Music: An Art and a Language Part 22

SONATA FOR VIOLIN AND PIANOFORTE

Of Brahms's three Sonatas for violin and pianoforte, respectively, in D minor, A major and G major, that in A major has been selected to give some idea of his chamber music, on account of the spontaneous appeal of its melodies and because its performance is possible for fairly well equipped executants. In many respects the D minor Sonata is the greatest of the three, but it is a work exceedingly difficult of execution and interpretation. The A major Sonata needs few comments, as the music speaks for itself. The work is in three movements, the first in complete sonata-form with the two customary themes, each of distinct lyric charm and hence eminently suited to the singing qualities of the violin; the second movement a fusion of the two normal middle ones, and the Finale a Rondo, freely treated. The first movement, Allegro amabile, begins with a suave theme, _e.g._,

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the first interval of which, a descending leap from the third to the leading tone, always seems to make a distinct appeal.[265] After the customary transition appears the second theme, announced by the pianoforte in measure 50, _e.g._,

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showing Brahms's fondness for contrasted rhythms--three notes to a beat in one hand against two in the other. After a repet.i.tion by the violin there is a spirited closing theme in measure 75, of great importance later. The Development, one of Brahms's best, manifests real organic growth; there is nothing labored or perfunctory. It is based on the first theme and the closing theme of the Exposition, _e.g._

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[Footnote 265: It is used at the beginning of three other well-known melodies, _e.g._, the slow movement of Beethoven's _Ninth Symphony_, in the middle part of Schumann's _Aufschwung_ and in the first phrase of Wagner's _Preislied_.]

The Reprise beginning in measure 158, shows the usual treatment. The Coda, from measure 219, is long and, like codas of Beethoven, has features of a second development. The movement ends with brilliant arpeggios in the pianoforte against octaves and double stops in the violin. In the second movement, Andante tranquillo, in F major, Brahms fuses[266] together the moods usually a.s.sociated with the slow movement and the scherzo, playing one off against the other; the slow theme appearing three times--at its final appearance with eloquent modulations--and the rapid one twice, with contrast gained the second time through pizzicato effects on the violin. The two themes are as follows:--

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[Footnote 266: This practice he has adopted in several other works and it is also the structural feature in the slow movement of Cesar Franck's D minor Symphony.]

The short, dashing Coda is based on the vivace theme, with sonorous chords on the violin, both pizzicato and arco.

The Finale, Allegretto grazioso, is a convincing example of how such a rigid form as the Older Rondo can be freshened up and revitalized by the hand of a master, for the main theme, _e.g._

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has such genuine melodic life that we always recur to it with pleasure and yet at each appearance it is so deftly varied that no monotony is felt. The two episodes afford stimulating contrasts and need no comment. The main theme at its third appearance is in the subdominant key, with effective rhythmic modifications. The movement is a remarkable ill.u.s.tration of idiomatic style for each of the instruments: the violin part, sustained and cantabile; the pianoforte part, broken up and of remarkable color and sonority. The last page of the Coda, almost exclusively in double stops for the violin, brings a rousing close to a masterpiece.

BALLADE IN G MINOR FOR PIANOFORTE

(SEE SUPPLEMENT NO. 60)

Although the most important factor in Brahms's pianoforte pieces is Brahms himself, a careful examination of his works in this field shows that his style is fashioned from an intelligent, and by no means slavish a.s.similation of important features in the works of his great predecessors. Thus we find the same melodic warmth as in Schubert, the rhythmic vitality and ma.s.sive harmony so prominent in Schumann and the extended arpeggios and chords, the color and richness, peculiar to Chopin. From among the numerous and beautiful compositions of Brahms for solo pianoforte we have selected the Ballade in G minor because it represents a somewhat unusual and hence seldom recognized side of his genius--the specifically dramatic. When a composer calls his piece a Ballade, as in the case of compositions so ent.i.tled by Chopin and Liszt, we may a.s.sume that there is some dramatic or subjective meaning behind the notes; and the hearer is at liberty to give play to his own imagination and to receive the message as something more than music in the ordinary abstract or absolute sense. From the inner evidence of this Ballade of Brahms it seems to the writer[267] not too fanciful to consider it a picture of a knight-errant in medieval times setting out on his adventures. Observe the vigorous swing of the opening theme in that five-measure rhythm so dear to Brahms. But in the middle portion, in the romantic key of B major,[268] the woman appears--perhaps some maiden imprisoned in a tower--and she sings to the knight a song of such sweetness that he would fain forsake duty, battle, everything!

