Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-30
The Classics Can Only Be Appreci-
ated After Hard Study.
NATIVE TALENT Is NOT ENOUGH.
There Is an Intellectual Door astWell as an
Emotional One.
TALK ON. AN INTERESTING SUBJECT
WRITTEN FOE THE DISPATCH. ]

vine, has suggested the question, i'What is
music?"
Music, in a broad sense, is q means Of ex-
preston, and has been so recognized since
the world began. When the Divine Creator
had finished His marvellous work in framing
the earth with the rock-ribbed granite, and
systematically and symmetrically arranged
the different elements which compose this
wonderful terrestrial sphere, He then Gre
ated life unto life until He tested His
matchless skill by bringing forth man
and placing him as the apex of the
monumental architecture of His own handi-
work. The angels stood in wonderment
and while gazing upon the scene burst forth
in songful expression of praise, honor and
glory to Him who had SO divinely wrought.
Man, in order to express his feelings, has
| adopted o system Of representative char
/ acters This form is termed Language"
and as Milton has said: Language is but
the instrument conveying to us things use
full to be known" Music, which is more or
| less recognized as the language Of the soul,
enters largely into ones social life, and Is
| the oil Of 10y which lubricates the ma
| chinery which produces all the pure actions
and emotions of humanity's daily round
SIMPLE FORMS OF MUSIC
But what is music7 Is 1t the simple mel
ody which floats on the gentle breeze as il
is being waited from almost angelic voices
from yonder meadows, where children are
making merry the glad hours of lifes sunny
days? Is it the sweetly whispered lullaby
which falls from a mothers voice, as her
tender offspring's eyelids close in gentle
and innocent repose2 Is it the lovers voice
penetrating the midnight air, as he sings
beneath the chamber window where his be-
loved lies dreaming, while the cooing dove
responsively' echoes the throbs OF the
lovers heart from its moonlighted
abiding nook? Yes, this is music,
full Of tenderness, full Of sweetness to
the one whose heart is touched, yea,
and infamed with the true sentiment OF
love. And again, wearied with the oppres-
sion of the MONDAY sun and exhausted with
labor, the husbandman sits beneath the
shade of his native oak and sings the songs
he heard in infancy; amid the rugged
heights of the Alps, the pleasant girl chants
the spirit stirring song of her ancestors; the
man of business and the man of intellectual
pursuits, wearied with the exertion of mind
and burden of care, seeks relief around the
family hearth, and forgets while ambition
and tears, under the influence of mnsio.
But is this the highest aim and purpose Of
the musical art, which of all the sister arts
is most divine? No, for music in its more
elevated sphere, requires the operation Of
the intellectual faculties to a high degree
and is not entirely ''the language Of the
emotions" as is commonly asserted.
APPREcIATING THE CLASSICAL.
Why do not people in general appreciate
so called classical music? is a question often
asked; and even among music students or
rather pupils great antipathy to the study
as we'll as practice of classical composition
is often exhibited. The answer Is readily
given by stating that lack of knowledge
concerning the underlying principals of
well-written compositions, renders .
proper estimate of music true value impossi-
BILE. If one desires to become familiar with the
best classical literature he must of necessity
acquire the requisite knowledge Of gram
matical principles and rules of rhetoric.
For instance, a poem like Homer's Iliad
can only be understood by real student Of
literature. Such student can see the unity
of design-that is, one leading and complete
action carried through the work with dis
tinctness and prominence with which the
less important stories or episodes, as they
are called are not allowed to interfere.
So with the student of music, he must be
able to grasp the design and motives of the
composition, without which, the perform
ance becomes more or less o confusion Of
sounds, rather than well planned construo-
tion of tonal beauty. But the one whose
desire it is to become acquainted with the
best which musical science and art affords
need not suppose as he enters the threshold
of the mysterious dwelling of the music of
the classics, that he will be met by grave
and reverend seignors who will inform him
that he who enters here must leave all mirth
and Joy behind; for, in the gallery Of
H. ix-in ha
ceived representing the playful as well as
the tender and soulful; the contented jovial
as we'll the earnest, together with the ro-
mantle the chivalrous, the gentle and sem
timental, the humorous and passionate, the
fanciful and pleasing, the sensational and
astonishing. In word, all of the
PASSIONS, FACULTIES AND EMOTIONS
of the human mind and soul are truthfully
portrayed and awakened by the power of So
called classical. Music" To fathom the
depths and ascertain the scientific bearing
of the well-written composition. one requires
more than a mere knowledge of notation
or even the ability to read readily at sight,
for, be it remembered music Is not only
an art but also science, and he who
would revel in all the delights of the art
divine must enter through the intellectual
door which leads to the inner courts, as
Well Us passing Iuc OutCI 8dJo VI
emotional fancy.
What wonderful scope to the pleasure
which is derived from musicl ALI of tho
passions of the human soul awaken at its
behest. The courage and patriotism in the
breast of the soldier Is aroused on the
battle field; the sorrowful are administered
unto, while unbounded mirth is provoked
by the humorous. 1t stimulates the
feeling of devotion and lifts the
soul into the atmosphere where
angels breathe the breath of celestial wor-
ship. We listen with equal delight, but
different sensibilities, to the rich majestic
and overpowering strain of the king of in
struments, the grand organ, and the soft,
luxuriant and mellow tone Of the flute,
while the violin with It's ethical voice pours
forth its dreamy song as a soft and tender
benediction Of peace and delicious repose
In all its variety of tensity, time and style,
it pleases; for it is harmony and melody
still, and leads the mind willing captive
to its bewitching power.
THE TASTE FOR MUSIC
There is, however, a very common i'm
preston among many persons, even those Of
general culture, that there are music lovers
who, although having had no previous edu-
cation in music, yet possess excellent taste
in the selection and appreciation of musical
compositions of high order. 1t is admitted
that there are those who have acquired by
frequent hearings of meritorious works a
sort of quasi taste for the classics in musical
art, but such persons after all depend large
ly on their natural instincts, which proves
not knowledge of law principles, but re-
fined and. poetical nature which is in itself
simply the bud containing the undeveloped
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