Critical and Historical Essays
to his music something of mystery and a certain supernatural
freedom from _human will_, so prominent a characteristic
of Bach's compositions. In considering Bach's music we must
forget the technique, which was merely the outside dress of
his compositions. His style was the one of the period, just as
he wore a wig, and buckles on his shoes. His music must not be
confounded with the contrapuntal style of his utterance, and
although he has never been surpassed as a scientific writer
of counterpoint, it would be unjust to look there for his
chief glory. As a matter of fact, when his scientific speech
threatened to clash with the musical idea in his composition,
he never hesitated to sacrifice the former to the latter. Thus
Bach may be considered the greatest musical scientist of his
time as well as the greatest breaker of mere rules.
Of his sons, Carl Philipp Emanuel is the most celebrated,
and did much to prepare the way for Haydn in the development
of the sonata. J.S. Bach wrote many sonatas, but none for the
clavichord; his sonatas were for the violin and the 'cello
alone, a great innovation. The violin sonatas bring into
play all the resources of the instrument; indeed it is barely
possible to do them justice from the technical standpoint. His
"Wohltemperierte Clavier" naturally was a tremendous help to
clavichord technique, and even now the "Chromatic Fantaisie"
and other works require fine pianists to perform them properly.
In considering the development of music, it must always be
remembered that Haydn, Mozart, and their contemporaries knew
little or nothing of Bach's works, thus accounting for what
otherwise would seem a retrograde movement in art. C.P.E. Bach
(born 1714) was much better known than his father; even Mozart
said of him, "He is the father, and we are mere children." He
was renowned as a harpsichord player, and wrote many sonatas
which form the connecting link between the suite and the
sonata. He threw aside the polyphonic style of his father
and strove to give his music new colour and warmth by means
of harmony and modulation. He died in 1788 in Hamburg, where
he was conductor of the opera. It should be mentioned that he
wrote a method of clavichord playing on which, in later days,
Czerny said that Beethoven based his piano teaching.
Up to the period now under consideration, music for the
orchestra occupied a very small part in the composer's work. To
be sure, J.S. Bach wrote some suites, and separate movements
were written in the different dance forms for violins, with
sometimes the addition of a few reed instruments, and possibly
flutes and small horns or trumpets. It is in the works of
C.P.E. Bach, however, that we find the germ of symphonic
orchestral writing that was to be developed by Haydn, Mozart,
and Beethoven. The so-called "symphonies" by Emanuel Bach are
merely rudimentary sonatas written for strings, with flutes,
oboes, bassoons, trumpets, etc., and have practically no
artistic significance except as showing the inevitable trend of
musical thought toward greater power of expression. In Germany
(and indeed everywhere else) the Italian element had full sway
over opera, and non-Italian musicians were forced into writing
for the concert room instead of the stage. Even Beethoven had
many disappointments in connection with his one opera "Fidelio,"
and so strong was the Italian influence, that here in America
we are only just now (1897) recovering from the effects of it.
Franz Joseph Haydn was born near Vienna, in 1732, of humble
parents, his mother a cook in a count's family, and his father
a wheelwright and sexton of the parish church. When a young boy
Haydn had a fine voice, on account of which he was admitted as a
member of the choir at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. This
entitled him to admission to St. Stephen's School, connected
with the cathedral, in which the city paid for the board and
lodging as well as the instruction of the singers. When the
boys' voices changed or "broke," however, they were turned
adrift. On leaving the cathedral, Haydn suffered the direst
poverty, engaging himself at one time as valet to the Italian
singing teacher, Porpora, in order to secure some lessons.
He gradually managed to make himself known, and was engaged
by Count Morzin, a rich nobleman, to organize an orchestra of
about eighteen, which the count retained in his service with
Haydn as leader. Here he wrote his first symphony (for strings,
two oboes and two horns, in three movements) and a number of
smaller works. When he was twenty-nine, Count Morzin gave up
his establishment and Haydn entered the service of Prince Paul
Esterhazy, in Eisenstadt, Hungary, in the same capacity. Here
he had an orchestra of sixteen, composed of good musicians, whom
he could call up at any hour of the night to play if he wished,
and over whom he had complete control. Although the contract
by which he was engaged names the most degrading conditions,
and places Haydn on a par with all the other servants, the pay,
though small (two hundred dollars yearly), was certain and
regular. From this time Haydn was free from the hardships of
poverty. His salary was soon increased to five hundred dollars,
and he made as much more from his compositions. He wrote over
one hundred and twenty-five symphonies, sixty-eight trios,
seventy-seven quartets, fifty-seven concertos, fifty-seven
sonatas, eight oratorios and cantatas, and nineteen operas,
besides innumerable smaller things, for instance, between five
hundred and six hundred vocal pieces. His operas, of course,
are mere trifles compared with our more modern ones.
