New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-01

Russian composers The rhapsody is the seventh
of his numbered works which have been published
1t was preceded by four songs, Cop. i. a suite IN
the form OF variations for violin and pfanoIorpe
Top p two part songs for mixed voices (op. 81,
Fete vfllageose' fer orchestra COP. %. two string
quartets Top. and 81; it has been followed by a
symphony Top. s.. four songs Top. 81 and sonata
for pianoforte. II Mr.. SafonoR who recon-
mended the score to Mr.. Altschuler, and by SO DO
ing he presented a timely and interesting subject
all observers of the two tendencies which
instrumental music is following at the beginning OF
the twentieth century.
The tendency represented by the young reVola-
tionaries Of Germany and the professed followers
of Cesar Franck in France Eve fancy he wouId
disown many of them he alive to-day TO see
the crimes committed in his namel need not con-
cern US to-day. In commenting upon it a fortnight
ago brought it into juxtaposltion with the other
tendency, which always has voIuninous expression
when Russian composers come to the fore. 1t is
the tendency which seeks emotional content in
the songs OF the peope-songs Of the folk, by the
folk, for the folk Folksong furnishes the lie
blood OF Russian music and the characteristics of
Russian foksong have been descanted voluni-
nously in the columns Of this journal Until this
new composer came forward with the composition
before us, however, mine of melody had been
left Unexplored Jewish secular songs have existed
separate entity in the midst of the mass OF
characteristic Russian song in Russia just as the
synagogal songs have retained their idiom the
world over, modified and blghted only by the in
reformed Judaism The existence of characteristic
Hebrew elements in the traditional songs even of
the synagogue has been denied by Jewish mI-
sicians.
In lecture delivered before the Jewish Historical
and Literary Society OF Berlin in 1897 Professor Emil
Bresauer argued strenuousy against the accept
of any theory which accounted for the physog-
nomy of the traditional synagogal chant on the
ground that the ntervallic peculiarites and the
profuse ornamentation of the melodies were He
howe
were extremely fimsy, and though he would doubt
less have found confirmation of his chief conten-
ton in Zolotaryefs rhapsody that composition, as
a matter OF fact. utterly confutes him. Breslauer
holds that the fact that the scale employed by
many Of the synagogal melodies is to be met with
in the melodies of a number Of oriental peoples.
and that modern musicians have written melodies
which sound like synagoga1 melodies is proof that
these peculiarities not original with the Jews.
The ford passages to which meaningless vowels
are sung in chants. as well the scale in which
many Of theschants written were derived, he
thinks from the gypsies-the Intinerant musicians
Of all Europe Leyerbeer. he says, in some Of his
work, Rubinstein ii his "Maccabees,' and Gold
mark in his Queen Of sheba,'' have written melc-
dies which have been mistaken for synagogaI
chants SO they have. But Neyerbeer, Rubinstein
and Goldmark are Jews, to whom the idiom made
something like q native appeal. A tendency tow
ard Oriental forms Of expression was natural
to them and they handled them well when they
found them fitting as Rubinstein in his Jewish
opera and Goldrnark IN his The principal inter
vaIlc popularity in the melodies which zolotaryefT
employs IN his rhapsody and which It IS to be
assumed he copied from the secular songs Of the
Russian Jews, is the presence OF augmented
second (or superfuous second. as Engel calls it,,
in the scale in which the melodies are based. Its
effect NAV be observed in The first theme Of the
rhapsody which begins as follows;