Music: An Art and a Language Part 12

Such inexhaustible fancy, such coherence of structure, such subtlety of transformation were unknown in former times, when development was often as lifeless as the perfunctory motions of an automaton.

Beethoven's developments are no mere juggling with tones; they are vast tonal edifices, examples of what the imagination of man controlled by intellect can achieve. Possibly Beethoven's greatest skill as a musical architect was shown in his treatment of the Coda, which became the crowning climax of a movement, a last driving home with all possible eloquence of the message heretofore presented. The end of previous compositions had too often been a mere ceasing to go, a running down, but in Beethoven there is usually a strong objective point towards which everything converges.

Fully conscious as he was of the throbbing human message it was his mission to reveal, we may be sure that Beethoven spared no effort to enhance the expressive capabilities of music as a language. Certain aspects of his style in this respect are strikingly noticeable in every one of his representative works. First, the marvellous rhythmic vitality. Note the absence of the former sing-song rhythm of Haydn; in its stead we hear the heart-beat, now fast, now slow, of a living human being. No longer can the hearer in dreamy apathy beat time with his foot. Second, his use of the fiercest dissonances to express the heights and depths of our stormy human existence. In listening to contemporary works nothing should persuade us more strongly to a sympathetic tolerance, or at any rate to a suspension of judgment, than the fact that many of Beethoven's most individual cries (surely in his case the outward expression of what he heard within, those very outbursts which to-day ring longest in our consciousness) were considered at the time of their creation as the ravings of a mad-man.

Dissonances, both acoustically and psychologically, are a vital principle in music. In no respect was his music more original than in his Promethean boldness in their use. One of his favorite conceptions was that music should strike fire from the soul of man; it was not meant to lull the hearer into a drowsy revery, but to awaken his spiritual consciousness with a shock at times positively galvanic. A third feature is his subtlety in expression, as is shown by the minute indications in which every page of his work abounds. The crescendos, often leading to a sudden drop to pianissimo, the long stretches of hushed suspense, the violent sforzandos on unimportant beats, the plasticity of periodic formation, all these workings of a rich imagination first gave music its place as the supreme art of human expression.

A word must be spoken concerning two forms which we owe to Beethoven's constructive genius. In place of the former nave Minuet, so characteristic of the formal manners of its time, he subst.i.tuted a movement with a characteristic name--the Scherzo, which opened up entirely new possibilities. No mere literary distinction between wit and humor[135] can explain the power of Beethoven's Scherzos; only through his own experience of life can the hearer fathom their secrets. The expression of real humor, akin to that spirit which is found in Cervantes, Swift, Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln, was a genuine contribution of Beethoven. Deep thinkers alone are capable of humor which, to quote a recent writer, is "that faculty of imagination so humane and sympathetic in its nature that it can perceive at the same time serious and jocose things. It can feel the pathos of a scene on life's stage and yet have an eye for the incongruities of the actors. It is imagination, the feel of kinship with the universal human soul." Beethoven's Scherzos are as varied as life itself. Who can forget the boisterous vitality of this movement in the Eroica, which quite sweeps us off our feet, the haunting mystery of the Scherzo of the Fifth Symphony, or listen unmoved to the grim seriousness, alternating with touching pathos, in the Scherzo of the Ninth? Secondly, his conception of the Air and Variations was so different from anything previously known that he may fairly be called its creator. With him variations became poetic transformations, and the notable works in this form of Brahms, Tchaikowsky, Franck and d'Indy are only freer manifestations of Beethoven's method. Upon two last features, his use of t.i.tles and his individualizing of the orchestral instruments, we cannot dwell in detail. Although program music in its literal sense dates back several centuries, Beethoven--far more than was customary before--used external suggestions or incidents, often intimate subjective experiences, as the quickening impulse to his imagination. We know from his own words that, while composing, he generally had some mental picture before him. Very often we are not given the clue to his thoughts, but the t.i.tles, familiar to every one, which he did use, such as the _Heroic_ and _Pastoral_ Symphonies, the _Coriola.n.u.s_ and _Egmont_ Overtures, those to several of the Sonatas, are full of import and show clearly that he was engaged in no mere abstract music making for its own sake.

