Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-08-31

eAS VI Ao0 Vi yOuuS
-- wife expresses her
longing for the abb
sent one. Our meetings in the
house OF God are accompanied by de-
vouonal songs. Sad and somber mu.
Bic ascends in the house of mourn.
ing, and yet, what relief this music
- to Borrowing hearts! With the
sound Of drum and trumpet and the
clang OF the cymbal the soldier plum.
ges Into the smoke and carnage Of bat.
tie. and even the trained horses dance
and curvet In time with the music
and strain at the reins which restrain
them and learn the meaning of the
different bugle calls. Love, anger. sor.
row. enthusiasm. pain-all the pas
sions and emotions of the human soul
can be-. and are. expressed in mu.
sic
The progress which has been made
In the composition of music and In the
building of musical instruments Of
every kind Is enormous. The print
i've Instruments Of the ancients and
their monotonous music, or the instru.
ments OF barbarous or semi-civilized
people and the intolerable noise which
they call music cannot be compared
/, with the expressive harmony Of our
music or with the multitude of beau.
ful and powerful musical instruments
and IN the execution of musical pieces
our age has doubtless advanced furth.
or than any preceding time. In com.
position. however. in the art Of pro.
ducing musical pieces. the past CEN
fury undoubtedly had greater masters
than the present.
At the opening Of the nineteenth
century the musical leadership. which
Italy had enjoyed for a considerable
period. had passed to Germany, and in
the twentieth century 1t appears as II
Germany would also lose this exalted
position In its turn. for in the field
OF art no nation can long hold the
leadership. Perhaps the Industrial
and commercial development of Ger
many may be one Of the. causes why
the number of its great composers is
Decreasing; for though prosperity is
no obstacle to the enjoyment and Gull
tivation ofiart. yet 1t does not seem to
form specially favorable soil for the
growing masters OF this noble art,
When the nineteenth century
dawned Bach. Haendel and Mozart
had raised German music to a pin
nacle Of glory, and Beethoven and
lection as today. Chamber music has
| Haydn were at the zenith of their
splendid powers, while Liszt, Weber,
kreutzer and Schubert had begun
their immortal careers. Before Bee.
thoven died, Mendelssohn. Schumann
and Wagner had been born. This was
therefore golden age Of. music with
an unexampled array of peerless mas
tiers and unequalled musical works
Comparing the present age with that
glorious time. we are compelled to
admit that today there are no giants
In musical composition. for the three
greatest composers of the present. Ed.
ward Grieg. Anton Dvorak and Rich.
ard Strauss. only the last named a
German. do not reach up to the stand.
ard of the heroic age.
But though there are today no Ger
man composers Of commanding ge-
MUS. yet there has neverIbeen time
when their works were SO highly es-
teemed and produced with such per.
reached the highest stage Of develop
ment in Germany. m
In England also musical education
has reached high degree of perfec-
ton. but England never produced
many composers and none of con-
manding genius. Richard Elgar has,
however. succeeded in meeting with SO
much approval that he Is being .reck.
oned among the great composers. The
majority of British and Irish com.
posers. however, are content to fol-
low in the footsteps of German mas.
ters; the later ones, though following
their own ideals, love to walk abroad
in the mantle of Wagner or Brahms.
France has for three centuries oc.
cupied a prominent place on the mu-
steal stage and her great masters,
Boieldieu. Auber, Herold. Adam and
Chopin offer much that Is, interesting
and valuable. Yet 1t must be ad.
United that here the tendency was
mainly to write for the opera and for
the production Of light and frivolous
music. OF more serious and nobler
character are the modern musical