The contrast of opposing wills[269] is dramatically indicated by an interpolation, after the maiden's first appeal, of the martial theme of the knight, as if he felt he should be off instead of lingering, enchanted by her song. Notwithstanding a still more impa.s.sioned repet.i.tion of the song, the Knight is firm, tears himself away and continues on his course; how great the wrench, being clearly indicated by the unusual modulations in measures 72-76. The enchanting song, however, still lingers with him and he dwells with fond regret upon bygone scenes and dreams which were unattainable. In this piece is seen Brahms's aristocratic distinction in the treatment of program music. The subject is portrayed broadly--there are no petty details--and the music itself, to anyone with a sensitive imagination, tells the story clearly. Hence a detailed poetic interpretation is out of place, since only to the suggester would it have meaning.

[Footnote 267: It is to be understood that this is a purely personal interpretation and if any one wishes to consider the piece merely as absolute music with a strong masculine theme in the minor, a lyric melody in the major for the natural contrast, and a coda referring in a general way to the first theme, there is no way to disprove the contention. That Brahms, however, was not entirely averse to out and out programmistic treatment is seen from his two pieces on specific poetic texts, _i.e._, the first number in op. 10 on the _Scottish Ballads of Edward_ and the _Lullaby_ in op. 117 on the Scottish Folk-song _Sleep Soft, My Child_.]

[Footnote 268: The same key that Wagner uses for the end of _Tristan and Isolde_ and Cesar Franck for the gorgeous Finale of the _Prelude, Chorale and Fugue_.]

[Footnote 269: The subject is the same as the story of the Sirens in the _Odyssey_ or of the _Lorelei_ in German Legend.]

So many of Brahms's pianoforte compositions are of great beauty and significance that, although s.p.a.ce is lacking for further comment on definite examples, we urge the music-lover to study the following: the second Intermezzo[270] in B-flat minor of op. 117, perhaps the most beautiful single piece Brahms has written--remarkable for its rhythmic texture and for the equalization of both hands, which was one of his chief contributions to pianoforte style; the second Intermezzo of op.

119, the middle part of which is significant for the extended arpeggio grouping for the left hand (Brahms following Chopin's lead in this respect); the sixth Intermezzo of op. 118, a superb piece for sonority and color; the third Intermezzo in op. 119, (grazioso e giocoso) and the B minor Capriccio op. 76--both in Brahms's happiest vein of exuberant vitality; the sixth Intermezzo in op. 116, a beautiful example, in its polyphonic texture, of modernized Schumann; and, above all, the mighty Rhapsodies in E-flat major, op. 112 No. 4 and the one in G minor op. 79--this latter, one of Brahms's most dramatic conceptions, and an example, as well, of complete sonata-form used for an independent composition.

[Footnote 270: For further comments on the phraseology see _The Rhythm of Modern Music_ by Abdy Williams, pp. 75-77. We may add that the pieces called _Intermezzi_, are generally of a meditative, somber nature; whereas the _Capriccios_ are more sprightly, even whimsical in spirit.]

SONG--_Meine Liebe ist grun wie der Fliederbusch_

(SEE SUPPLEMENT NO. 61)

Whatever Brahms is or is not, he is universally recognized as an inspired song-composer and those who do not know his songs are cut off from one of the greatest joys music has to offer. As Huneker so well says, "Although his topmost peaks are tremendously remote, and glitter and gleam in an atmosphere almost too thin for dwellers of the plains, in his songs he was as simple, as manly, as tender as Robert Burns."

In Brahms's songs we cannot say which is the most significant factor: the words, the vocal part or the accompaniment; all go together to make up a perfect whole. Brahms had discernment in the selection of texts suited to inspire poetic creation. His melodies are always appropriate to the spirit of the words, yet truly lyric and singable, and the accompaniment catches and intensifies every subtle shade of meaning. If any one factor is of special beauty, however, it is the instrumental part; for here Brahms's great genius in pianoforte style came to the fore and in utilizing every resource of the instrument to glorify the spirit of the text, he is a worthy successor of Schubert, Schumann and Franz. Note how in this song the pa.s.sionate glow of the poem is reflected in the gorgeous modulations and sonority of the pianoforte part. Especially remarkable is the interlude between the stanzas, with its wealth of dissonances and waves of flashing color.

After this surely no one can say that Brahms had no feeling for sensuous effect, at any rate on the pianoforte. Other famous songs of Brahms which should be familiar to the student are the following: _Wie Melodien zieht es mir_, _Feldeinsamkeit_, _Minnelied_, _Von ewiger Liebe_, _Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer_, _Sapphische Ode_, _Vergebliches Standchen_. An excellent essay on Brahms as a song composer will be found in the preface to the _Forty Songs of Brahms_ in the Musician's Library (The Oliver Ditson Company).

The foregoing ill.u.s.trations have made clear, we trust, the inspiration and power of Brahms's varied message. His music, therefore, must be approached reverently, sympathetically and with an earnest desire for a better understanding, for Brahms is veritably a giant.