These works are the point of departure for the significant development of modern music along this path. With Beethoven the orchestra began to a.s.sume its present importance, and the instruments are no longer treated as mere producers of sound and rhythm, but often as living beings. How eloquent is the message of the Horns in the Trio to the Scherzo of the _Heroic_! Berlioz compares the double ba.s.ses in the Fifth Symphony to the gambols of sportive elephants, and instances might be multiplied. But words are futile in describing the wonders of Beethoven. A striking tribute is that of Professor John K. Paine. "In instrumental music Beethoven is pre-eminent, from all points of view, formally, aesthetically and spiritually. Like Shakespeare's, his creations are distinguished by great diversity of character; each is a type by itself. Beethoven is the least of a mannerist of all composers. His compositions are genuine poems, which tell their meaning to the true listener clearly and unmistakably in the language of tones, a language however which cannot be translated into mere words."

[Footnote 135: The derivation of the word is worthy of note; it means moisture, juice, something not dry. Humor is certainly the juice of human nature.]

We are now in a position to approach intelligently, enthusiastically and reverently the mighty works of Beethoven which, though built upon the foundations of Haydn and Mozart, yet take us into an entirely new world of power and fancy. For ill.u.s.trations we select the first movement of the _Third_ or _Heroic_ Symphony; the _Seventh Sonata in D major_ for Pianoforte; the _Fifth Symphony in C minor_ (entire) and the _Coriola.n.u.s_ Overture. In regard to the symphonies it is understood that the emphasis on certain ones and the omission of others implies no ultra-critical att.i.tude. Each of Beethoven's symphonies has its characteristic attributes and each is the work of a genius. But just as in Nature some mountains are more majestic than others, so concerning the nine symphonies we may say that their order of excellence as endorsed by the consensus of mankind would be as follows. The First Symphony is somewhat experimental, composed when Beethoven was working out his technique of expression. It is closely modeled on the style of Haydn and, though showing certain daring touches and though perfectly direct and sincere, is not of marked individuality. In the Second Symphony a long advance is made, for we find numerous traits which are thoroughly distinctive of the genius of Beethoven: the exciting Prelude to the first movement; the heavenly Larghetto, one of the first slow movements of real emotional power; the rollicking Scherzo (note the fantastic touches in the Trio) and the splendor of the last pages of the Finale, which can only be compared to a sunset with its slowly fading colors and its last burst of glory. The general style of the Second Symphony however is that of Haydn and Mozart, though raised to the highest pitch of eloquence. In the Third Symphony the complete Beethoven steps forth. It was his declaration of independence, and in this work, as he himself said, he began a completely new line of activity; it was also his own favorite among the symphonies.[136] Heretofore there had been no such impa.s.sioned utterance as is revealed in the first movement of this Third Symphony and there have been few, if any, to equal it since. The Fourth Symphony is an entrancing work and shows Beethoven's inexhaustible variety of mood; since, save for the "grand manner"