His friendship for Mozart is well known. As for his relations
with Beethoven, it is probable that their disagreement was
merely the effect of pride, and perhaps a certain amount
of laziness on one side and youthful bumptiousness on the
other. Haydn was returning to Vienna _via_ Bonn, from England,
where he had been welcomed by the wildest enthusiasm, when
Beethoven called on him to ask for his opinion as to his talent
as a composer. It resulted in Beethoven's going to Vienna.
After taking a few lessons of Haydn he went to another teacher
and made all manner of contemptuous remarks about Haydn,
declaring he had not learned anything from him.
After two highly successful visits to England, in 1792 and 1794,
Haydn returned to Vienna and wrote his two celebrated cantatas,
"The Creation" and "The Seasons." His last appearance in public
was when he attended a performance of "The Creation" in 1808,
at the age of seventy-six. He was received with a fanfare of
trumpets and cheers from the audience. After the first part he
was obliged to leave, and as he was being carried out by his
friends, he turned at the door and lifted his hands towards the
orchestra, as if in benediction; Beethoven kissed his hand,
and everyone paid him homage. He died during the bombardment
of Vienna by the French, May 31, 1809.
Haydn's later symphonies have been very cleverly compared
with those of Beethoven by the statement that the latter wrote
tragedies and great dramas, whereas Haydn wrote comedies and
charming farces. As a matter of fact, Haydn is the bridge
between the idealized dance and independent music. Although
Beethoven still retained the form of the dance, he wrote great
poems, whereas the music of Haydn always preserves a tinge of
the actual dance. With Haydn, music was still an art consisting
of the weaving together of pretty sounds, and although _design_,
that is to say, the development of the emotional character
of a musical thought, was by no means unknown to him, that
development was never permitted to transcend the limits of a
certain graceful euphony which was a marked characteristic
of his style. His use of orchestral instruments represents
a marked advance on that of C.P.E. Bach, and certainly very
materially helped Mozart.
Of Mozart we probably all know something. Born at Salzburg,
in 1756, his was a short life, for he died in 1791. We know
of his great precocity; his first compositions were published
when he was six years old, at which age he was already playing
in concerts with his eleven-year old sister, and was made much
of by the titled people before whom he played. The rest of
his life is one continual chronicle of concerts given all over
Europe, interrupted at intervals by scarlet fever, smallpox,
and other illnesses, until the last one, typhoid fever, caused
his death. During his stay in Italy he wrote many operas in
the flowery Italian style which, luckily, have never been
revived to tarnish his name.
His first works worthy of mention are the clavier concertos and
several symphonies and quartets, which date from about 1777. His
first important opera is "Idomeneo, King of Crete," written for
the Munich opera. In this he adopts the principles of Gluck,
thus breaking away from the wretched style of the Italian
opera of the period, although the work itself was written in
Italian. His next opera was in German, "Die Entfuehrung aus
dem Serail," and was given with great success at Vienna, in
1782. It was followed by "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Juan,"
and the "Magic Flute."
The story of his death is well known. A stranger, who turned
out to be the steward of Count Walsegg, came to him and
ordered a requiem, which was played in 1793 as Walsegg's own
composition. Mozart thought the man a messenger from the other
world. He died before he completed the work. So great was his
poverty that it was difficult to get a priest to attend him,
and a physician who was summoned would come only after the play
he was attending was ended. He had a "third class" funeral,
and as a fierce storm was raging, no one accompanied the body
to the grave. His widow gave a concert, and with the help of the
Emperor money enough was raised to pay the outstanding debts.
It is difficult to give an adequate idea of Mozart's works. He
possessed a certain simple charm of expression which,
in its directness, has an element of pathos lacking in the
comparatively jolly light-heartedness of Haydn. German opera
profited much from his practically adopting the art principles
of Gluck, although it must be confessed that this change in
style may have been simply a phase of his own individual art
development. His later symphonies and operas show us the man
at his best. His piano works and early operas show the effect
of the "virtuoso" style, with all its empty concessions to
technical display and commonplace, ear-catching melody.
[15] At that time the harpsichord player was a very important
member of an orchestra, as he accompanied the recitative
from figured bass and was practically the conductor. On
one occasion when the harpsichordist was absent Haendel
took his place with so much success that it paved the
way for a hearing of his operas.
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 art of sounds to move in sympathy with our feelings.
I have no wish to go into detailed analysis of the subject;
but a superficial survey of it may clear up certain points with
regard to the potency of music that we are too often willing
to refer back to the mere pleasing physical sensations of sound.
Some consideration of this subject may enable us to understand