The Washington times., 1903-07-26
Alas, Poor Wagner
An Estimate of the Great
Germans Popularity Which
Bodies iii for His Music.

DOQ6S Ill IOI HIS FIuSlC.
The aged viola looked at the boy, and
the boy looked at the aged viola. They
poised their instruments and their bows
as the conductor raised his baton. and /
prepared TO play with all their hearts /
and all their souls. The baton descend !
ed. and the aged viola and the boy, re-
calling themselves, took down their in
struments and waited; for the opening 1
OF the mighty overture was not for them. /
1t was for the soft breathing of two
horns. two clarinets. and two bassoons. |
Gently as the first coming of southerly
wind after calm the four instruments
breathed the hyInnal tune. AS 1t reared
the close of it's first strain the aged viola
and the boy made ready again. and pres
emily their instruments, together with
the 'cellos, Joined the wind in the ut
terance OF a passage tense with pain.
This. too, gradually swolled in force
and turmoil. till it was suddenly up
borne upon a strong and pulsatiIe throb-
bing Of all the strings. while the agitated
wind instruments were joined by the
solemn trombones. and now there broke
from the slender threats Of these SARGE
dotal singers the great choral melody of
the overture. Around it the voices of
the violins we've fantastic aerial de-
scant. which. BY It's startling contrast.
acccntuated the dignity Of the song.
Presently that too, sank again into the
whisper OF the softer wind instruments.
while the violins let their writhlng des
cant die away into distant mutter.
Madness SEXES the Orchestra.
Then in the twinkIing Of an eye the
solemn choral was interrupted by the
seoaring voices of tho violas uttering
wild baeehanalian cry. Flutes. oboees.
and clarinets took it up, while victims
quiYered with the new emotion A mad
ness seized upon the whole orchestra.
Instruments pursued one another incon-
tinently up and down steep. mountain
Gus chains Of cleaning tones, then
hurtled downward in chaotic confusion.
crazed jangle OF warning sounds The
very air whirled and seethed with the
tremor Of it all, and the lights burned
garishly along the pasteboard canal
Trombones beloved in the vasty deaps
and trumpets screamed in bIarin5
shrieks along the upper levels The
tympanf ragged ceaseIessly and the cellos
shivered in discordant chromatfcs from
their lowest bass 20 their highest trc-
bic. The world had gone mad with
tonal intoxication: the orgies of all
crazed bacchHntes were as the antics
CT children to such a phantasmagoria OF
perdition as this At length came
great. crashing chord. and out of fits
depths leRpt brilliant triumphal march
Of praise, in which all the singers of
The instrumental chorus joined
Carnival OF Revelry.
But this triumphal march could not
last. Again the fevered carnival OF the
hacchanalian revelry broke forth, and in
its Keeling storm the march staggered
and sank. Suddenly there was a pause.
while violin scared away to upper
air. and then. amid a trembling and
fGttering OF all the strings. a single
clarinet sang a melody so full of loves
most sgonized pleading a wan like that
of the long dead Paulus SileAtiarius
But would that also in my breast
Were quenched the fatal fire
That tort7ires me with long unrest
And wakeful, wild desire.
The bacchanaHan strains returned. but
this time more softly and with less Of
ne in the veins OF the. singers. Again
this thought gave way 20 the triumphal
march. That march acted like hot
liquor on the song. which again burst
into the furiant strains OF the bac-
ehartes The waves of sound leapcd
wildly and the imagination staggered
under the pictures OF tempestuous rev
elry which they painted. But harki
What solemn song is this which comes
again like the hymning os some grave
choir OF cowled priests? II is the mighty
choral with which the work began. and
now IL swells into a majestic pealing
anthem. surrounded by a shimmering
glory Of strings like the Holy Grail H.
lumined from on high: and stridlng i'm
posingly onward in one last glorious
burst OF tone Il rounds the overture to
IdAAaaL tlDsts IKE tue ScAu4 OF great
Amen"
Wagner Music in Heaven.
The aged viola laid down his instru-
niont He drew from his pocket worn
silk handkerchief. He rubbed his eyes
with It, He polished his glasses with it.
He put IL back in his pocket. He made
queer noise several times with his
throat as II he were trying TO swallow
something that wonld not 20 down. He
looked hard at the red lights along ths
edge OF the dark canal and blinked Wig
orously as II they hurt his eyes. Pres
emily he heaved tremulous sigh. shook
his head and murmured:
"Aeh. Colt. how nne It must be 70 be
In heaven nov Wagner is there!"
Are you sure he is there2" asked
the boy.
"Of course he is. How could he help
81 after writing such music?''