Scan 32
Musical Courier 1895-12-25: Vol 31 Iss 825, 1895
15 lines. Read by computer on 25 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 33. See the scan on archive.org.
1tions and pains may perhaps bear fruit in some future generation. A person, however, who is disposed to commit suicide had better never become a music teacher. We often hear that young people give up piano playing after a few years and "go in" for violin, mandolin or—banjo playing. This is not to be wondered at. The piano is, on account of its polyphonic nature, the most unsatisfactory instrument for those who have not been born with a true musical talent, because harmony is the most difficult part of music to understand. The greatest masters, from the fifteenth century down to our present time (Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann included), were chiefly composers for the keyboard instruments (organ, harpsichord, piano), because no other (single) instrument offered them so complete a scope on which to develop their ideas sure the long and continual success of an opera. The composers of the new Italian school seem to have taken this into consideration, for their harmonies and orchestration are infinitely more interesting than those of their predecessors. The vitality of an opera, however, depends upon both its harmonic and melodic excellence. The composers of the new French school also exert themselves more than their predecessors did with regard to polyphonic writing and symphonic treatment of the orchestra. one of two readings
2tions and pains may perhaps bear fruit in some future generation. A person, however, who is disposed to commit suicide had better never become a music teacher. We often hear that young people give up piano playing after a few years and "go in" for violin, mandolin or—banjo playing. This is not to be wondered at. The piano is, on account of its polyphonic nature, the most unsatisfactory instrument for those who have not been born with a true musical talent, because harmony is the most difficult part of music to understand. The greatest masters, from the fifteenth century down to our present time (Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann included), were chiefly composers for the keyboard instruments (organ, harpsichord, piano), because no other (single) instrument offered them so complete a scope on which to develop their ideas as the piano; while inferior talents have generally had a preference for instruments which make lesser demands upon harmony or none at all. This also explains the musical standpoint of those who assert that the piano is no solo instrument. (Pauvre Chopin!) one of two readings
4The cultivation of piano playing in Germany and Austria has produced the following great polyphonists: Bach, Händel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann; while the Italians (who devote more of their time to violin, guitar or mandolin playing) have given us the homophonists Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, in whose operas the influence of the guitar makes itself strongly felt, both in the harmony and orchestration. The almost complete withdrawal of Rossini's, Bellini's and Donizetti's operas from every repertoire in Europe is a striking proof that melody alone, if ever so beautiful and refined, cannot insure the long and continual success of an opera. The composers of the new Italian school seem to have taken this into consideration, for their harmonies and orchestration are infinitely more interesting than those of their predecessors. The vitality of an opera, however, depends upon both its harmonic and melodic excellence. The composers of the new French school also exert themselves more than their predecessors did with regard to polyphonic writing and symphonic treatment of the orchestra. one of two readings
6Faust and Carmen are good specimens of the new school, which, I hope, will continue to produce other acceptable works.
8It has often been said (perhaps oftenest by Englishmen themselves) that England is not a musical country. The reason, however, has seldom been explained. In the sixteenth century England stood—as every student of musical history knows—in the front rank of musical nations. William Byrde and Dr. John Bull were composers of a very high order. Their works would have paved the way for a great musical future in England, had not the crazes of the Puritan fanatics forcibly interrupted all further development. (I wish they had used their power and energy for the suppression of strong drinks instead.) When the English nation began—through foreign influence—to awake from its trance, the time for a natural development of the divine art had passed away. In Italy, France and Germany musical art had not only reached its summit, but was, in some respects, on its decline again. The English composers of the new period became the followers of the fully developed schools of Germany, Italy and France. They made a leap from William Byrde, Dr. John Bull and Henry Purcell down to Mendelssohn, Verdi, Gounod and Wagner, which, of course, could not have the same result that a natural and gradual development would have had. But in spite of such unfavorable circumstances England has given us a number of composers who deserve the respect of all civilized nations. Unfortunately for them, the long non-cultivation of musical art in England has made their countrymen almost incapable of understanding and appreciating their honest efforts. We see crowded concert halls (especially when Adelina Patti sings some of her hackneyed songs) in London and other great towns of the United Kingdom, and hear colossal choral and orchestral performances at the Crystal Palace and at the Albert Hall, but that does not prove that England is a musical country. The real criterion of a musical nation is the cultivation of good music at home. The assertion one often hears that "every German is a musician" is absurd. One might as well say that "every Englishman is a bicyclist." It cannot be denied, however, that the piano playing and chamber music cultivating Germans and Austrians have given the world a greater number of genuine composers and musical amateurs than all the other European countries put together. In England, where the taste for music has been systematically repressed, it will require the efforts of several generations to make good the harm done to the divine art by the fanatics of the seventeenth century.
