Music: An Art and a Language Part 16

OVERTURE TO _Manfred_.

This Overture, the first of a set of incidental numbers which Schumann composed to ill.u.s.trate Byron's dramatic poem, represents some of his most typical inspiration, and so is well worthy of our study. The music is labored at times, especially in the Development, and the orchestration is often dry and stereotyped. But the conception was a powerful one, and there is a genuine correspondence between the nature of the music and the spirit of the poem. It is evident that the subject made a deep impression on Schumann, whose own imagination, addicted to mysterious and even morbid broodings, was strongly akin to that of Byron's fict.i.tious character. The composition is program music of the subjective order, comparable to Beethoven's _Coriola.n.u.s_, _i.e._, the themes are dramatic characterizations: the first typifying the stormy nature of Manfred; the second, with its note of pleading, the mysterious influence over the recluse of the spirit of Astarte. As in all works of this kind the music cannot be readily appreciated without a knowledge of the poem which it ill.u.s.trates.[193] As for the structure, Schumann clings too closely to the Sonata-form. The music is eloquent just in proportion as he gives his fancy free rein; where he tries to force the themes into an arbitrary mould, the result is unsatisfactory--especially the development, which is neither very dramatic nor interesting from a purely musical point of view. The work opens with three spasmodic syncopated[194] chords, and then follow twenty-four measures (lento and at first pianissimo) of a preludial nature with suggestions of the Manfred theme. The movement becomes gradually faster and more impa.s.sioned until, in measure 26, we reach the presentation of the first theme (allegro agitato) which, with its frequent syncopations, is characteristic of Manfred's restless nature. The transition begins in measure 39; at first with a repet.i.tion of the main theme, which soon modulates to F-sharp minor, in which key the second theme enters, in measure 51. This theme--in three portions--seems to embody different aspects of the feminine influence of Astarte. The first portion, measures 51-61, with its undulating, chromatic outline, may be said to typify the haunting apparition so real to Manfred's imagination and yet so intangible; the second, 62-67, contains a note of impa.s.sioned protest, and the third, 68-77, is a love message of tender consolation. If this interpretation seem too subjective, a careful reading of the drama where Astarte appears (pp. 284-285 in the Everyman's Edition) will, we believe, corroborate it. The rest of the Exposition consists in a treatment of the Astarte motive, primarily of a musical nature; though there is a real dramatic intensity in measures 96-103, which are an expansion of the love message with its characteristic "appoggiatura." The Development, beginning in measure 132, is a striking example of how difficult it was--even for an exponent of freedom in musical expression like Schumann--to break loose from the shackles of arbitrary form. The musical thought is kept in motion, to be sure, but that is about all; for the treatment is often very labored, and nothing is added to the dramatic picture. The world had to await the work of Tchaikowsky, and Strauss for a satisfactory adjustment[195]

between the demands of dramatic fitness and the needs of musical structure. In the Coda, beginning measure 258, Schumann--now that he is free from considerations of structure--gains a dramatic effect of truly impressive power. The horns, supported by trumpets and trombones, intone a funeral dirge of touching solemnity (evidently suggested by the closing death scene of the drama) while, above, hover portions of the Astarte motive, as if even in his death her influence was paramount in Manfred's imagination, _e.g._

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Notwithstanding certain blemishes, this Overture at the time of its composition was a landmark in the development of program music, and if to our modern tastes it seems a bit antiquated, this is largely because of the great progress which has since been made.[196]

[Footnote 193: The poem is easily procured in a volume of Everyman's Library.]

[Footnote 194: These chords are an amusing example of a "paper effect," for unless you watch the conductor's beat, it is impossible to feel the syncopation. There being no first beat proper, the chords are syncopated against the air!]

[Footnote 195: For pertinent comments on this point see Newman's essay on Program Music, pp. 134-135, in his _Musical Studies_.]

[Footnote 196: In studying this work consult, if possible, the orchestral score. For those who need a condensed two-hand arrangement, the Litolff edition is to be recommended.]

SYMPHONY IN D MINOR.

