The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-09-23

Composers and Doctors on the suhieet.
IRON ire Figaro.
"I would give the world" said the Empires,
Catherine ITO be able TO appreciate and love
music, but I try in vain. For me IL is noise and
nothing but noise"
To what must we attribute the absence Of the
ear for music In certain people7 Does this gap
belong to an intellectual order or TO a purely
physical order7 And is there any way 20 make
people who have not the natural instinct ap-
preciate music
The great EmStsss Of Russia woulo fatf .~A
self in very good company II around her aug. =
person she assembled In the Kingdom Of the
dead all the celebrities who like herself did not
appreciate music. She might form a very re-
spectacle court, with all the warriors, poets,
philosophers. litternteurs, and artists Of all
kinds. including even musicians, who under.
stood nothing whatever Of the beauties Of tlas
art which exercised such q powerful influence
upon the soul of Alfred de Musset, who wrote;
lis music that made me believe In God.
Among the literary celebrities whose " melo-
phobis" was notorious we might cite Beaumar-
chais, who wrote the famous phrase. " The stun
that isn't worth writing is good enough to sing:'
7 heophile Gautier, who said that !" Of all noises,
mu sic was the dearcst;" Fontenclla, the author
Of Senate. que me veux-tu2" who used to
say that there were three things In this world
that he could never understand. namely. gam
bling. women, and music; and finally the ami
able poet, La Fontaine.
Napoleon I. hardly loved anything in hsr,
mony, except, perhaps, the roar Of artillery,
Music. he said, troubled his nerves. Nevcrthe-
less. like . practical man. he understood the
advantages TO be derived from 1t from a mili-
tary point of view. Consequently he gave ore
every day In front Of the hospitals TO soothe and
encourage the wounded.
cu TIspG anG Victor 'ta; S1 HuSo, in m the pride Tdtn q r the po oet
had 70 be coaxed by, the composer who desired to
put his lines IN music. Are not my verses. n
without the assistance 81 disagreeable noise !"
But 4 will be interesting for our readersto
have the opinions OF able musicians aud medi-
cal men. and here are some of them:
81 am convinced that by means of rational
eHofi m a ssG,aso oF t ana . sspS o 8 be p cured and
the musical sentiment developed. at least In .
MISUNDERSTANDING"
1.-THE case OF Catherine II. was beyond q doubt
absolutely OF the intellectual order. The ABB
Is Generally believed or admitted by these Who
suffer from 1t. believe that 1t is incurahle. hes
S Ssp Is. t9 Srs sGns ana the 81 heart cart a than s,y sa the e US even %"c q,
the ears. AL. n.D BRUEEAU."
"The suditive faculty. does not exist in tho
sams dssSS as on la m ml, in% WIKI men Of f. Superior e. ls 9 iGe
telligencc who have absolutely no musical sense
whatever; and on the other hand, many very
e"eS eS D NASN's bAhNe 'A
Before / became known as a composer was
1 met with very few Indeed who displayed a
there were some who were not totally void OF
the musical Instinct, but each one OF them ap:
only one side OF it. For some ali music was con-
tanned In melody; others liked Its rhythm; but
s ssSei fsws 81 . e all .ou tSIs Iss Ssrm N the and si% ,hs
orchestral combinations. But as q rule the
en sTRs4st 81 NJ Z CAME aTs ss TO- ESs t oonoiu.ion tina. few
people possess tho necessary aptitudes TO hnd in
music a truly artistic enjoyment: -. ,ns,,,,-
uals upon whom music has more or less infiu-
ence. In the first place there are those who like
who pretend to like It. those who think they like
It, those who wouldn't ask anything better than
who dislike II, and finally those who decry it.
As we see. variety Is not wanting in the category.
Gus than one might Imagine. Who catch in music
only the words that are sung. Here upon this
Pills. I quote him literally: 'Ths opera 'hape I
like best is Faust" because l understand its
music, For instance. remember perfectly his
Ii youdrnis bieS ssyoiI Guel stsit &c jenns homms.
But said /, that's not an air; it's all one
"'That's quite possible said he, but whats
discover such 4 note as that
1T is the innumerablc Emergencies In tho
regard to musical works TO those Extraordinary
and ridiculous opinions OF which we find some-
times curious Iamples,e even among the pro-
spect, would be very much embarrassed IL they
were asked to hum tho air. All! vous dirai-ie.
But, you will ask me-. who are the harry
ones to whom music reveals itself
1n as s%s'lFe II t 1ns q to wSEm my i aE GiTss eS %itRRSss
hs ssiii ts + tia. they are the composer; and
they love best Is their own. "cH. LEcooo."
One may dislike music for two reasons.
First comes the physical reason; Everybody
bear music. One day he took it into his head to
one car with wax. and then music 10 him
that the two ears OF tho unfortunate man were
not constructed In the same manner. ! believe
!" But tho other and the more frequent cause 10
a purely intellectual order. And here tho
to include them all; There is no disputinS
.aStes and colors There are many highly in;
Of the most luminous. pages OF The
and there ARE others who, on the con-
which nobody. and especially the au,h mn' cyer
dreamed of. Among the same people we find
,oms WHO cant endure the readi9g q a page
eek above all things the subject, &c. In tho
mort TO reclaim those who BY instinct dislike
hem endure II, and that can't pass for a genu-
"By way of conclusion I will add that within
ourselves. all OF us, there sleeps a chord which
s awakened only under certain influences ot
music, poetry, and art. And. just as no two
aces are idsntieslly alike in individuals, the
t ! Is sOaRsasS. thing is to listen e lhs 29,s Wien
There arc some people who catch sounds
but render them falsely. The reason
or this Is that their voice responds poorly 10
heir will In such cases there is patient work
2 De done both by the professor and the pupil.
eTVals and distances, and gradually bring tho
ebeliions vocal organ TO nexibility. To sing ia
'etual correlation between the two organs, tho
az and the vocal chords.
But II the auditive sense Is defective, Il II
difficult, IL not impossible. 70 cure il. ltit
defect In perception, Just as in the CASE -
isiOn, such Is my humble answer 10 the in
eresting question OF the Ftgdro,
THE number OF people for whom music -
merely noise Is far more considerable than -
and those who are annicted With ny