The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-11-09
BEAUTY OF FORM.
E. s. Kelley on the Scheel
Programme.
Wagner's Satire in His One and
Only Comic Opera Dis
cuSsed.

An audience OF society amateurs listened
with great interest to a lecture given yes erday
afternoon at the residence of Mrs. w. S. Wood,
1920 Clay street. by Edgar 8. Kelley on the
music TO be performed at ScheePs symphony
concert tonight.
In all his recent lectures MIR. Kelley has been
trying to insrll into his hearers an admiration
for the beauty Of musical form. Most people
can grasp the beauties of a tune, but il takes a
higher musical education to admire the form
OF a classical work, and for that reason The
lecturer urged his hearers not TO conclude that
the symphony by August Klugbardt, which
VIII be played tonight, was undressing be-
cause the themes sounded simple and not par
tlcularlY attractive when he played them on
the pianOfOrte. "rhey have no great emo
tiOnal nature, il is true,'' he said, "but you Will
probably derive pleasure from following the
FORM"
In order to make the word form" clearer
the lecturer exhibited a large chart with the
various themes in the sonata form OF compost
tion marked, a, b, etc. These themes, after
being designated, were traced through their
possible developments.
The Spanish and Hungarian numbers from
the suite OF All Nations" by MosZkowssi
were described as being without form. though
BY no means void, Indeed, Mr.. Kelley said that
his hearers need not worry about trying 10 re-
duce them 10 system. They must be regarded
as an example of how pretty music can be
without set form. After MIR. aud Mrs. Kelley
had played them as "A duet the hearers heartily
Endorsed these sentiments.
The real subject of the lecture or, in the
words OF the SPEAKERS chart, the 'main theme"
was Richard Wagner in relation TO his famous
comic opera, The MeistersngeT." II seemed
strange that composer capable OF such sub
lime passages as are found in "LOnengrin" and
"Tannhauser' should write comic opera IN
the ordinary Engllsh-speaking acceptatiOn OF
the term, but Mi. Kelley fastened TO add that
The Meistersingrr" was not the kind OF comic
0pera that contained commonplace platltudes.
Wagners comic opera was full OF romance and
poetry, and was the nearest approach TO
Shakespearean comedy that Germany has ever
produced. In IL the romantic and the poetic
are c0ntrasted with the comic, the vein OF
comedy being sometimes pretty broad.
sketch was given OF Waiter, the knight,
meeting Eva, he goldsmith's daughter. In the
old church at Nuremberg, and falling in love
WI n her. The wordy, precise old Burgomas
Ter, "mastef-slngers," With their cut and dried
IDEAS on music, and their idea that NO one
could compose except By TOIe, were also given
10 word-plc ures and In the musical themes,
wherein Wagner described them. and The
lecturer showed how these ideas were upset
when III the musical compe lition for Eva's
nauo, winch The goldsmith had inaugur ted,
alters emotional 'priZe song' tIiumpbed
over the get musical phrases of his pedantic
| rivals ~
Wagner In this opera hit hard at his musical
detractors. he ridicnled their exaggerated
science ana made Walter the mouthpiece OF
ms own more emotional untrammeled ideas
IDe leadlng themes IN the overture were
| pointed out and played and the lecturer atIer
showing their skiIlful and original develop
ment added: 81 have never NJ auy one who
after hearing tnat overture, denied that Wap.
ner could write counterpoint and fupne ana
everything else" ~