This Symphony is selected from Schumann's four, both for the peculiar romantic beauty of its themes and because the form in which it is cast makes it an important connecting link between the freedom of structure, inst.i.tuted by Beethoven, and the Symphonic Poem of Liszt and other modern composers. All of Schumann's symphonies contain genuine beauties and should be familiar to the cultivated musician.

Perhaps the first in B-flat major is the most sustained, and it has a freshness and buoyancy summed up in its t.i.tle, the _Spring_, by which it is popularly known. The exuberance of the Finale is pure Schumann and is expressed with an orchestral eloquence in which he was frequently lacking.[197] The Second Symphony is notable for its sublime Adagio, Schumann's love-song--comparable to the slow movement of Beethoven's Fourth. At some future day, conductors will have the courage to play this movement by itself like a magnificent Torso, for indubitably the other movements have aged beyond recall. The Third Symphony, known as the _Rhenish_ (composed when Schumann was living at Dusseldorf on the Rhine) is significant for its incorporation of popular melodies from the Rhineland, and for the movement, scored chiefly for trombones and other bra.s.s instruments, which gives a picture of some ceremonial occasion in the Cologne Cathedral.

[Footnote 197: It is more than a matter of mere chronology to realise that the D minor Symphony was composed in the same year as the B-flat major. It was afterwards revised and published as No. 4, but the vitality and spontaneity of its themes come from the first gush of Schumann's inspiration.]

The Fourth Symphony is an uneven work, for there are many places where Schumann's constructive power was unequal to his ideal conceptions. We often can see the joints, and the structure--in places--resembles a rag-carpet rather than the organic texture of an oriental rug. But the spontaneous outpouring of melody touches our emotions and well-nigh disarms criticism. Schumann had constantly been striving for a closer relations.h.i.+p[198] between the conventional movements of the symphony; and his purpose, in the structural treatment adopted, is indicated by the statement published in the full score--"Introduction, Allegro, Romanze, Scherzo und Finale _in einem Satze_" _i.e._, the work is to be considered as a _continuous whole_ and not broken up into arbitrary movements with rigid pauses between. The long drawn-out Introduction,[199] with its mysterious harmonies, leads us into the land of romance, and a portion of this introduction is happily carried over and repeated in the Romanze. The First movement proper, from _Lebhaft_, seems at first as if it were to be in the customary Sonata-form; the Exposition beginning with two themes in the normal relations.h.i.+p of minor and relative major, though to be sure the second theme is more of a supplementary expansion of the first than one which provides a strong contrast. But after the double bar and repeat, this first theme is developed in a free preludial manner as if it were continually leading up to a climax. We are finally rewarded by a new theme of great warmth which amply makes up for any lack of individuality in the second theme proper, _e.g._

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[Footnote 198: We find traces of this tendency in the First Symphony, where the Slow Movement and the Scherzo are linked together, likewise in the Second, where the motto of the first movement is repeated at the end of the Scherzo.]

[Footnote 199: The a.n.a.lysis is based, as usual, on the orchestral score; for cla.s.s-room study there are excellent editions for two and four hands.]

The rest of the movement consists of additional improvisations, rather too rigidly sectionalized, on the first theme and a second appearance of the interpolated theme. This theme, with rhythmic modifications, serves also as the basis for the brilliant Coda; for there is no Recapitulation proper, and it is evident that the movement is an extended prelude for what is to come--a first portion of the work as a whole. After a dramatic pause,[200] which enhances the feeling of expectancy (so prominent in the first movement) followed by a sustained modulatory chord, the Romanze begins with a plaintive theme in A minor. The mood is that of an idealized serenade, and in the original score the accompaniment for the oboe melody was given to the guitar[201] to secure the appropriate atmosphere. After the first statement of the theme there is an interpolated quotation of the characteristic pa.s.sage from the introduction, which serves to bind the movements together both in structure and in relations.h.i.+p of mood. The movement is in clear-cut three-part form and the middle contrasting section in the major mode reveals a sustained descending melody played by the body of strings, which is delicately embellished by an obligato variant given to a solo violin, _e.g._

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[Footnote 200: Concert-goers may well be reminded that there should be _no_ applause between the movements of this work. One of the most pernicious ideas of the public is that as soon as the music ceases, handclapping should begin; whereas a complete silence is often the very means the composer employs for intensifying what has been said and preparing for what is to come. Let us ponder the cryptic remark attributed to Mozart that "the rests in music are more important than the notes."]

