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PREFACE
PREFACE
The present work places before the public a phase of the professional activity of Edward MacDowell quite different from that through which his name became a household word in musical circles, that is, his work as a composer. In the chapters that follow we become acquainted with him in the capacity of a writer on phases of the history and æsthetics of music. It was in 1896 that the authorities of Columbia University offered to him the newly created Chair of Music, for which he had been strongly r
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CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL ESSAYS I THE ORIGIN OF MUSIC
CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL ESSAYS I THE ORIGIN OF MUSIC
Darwin's theory that music had its origin “in the sounds made by the half-human progenitors of man during the season of courtship” seems for many reasons to be inadequate and untenable. A much more plausible explanation, it seems to me, is to be found in the theory of Theophrastus, in which the origin of music is attributed to the whole range of human emotion. When an animal utters a cry of joy or pain it expresses its emotions in more or less definite tones; and at some remote period of the ear
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II ORIGIN OF SONG vs. ORIGIN OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
II ORIGIN OF SONG vs. ORIGIN OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Emerson characterized language as “fossil poetry,” but “fossil music” would have described it even better; for as Darwin says, man sang before he became human. Gerber, in his “Sprache als Kunst,” describing the degeneration of sound symbols, says “the saving point of language is that the original material meanings of words have become forgotten or lost in their acquired ideal meaning.” This applies with special force to the languages of China, Egypt, and India. Up to the last two centuries our w
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III THE MUSIC OF THE HEBREWS AND THE HINDUS
III THE MUSIC OF THE HEBREWS AND THE HINDUS
The music of the Hebrews presents one of the most interesting subjects in musical history, although it has an unfortunate defect in common with so many kindred subjects, namely, that the most learned dissertation must invariably end with a question mark. When we read in Josephus that Solomon had 200,000 singers, 40,000 harpers, 40,000 sistrum players, and 200,000 trumpeters, we simply do not believe it. Then too there is lack of unanimity in the matter of the essential facts. One authority, desc
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IV THE MUSIC OF THE EGYPTIANS, ASSYRIANS, AND CHINESE
IV THE MUSIC OF THE EGYPTIANS, ASSYRIANS, AND CHINESE
In speaking of the music of antiquity we are seriously hampered by the fact that there is practically no actual music in existence which dates back farther than the eighth or tenth century of the present era. Even those well-known specimens of Greek music, as they are claimed to be, the hymns to Apollo, Nemesis, and Calliope, do not date farther back than the third or fourth century, and even these are by no means generally considered authentic. Therefore, so far as actual sounds go, all music o
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V THE MUSIC OF THE CHINESE (Continued)
V THE MUSIC OF THE CHINESE (Continued)
Having described the musical instruments in use in China we still have for consideration the music itself, and the conditions which led up to it. Among the Chinese instruments mentioned in the preceding chapter, the preponderance of instruments of percussion, such as drums, gongs, bells, etc., has probably been noticed. In connection with the last named we meet with one of the two cases in Chinese art in which we see the same undercurrent of feeling, or rather superstition, as that found among w
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LIST OF NOTES IN THE GREEK SCALE
LIST OF NOTES IN THE GREEK SCALE
A. Nete, or highest. G. Páranete, next highest. F. Trite, third. E. Néte, highest. D. Páranéte, next highest. C. Trite, third. B. Paramese, next to central tone A. Mese, central tone. G. Líchanos, index finger. F. Parhýpate, next to lowest. E. Hýpate, lowest. D. Líchanos, index. C. Parhýpate, next to lowest. B. Hýpate, lowest. A. Proslambanómenos, added tone. To go into detailed explanation of the Greek enharmonic and chromatic pitch will scarcely be worth while, and I will therefo
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SUMMARY
SUMMARY
Dominants [G: a' f' c' {a (a')} c' a d' c' e' c' g' e'] Now all these lower, or derived modes, Hypodorian, Hypophrygian, Hypolydian, etc., received the name Plagal modes, because there was but one tonic or keynote in the scale; consequently a melody starting on any degree of the scale would invariably return to the same tonic or keynote. They differed from the authentic modes, inasmuch as in the latter a melody might end either on the upper or lower tonic or keynote. Thus the melody itself was s
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The Gamut.
The Gamut.
[Illustration] To the lowest note of this scale, which was foreign to the Greek system, he gave a special name, gamma , after the Greek letter G. From this we get our word for the scale, the gamut. The other notes remained the same as before, only that for the lowest octave capital letters were used; in the next octave, the notes were designated by small letters, and in the last octave by double letters, aa, bb, etc., as in the following example. [Illustration] [F: c,, | c, | c G: c' |
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Present Scale.
Present Scale.
