New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-14

point of development where 1t can 20
no further alone. but demands the help
of another art to complete Its utterance.
Verse has been ennobled and refined until it almost
melts into music; Beethoven In his Choral SYM
phony attained height where the resources Of the
orchestra failed him and he had TO invoke the aid Of
the poet Following out this principle, Wagner
reached the conclusion that the ideal musical drama
was one in which poet and composer should work
together by single impulse toward the expression
Of one identical emotion. Verse and melody would
then surrender each Of its exclusive
cllims for the sake Of the greater effect to
be produced by their perfect combination.
Thus he was led by degrees to abandon
The SGT aria and the formal rectative altogether and
substitute for them Kind Of y" continuous melody"
which lent itself readily to the expression of the
most varied and rapidly changing emotions. Every
Chought, we may say every word, came to have it's
appropriate musical phrase; every prominent idea
"a the drama was distinguished by its own success
ION of musical sounds, called the 'lealing motive"
generally heard in the orchestra and repeated fire.
quenty the idea REQUIRED; aud these motives
.nd phrases were continually elaborated and COM
Jined in the most beautiful and ingenious ways In
word, Wagner turned into the opera the tull rich
stream oil the music of Beethoven; aud what he
ays OF the construction of this masters symphonies
nay be said with eqnal truth of construction of
lis own operas: THE entirely new result of this
method was the development Of melody by the most
perfect elaboration of all the motives contained in
t,with great and lasting musical work which was,
IN fine, nothing else but one single closely con-
ected melody In this greater melody the con-
ventional tune" entirely disappeared; the set
,cena and cabaIetta, the ordinary operatio
ria with its introduction, andsnte, and al
egro in regular sequence, the aria di
fha
principal vocasts in turn, the rectativo which
Tiled the intervals between the tunes the duet aud
he noisy finale all swept away together. The
"contInu lus melody" was bound by rules, but
followed freely the poetic impulse OF the poet Yet
t is the commonest of mistakes to charge Wagner
with despising melody. Far from that, he asserts
that music exist withoutit and he extends it
,ver tho whole work, whereas In the conventional
b. alian opera only few tunes are melodous, and
,etween these lie dry and dreadful deserts. He
wrote in his Letter to French Frend"; '' In tho
reiterated cries of superficial musical amateurs
or Melody Melody! find the confirmation that
tbey derive their idea of melody from musical works
in which, side by side with melody there Is sus-
aimed tuneessness serving a background for the
melody they talk of. In Italy the opera served to
ring people together who wished TO be amused OF
IN evenings part of their amusement consisted IN
the music to be heard on the stage, which was now
|. md then listened to when the talk faggedj during
The conversation and the visits from box to oOx the
music continued, with the object which character
yes il at state dinnersto encourage by IT'S noise
-,mid conversation MuBic performed tor such ends
and for such conversation fills the main part OF an
italian operate while the music that Is properly
listened TO forms perhaps the twelfth part Of it. An
Italian opera must contain at least one air that peo-
Die carero listen to if it is to be successful, inter-
int
east six tmes but a composer who is able to
x the attention of his audience for q
whole dozen of times is praised as an in
,xhansti bic melodc genius" How vastly SUI
peror to this alienation OF barren sound and
ar-tIckling but unmeaning tunes Is the large mel
ody which comprises the whole dramstic-mu-
cal piece" hardly needs demonstration. Wagner
describes this Large melody" by striking meta
phor Its effect upon the listener Is like the im-
preston made upon traveller who leaves the busy
| town behind him and enters the woods OF hne
| summer night. He hears, rs 10 were with new
enses the mutitud nous voices Of the forest Null
| tiplied, they gain strange power; louder and
| ouder they grow ; and however many voices or
eparate songs he hears the overpowering clear
swelling sound appears as the one great forest
melody This melody will never cease to haunt
MIN: but repeat il or hum it he cannot; TO hear -
,gain he must return to the woods on Summer
night Would it not be folly. If he were to catch
sweet woodbrd. TO train 1T at home to whistle
a fragment of that great forest-melody And
what would he hear if he succeeded (which
melody r
MS TEXTS.
In the DEVELOPMENT of these musical theories
Wagner went on from great to greater things, Tha
plan was all clear IN his brain by the time no
reached Tristam:" but every succeeding work
| If we set aside the exceptional comic opera OF
Die Meisterslnger " in nobler vein tnan ita
immediate predecessor and the finale OF the y" Got
terdammerung" was not only the stupendous c-
max of the grand progressions of the trogy. but 10
| marked the highest level his genius had reached
With regard TO his texts the case is not 30 clear
| Heroic themes exercise O more and moro powerful
fascination his muse but IN his later writings
| a tendency toward the freedom and sensuality OF
| The old semi barbaric legends is too marked
to be overlooked Nothing could be moro
| innocent or more idvllic than the poem OF
q" The Flying DutchmaD." In " Tannbauser," II 10
were played according TO tue stage directions there
would be something TO offend. but the chief IDEA Oh
The story is so beautiful and refined that this
| blemish may be forgotten. "Lohengrin," which
| came next Is a spotess embodiment Of romancej
and in The Mastersingers of Nuremberg" we deal
with pnre themes aud lovely characters In
!. Tristan" however, a coarser passion burns and
IN the riogy the gross gods and incestuous heroines
would fill us with disgust If the genius OF the mus-
clan did not disguise the license OF the poet There
"a one scene in Siegfried" where even this iluslon
fails The text of Parsfa" has been severely con-
| demned. and it does indeed present some horrible
contrasts between adoring knights of the Grail and
| dishevelled and dancing wantonsI butthe character
OF this dangerous drama depends in great measure
| ,non. the manner r. 'ho f-eatIDeDt.
HIS ORCHESTRA.
Violent as have been the quarres over Wagners
theories of the OPERA there is practically no dis
nnte among musicians abont his extraordinary mas
tery of the orchestra. NJ. Lavox, in his Hlstoire
/ 7, pI,otrup,entotiol,r though he hated Wgsner