Scan 15
Musical Courier 1905-09-06: Vol 51 Iss 1328, 1905
32 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 16. See the scan on archive.org.
1and in the painting of realistic pictures through the medium of music. In Strauss' opinion music will become a language which will be understood by everybody, hence the name "The Music of the Future" is particularly applied to his productions.
3Whether or not this is possible an analysis of the elements of language and music will demonstrate.
5The elements of language are:
61. Words, which are a combination of letters conveying a definite meaning.
72. Sentences, which are again a combination of definite words.
83. Subject and predicate, which are the necessary elements of a definite sentence.
94. Periods, which are the culmination of definite sentences.
11In other words, to express an idea in language, we construct periods or sentences founded on a definite meaning and containing a subject, a predicate and other parts of speech. Let us now analyze the elements of music as to whether they can serve in the construction of definite sentences expressing ideas. The elements of music are:
121. Twelve regulated tones or sounds: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and five semitones.
132. Seven octaves on the piano, about as much in the orchestra, where these twelve sounds can be repeated in a higher or lower octave.
143. There are four families of orchestral instruments, most of which are able to produce these twelve sounds with a different tone color.
154. There are several rhythmical grades: 2-4, 3-4, 4-4, 5-4, 6-4, 3-8, &c.
165. There are different grades of shading (force and softness): F, FF, FFF, FFFF, p, pp, ppp, pppp, &c.; mf, mp, &c.
176. Many sounds can be produced at the same time according to the laws of harmony.
187. Major and minor key, or, in other words, elements, and the only elements in music which have more or less a definite character, namely, the major expresses joy and the minor sorrow; and
198. Musical sentences or melodies consisting of several sounds in succession.
21Having analyzed the elements of music, we find no subject and no predicate; in other words, no elements which are absolutely necessary to form a definite sentence expressing an idea. The point may be made that if the major and minor keys are able to express joy and sorrow, music may develop and by and by become able to express moral and philosophical ideas, &c. The answer to this is very simple. Even a layman knows that in the song of a savage or an Indian it is by no means difficult to determine whether it expresses joy or sorrow, whether it is lively or sad. If music or the sound which was the beginning of speech and of song did not develop from the remotest past up to this time into something more definite in the general expression of joy and sorrow, while on the other hand language has developed so that it can express the deepest thought and paint the most beautiful pictures in words, then there remains only the logical conclusion that music has no elements from which language could be constructed. Therefore, Strauss' attempt to express definite ideas and paint realistic pictures by the means of music is and will remain a failure.
23Strauss and other innovators overlooked one very important point, namely, that language requires the attention of our brain, and sometimes emotion, while music requires the attention of our emotions only. It is not necessary to use our brains to enjoy music. Here is an example to illustrate my point more clearly: You undoubtedly have seen and heard the opera "Lucia." There is a celebrated sextet, or a musical form where six people sing together. Did you ever try to discern the meaning of the words of the six people singing together? You won't succeed, even if you try, because your brain will not undertake to discern what six people sing at the same time. Nevertheless, you enjoy the music of the sextet, though you don't know what it is all about. Here is another example: If you hear a singer sing in a language unknown to you, what will be the result? You will undoubtedly enjoy the singing, though not understanding a word of the text. What does it all prove? Exactly what I asserted before: That language is a means of expression of our thoughts and working on our thoughts through our brain, while music is an involuntary outpouring of our soul, a means for the expression of our feelings, and therefore works on our emotions only. Music is a reflection of our mood, and is only able to express our mood when seeing or thinking of a picture, of a poem, or of a fact. To show the absurdity of Strauss' undertaking, let us take up a part of his program to one of his best works, "Don Quixote." This is the way it runs: Theme, 10 Variations and Finale.
25Theme: Don Quixote, the knight of the sorrowful countenance, and Sancho Panza. Moderato, D minor, 4-4. Don Quixote is announced by a solo 'cello. Sancho Panza is typified by a bass clarinet and tenor tuba, but afterward the viola characterizes Sancho.
27Variation one: The knight and squire set out on their journey. In a leisurely manner, 12-8 time. The beautiful Dulcinea del Toboso inspires the knight, who soon sees windmills (brass instruments play) and prepares an attack. A breeze arises (wood and string instruments play) and the knight, angry at the challenge, attacks and is knocked down by the sails of the mill. (Run in the woodwind instruments, harp and heavy drum beats.)
29And so, in this way go on all the ten variations and the finale. The orchestra plays and the program describes the adventures of Don Quixote and his worthy servant.
31What right has the composer to make me think in a certain direction when there is no reason for doing so? Why must I imagine that the brass playing at a certain point means that Don Quixote sees the windmills? Could it not just as well be a herd of bellowing cows or the run of the firemen to a fire? Where is the logic which should compel me to see such things as the composer has in his mind? When the 'cello plays a certain phrase in a certain time, why must I imagine that it means the psychological condition of the hero thinking of his Dulcinea? If I look at a picture on canvas representing a storm on the sea, I see the sea, the waves, the clouds—in a word, I see all the elements which compel me to think in a certain direction. The truthfulness of the picture is borne in upon me irresistibly. Now fancy seeing on a picture a man's face painted blue, riding on a horse with five legs. Would you not revolt, and exclaim that the artist who painted that picture must be crazy, because such things do not exist in nature? In other words, your common sense does not accept things contrary to logic and to nature. Strauss in his program to his symphonic poem informs us that the bass drum playing in combination with the flute indicates that Zarathustra is coming down from his mountain. Where is the compelling significance of it? Is the composer's word as strong and convincing as logic? No! and a thousand times no! It is absurd to be compelled to see things you cannot see solely because the composer may have had an hallucination, and in this state saw things which he tried to impose upon the healthy brains of his audience. I myself tried this experiment on an audience of 250 people. I played the first part of Grieg's suite "Peer Gynt," representing "Morning," but I didn't tell the people what it was. What was the result? When I asked some of the people to tell me what it was, one said that it was a love duet; the other said, "A young man is taking out a girl in a boat;" the third said it represented a beautiful evening, and so on. Out of fifty answers I received, not one guessed that it represented morning as the composer termed it. What does it prove? It proves that every composer can see and express his feelings in his own individual way. He may give programs, but they will not help to make you see things in the same way. Beethoven,
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