The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-10-28
OF THE MUSICAL EAR.
THOSE WHO POSSESS 1T AND THOSE
VINO DON'T.
A. sno~ Of Ear No Bar to tho Highest Order
Of In,eiigenee-Ibe Opinsons of Com
po,ers and Doctors ON the sufje't.

of the ear for music in certain people!
Does this gap belong to an intellectual
order or to a purely physical orderF Ana
is there any way TO make people VINO
have not the natural instinct appreciate
muslcl
The great Empress OF Russia would
find herself I'm very good company II
around her august person she assembled
in the kingdom OF the dead all the celeb
rifles who Ike herself did not appreciate
music She might form n very Tespecta-
bic court. with all the warriors. poets.
philosophers. literateurs. and artists OF
all kinds. including even musicians, who
understood nothing whatever OF the beau
ties of that art which exercised such a
powerful influence upon the soul OF AL
fred de Musset. who wrote:
IT'S music that made me believe In God.
Among the literary celebrities whose
'melophObia' WAS notorious we might
cite Beaumarchais, who wrote the ia
nous phrase. The stuff that isn't worth
writing Is good enough TO sing" Thco-
phle Gauter, who said that "of all
noises. music was the dearest" Fon-
veux-tO| who used 10 say that there
were three things in this world that he
could never understand. namely. gam
bling, women. and music; and finally the
amiable poet, La FontaIne.
Napoleon J. hardly loved anything IN
harmony except, perhaps the roar OF
artlnery. Music Music, he said, troubled ,, MS
man. he understood the advantages TO
be derived from II from military point
or view. Consequently he gave orders
10 the bands Of different regiments TO
play every day In front Of the hospitals
10 soothe and encourage the wounded.
Napoleon III. tolerated music with
great difficulty. and Victor Hugo. I'm the
pride OF the poet. had to be coaScd by
the composer who desired to put his
lines In music. Are not my verses
he used 10 say, "sufiiCieutIy harmonious
10 stand without the assistance Of disa-
greeable noise"
But it will be interesting for our read
ers 10 have the opinions OF able must
clans and medical men, and here are
come OF them;
II am convinced that by means OF
rational education, assiduous and espec-
tally prccOcious, the imperfcctlons OF nc
ear can be cured and the musical sent-
Inent developed, at least Ia "a certain
''Bourgault- Ducoudray."
"The case OF Catherine II. was beyond
doubt absolutely OF the intellectual order
The absence OF the musical sense Is more
common than is generally believed
or admitted by those who suffer from ~
j believe that II is Incurablc, because the
sensations Of art are given TO us more by
the brain and the heart ,ha1 by me eyes
or the ears. Alfred Bruncau.
"'The auditive faculty does not exist In
the same degree in all individuals, ana
II Is not rarely that one meets with men
OF superior intelligence who have abso-
lutcly no musical sense whatever; and on
the other hand, many very commonplace
minds are marvellousIy gifted in this
matter.
before | became known as a composer
/ was for long time professor OF music
and among the numerous pupils cOnlidcd
20 my care ! met with very Few indeed
who displayed q marked disposition for
this art. Ia the number there were some
who were not totally void of the musical
instinct, but each one Of them appreci-
ated the thing In his own way and grasp
ed only one side OF IT, For some all music
was contained I'm melody, others liked its
rhythm; bat the fewest of all took pleas
uTe In the simultancity of the sounds,
the harmony, and the orchestral Comb-
nations. But as a rule the ensemble OF
the art escaped them.
Therefore | came 10 the conclusion
that few people possess the necessary
aptitudes 70 find in music truly arts
tic enjoyment.
One might form the category of the
individuals upon whom must. has more
or less influence. In the first place there
are those who like every kind of music
After them come those who pretend to
Ike It, those who think they like IT.,
tfose who wouldn't ask anything better
than TO like It, those who are Indifferent
10 II, those who dislike It, and finally
those who decrY II. As we see, variety is
rot wanting in the category There are
also people and tn are more M nerOus
than one might imagine, who catch in
music only the words that are sung.
Here upon this point is the testimony
OF one OF my brilliant pupils. ! quote him
literary: The opera that ] like best is
Faust because understand its music.
For instance, ! remember perfectly this
air land he sangD:
"Je voudrais bien savoir queI etait ce
81 c'ost un grand seEneur ct comment
II Sc nommc
But said |, that's not an air; It's all
one note.
" That's quite possible said he, but
what a charming note it is, Nobody but
Gounod could discover such a note as
that
IT is the innumerablc Emergencies in
the manner OF appreciating music that
give rise in regard to musical works 10
those extraordinary and ridiculous opin-
ions OF which we find sometimes curious
examples. even among the professional
critics some of whom, with great re-
spect would be very much embarrassed
II they were asked 10 hum the air. All!
Vous dirai-ie. mamanT
But, YOU. will ask me, Who are the
happy privileged ones To whom music
reveals itself I'm its entirety. and To whom
II gives complete pleasure: TO this ques-
tion my answer. without hesitation. rs
that they arc the composers; and / will
add also that for the most part the music
"CH. LECOCO."
zone may dislike music for two rea-
sons. First comes the physical reason.
Everybody knows the story of the doc
tor who could not bear music. one day
he took II into his head to fiji one ear
with wax. and then music to him was
clear that the two ears of the unfOr-
tunate man We're not constructed In the
same manner. | believe the case is very
rare.
"But the other and the more frequent
cause is OF a purely intellectual order
And here the answer may be condensed in
this formula, which seems 10 include
them all There is no disputing tastes
and colors. There are many highly in
talllgent minds that are unable TO un-
derstand anything of the most luminous
pages of the masters, and there are
others who, on the contrary. discover In
tbs most obscure marvels which nobody.
and especially the authoy ever dreamed
OF. Among the same people we find some
who can't endure the reading of a page
OF poetry. There are others. too. who. I'm
. picture seek above all things the b.
ject. &c. In the effort to reclaim those
who by instinct dislike music. all that
can be accomplished is to make them
endure IL. and that can't pass for a
genuine result.
''By way OF conclusion I will add that
within ourselves, all OF us, there sleeps
"A chord which is awakened only under
certain influences Of music. poetry, and
art. And just as no two faces are iden-
tically alike in individuals the scnsi-
bility Of that chord is infinitely variable.
The important thing is To listen to the
note when II is sounded .-Marechal
There are some people who catch
sounds precisely but render them falsely
The reason for this II that their voices
respond poorly to their will. In such
cases there Is patient work to be done
both by the professor and the pupil
The latter must study with persistence
ally bring the rebellious vocal organ TO
nexibility. To sing In tune IL is ncces-
sary that there should be a perpetual
correlation between the two organs, the