Following out his system, he applied the newly acquired syllables to each of the hexachords—for instance, the lowest hexachord, G A B C D E, which was called hard, became ut re mi fa sol la ; the second, which was called natural, C D E F G A, also became ut re mi fa sol la ; and the third, which was called soft, F G A B♭ C D, became likewise ut re mi fa sol la . The next three hexachords were treated in the same manner; the last or seventh hexachord was merely a repetition of the first and the f
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DIRGE FOR KING RICHARD'S DEATH
DIRGE FOR KING RICHARD'S DEATH
GAUCELM FAIDIT. [Illustration: Fortz chose est que tot le maur major dam] ROI THIBAUT DE NAVARRE (1250). [Illustration: Si li dis sans de laies | Belle diex vous doint bon jour] or, in modern style, [G: g' a' b' c'' (d'' c'') (b' a' g') | a' b' (c'' b') (b' a' g') (a' b') g'] In this example we find the first indication of the measuring off of phrases into bars. As we see, it consisted of a little stroke, which served to show the beginning of a new line, and was not restricted to regularity of a
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IX THE SYSTEMS OF HUCBALD AND GUIDO D'AREZZO—THE BEGINNING OF COUNTERPOINT
IX THE SYSTEMS OF HUCBALD AND GUIDO D'AREZZO—THE BEGINNING OF COUNTERPOINT
We have seen that by order of Charlemagne, Ambrosian chant was superseded by that of Gregory, and from any history of music we may learn how he caused the Gregorian chant to be taught to the exclusion of all other music. Although Notker, in the monastery of St. Gall, in Switzerland, and others developed the Gregorian chant, until the time of Hucbald this music remained mere wandering melody, without harmonic support of any kind. Hucbald (840–930) was a monk of the monastery of St. Armand in Flan
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X MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS—THEIR HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
X MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS—THEIR HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
In church music, the organ is perhaps the first instrument to be considered. In 951, Elfeg, the Bishop of Winchester had built in his cathedral a great organ which had four hundred pipes and twenty-six pairs of bellows, to manage which seventy strong men were necessary. Wolstan, in his life of St. Swithin, the Benedictine monk, gives an account of the exhausting work required to keep the bellows in action. Two performers were necessary to play this organ, just as nowadays we play four-hand music
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Three or four note (simple)
Three or four note (simple)
South America [ MIDI ] [Figure 18] Nubia [ MIDI ] [Figure 19] Samoa [ MIDI ] [Figure 20] Hudson's Bay [ MIDI ] [Figure 21] Soudan [ MIDI ] [Figure 22] [ MIDI ] [Figure 23] Dance. Brazil [ MIDI , MIDI , MIDI ] [Figure 24] Simple [Figure 25] or Dance [Figure 26]...
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Emotional and Composite
Emotional and Composite
Soudan [ MIDI ] [Figure 22]...
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Howl and Emotion
Howl and Emotion
[ MIDI ] [Figure 23] Dance. Brazil [ MIDI , MIDI , MIDI ] [Figure 24] Simple [Figure 25] or Dance [Figure 26] The fact that so many nations have the pentatonic or five-note scale (the Chinese, Basque, Scotch, Hindu, etc.), would seem to point to a necessary similarity of their music. This, however, is not the case. In tracing the differences we shall find that true folk song has but few marked national traits, it is something which comes from the heart; whereas nationalism in music is an outward
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PASTORELLA BY THIBAUT II, KING OF NAVARRE, 1254.
PASTORELLA BY THIBAUT II, KING OF NAVARRE, 1254.
[ MIDI ] [Figure 41: L'Autrier par la matinée Entre sen bos et un Vergier Une pastore ai trouneé chantant pour soi en voisier.] [ MIDI ] Example from NITHART [Figure 42] In speaking of the straight lines of the melodies of the minnesingers and in comparing them with the tinge of orientalism to be found in those of the troubadours, it was said that music owes more to the latter than to the former, and this is true. If we admit that the straight line of Grecian architecture is perfect, so must we
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OLD DANCE FORMS (1650–1750).
OLD DANCE FORMS (1650–1750).
[ :Motive-|-Motive--|-Motive-----|--|-Motive---|--|-Motive----|---] [2/4: 4 8 8 | 8. 16 4 | 8 8 8 8 | 4 4 | 4 8 8 | 4 4 | 8. 16 8 8 | 2 ] [ :------Phrase-----|----Phrase-----|---Phrase----|----Phrase-----] [A phrase may be three or four measures, and sections may be unequal] [ :-------------Section-------------|-----------Section-----------] [ :------------------------------Period---------------------------] This period might be repeated or extended to sixteen measures and still remain a
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ANALYSIS OF OLD DANCES
ANALYSIS OF OLD DANCES
1. Sarabande .— [3/2] [3/4] lento. Rhythm [3/2: 2 ^2. 4 | 2 2] . Form 1, sometimes Form 2. This is of Spanish origin ( Saracen dance), and is generally accompanied by variations called partita or doubles. 2. Musette ( cornemusa or bagpipe).— [3/4] [2/4] allegretto. Form 1. Always written over or under a pedal note, which is generally sustained to the end. It generally forms the second part (not period) to the gavotte. 3. Gavotte .— [4/4] allegro moderato. Rhythm [4/4: 4 4 | 4 8 8 4 4] or [4 8 8
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MODERN FORMS (1800).
