New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-02-14

it sounds plausible and has much that
is amiable in sentiment to commend it..
Whether or not it is conclusive as TO
the attitude which music occupied tow
ard the play in Shakespeare's time, or
the attitude which the modern composer
ought TO assume, we shall not attempt
to decide. If we were disposed to enter
into a discussion Of the matter we
might be tempted. for one thing, to
question the consistency Of his con-
duct as we'll as the absolute accuracy
of some of his historical statements.
While condemning it, he has yet pretty
persistently followed the plan OF pro-
viding "a Midsummer Nights Dream"
with music contemporary with the
comedy's birth. unless we are TO as
sumo that by "Elizabethan music orig
inally set TO other words" he means
only melodies known TO have been
composed by musicians of EllZabeth's
time. Here a historical demonstration
would be a very difficult matter indeed.
lie and every other folklorist in music
would be hard put to II TO prove that
the melodies which have been pre-
served in connection with Shake
speare's songs were art products and
therefore entitled TO different treat
ment than the folksong tunes OF the
day. We do not know what tunes on
which Byrd, Bull, Gibbons and other
composers expended their superb skill
were Of their own creation or to what
extent they were taken from the
tongues of the folk. Neither can it be
asserted that they would bear trans
Terrence TO other words less willingly
than the folktunes which were common
property so far as their use for popu-
lar songs were concerned. Neither are
fOlksongs frecr than art songs from re
iteration of words. What category
does the song in the first scene of Act
" OF Loves Labour's Lost" belong?
We do not know; but we do know that
as il was sung the words to fit the tune
had TO run, Thou canst not hit 1t,
hit it, hit II, Thou canst not hit 1t. my
good man. An / cannot, cannot, can
not. An | cannot another can" We
take the example at random. Mr..
Sharp does not use any OF the tunes
preserved from the other plays in the
songs in "A Midsummer Nights
Dream" but he does not hesitate to do
so in the dances, as shall appear pres
emily. However, our purpose is not
criticism, but exposition. Mr.. Sharp's
experiment is SO novel and interesting
that we wish it to be understood, and
to that end we are going to take a
glance through the musical pages Of
his book and tell the reader something
Of what they reveal.
SHAKESPEARE'S USE OF MUSIC.
Shakespeare the man was an Eliza
bethan; Shakespeare the artist and
dramatist belongs TO all time" remarks
Mr. Sharp. Very good; but there
never was a dramatist more willing than
Shakespeare TO meet his public on all
grounds where there was a possibility
of their meeting. This is especially
illustrated in his use Of music in his
plays. A scholar who has taken the
pains 10 count them tells US that out
of 81 of his plays 80 contain refer
ences 10 music and musical matters IN
the text, and that in SO of the plays
there are more than 300 stage direc-
tons referring TO music. The ma
jority of the musical references are in
the comedies and most of them are
bubbles or pUns on musical terms.
The fact testifies eloquently and con-
vincingly to the universally of mu-
steal culture among the people who
attended his plays. As he wrote for
the whole people and made copious use
songs and catches sung in the ale
houses as well as the artistic music
cultivated by gentle folk of education
End refinement, il must be assumed
that those who were called upon to en-
Joy the many ieeting illusions to the
art and the songs which he took out
of their mouths we're near 10 him in
taste and understanding. They were
as "up 10 date" as he was and much
more nimble minded than any audi
ence to-day, else he would never have
ventured TO rattle off as many techni-
cal terms as he did or throw out so
many mere hints concerning the songs
of the day. A dramatist Of to-day
might venture an allusion TO ats a
long way TO Tipperary," but is there
one who would dare TO talk of-hand
as he did of diapasons, minims, bur-
dens. descant, frets, plainsong and n
score of other musical things as he
dido And as he did these things so he
also used music FOR dramatic effect
wherever he thought it desirable with
ont as much concern, we fancy, as Mr..
Sham feels about holding up the
nrogress of his play. We fancy, too,
fron what we have been told that
Mr. Sharp has been less chary about
distributing music throughout the
fairy comedy than he has about avoid
in repetition of words. Al any rete
we are going TO hear music on the
"tongs and bones" although We do not
know that Bully Bottoms taste FOR
this kind OF art was grained IN
Shaksspeare's day. We are to near