peculiar to all his works, it differs strikingly from the Third and the Fifth. It was composed during the happiest period of Beethoven's life and is related in its whole character to his emotions and aspirations at that time.[137] The slow movement is the most sublime love-song in music. The Fifth Symphony is undoubtedly the most popular of them all, in the true sense of the term.[138] The reason for this verdict is the unparalleled combination in a single work of the emotional intensity found in the first movement, the touching appeal of the slow movement, the mystery, followed by the reckless display of spirit, in the Scherzo and the paean of rejoicing which rings through the Finale. The Sixth or Pastoral, Beethoven's one excursion into the realm of tone-painting based on natural phenomena, is of interest more as a point of departure for the work of his successors than for its intrinsic message. The conception of the possibilities of musical description has so widened since Beethoven, and the facilities for orchestral color so increased, that this symphony, though it has many characteristic beauties, sounds a bit old-fashioned. The Seventh is one of the most original of them all, incomparable for its rhythmic vitality--the Apotheosis of the Dance, as Wagner called it.[139] If rhythm be the basis of music and of life itself, this symphony is thoroughly alive from start to finish, hence immortal. The Eighth is the embodiment of Beethoven's (possibly) most individual trait--his abounding humor. Never before had symphonic music played such pranks as are found here, especially in the Finale. The Symphony is in fact a prolonged Scherzo[140]--the third movement (a Minuetto) being merely for contrast. The Ninth Symphony, composed in the philosophic period of Beethoven's life, when he was attempting still greater heights, is a vast work, the first three movements purely instrumental, and the Finale, for the first time in symphonic literature, a union of solo voices and chorus with the instrumental forces. The text was taken from Schiller's "Ode to Joy." The spirit of the poem made a strong appeal to Beethoven's humanitarian and democratic aspirations and there is no question of the grandeur of his conception. But it is not carping criticism to say that his thoughts were too heaven-soaring for a perfect realization through any earthly means. Beethoven moreover was seldom happy in writing for the human voice--he thought in terms of the instruments--and it is not to be denied that there are several pa.s.sages in the Finale which consist of mere boisterous shouting. No one save believers in plenary inspiration can give to this Finale the whole-hearted admiration that is paid to the three instrumental movements which are pure gold; especially the seraphic Adagio and the Gargantuan Scherzo with its demoniacal rhythmic energy. To sum up the foregoing estimates, if the student is forced to select and cannot become equally familiar with all of the nine symphonies, a reasonable order of study would be the following: the Fifth, the Third, the Seventh, the Eighth, the Fourth, the Ninth, the Second, the Sixth and the First. See Supplement No. 44.

[Footnote 136: See Beethoven, Kerst-Krehbiel, p. 45.]

[Footnote 137: Read the appropriate essay in _Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies_ by Sir George Grove.]

[Footnote 138: Vox populi, vox Dei.]

[Footnote 139: D'Indy, however, in his _Beethoven_ (p. 61, English translation) dissents from this view; not at all convincingly, it would seem to us. For the basic rhythm of each movement is on a definite dance metre and the theme of the first movement is a regular Irish jig (Beethoven at one time being very much interested in Irish folk-dances) with its typical three final notes, _e.g._

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[Footnote 140: It was written, to use Beethoven's own words, in an "aufgeknopft" (unb.u.t.toned) condition, _i.e._, free, untramelled, rather than straight-laced, swaddled in conventions.]

We shall now make a few comments[141] on the first movement of the _Third_ or _Heroic Symphony_, merely to stimulate the hearer's interest, for the music may be trusted to make its own direct appeal.

After two short, sonorous chords, which summon us to attention, the first theme, allegro con brio, with its elemental, swinging rhythm, is announced by the 'cellos. It is often glibly a.s.serted that these notes of the tonic triad are the whole of the first theme. This is a great misconception, for although the motive in the first four measures is the generative basis for the entire movement, the arresting, dramatic note of the theme is the C-sharp in measure five. This theme in fact is a typical example of Beethoven's broad sweeps of thought; for prolonged with secondary melodic phrases in the first violins and flutes, its real close does not come until the 13th measure, _e.g._

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[Footnote 141: These are based in this work and in all Symphonic compositions on the full orchestral score (in the Peters edition); the student is therefore recommended to adopt this practise. For in Beethoven and all orchestral writers the thought and expression are so integrally bound up with the tone color and idiom of the various instruments that when their works are reduced to another medium much of the eloquence is lost. For those who cannot handle an orchestral score there are adequate arrangements for 2 hands, 4 hands and for 2 pianofortes in several standard editions. Those who have an advanced pianoforte technique should certainly become familiar with the virtuoso-transcriptions of the Beethoven Symphonies by Franz Liszt.]

After a varied repet.i.tion of the first motive of the theme, there occurs a pa.s.sage (measures 23-33)[142] which ill.u.s.trates one of the most characteristic features in all Beethoven's work, _i.e._, those sharp dislocations of the rhythm, indicated by the sforzando accents (_sf_) on beats usually _unaccented_ and often coupled with strong dissonances. Although the basic rhythm is triple, the beats for several measures are in groups of two quarter notes or their equivalent, one half note, _e.g._

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[Footnote 142: It is an excellent practise to number the measures of a score in groups of _10_.]