CHAPTER XVII

CeSAR FRANCK

Before an appreciation of the significant works and influence of Cesar Franck can be gained, it is necessary to have a broad historical perspective of what had been the trend and the limitations of French music prior to his career. Since the time of Couperin and Rameau, musical composition in France had been devoted almost exclusively to opera--with its two types of grand opera and opera-comique--and in this field there had been some French musicians of real, though possibly rather slight, genius: Philidor, Mehul, Gretry, Boieldieu, Herold and Auber. One searches in vain through French literature for great symphonies, string-quartets, violin sonatas or pianoforte compositions of significance. Berlioz, as we have seen, had composed a number of orchestral works; but, from the standpoint of absolute music, even these rather beg the question as they are so extremely programmistic, dramatic or even theatric. This one-sided development of French music was chiefly caused by the people's innate fondness for the drama, and by the national genius for acting, mimicry and dancing.

Prior to the advent of Franck there were two important pioneers in the broadening tendency which finally became noticeable, Saint-Saens and Lalo. For great a.s.similative power, for versatility, for clarity of expression and a finish and finesse peculiarly French, Camille Saint-Saens (1835-still living) is certainly one of the most remarkable musicians of the nineteenth century. His works are numerous, always "well-made" and, though lacking in emotional depth, by no means without charm and grace. They comprise ensemble works: trios, etc., several concertos and symphonies and four symphonic poems. Of these, the third concerto for pianoforte, with its Bach-like introduction, the third violin concerto, the two symphonic poems, _Le Rouet d'Omphale_ and _Phaeton_ and, in particular, the third symphony in C minor, still hold their own. Whatever Saint-Saens has to say is well said; and if the French have modified their previous opinion that the only vehicle for musical expression was the opera, it is largely through the influence of his compositions. This C minor symphony, first performed in London in 1886, shares with Lalo's symphony in G minor (1887) the claim to be, in all French literature, the first instrumental work of large scope free from programmistic tendencies.

Saint-Saens[271] and Lalo fairly popularized the Sonata form and their works are worthy of great respect; since, through them, the public became accustomed to symphonic style and was prepared for the subsequent greater works of Franck, d'Indy and Chausson. Although not so versatile as Saint-Saens nor so varied in output, Eduard Lalo (1823-1892) should decidedly not be overlooked. He was of Spanish origin and this racial strain is noticeable in the vivacity of his rhythm, in the piquant individuality of his melodies and in his brilliant and picturesque orchestration. His characteristic work is represented by a series of Concertos and Rhapsodies in which he employs Spanish, Russian and Norwegian themes. He did not escape the French predilection for operatic fame and his best work is probably the well-known opera _Le Roi d'Ys_, from which the dramatic overture is often played separately. His G minor symphony, however, will always be considered an important landmark in the development of French instrumental music.[272]

[Footnote 271: For further comments on the style and influence of Saint-Saens see the essay Mason's _From Grieg to Brahms_; the article by Professor E.B. Hill in the third volume of the _Art of Music_; and, for some pungent and witty remarks, the Program Book of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (edited by Philip Hale) for Nov. 22, 1918.]

[Footnote 272: For a comprehensive and discriminating account of his style see the Boston Symphony Orchestra Program Book, for January 17, 1919.]

Cesar Franck (1822-1890) was a composer of such innate spirituality that to a.n.a.lyze and cla.s.sify him in a formal manner seems well-nigh irreverent. His music once heard is never forgotten, and when thoroughly known is loved for all time. Nor is an elaborate biographical account necessary; for Franck, more than any other modern composer, has been fortunate in that his life and works have been sympathetically presented to the world by a distinguished contemporary, his most famous pupil d'Indy--himself a gifted composer and a man of rare literary powers. His biography of Cesar Franck (in French and in English) should certainly be read by all who would keep abreast of modern tendencies. Franck's message, however, is so remarkable and his style so individual, that a few definite comments may be made concerning the structural features of his work and the essential attributes, thereby expressed, of his inspiring personality.

Franck was a Belgian born at Liege--one of that long line of musicians who, though born elsewhere, have become thoroughly identified with French thought and standards; and there is much in his music which finds a parallel in the literary qualities of another Belgian artist, Maeterlinck, for in both is that same haunting indefiniteness, that same symbolic aspiration. Nothing in Franck is rigid, square-toed; his music is suggestive of a mystic idealism, the full expression of which, from its very nature is unattainable. Franck's outward life was simple, without excitement or diversion of any kind. When he was not giving lessons or composing, he was active in the service of the Roman Catholic Church, in which he was a devout believer. For a number of years he was organist at Sainte Clotilde, and his style thereby was influenced strongly. A distinct note of religious exaltation runs through much of his music; for Franck was a fine character, of spotless purity of life and of such generosity and elevation of soul that his pupils looked upon him as a real father and always called him "Pater Seraphicus." He was universally acknowledged to be the greatest improviser on the organ since Bach himself. Even Liszt, who heard him in 1866, left the church, lost in amazement; evoking the name of the great Sebastian as the only possible comparison.

