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HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS TO UNTAUGHT LOVERS OF THE ART
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS TO UNTAUGHT LOVERS OF THE ART
Author of "Studies in the Wagnerian Drama," "Notes on the Cultivation of Choral Music," "The Philharmonic Society of New York," etc. SEVENTH EDITION NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1897 Copyright, 1896, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS TROW DIRECTORY PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY NEW YORK...
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
AUTHOR'S NOTE
The author is beholden to the Messrs. Harper & Brothers for permission to use a small portion of the material in Chapter I. , the greater part of Chapter IV. , and the Plates which were printed originally in one of their publications; also to the publishers of "The Looker-On" for the privilege of reprinting a portion of an essay written for them entitled "Singers, Then and Now." decoration AUTHOR'S NOTE Introduction Purpose and scope of this book—Not written for professional musician
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I Introduction
I Introduction
T his book has a purpose, which is as simple as it is plain; and an unpretentious scope. It does not aim to edify either the musical professor or the musical scholar. It comes into the presence of the musical student with all becoming modesty. Its business is with those who love music and present themselves for its gracious ministrations in Concert-Room and Opera House, but have not studied it as professors and scholars are supposed to study. It is not for the careless unless they be willing to
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II Recognition of Musical Elements
II Recognition of Musical Elements
M usic is dual in its nature; it is material as well as spiritual. Its material side we apprehend through the sense of hearing, and comprehend through the intellect; its spiritual side reaches us through the fancy (or imagination, so it be music of the highest class), and the emotional part of us. If the scope and capacity of the art, and the evolutionary processes which its history discloses (a record of which is preserved in its nomenclature), are to be understood, it is essential that this du
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III The Content and Kinds of Music
III The Content and Kinds of Music
B earing in mind the purpose of this book, I shall not ask the reader to accompany me far afield in the region of æsthetic philosophy or musical metaphysics. A short excursion is all that is necessary to make plain what is meant by such terms as Absolute music, Programme music, Classical, Romantic, and Chamber music and the like, which not only confront us continually in discussion, but stand for things which we must know if we would read programmes understandingly and appreciate the various pha
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IV The Modern Orchestra
IV The Modern Orchestra
T he most eloquent, potent, and capable instrument of music in the world is the modern orchestra. It is the instrument whose employment by the classical composers and the geniuses of the Romantic School in the middle of our century marks the high tide of the musical art. It is an instrument, moreover, which is never played upon without giving a great object-lesson in musical analysis, without inviting the eye to help the ear to discern the cause of the sounds which ravish our senses and stir up
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V At an Orchestral Concert
V At an Orchestral Concert
I n popular phrase all high-class music is "classical," and all concerts at which such music is played are "classical concerts." Here the word is conceived as the antithesis of "popular," which term is used to designate the ordinary music of the street and music-hall. Elsewhere I have discussed the true meaning of the word and shown its relation to "romantic" in the terminology of musical critics and historians. No harm is done by using both "classical" and "popular" in their common significatio
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VI At a Pianoforte Recital
VI At a Pianoforte Recital
N o clearer illustration of the magical power which lies in music, no more convincing proof of the puissant fascination which a musical artist can exert, no greater demonstration of the capabilities of an instrument of music can be imagined than was afforded by the pianoforte recitals which Mr. Paderewski gave in the United States during the season of 1895-96. More than threescore times in the course of five months, in the principal cities of this country, did this wonderful man seat himself in
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VII At the Opera
VII At the Opera
P opular taste in respect of the opera is curiously unstable. It is surprising that the canons of judgment touching it have such feeble and fleeting authority in view of the popularity of the art-form and the despotic hold which it has had on fashion for two centuries. No form of popular entertainment is acclaimed so enthusiastically as a new opera by an admired composer; none forgotten so quickly. For the spoken drama we go back to Shakespeare in the vernacular, and, on occasions, we revive the
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VIII Choirs and Choral Music
VIII Choirs and Choral Music
N o one would go far astray who should estimate the extent and sincerity of a community's musical culture by the number of its chorus singers. Some years ago it was said that over three hundred cities and towns in Germany contained singing societies and orchestras devoted to the cultivation of choral music. In the United States, where there are comparatively a small number of instrumental musicians, there has been a wonderful development of singing societies within the last generation, and it is
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IX Musician, Critic, and Public
IX Musician, Critic, and Public
I have been told that there are many people who read the newspapers on the day after they have attended a concert or operatic representation for the purpose of finding out whether or not the performance gave them proper or sufficient enjoyment. It would not be becoming in me to inquire too curiously into the truth of such a statement, and in view of a denunciation spoken in the introductory chapter of this book, I am not sure that it is not a piece of arrogance, or impudence, on my part to under
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PLATE I
PLATE I
Violin - Clifford Schmidt VIOLIN—(Clifford Schmidt) ...
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PLATE II
PLATE II
Violoncello - Victor Herbert VIOLONCELLO—(Victor Herbert)...
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PLATE III
PLATE III
Piccolo flute - C. Kurth, Jun. PICCOLO FLUTE—(C. Kurth, Jun.)...
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PLATE IV
PLATE IV
Oboe - Joseph Eller OBOE—(Joseph Eller)...
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PLATE V
PLATE V
English Horn - Joseph Eller ENGLISH HORN—(Joseph Eller)...
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PLATE VI
PLATE VI
Bassoon - Fedor Bernhardi BASSOON—(Fedor Bernhardi)...
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PLATE VII
PLATE VII
Clarinet - Henry Kaiser CLARINET—(Henry Kaiser)...
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PLATE VIII
PLATE VIII
Bass Clarinet - Henry Kaiser BASS CLARINET—(Henry Kaiser)...
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PLATE IX
PLATE IX
French horn - Carl Pieper FRENCH HORN—(Carl Pieper )...
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PLATE X
PLATE X
Trombone - J. Pfeiffenschneider TROMBONE—(J. Pfeiffenschneider )...
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PLATE XI
PLATE XI
Bass tuba - Anton Reiter BASS TUBA—(Anton Reiter )...
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PLATE XII
PLATE XII
Conductor's score THE CONDUCTOR'S SCORE THE LETTERS OF FRANZ LISZT. Edited and collected by La Mara . With portraits. Crown 8vo, 2 vols., $6.00. RICHARD WAGNER'S LETTERS to his Dresden Friends—Theodore Uhlig, Wilhelm Fischer, and Ferdinand Heine. Translated by J.S. Shedlock . Crown 8vo, $3.50. JENNY LIND THE ARTIST, 1820-1851. Memoir of Madame Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt. Her Art Life and Dramatic Career, from original documents, etc. By Canon H.S. Holland and W.S. Rockstro . With illustrations, 12mo
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