10Unfortunately there are two great obstacles in the way of England reconquering her former musical position: (1) the frequent lack of musical intelligence on the part of the pupils; (2) the indifference and want of encouragement on the part of their parents. It stands to reason that a nation which has neglected the cultivation of musical art for centuries (until forty or fifty years ago it was looked upon as degrading for an English gentleman to play a musical instrument) cannot be expected to grasp it with the same facility as those who have constantly been practicing it. The young English music students, instead of being encouraged in their efforts, are generally expected, after forty or fifty lessons, to afford their parents, who have no idea of what a lifelong study music is, some amusement. In this expectation the parents are, of course, always disappointed, and the pupil, perceiving their disappointment, very often bids farewell to his piano or violin in disgust, and tries the mandolin, the banjo, or some other easier instrument.
12Meyerbeer once said: "Every instrument has its right." Quite so. The zither, for instance, is a favorite instrument with the poor mountaineers in the Tyrol, who have neither time nor money to learn a more difficult instrument. In Spain the guitar and the mandolin afford the poorer classes much enjoyment, while the negro minstrel of Margate sands is perfectly happy with his banjo. But what excuse is there for a lady who, having had all the advantages of a high-class education, prefers to learn the zither, the mandolin or the banjo? English vocalists and instrumentalists are sometimes censured (by their own countrymen) for their lack of feeling and enthusiasm. They are told to sing or play with more warmth and expression, as if these were things that could be bought at a costermonger's barrow. Now, this censure is absolutely absurd. Sentiment and enthusiasm are the results of understanding. When there is no understanding there can be no enthusiasm. We must not forget that music is not only a comparatively new art for England, but that in its essential nature, sentiment, passion and enthusiasm mingle three things which a well-bred English lady or gentleman never shows outwardly. How can one expect English musicians, then, to express artistically what their countrymen so anxiously avoid showing in their general demeanor? The time for musical sentiment in England has not come yet, but it is near. The more frequent contact nowadays of English people with foreigners must have its effect. When once that stiff reserve which distinguishes Englishmen from foreigners is overcome, the spell which now prevents English musicians from expressing their feelings artistically will also be broken.
14I have already said that prejudice in musical matters exists in every country, with this difference, however, that it makes itself more felt in those countries in which the divine art is neglected than in those in which it is cultivated. That the Germans have allowed some of their greatest musicians to end their days in starvation, because they did not understand them, is quite true. But, fortunately, there were always in that country some honest and judicious musicians who subsequently became the apostles of those neglected masters. But what would have been the fate of Bach's, Mozart's and Schubert's works if those composers had lived in a less musical country than Germany? Händel, who was as shrewd a business man as he was a great composer (the erection of his monument in Westminster Abbey at his own expense is a proof of his farsighted speculative mind), cannot be held up as a contradiction to my assertion, nor can the case of Haydn, who was engaged for concerts in England on the ground of his continental fame. The higher the musical culture of a nation, the less puffing and advertising are required to arouse its interest for an artist or for a musical composition. Advertising, such as can daily be seen in the
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