[Footnote 201: This was afterwards withdrawn as impracticable. What a pity that Schumann wrote before the harp as a member of the orchestra had come into its own. For the mood which he was trying to establish compare the scoring of this Romanza with that in the Slow movement of Franck's Symphony.]

At first the 'cellos, also, re-enforce this melody.

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The effect is that of an ethereal voice commenting on the beauty of the main theme. This obligato part is of special significance, since with rhythmic change it forms the chief theme of the Trio in the following movement. The Romanze closes with a simple return to the plaintive oboe melody, this time in D minor. The tonality is purposely indefinite to accentuate the wistful feeling of the movement--the last chords having the suspense of a dominant ending. After a short pause we are at once whirled into the das.h.i.+ng Scherzo which seems to represent the playful badinage of a Romantic lover. The Trio affords a delightful reminiscence of the Romanze and, from a structural point of view, is an early example of the principle of "transformation of theme"[202] which plays so important a role in the works of Liszt, Franck, Tchaikowsky and Dvo[vr]ak. For the melody, _e.g._,

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is a rhythmic variant of the former obligato of the solo violin, and has this characteristic, which gives a peculiar note of surprise, that it always begins on the third beat of the measure. Following a repet.i.tion of the Scherzo the movement ends eloquently with a coda-like return to the Trio which, after some modulatory changes, is broken up into detached fragments, seeming to vanish into thin air.

There is no pause between the end of the Scherzo and the introduction, based on the theme of the first movement, which ushers in the Finale.

This movement is in Sonata-form with a modified Recapitulation--_i.e._, the first theme is not repeated--and with a pa.s.sionate closing theme, _e.g._,

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which atones for the intentional incompleteness with which the first movement ends. The main theme is a compound of a vigorous march-like motive, closely related to one of the subsidiary phrases of the first movement, and a running figure in the ba.s.s--the derivation of which is obvious. After a rather labored transition[203]--surely the most mechanical pa.s.sage in the whole work--we are rewarded by a melody of great buoyancy and rhythmic life, _e.g._

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[Footnote 202: In Brahms, who was something of a conservative as to freedom of form, there is a striking example in the connection between the second movement and the Finale of the Third Symphony.]

[Footnote 203: Schumann was a true poet in the spontaneity of his themes, but often an unsuccessful architect when connecting them.]

The free Fantasie begins with a contrapuntal working-out of a figure taken from the first theme, but it suffers from a persistent emphasis on what, after all, is an uninteresting rhythm [Music]; there is, furthermore, a rigid grouping of the phrases in twos and fours.

Schumann's instinct was a wise one in omitting the main theme of the Recapitulation and in leading, as soon as possible, to the repet.i.tion of the delightful second theme--the gem of the movement--which now makes its orthodox appearance in the tonic. After some ejaculatory measures, which remind us of the beginning of the Development, we have the impa.s.sioned closing theme, referred to above, which ushers in the free and brilliant Coda, worked up contrapuntally with ever increasing speed. The movement ends with Schumannesque syncopations. The D minor Symphony, thus, although not a perfect work of art, is a significant one and repays intimate study. A long life may safely be predicted for it by reason of the fervor and charm of its melodies. An important historical status it will always hold, for it is the honorable ancestor of such great symphonies as Cesar Franck's in D minor and Tchaikowsky's in E minor, in which we find the same freedom of form and the same fusion of material attempted by Schumann's daring spirit.[204]

[Footnote 204: For a detailed and illuminating study of this symphony and of Schumann's style in general see the last essay in _Preludes and Studies_ by W.J. Henderson. Another excellent essay may be found in _Studies in Modern Music_ by W.H. Hadow.]

