The Washington herald., 1913-11-02
LYRIC DRAMA Theme
OF MUSICAL CRITIC
II. E. Krehbiel Gives First of a Series
Of Lectures on Develop
meat Of Opera.
DEBT OWED TO GREEKS

Last night in the lecture hall of the
New National Museum H. f. Rrehbiel
gave the first of five lectures on the
Development OF Opera" under the
auspices of the Washington Society Of
Fine Arts
Mr.. Rrehbiel is well known as the
able musical critic OF the New York
Tribune and as the author of several
widely read books on musical subjects
His theme last night was the "origin
and Nature of the Lyric Drama"
Mr.. KrehbieFs lecture was an excur-
sion into the dim misty beginnings of
rhythmic expression. He traced the be-
ginnings Of musical expression from the
crude emotional sounds of primitive
man. He explained physiologically the
emotional quality of tones, and quoted
Herbert Spencer for the theory that our
feelings are muscular stimuli" Man
sang before he spoke, Mr.. Krehblel
boldly asserted, and declared he did not
think Il at all so foolish, as was gen.
orally supposed. that people could sing
their thoughts TO each other. Music. he
said, is the handmade of poetry. and
closely knit up with our inner nature.
That music-that is, rhythmic chant
and words were inseparapfe from the de-
pendence of memory upon rhythm and
Jingle with legend and story, and from
the sanctity attached to the music in the
religious chant. Mr.. Krehbiel said that
in general the greatest vagueness was
exhibited toward the subject OF music; the
most ethereal and influential element of
general culture. The subject either was
regarded as one for sentimental rhapso-
dizing, or as a department of culture that
the ignorant should fiatteringiy preen
himself upon, being Indifferent to. The
cultured Greek. he said would not have
dared to say he knew nothing about
music.
From this point Mr.. Krehbiel traced our
to the Greeks for all our
culture. And from dwelling upon our
general esthetic Indebtedness to the |
Greeks he passed to our particular indebt- |
edness for the lyric drama The Greek |
actors did not declare, but chanted their |
lines. Even the orators delivered their |
orations musically.
At this point Mr. Krehbiel created a
diversion by referring to the oratorical |
discussions now going forward In New /
York and suggested the salutary effect |
Of the Tyre on the oratorical polemics in
that quarter.
The speaker went deep into the myth
illogical festivals of the Greeks. the
festival OF BaccnuS, Oh Dyonlsus, anu
traced step by step. and with convincing
logic, the growth from the earliest be-
ginnings of the Greek musical drama
He showed how Roman culture-or
rather decadence-had been unfriendly
to this form Of Greek culture, and how
lyric drama had lain crushed under the
heel of the barbarian for sixteen CEN
turies; how the Renaissance had helped
to warm to life the lovely corps OF the
Greek drama" and how in the latter
end of the sixteenth century fewt
Florentine musicians, dissatisfied with
polite polyphony," and determined to
music from the contrapun-
lists. had initiated melody. This, the Ital-
an revolt against the scientific intricaces
of polyphony, was the second birth of
he lyric drama.
Mr., Paul Bleyden gave three iilustra-
ions in song, one Greek Ode OF Pin
lar, a Chant from the Koran. and a
Hebrew melody.
The next lecture of the series. on Tn
vention and Development of the Italian
opera" win be given December G.
-------------- L