MODERN FORMS (1800).
1. Mazurka .— [3/4] allegretto. Form 6. Rhythm [3/4: 4 | 8. 16 4 4] . 2. Polonaise (also Polacca ).— [3/4] allegro maestoso. Rhythm [3/4: 8. 16 8. 16 16 16 16 16] or [8 4 16 16 8 8] . The bass is generally [8 16 16 8 8 8 8] . Form 7. 3. Bolero ( Cachucha ) (Spanish).—Like the polonaise but livelier, and generally containing counter-rhythms in triplets. 4. Habanera .— [2/4] . Rhythm [2/4: 8 8 16 8 16 | 8 8 16 8 16 | 8 8 3(8 8 8) | 8 8 4] . The characteristic element is the mixture of triplets and
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XIV THE MERGING OF THE SUITE INTO THE SONATA
XIV THE MERGING OF THE SUITE INTO THE SONATA
In the previous chapter it was stated that the various dances, such as the minuet, sarabande, allemande, etc., led up to our modern sonata form, or, perhaps, to put it more clearly, they led up to what we call sonata form. As a matter of fact, already in the seventeenth century, we find the word sonata applied to musical compositions; generally to pieces for the violin, but rarely for the harpsichord. The word sonata was derived originally from the Italian word suonare , “to sound,” and the term
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XV THE DEVELOPMENT OF PIANOFORTE MUSIC
XV THE DEVELOPMENT OF PIANOFORTE MUSIC
Up to the time of Beethoven, music for the pianoforte consisted mainly of programme music of the purely descriptive order, that is to say, it was generally imitative of natural or artificial externals. To be sure, if we go back to the old clavecinists, and examine the sonatas of Kuhnau, sundry pieces by Couperin, Rameau, and the Germans, Froberger, C.P.E. Bach and others, we find the beginnings of that higher order of programme music which deals directly with the emotions; and not only that, but
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EURYDICE—PERI.
EURYDICE—PERI.
Orpheus bewailing his fate. [ MIDI ] [Figure 43: I weep not, I am not sighing, tho' thou art from me taken. What use to sigh] Orpheus' joy in bringing back Eurydice. [ MIDI ] [Figure 44: Gioi-te al canto mio serve frondo di che in su l'au rora] 14 It is interesting to note as to the prevalence of Latin, that Dante's “Divina Commedia” was the first important poem in Italian. Latin was used on the stage in Italy up to the sixteenth century; the stationary chorus stationed on the stage remained u
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XVII OPERA
XVII OPERA
No art form is so fleeting and so subject to the dictates of fashion as opera. It has always been the plaything of fashion, and suffers from its changes. To-day the stilted figures of Hasse, Pergolesi, Rameau, and even Gluck, seem as grotesque to us as the wigs and buckles of their contemporaries. To Palestrina's masses and madrigals, Rameau's and Couperin's claveçin pieces, and all of Bach, we can still listen without this sense of incongruity. On the other hand, operas of Alessandro Scarlatti,
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XVIII OPERA (Continued)
XVIII OPERA (Continued)
One of the most disputed questions in modern music is that of opera. Although we have many controversies as to what purely instrumental or vocal music may do, the operatic art, if we may call it so, always remains the same. In creating the music drama, Wagner put forth a composite art, something which many declare impossible, and as many others advocate as being the most complete art form yet conceived. We are still in the midst of the discussion, and a final verdict is therefore as yet impossib
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XIX ON THE LIVES AND ART PRINCIPLES OF SOME SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY COMPOSERS
XIX ON THE LIVES AND ART PRINCIPLES OF SOME SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY COMPOSERS
There is much of value to the student to be derived from a study of the lives and art principles of the composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. To go back to an earlier period would hardly be worth while, as the music composed in those days is too much obscured by the uncertainty of tradition and the inevitable awkwardness of expression that goes with all primitiveness in art. The first whom I would mention are Don Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, and Ludovico Viadana. The former
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XX DECLAMATION IN MUSIC
XX DECLAMATION IN MUSIC
There is one side of music which I am convinced has never been fully studied, namely, the relation between it and declamation. As we know, music is a language which may delineate actual occurrences by means of onomatopoetic sounds. By the use of more or less suggestive sounds, it may bring before our minds a quasi-visual image of things which we more or less definitely feel. Now to do all this, there must be rules; or, to put it more broadly, there must be some innate quality that enables this a
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XXI SUGGESTION IN MUSIC
XXI SUGGESTION IN MUSIC
In speaking of the power of suggestion in music I wish at the outset to make certain reservations. In the first place I speak for myself, and what I have to present is merely an expression of my personal opinion; if in any way these should incite to further investigation or discussion, my object will in part have been attained. In the second place, in speaking of this art, one is seriously hampered by a certain difficulty in making oneself understood. To hear and to enjoy music seems sufficient
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