Closely connected with Schumann, chronologically and also by certain executive a.s.sociations, _e.g._, the Leipsic Conservatory, is the career of Mendelssohn (1809-1847). There was much in common between the two; they both were extremely versatile, of strong literary bent and naturally drawn to the same media of expression: pianoforte, solo voices and orchestra. And yet, so dissimilar were the underlying strains in their temperaments that their compositions, as an expression of their personalities, show little in common. Schumann, as we have seen, was fantastic, mystical, a bold, independent thinker, the quintessence of the Romantic spirit. Mendelssohn, on the other hand, though not lacking in poetic fancy and warmth, was cautious--a born conservative; and his early cla.s.sical training, together with the opulent circ.u.mstances of his life, served as a natural check upon the freedom of genius. His dazzling precocity--witness the _Midsummer Night's Dream_ Overture, composed while he was in his seventeenth year--and a great popular success were surely not the best stimuli to make him delve into the depths of his imagination. Undoubtedly he did a valuable service, in his day, in uniting the leading tendencies of the two schools: the exuberant fancy of the Romantic, and the reserve and finish of the Cla.s.sic. He has been aptly called a "Romanticist with a cla.s.sical equipment." If any apprais.e.m.e.nt be necessary to the detriment of one or the other, it must be conceded that Schumann was the greater genius. A just estimate of Mendelssohn's work is difficult, for his career was so meteoric and in his life he was so overvalued that now, with the opposite swing of the pendulum, he is as often underrated. He was a.s.suredly a great artist, for what he had to say was beautifully expressed; the question hinges on the actual worth of the message. With perfect finish there often goes a lack of power and objective energy; somewhat the same difference that we feel between skillful gardening and the free vitality of Nature. Although Mendelssohn's music delights and charms there is a prevailing lack of that deep emotion which alone can move the soul. And yet a composer whom Wagner called "the greatest of landscape painters" and whose best works have stood the test of time can by no means be scorned. His descriptive Overtures for orchestra: the _Hebrides_, the _Midsummer Night's Dream_ and the _Fair Melusine_; his _Variations Serieuses_ for Pianoforte and some of the _Songs without Words_[205] contain a genuinely poetic message, flawlessly expressed. As for the pianoforte music, when the _Songs without Words_ are called "hackneyed" we must remember that only compositions of truly popular appeal ever have sufficient vogue to warrant the application of this opprobrious term.

In the pianoforte _Scherzos_ and in the _Rondo Capriccioso in E major_ there is without doubt a vitality and a play of fancy easier to criticize than to create. The prevalent mood in Mendelssohn's music is one of sunny-hearted lightness and emotional satisfaction; and if this be a one-sided presentation of life, it is no more so, as Pratt well says in his _History of Music_, than the picture of gloom and sorrow which certain other composers continually emphasize. The fact that his descriptive Overtures, just mentioned, have been surpa.s.sed--owing to the recent expansion in orchestral possibilities of tone-color--must not blind us to the beauty of their content, or make us forget the impetus they have given to modern composers. No one could possibly find in the _Hebrides_ Overture that subtle descriptive fancy or that wealth of orchestral coloring which exists in Debussy's marvellous _Sea Pieces_; and yet the Mendelssohn composition is a genuine reflection of nature in terms of music and can still be heard with sustained attention. Wagner[206] praises highly its orchestral effects; and a modern scholar, Cecil Forsyth,[207] considers the tone-painting quite irresistible. A sincere tribute of admiration should also be paid to Mendelssohn's _Concerto for Violin and Orchestra_. Written in the most idiomatic style for the solo instrument and containing real _violin melodies_ it is still one of the few great works in its cla.s.s. Any final critical estimate of Mendelssohn--no matter how earnest the effort to be absolutely fair--is inevitably involved with personal prejudices. If his music appeals to any one, it is liked extremely and no one need be ashamed of enjoying it, for it is sincerely felt and beautifully expressed.

Mendelssohn, himself, doubtless knew perfectly well that he was not Bach, Beethoven or Schubert. For those whose natures crave a more robust message, more fire and a deeper pa.s.sion, there are the works of those other composers to which they may turn.

[Footnote 205: Several of these were constantly played by both Paderewski and De Pachman, two of the greatest virtuosi of our day: surely a convincing tribute!]

