The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-03-06
m THE WORLD OF MUSIC
yONE CH tRsCTERISTECS az
GERMAN SONG.
WAwmer's ''Tannhaeuser' ana ltS Embsaa.
~ nseue sf alnaesingrF baeals-A Last
vert 90 the subJeet &C Tangled
tAtrp On . Great Opera nouse.

When Marcella Sembnch ainGa Nchu-
nann's -Rra utheder' tho hsarer II con-
s,cioua that there ~ something profound.
intense and p~netrstingly human in the
mtlaic. sonnet hing that for some reason
- =. ~ no; lind ia IN" most graceful
and captivating compositions of the
aseisfic krenchtnen. We ara prone. in
osar customary Careloasness, not to speAk
Of our adOnt'on of ainRer. 10 attribute
70 ala Co the interpreting artist; but in
thls we arr wrong
The intsrpretsr certainly does deserve
our Rratitude for no matter how b~a utiful
and eNpreSsiNe the song. il h as hlank
papsr Ia most Of III unless the interpreter
reveals its secrets Tor us. Ruf there -
something m0rs than this in the cor
sInering spell of the best German songs.
A hint At ito source can be found in the
sTannhauSSr- ~ Wagner
The second act Of this opera presents
a sketch 81 contest in song in the castle
MAlermRnn OF Thuringia. II IL historical
Fact that such contest did take place
there about '7Ot II ~ also pretty well
established that about the same time
Wolfram Won Eschenbach. the author
of the Incompatible poem -Parxival.
was q visitor az the castle. IL in also
fairly. certain that Heinrich Of Otter
dingen. Walther Won der wo9elweice.
Heimar the tlder. Riteroh end some
other noble niinstrels were there
in short the wsgneinn scene is
Afpma eist'p restoration Of an incident
IN the courtly life OF a period when the
founda'iOrs Of German song were heing
nsief The German mihHs~ingern were
the Teutonic cOunterparts OF the trou-
hsdoura 81 France. the nrsN knightly
esiItiVatO-s OF the lyric srt: hut there waa
n striking Differences la the character
~ the products OF the two schools. The
French sin gers Nere the apostles OF the
Toys Of life Their art IVES a by-prOduct
Of a general movement through central
eRROge against the iron rule ~ priest
s4hft The trouhadours. throwing On
tlse eccie~ia=tic yoke. becams the high
ohOriaters OF physicsl beauty and human
love
Their arr was known a. the gay
science and its perfect spirit was
brsnthed in the aspirations Of chivalry
and the solemn decisions OF courts ID
lcve. When the minstrel's art found its
wey into Germany it came into contac,
With the peculiar temper ~ a people
whose activities in the arena Of chivalry
always seemed 20 lack the spontaneity
end ebullience of French and Spanish
achievement.
Ths Gallo soul rejoiced and vas sx
cs~sas!!a9 glad in the exercise 1t the
knightly functions and when the trouba-
slotr sang he sang in the fllne~s 81 10Y;
but the German wore his armor soberly
and amote less with grace than with an
overpOwerinG sense OF his obligations
20 n cods. He sang seriously with his
mind IN q posture Of reverence and his
eyes raised toward the clouds.
He spurnsd not love nor the choral
dnacs. but he approached both with
nrave countsnance. He was burdened
fusr WITH q weighay sense OF moral re-
ppon@ibility. Duty stared him in the
seea from his Gcings forth TO his comingE
IA. and whatever he did or said. there
was no light minded pleasantly in il.
When we examine she mass Of mime
singer song which has come down 90 Us
We find Il perrneated with pious feeling.
The very types in which il was cast were
Differentiated by their variety Of de-
vosioual thought The minnelied itsslf.
the high song Of love. was a breAihing of
worship. while the lay and tho proverb
treated the same feeling in but a differing
form.
Wolfram Won Eschenbach in Tam
hst-er- voices eloquently the true mime
singers attitude toward love. and il 10
worthy Of note that The sentiments which
Wagner here puts into his mouth are very
msucsi like those with which the mediPvsl
post himself opened his great work. par
al Ia a. - -.lT
ing OF the contest in the Wagner drama in
the subject matter Of his song. in the
solemn character of its music we have an
earliest German lyrics.
From such sources the great stream OF
German song began TO flow. and it il no
wonder that ds underlying tone has always
been one ~ deep sincerity. Doubtless
80 s,T,a " l~-S easy 90 discern the perfect
union Of idea and expression in the early
German Iieder for a score OF musica,
Influence interviewed To prevent the
arrival NJ this happy contamination.
The dominance Of ecclesiastir music
lard its iron grip on the earliest songs Of
all Then followed the era of musical
exploration. when the voice Of timorous
experiment united itself With poems
cast IN moulds furnished chiefly by the
ma rtial canticles Of the Reformation:
bua in the course OF time the free growth
Of the foIksOng pushed its way up among
the hothoIlse flowers VI the trained com
p"~er- and the spirit Of the people was
breathsd into artistic song
Listen Ia Bach's -Mein glAubiges
Hrrtzen' and note how the half blurred
ssaIines Of oontrapuntaI architecture are
siMsed with the colors 81 the lyric flowers
cS the field. Then turn to MozArt's -Das
veilchsu| and Sc where the grace 81
Iyric uttsrance rises to the surface and
hoass upon the ancient foundation OF
revsrent sincerity bred in the cloistsrs
OF tho minnelisd.
With the dawn Of the romantic move
went in German pnetry a fresh stimulus
was impaired 10 The development Of the
Maa. Whereas the poetic text had hitherto
walked lin 50 e~tne=s like the night upon
the clearer surfaces 81 life and feeling.
there was nov a continual ~ndeavor 20