The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-05-14

ing ouicksand of light and motion. This
was as near, the lecturer said, as she
could translate the rhythm and time, the
fluidity and motion of his music into
-wordsi Then after a brief review of
his works. Mrs. Rivers took up DeBussy's
chief opera, "Pelleas and Melissande." Re-
gun at 27, finished and presented at 40
(seven years ago. at the Opera Comique
in Paris. The opera is based on Maui
rice Maeterlinke's drama Of the same
name, the story of which the lecturer
told. A pitiful mistful little tale enough
it is. too. Tragic, doom filled, yet simple
and natural, too. 1t makes one ready to
say with ~Pelleas' grandfather: IF I
were God I would pity the souls of
men,"
The lecturer went on to speak of her
love of water-the sea, the broad river,
the running brook-and how this one thing
drew her to DeBussy and Masterlnk. OF
how water-set "Pelleas" was! Melissande
was found beside well; she plays out
her tragic part in a tiny sea girt Island,
where even if the day was fair and the
sea smooth to glossiness, there was a
billowy swell, the heart beat OF sleep
ing giant who might be reused any sec
ond to destruction. And where the sea
was oftenest leaden, lava colored, cold.
dark, ashen, misty. And even at night
she could hear it always Tipping at the
rocks-a heaving moaning thing >of jet,
Each act notes set.
The fountain of the blind man, the sea
grotto; even her dying eyes must rest
on the pallid bay, where the fiery ball of
the sun sank to cool its hot heart! Water,
q wonderful element, fulr of life, motion,
sparkle, energy-fiuid, mercurial-but with
the power that can turn dynamos and
wreck coasts and feets-so hidden under
sparkle and beauty that you do not realize
it. She called DeBussy sensitized rec
ord, of the beauties and mysteries of ma
turei Said he was a careful, scientific
student of her beauties. A tireless, ac-
curate. enthusiastic analyst of her meth
DDS: therefore q person who, when he
speaks, speaks with authority. Mrs.
Rivers advocates the study of nature at
close range or how much one can learn
from a little brook; how the very witch
cry of motion is In its swirling, sliding
flow Now it steals affrighted under great
dark hills, where frowning lodges darken
its waters; now slips over slabs of gran
lite covered with hieroglyphic tracerie of
snail and worm, perrywinkle. water bug
and moss; now darkles underneath such
a wilderness of forest green, such multi
tudinous multiplicity of foliage and
shadowy chickering's, that any little simple
waterway would lose its, head and slide
and shoot and leap to safety in the sandy.
pebbly open, where 1t could flash in the
sun and feel the hoofs of cattle and SHIN
mer and CLEAN and sparkle after its own
tricksy, whimsic caprice-every wagon rut
in its border excuse for a half-inch of
silver cascadingl A ripple for every rock,
a myriad etchings on every wave, rain
bow simmer for every sunbeam, dane
ing delight to the eye. A lullaby to the
senses, peace to the soul, a crystal witch,
a mountain brook And a man who loves
to study such, and has trained his soul to
hear the brooks many-lipped confession
of the God that was its source, does not
have to go, a la Strauss, hunting around
in the garbage cans of the past. and
bring therefrom foul-soul Salome to
REAR her obscenities before a new gener-
ation DeBussy's soul is clean and aris-
tocratic.