Franck's services to the development of music are twofold: 1st, as an inspired composer of varied works, which are more and more becoming understood and loved; 2d, as a truly great teacher, among his notable pupils being d'Indy, Chausson, Duparc, Ropartz, and the gifted but short-lived Lekeu. In Franck's music, fully as remarkable as the content--the worthy expression of his poetic nature--is its organic structure. He was the first composer of the French School to use adequately the great forms of symphonic and chamber music which had been worked out hitherto by the Germans: Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, etc. If during the last thirty years, composers of the modern French School have put forth a number of instrumental works of large dimensions (chamber music, symphonies, symphonic poems and pianoforte sonatas), it is to Franck more than to any other man, by reason of his own achievements in these fields and his stimulating influence on others, that this significant fact is due. A striking feature of Franck's music is the individual harmonic scheme, fascinating because so elusive. He was a daring innovator in modulations and in chromatic effect; and has, perhaps, added more genuinely new words to our vocabulary than any one since Wagner. The basis of Franck's harmony is the novel use of the so-called augmented harmonies which, in their derivation, are chromatically altered chords. These are resolved by Franck in a manner remarkably free, and are often submitted to still further chromatic change. In revealing new possibilities he has, in fact, done for these chords what Wagner did for the chord of the ninth. Any page of Franck's music will exemplify this statement, and as an ill.u.s.tration we have cited, in the Supplement, the first part of the Prelude in E major. A life-long student of Bach and Beethoven, Franck believed--as a cardinal principle--that great ideas were not enough; they must be welded together with inexorable logic. And so his chief glory as a musical architect is the free use he makes of such organic forms as the Canon, the Fugue and the Varied Air. Franck was likewise a pioneer in establishing in a sonata or symphony a new conception as to the relationship of the movements. This he effected by the use of what may be called "generative motives" which, announced in the first movement of a work, are found with organic growth, modulatory and rhythmic, in all the succeeding portions. Such a method of gaining unity had been hinted at by Beethoven in his Fifth Symphony, was further developed by Schumann and Liszt and, since the example of Franck, has become a recognized principle in all large cyclic works. The following estimate of his music by F. Baldensperger is worthy of citation. "The contemplative character of Franck's music which explains his entire technique is rare at the epoch in which his life was cast, an epoch of realism, generally inspired by a taste for the picturesque and the dramatic. Posterity will place Cesar Franck in a niche similar to that of Puvis de Chavannes, whose inspiration, indifferent to all worldly solicitations, flowed willingly, like that of Franck, into the paths of reverie, and pursued its way like a beautiful river of quiet waters, undisturbed by waves or rapids, and reflecting the eternal calm of the sky."

As representative works[273] we have chosen, for a.n.a.lytical comments the _D minor Symphony_ (Franck's only work in this field), the _Sonata_ for violin and pianoforte and the _Symphonic Variations_ for pianoforte and orchestra. Franck has also composed a very beautiful Quintet for strings and pianoforte--considered by some the most sublime chamber work of recent times; a String Quartet, notable for its interrelationship of themes and movements; two elaborate compositions for pianoforte solo, the _Prelude, Chorale and Fugue_ (the fugue showing a masterly combination of strict fugal style and free form) and the _Prelude, Aria and Finale_; a wealth of organ works--the three _Chorales_ being of special beauty--and several Symphonic Poems of lesser importance. His purely vocal works, oratorios and church music lie outside the province of this book.

[Footnote 273: On account of the length of these works it is impossible to include any of them in the Supplement.]

The Symphony[274] in D minor is in three movements; the first in complete and elaborate sonata-form, the second a fusion of the two customary middle movements, and the Finale (though fundamentally on a sonata-form basis) an organic summing-up of the chief themes of the entire work. The first movement begins, Lento, with the main theme proper (thesis) the motive[275] of which is the foundation of the whole work, _e.g._

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[Footnote 274: Study, if possible, the orchestral score. For cla.s.s-room work there is an excellent four-hand arrangement by the composer, and one for two hands by Ernest Alder.]

[Footnote 275: This terse phrase is identical with motives from several other works, _e.g._, the beginning of Liszt's _Les Preludes_, the motive "Muss es sein?" in Beethoven's quartet, opus 135, and the Fate motive in Wagner's _Valkyrie_.]

The phraseology of the theme is noticeable for its flexibility; since the first phrase is expanded to five measures and the second phrase (ant.i.thesis), with a descending motive, to seven, _e.g._

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