[Footnote 206: See the _Oxford History of Music_, Vol. VI, pp. 80-84.

Anyone who cares to see what Wagner owed to Mendelssohn may compare the opening theme, and its treatment, of the _Fair Melusine_ Overture with the music of the Rhine Maidens in the _Rheingold_.]

[Footnote 207: See his treatise on Orchestration, p. 194.]

Let us now a.n.a.lyze the _Midsummer Night's Dream_ Overture,[208] "his first and highest flight" to quote Schumann. In this work we do not find a characterization by musical means of the emotions of the dramatis personae, as in the _Coriola.n.u.s_ Overture; and there is little specific correspondence between the type of theme and definite incidents, except possibly at the beginning of the Recapitulation, where the low tones of the Ba.s.s Tuba[209] may be thought to represent the snores of Bottom, as the fairies hover about him. Anyone familiar with Shakespeare's play--and such a knowledge is indispensible for a complete enjoyment of the music--will see that Mendelssohn's object was to give a broad, general picture of the fairy world and to intensify, by his music, the fancy and humor found in the play. The introductory sustained chords, pianissimo, are a happy ill.u.s.tration of his deftness in tone-painting; for, a.s.signed to the ethereal flutes and clarinets, they const.i.tute, as Niecks ingeniously expresses it, a "magic formula" which ushers us into the moonlit realm of fairyland.

The first theme in E minor (Allegro di molto: throughout _pp_ and staccato), announced by the strings, is a graphic representation of the playful antics of the nimble elves and fairies. Its course is twice interrupted by a peculiar, prolonged chord which seems to say, "Hus.h.!.+ you are listening to the activities of beings not of this every-day, humdrum world." The first theme has a second part in E major (beginning at measure 62) of a pompous, march-like nature, which may be thought to represent the dignity of Duke Theseus and his train.

The Overture being in complete Sonata-form, there occurs at this point a short transition based on the rhythm of the first theme; followed by a lovely cantabile melody--the second theme proper--that typifies the romantic love pervading the play. This theme also is expanded into several sections; the first of which may portray the clownish Athenian tradespeople, and the second, the brays of Bottom after he has been transformed into an a.s.s, _e.g._

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[Footnote 208: This is exceptionally effective in the four-hand version--in fact, it was often played as a pianoforte duet by his sister f.a.n.n.y and himself--although the real poetic effect is inseparably connected with the orchestral treatment.]

[Footnote 209: Originally these tones were played by the Ophicleide or Serpent (now obsolete).]

The free fantasia, an improvisation on the first theme--although containing a few perfunctory manipulations--sustains interest, as a whole, by its modulations and by the suggestive orchestral effects.

The closing measures, where the pizzicato 'cellos and double ba.s.ses seem to imitate the light, tripping footsteps of the elves, is genuinely realistic. The Recapitulation, which begins with the same chords as the Introduction, is an ill.u.s.tration of bondage to cla.s.sic practise; for here they have no dramatic significance and are merely a concession to routine procedure.[210] The first theme and the transition, however, are effectively abridged so that the second theme, by far the most appealing in the whole work, stands out in greater prominence. Then follows a brilliant expansion of the closing portions of the second theme, until we reach the Coda. This begins with a reminiscence of the first theme which fades away into a modified presentation of the Duke Theseus theme, followed by four long-drawn out Amens.[211] These may signify the blessing which, in the play, the elves bestow upon the Ducal house. The Introductory chords dissolve the dream which the music has evoked, and we are back once more in the world of reality.

[Footnote 210: This, after all, is a rather subtle point for a boy of seventeen to be called upon to consider. Perhaps if he had been that kind of a boy he might not have written the Overture at all!]

[Footnote 211: The ecclesiastical formula for an Amen being the so-called Plagal cadence of subdominant and tonic chords.]

To suggest the att.i.tude which we of to-day should take towards Mendelssohn--he may justly be admired as a musician of great natural gifts, of high ideals and of unusually finished technique in many branches of composition. It is ungracious to censure him because he lacks the gripping emotional power of a Beethoven or a Wagner. Those who indulge in such narrow criticism condemn only themselves.