No longer can we drift along in dreamy apathy; our vitality is quickened as by the gusts of a tornado. There have been those who for the first time in their lives were jarred from the even tenor of their way by these impa.s.sioned onslaughts. When Beethoven's Symphonies were first played in Paris, it is reported that the operatic composer Boieldieu was much disconcerted, because, as he said, he liked "musique qui me berce." The transition (measures 43-81) is a remarkable example of Beethoven's power of creating ever more and more excitement and expectancy. It contains _three_ subsidiary melodic phrases, each of increasing rhythmic animation, _e.g._,

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and fairly whirls us into the beautiful contemplative theme at measure 81. This theme embodies some entrancing modulations into remote keys, and then, after one of Beethoven's typical pa.s.sages of hushed pianissimo (beginning in measure 97) we are led through a series of sforzandos, crescendos and t.i.tanic e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns to the overpowering dissonances in measure 145, which with the tonic chord close the Exposition in the dominant key. The Development (measures 164-396) is extremely long and varied, but a perfect manifestation of spontaneous, organic treatment--each portion growing inevitably from what has preceded and marching irresistibly onward to its objective goal. Every modulatory, rhythmic and polyphonic device is employed to vary and intensify the message; yet, notwithstanding the diversity of the material, we are held spellbound by the directness and coherence of the thought. Such is Beethoven's pa.s.sionate insistence on the right to speak out just what he felt that in one stupendous pa.s.sage (measures 246-277) it seems as if the very Heavens were falling about our heads.

At measure 282 a theme of ideal repose is interpolated--just the contrast needed after the preceding cataclysm. The Development proper is renewed in measure 298 and after a repet.i.tion of the interpolated theme in measures 320-335 the rhythm of the first theme a.s.serts itself in all its majesty, carrying us upward to a veritable table-land of sublimity. From this we are brought down through a series of decrescendo, modulatory chords, like drifting mists, to an almost complete cessation of musical life--nothing but a pianissimo tremolo on the strings. From this hush there floats in upon us the rhythmic motive of the first theme; then, with a _ff_ chord of the dominant, we are suddenly brought back into the sunshine of the main theme, and the Recapitulation has begun. This portion with certain happy changes in modulation--note the beautiful variant on the horn in measures 406-414, _e.g._,

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--preserves the customary emphasis on the main tonality of E-flat major, ending in measures 549-550 with the same dissonances which closed the Exposition. Then are declaimed by the full orchestra those two dramatic outbursts which usher in the Coda and which may be likened to "Stop! Listen! the best is yet to come." The blunt, intentional disjunction of the harmony adds weight to the a.s.sertion, _e.g._

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Here we have a convincing ill.u.s.tration of Beethoven's individual conception that the Coda should be a second and final development; special points of interest and treatment being held in store, so that it becomes a truly crowning piece of eloquence. Observe how the reappearance of the interpolated theme balances the Coda with the Development proper and how the various rhythms of the Exposition are concentrated in the last page. Finally a series of bold, vibrato leaps in the first violins--based on the dominant chord--brings this impa.s.sioned movement to a close.

A lack of s.p.a.ce prevents the inclusion in the Supplement of the rest of the Symphony, but the student is urged to make himself familiar with the three remaining movements: the Marcia Funebre, the Scherzo and the Finale. The Funeral March is justly ranked with that of Chopin in his B-flat minor Sonata and that of Wagner in the last act of the _Gotterdammerung_ as one of the most eloquent in existence, and contains melodies so touching that they could have come only from the very soul of Beethoven. Especially noteworthy is the aspiring melody of the middle, contrasting portion (Maggiore) where the spirit, freed from earthly dross, seems to mount to the skies in a chariot of fire.

The third part, where the minor mode is resumed, abounds in dramatic touches; especially that fugal pa.s.sage, where the ecclesiastical tone, combined with pealing trumpets, brings before us some funeral pageant in a vast, medieval cathedral. The Coda, beginning in A-flat major, with an impressive mood of resignation, ill.u.s.trates at its close a psychological use of programmistic effect; for the first theme, treated as a real person, disintegrates before our very eyes--becoming, as it were, a disembodied spirit. Nothing can show more clearly than this pa.s.sage the widening of the expressive powers of music which we owe to the genius of Beethoven. The same effect with a slightly different dramatic purpose is found at the end of the _Coriola.n.u.s_ Overture.

