on the small salary obtained in theatre orchestras. He taught himself piano and singing, and was soon able to teach others also. He trained himse
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LESSON LII. Old and New Schools in France.
LESSON LII. Old and New Schools in France.
Saint-Saëns .—The end of the 19th century in France has been marked by a decided contrast between the old and the new, Saint-Saëns and Massenet writing in the older style, while the pupils of Franck have striven after novelty in effect. Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (Paris, France, 1835) witnessed the rise and fall of Meyerbeer, and the triumphs of Gounod, and was himself famous before the influence of Wagner reached France. His style is marked by great diversity, and displays equal skill in many
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LESSON LIII. Musical Regeneration in Italy.
LESSON LIII. Musical Regeneration in Italy.
Musical Decadence .—When a nation clings to its own musical ideas, and persistently disregards the growth and progress of other nations, it usually enters upon a period of decay. This is what took place in Italy during the 19th century, and the country that produced Palestrina and the Scarlattis seemed for a time to understand nothing but the trivial operatic melodies of Rossini’s successors. In 1850, there were scarcely any concert halls in the country, and even the churches were content with o
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LESSON LIV. England and the Netherlands.
LESSON LIV. England and the Netherlands.
Music in England .—In the Middle Ages, the much-used art of Counterpoint was developed by the people of England and the Netherlands. In the Elizabethan age, the music of England was scarcely less important than her literature. Under Charles II, she could boast of Henry Purcell, one of the few great names in music. But in the 19th century her musical glory had faded, and sentimental songs and popular ballad-operas seemed all that she could produce. Her musical leaders went bravely to work, import
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LESSON LV. National Schools: Bohemia and Scandinavia.
LESSON LV. National Schools: Bohemia and Scandinavia.
The Influence of Folk-Music .—Some races are endowed with a better musical taste than others. Among these favored peoples the Folk-song, the music that appeals directly to the popular heart, needs only the touch of a gifted composer to fashion it into a great national school. In the case of England and Belgium, we have seen that even the most thorough musical education cannot wholly atone for a lack of real public taste in music. Scotland, possessing a wealth of beautiful Folk-songs, has not yet
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LESSON LVI. The Russian School.
LESSON LVI. The Russian School.
Folk-Music in Russia .—The Slav nature differs greatly from that of the races of Western Europe, and this difference appears also in the Slavonic music. For a proper understanding of the Russian Folk-songs, the student should be familiar with the country and its history, its vast steppes, its lonely summers and dreary winters, and the patient poverty of its long-suffering peasants. It is rich in legendary lore, and the poetry of Pushkin and Gogol has wrought the wild beauty of these tales into p
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LESSON LVII. Music in the United States.
LESSON LVII. Music in the United States.
The Cavaliers and the Puritans .—The English settlers who came to this country and located at Jamestown, and their successors, brought with them from their home the songs they sang there—gay songs, cavalier songs, love-ditties and the countryside tunes; but they left them at this, making no attempt to adapt them to their new surroundings. Indeed, it was as much a matter of fashion to be able to play or to sing some new ballad just brought from London as it was to have the latest fashion in dress
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LESSON LVIII. American Composers: Works in Large Instrumental Forms.
LESSON LVIII. American Composers: Works in Large Instrumental Forms.
American Music Still Young .—Musical composition in the United States is still too young in comparison with the work of European composers to have made marked impress on history. American composers owe their training largely to European teachers, the models upon which they have based their work come from European art, and the principles of construction were developed by the European masters. Hence the disposition to view American composition as still in a state of pupilage. Yet the record shows
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LESSON LIX. American Composers: Vocal Forms; Piano and Organ.—Musical Literature.
LESSON LIX. American Composers: Vocal Forms; Piano and Organ.—Musical Literature.
Cantata Composers .—A number of American composers have turned their attention to composition in opera and cantata forms. Some of the composers already mentioned have written works of this character. The first of American composers to work in the field of the cantata was J. C. D. Parker , born in Boston, in 1828, a graduate of Harvard, and a teacher with many years of splendid work to his credit. His musical education was received at Leipzig. In 1854, he located in Boston and took up a varied ca
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LESSON LX. Musical Education.
LESSON LX. Musical Education.
Early Musical Education .—The training of students in music has been the special care of the greatest men connected with the art, a subject close to the heart of men of rank and of means, and the object of Governmental and municipal subvention. In most of the countries and many of the larger cities of Europe, Art is considered a legitimate object for public aid and fostering, and music receives a fair share of funds set aside for that purpose. In the period before the Christian Era, musical educ
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