The sun., 1902-12-14
The WORKS OF MEYERBEER.
GREAT SITUATIONS PREPARED
AND DESTROYER.
WaEner's lncOntinent Outbreak on III.
daism In Music-Me, ,crbrer sin-'i,
Seeker After Applause - Nine.
Eames's AspiratiOns-- our OrchCstras.

lie indifference TO the only true and righteous
creed Of art. namely, h's, 1T IA mseli loose
In a TRADE against others To Wh, IN popult'
approval had been granted, IA. d wrote that
highly spiced and altogr,hcr intemperate
paper entitled "Da> Judcuthum IN Musk,
his text was that no man of Hebrac origin
had ever done anything noble in musical art
OF course the theories which he advanced
In order to support his proposition were
wholly untenable and II the Hebrew We're
not always superscnstive about attac =
on his racial qualities. lac could well have
afforded 10 read the outbreak with smile.
II did him no harm and :, did Wagner no
good Furthermore thor" are p' rsons who
say that they firmly believe Wagner -
have been, not the -on of the police clerk
of Leipsc. but of Ludwig Geyer, who il on
record as his stepfather. If that be true.
then the blood of Judah was in Wagner 5
veins. and he was a recreant
But IN the essay referred to the com
poser Of -Rienzi," grand opera of the old
school, built on the Meyerbeerian ground
plan and as full of cheap theatrical devices
a. anything the master of the French lyric
stage ever wrote, attacked Meyerheer with
n critical acumen that was rare even in
the polemical works of the Bay euth propa-
gandst He declared that Mryerbeer ad-
dressed himself TO a public whose total
confusion of taste prov ded him with his
opportunity That public had been, 10y
series of downward steps, led aside from
the consideration Of anything i'll the shape
of a genuine dramatic art-work, Public
resorts were crowded with "A society seek
ing simply relief from boredom That
relief could not be found in serious work
of art. because that merely seduced this
society into another form of boredom.
Wagner said -duped into another form"
Now the catering for this deception"
he continued, that famous composer has
made the task of his artistic life. There
lis no object in more closely designating
the artistic means he has expended on the
reaching Of this lifes aim; enough that,
as we may see by the result he knew COM
pletely how to dupe; and more particularly
by taking that jargon which We have al
ready characterized and palming II upon
his audience as the modern pquant utter
ance o. all he trivialities which so often
had been ST before them in all their natural
foollshness. That this composer took
thought also for thrilling situations and
the effective weaving Of emot ional catas-
trophies need astOnish none who know
how necessarily this sort Of thing il wished
by those whose time hangs heavily upon
their hands, nor need any wonder that in
this aim he succeeded. too. if they will but
ponder well the reasons why III such con-
ditions, the whole was bound TO prosper
with him. In fact, this composer pushes
his deception 50 far thar he ends 10y deceiN-
ing himself and, o chance, as purposclv
AZ he decelves h's bored admirers.
Bored admirers" il as good as -mobled
queen. Wagner was cheerful critic
and always said kind things of others. One
can readily discern, however. in this -peci-
men OF his vitupcratiyc style a keen pcr-
ception OF certain artistic truths which
nave nothing in the world 10 do with tho
race or creed Of Jacob Meyerbeer Tho
truth l. that this composer wor-hirped
the great god Success. He was eager for
public applause, and he earnestly studied
the means whereby il could bo gained
His operas show III" greatest skill in plan
ming effects. They are masterpieces Of
stayecraft. Dramati-t, of the spoken
play could learn not a h'tle from studying
these works.
How often do We read of a piccn of in
strumental music, especially symphony
that it was well made" but that il had
no substantial beauty How oxcell.ntlv
this description would fit many of the
works of M'yerb'er Yet it would need
some modification. A. Wagner truth
fully said. TIA" man knew how to introduce
thrilling situations and 10 weave emo, ional
catastrophes s. do Henry Arthur Jones
and Arthur Wing Pinero. Certain orh,r
dramitists, whose names and titles must
Ia rs-prvt.I for u Il
do not.
Meyerbrer- "Le Pruph6'"," which was
revived al the Metropolitan Opera House
on Wednesday night contains several nota-
bile situations AMI, a. for emotional catas-
trophies II contains al least one prcat
enough for Snak"sI "a trian tragedy The
denial Of her motherhood hy Fid.s i'm tb,
cathedral sccno is a maStcrriocc Of dra-
matte power. But for the matter of ihtt
the entire story Of the "ProDhet" il dra-
matte, and some of Ncyrrbncr's music i
of high order
WHY then, do certain observers of lyric
art refuse to accord to this opera a place
among the mastcrworkS Of the stage?
Let W. try in word TO account for this
Take the first act, for instance Fid.s and
bertha mako an appeal. passionate, fearful.
To Oberthdi, the opprcssor What is the
musical trratm ment? A duet in thirds with
ascending scales and n deliberately shaped
cadenza Al the end for no reason i'm the
world, hut to claim the applause of an uu.
THINKING public. The public is asked 10
disregard the text which the two women
are singing. TO forget the emotions under
which they are supposed to be struggling
and To not" simply the casc and briliancy
of their vocal execution, In other words
Meyerbeor prepares through "A whole No,
dramatic situation and then deliberately
destroys il for the sake of an empty musi
cal fashion
In the scene Of the temptation he again
ruins fin" dramatic situation by Welding
To the temptation To- tickle the public ear
win an Ingenious treatment Of four male
voices. Yet IN this scene he gives Us two
OF those inspirations which argue most
powerfully for his claims to greatness
The first IL the superb air. "Ah, mon fills f"
sung by the mother. and tn" second is his
employment in the orchestral acconpani-
ment to Johns relation of his dream or n
strain OF music not heard again till the
scene or Ia" coronation. That touch il
almost - - . A, IL