The Scherzo, allegro vivace, in triple time, but marked _one_ beat a measure = 116 (almost two measures per second!), is unsurpa.s.sed for sustained brilliancy and daring rhythmic changes. It is so idiomatically conceived for orchestra that only the barest idea can be gained from a pianoforte transcription. The prevailing background is a ma.s.s of shimmering strings, marked by Beethoven "_sempre pp e staccato_" and against this stands out a buoyant, folk-song type of melody on the oboe. After some mysterious and fantastic modulations a _ff_ climax is reached which leads to the famous syncopated pa.s.sage where the orchestra seems to hurl itself headlong into s.p.a.ce, _e.g._

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The Trio, with its three hunting horns, gives a fresh, woodland note typifying Beethoven's love of nature. Some mysterious modulations lead us back from the dim recesses of the forest to the sparkling animation of the Scherzo. In this part of the movement Beethoven plays one of his characteristic practical jokes; for, just where we expect the same syncopated effect as before, the time is changed from 3/4 to 2/2, the duration of the measure remaining the same, _e.g._

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This effect may be likened to the uproarious guffaws of a giant. The Coda has a clear reminiscence of the dramatic C-sharp in the main theme of the first movement, _e.g._

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[Footnote 143: D-flat being the enharmonic equivalent of C-sharp.

[Transcriber's Note: The music notation contains a D-flat.]]

Such an organic connection between movements begins to be very frequent in Beethoven's works.

The Finale, Allegro molto, has caused considerable difficulty to the commentators for reasons known only to themselves. Different forms are a.s.signed to it by different critics; one regrets the falling off of inspiration, another a.s.serts that the movement "does not fulfill the requirements which the human mind makes of art; it leaves us confused." Poor Beethoven! But why all this pother? If the inner evidence of the music itself be any justification for structural cla.s.sification, this wonderful, inspired Finale is a series of free Variations[144] on a double theme of which the parts are related to each other as Soprano and Ba.s.s, _e.g._

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[Footnote 144: The variations are not numbered and the demarcations indicated only by certain cadential objective points.]

By beginning the first two variations with the less important of the two melodies (_i.e._, the _ba.s.s_) Beethoven is simply indulging in his fondness for piquing the fancy of the hearer by starting him on a false trail--not giving away, as it were, his real purpose too soon.

Yet from the first announcement of the leading melody in the Third Variation it a.s.sumes increasing importance, through successive appearances in E-flat major, B minor, D major and C major, until after a long fugal development we reach the inspired pa.s.sage (Poco Andante con espressione), _e.g._,

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in which the main theme is stated first in its n.o.ble simplicity and then enhanced by an obligato melody on the oboe. It is one of the most eloquent pa.s.sages in all symphonic literature. At its last appearance the real theme comes fully to its own--for the _first_ time in the _ba.s.s_, that fundamental voice--where it is declaimed _ff_ in gorgeous splendor by all the lower instruments of the orchestra. It is evident that not even the most inspired genius can sustain such a flight for ever, and after this magnificent paean the workings of Beethoven's imagination resemble those of Nature herself. Following a tranquil intermediary pa.s.sage in A-flat major we enter upon one of those long, mysterious periods of hushed suspense which may be compared to a long expanse of open country or to the fading lights on the sea at sunset.

The last page, beginning with the Presto, is sheer orchestral jubilation of the most intoxicating kind. We may picture an enthusiastic gathering, with hats thrown aloft and shouts of triumph ringing from every throat. It is of historical interest to know that the theme of this Finale must have been a favorite with Beethoven, for he had used it in three former works: a _Contre-dance_, as the basis for a set of _Pianoforte Variations_ and in the _Ballet Music to Prometheus_. It may not be too fanciful to trace a dramatic relationship between its use in portraying the daring spirit who first stole fire from Heaven and as the crowning message of a work meant to glorify all heroic endeavor. A thorough familiarity with this movement will repay the student not only as exemplifying Beethoven's freedom of expression but indeed as a point of departure for so many modern works in free variation form. See Supplement No. 45.

