The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-09

u interesting heFo u H.
/. Persuasion addressed 10 friends that
they Withhold him from the journey.
?. A representation OF the various casual
ties which may happen TO him In foreign
country.
3. A general lamentation by friends.
4. The friends, seeing 1t cannot be other
wise, come 10 take leave.
5. Aria oil Postiglione.
And as DR.. Spitta adds with solemn
humor, when the carriage has driven on
and the composer il left alone he takes
advantage OF his solitude TO write double
fugue on the post horn CALL
Sebastian Bach was unquestionably the
greatest master Of music. but he did not
in this composition grasp the true CON
ception Of programme music. With all
due Difference TO him, he could not com
pose persuasion. Persuasion Ia not an
emotion nor a mood. It Is an argumenta-
tive or pleading operation and den 1nds
the definite phTaseology Of words.
Neither could Bach represent on a claw"
chord the casualties which might happen
to a person travelling in a foreign land
Not even Bach could write music descrip-
tive Of an overcharge on a Swiss hotel bill
or the act Of missing q train from Paris for
Havre.
The general lamentation, however, IL
quite within the province Of music, and 1t
may be recorded that the parts Of this
caprice preceding the fugue are plaintive
and touching. and the use Of the old fash
toned agremens gives the music peculiarly
gentle and naive character.
The fugue IL most delightful, but II Bach
wrote II for consolation in his deserted
state it can be said Of him without reserve
that he was one Of the most successful
dissemblers Of modern times. This fugue
is perfectly jubilant and filled with quaint
and infectious humor.
One could swear that as Bach listened
TO the echoes Of the post horn floating back
along the highway, he sang under his
breath, 'Blest be the tie that binds mot,
and then sat down and indited this same
fugue.
After ALL however, the point to be made
is that these early writers Of programme
music we're simple and unpretentous In
their aims. That they mistook the true
possibilities Of programme music almost
goes without saying. They evidently gave
the subject little or no thought. They APP
pear to have had no theories to PROFOUND,
no propaganda to make.
They simply wrote according to their
fancies, and they never paused 10 consider
whether they we're transcending the bounds
OF their art or not. When one comes to
listen TO the music, the vast discrepancy be-
tween the descriptive titles and the char
acter OF the composition Is almost comical
Yet after all they were only doing in their
= - 4 1,fV 10 NhaiWa
They we're putting titles over music and
inviting hearers to imagine the rest.
When they did as we'll as Kuhnau In
adhering 10 the true field Of musical eI-
preston, no fault could be found with
them. When they went as far astray as
Bach did in this caprice, we can censure
them only for their lack Of serious con-
sideration Of what they were doing. Surely
Bach was well aware that he was not pen
ming one Of his masterpieces when he wrote
the caprice. Taking it az music pure and
simple. It Il captivating. But one would
never suspect that such an elaborate pro-
gramme lay behind IL.
Cannot the same thing be said Of most
Of the pro gramme music Of to-dayi
We have been treated to a generous
quantity Of piano playing Of late. We have
had piAnists neurotic, phlegmatic, erratio
and dogmatic. We have had honorable
expounders Of Beethoven and disbonorable
FOUNDERS Of Bach. We have had ambitious
experimentalists staggering about In the
mystic domain Of Brahms, and complacent
hum-drummers pecking at the surface Of
Sohumann. Sometimes, too, we have lis
tened to masterful interpreters, but these
are few and far between.
As we listen to all these sorts and con-
ditions Of players, we must be impressed
by certain indisputable facts. Il Is queer
indeed that 90 few pianists comprehend
the vital Importance Of clarity. There Is no
such thing as music in these days without
rhythm. The life Of modern composition
is rhythm. You can get along With a
supply Of it In Palestrina, but not
in Bach or any Of his children. Least Of all
oan you do without it in the dramatic com.
positions Of Beethoven and his descendants
In art.
Yet It h common to hear players who
misplace their accents and who
alter the duration OF the notes. To play
a sixteenth note where Beethoven wrote an
eighth IL to misrspresent a masterpiece
In what may be q very important detail.
To accentuate incorrectly Il to falsify. !
Yet II IL not uncomm on to hear even great
pianists do such things. As for the second !
class performers, they are continually dis
torting rhythms. Sometimes 1t IA from
Ignorance. sometimes from oarelessness and |
again simply from technical inability TO
play the thing rightly.
One OF the chief causes Of want Of clarity |
Ia bad pedAlling. The overuse OF the |
loud pedal Is the thing that works most
Of the evil, When the hampers are raised |
The vibrations Of the strings are unchecked |
and the ear Ia confused by hearing several |
tones at once that should not be 20 heard.
The results are bad enough when the COM
position holds for some time 70 one har- |
nonio combination, but when there are |
frequent changes Of harmony or a total |
,hsnge OF key the damage Is inestimable,
II seems almost incredible, but Il IL a
TACT, that some professional pianists do not /
AXE care in rapid SUGGESTIONS Of chords
Dr. passages In which the harmony il con-
.inually changing 10 take the pedal after
he change, dropping the hampers for a
traction OF a second just before each change.
There Ia no mystery about the effect Of the
oedals. Any one can ascertain Il for him