New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-12
< Comprehensive Survey
OF the Art Of Music
Comments on Ambitious INTERCHANGEABLE
%'H p,cioles Of Historical Crtcism-On the Revision
Of Old Judgments and the Need of
First-hand knowledge
Bv n. E. KREHBIEL

. .-rs.t.t q. HtiI4E more etleNfIIH. more
modern, more liberal and generally
more enlightened and knowing than his
predecessors in the critical field at
tempts 20 revise old estimates Of COM
poSers and their works. 10 is expected of
him that he have knowledge Of the
works az first hand and that If he ap-
pea.s 90 earlier writer's he know from
personal inspection (perusal would be
better the titles and contents OF their
books. OF course, 10 is not 20 be eX-
pected that any writer have personal
knowledge Of the hundreds or thou
sands Of compositions which he may be
called upon to mention in the course Of
a volume of critical history; but uu-
less he wishes 20 run the risk of aber-
ration he would do well 20 quote his
authorities accurately when agreeing
or differing with them
LIhe test Of a pudding is in the eat
ing, not IN chewing the string of the
bag; and the final test OF music Is In
the hearing. No historian has ever
heard all the music concerning which
he has written, but of recent years an
tIquarlan societies have done much 70
bring compositions long obsolete into
the ken Of the studious b. reprints, and
touching works thus made accessible no
misstatement of fact based upon mis-
taken authority is permissible in
work processing so much as does THE
Art Of Music" There is a case in point
which might as we'll as not be disposed
Of here: For long time 1t has been
asserted IN the handbooks, 70 illustrate
the extraordinary prescisnce of Monte
verde, that In his opera Of "Orfeo" he
sought 20 hsighten dramatic character
. rTg 80 L. = rz-a ! ~
people of the play with certain instru-
ments in the orchestra-ss the soft
wooS- winds characterize Elsa and the
trumpet Lohengrin in Wagner's opera,
for instance.
Feasibility was lent 70 the notion
by the fact that on the title page Of
"Orfeo" the names of the drdmGtis
DsrsOHd and the names of the or
chestral instruments we're printed ia
columns set over against each other
and that in several instances pluto
and trombOnes) there seemed a striking
appositensss I'm the Juxtaposition. That
was all the evidence IN the case, so far
as the great multitude Of students was
concerned, until the score was reprinted
. IN Germany some years ago, Tn this
score, though the orchestral parts were
not written out except IN the case Of
some purely orchestral lntermezzi),
there are indications Of the instruments
employed in significant places, and
these suffice to show that the IuNtaposl-
ton of characters and instruments on
/ the title page was accidental and the
/ theory of dramatic association wholly
Z fanciful. But Mr.. SaerChlnger who
wrote of Nonteverde in Volume I Of
/ The Art Of Music" plainly had not
taken the trouble 70 look into the score
OF "Orfeo," and calmly promotes the
old error, though, we believe, it Is
| qualified by an expression Of doubt IN
a later volume.
These are general observations which
apply 20 all those portions Of the work
which have been treated By earlier
writer's. These portions are naturally
very large, and If one were TO attempt
20 point out all such flaws he would
find himself confronted with a form da-
be task indeed. Fortu. ately, there is
so much admirable writing in every
one Of the twelve volumes Of letter
press the final two volumes are given
up 20 illustrative examples in musica.
u0tation1 that, though the offences and
errors may not be set down as venial,
enough is left 10 call for hearty com
the charters contributed by such
, trained and seasoned writers as Sir
J G.. Herbert, Fl. Parry, Ernest Newman,
. Cecil Forsyth, ". D. Calvocaressi, and
. IN a somewhat less degree Daniel Greg
ory Mason, Edward Burlingame Hill
and Hiram Kelly Moderwell of the
+ younger class.
Much Of the rewriting, however, has
been done with little discrimination
and too little credit 10 the authors re-
written. as in the case of the chapter
on Beethoven in Volume II, by Franz
/ BeIlinger, where so much is merely
paraphrase of Sir George Groves essay
in the Dictionary Of Music and Mu-
sicians" that the critical device of
parallel columns would play havoc with
the younger writer's reputation for
. fairness.