To ill.u.s.trate Beethoven's Pianoforte compositions we shall now a.n.a.lyze the _Seventh Sonata in D major_, op. 10, No. 3. Only wholesale hero-worshipers consider all of the thirty-two Sonatas of equal significance. It is true that, taken as a whole, they are a storehouse of creative vitality and that in each there is something, somewhere, which strikes a spark; for everything which Beethoven wrote was stamped with his dominating personality. But the fire of genius burns more steadily in some of the Sonatas than in others. It is the very essence of genius to have its transcendent moments; only mediocrity preserves a dead level. It is therefore no spirit of fault finding which leads us to centre our attention upon those Sonatas which have best stood the test of time and which never fail to convince us of their "raison d'etre": the _Appa.s.sionata_, the _Waldstein_, the _C-sharp minor_, the _Pathetique_, the _Sonata in G major_, op. 14, No. 2, and _all_ the last five, especially the glorious one in _A-flat major_, op. 119. It is futile to deny that some of the early sonatas are experimental and that certain others do not represent Beethoven at his best, being more the result of his constructive power than of an impelling message which had to be expressed. The D major Sonata has been selected for study because, though composed in Beethoven's first period, it is thoroughly characteristic, and because its performance is within the powers of the average intelligent amateur. The full beauty of the later Sonatas can be realized only by great virtuosi who devote to them years of study. The work is in four movements: the first, complete Sonata-form; the second, modified Sonata-form; the third, Three-part; the Finale, a freely treated Rondo-Sonata-form. The first movement, Presto, begins with a vigorous presentation of the main theme which ends in measure 22 with the last of three _ff_ octaves. The unusually long transition, containing a subsidiary theme in B minor, is remarkable for its onrushing excitement and for the playful false leads which usher in the second theme. After a brilliant cadence in the dominant key, one would suppose this theme might be announced in measure 53, but not so; after three measures of cantabile melody, progress is interrupted by a group of descending octave leaps.

A second attempt is now made, this time in A minor, only to be thwarted by a still more capricious octave descent. This time, however, after a dramatic pause, we are rewarded with a clear-cut, periodic melody beginning in measure 66, against which the rhythm of the first theme keeps up a gentle undercurrent. Some interesting modulations develop into a series of descending octaves which, accompanied by _sf_ chords, lead to the closing portion. This brilliant pa.s.sage accentuates the dominant key of the second theme.

After a short tranquillo phrase and some free imitations of the main theme we repeat the Exposition, or go on to the Development ushered in by a bold change to the mediant key of B-flat major. After several appearances of the main theme in the ba.s.s, Beethoven takes a leaf out of D. Scarlatti's book and revels in some crossing of the hands and some wide leaps. The Recapitulation corresponds exactly with the first part until we reach the Coda in measure 298, which affords a striking example of Beethoven's power of climax. After a long period of suspense an imitative treatment of the first theme, with kettle-drum effect in the ba.s.s, leads to a stringendo ascending pa.s.sage which closes with two crashing dissonances and two peculiarly grouped chords, _e.g._

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They have a hard, cutting brilliance all their own and give just the touch of color needed to finish this dazzling movement.[145]

[Footnote 145: By Beethoven everything is carefully planned. Note in performance the contrast of mood suggested by these final chords and the sombre register of the opening chords of the Slow Movement.]

In the Slow Movement, Largo e Mesto, there is a depth of emotion quite unparalleled in the early history of music.[146] Certainly no composer since Bach had uttered such a message. As soon as the movement begins we are convinced that it represents the outpouring of a soul capable of deep meditations upon life and its mysteries, and with the eloquence at its command to impress these thoughts upon the hearer.

The number of themes and their key relationship are those of Sonata-form, but instead of the usual development we have a new contrasting theme of great pathos in the major mode. Observe the poignancy of the dissonances, _e.g._,