The Denver Jewish news., 1919-12-17
Some Composers

The real humanist, the man who
possesses a wide and liberal culture
need not be professional. scholar or
literary man. Men of intellectual bent
in all the important lines of human
cndeavor have been entitled to rank
in that capacity. The great musicians
are by no means excluded. NJ. Camille
Saint-Saens, the famous French COM
poser and musician, has given an adj
mirable example of this in his book,
which has been translated and pub
iished under the title of Musical
Memoirs" The author who shows a
broad and catholic spirit is himself a
musician of solid attainments. He can
appreciate all that is good of its kind
in musical composition. from the works
of the great masters to the exuberent
comic expressions of Jacques Often
bach. who was a master. too, in his
way.
NJ. Saint-Saens has wise and
judiciOus opinion about that much dis
cussed and frequently misunderstood
subject, the relation of art to morals.
He writes:
Literature becomes art in poetry,
but fOrsakes il in prose Even if some
of the great prose writers rendered
their prose artistic thru the beauty
and harmony of their periods and the
Dicturesqueness of their expression.
still prose is not art in its real ma
ture. So, crude indecency aside. what
would be immoral in prose ceases to
be immoral in verse, for in poetry art
follows its own code ana form tran
scends the subject matter. That is
why a great poet, Sully PrudhOmme.
preferred prose to verse when he want
ed to write philosophically for he fear
ed on account of the superiority of
form to substance in poetry, that his
ideas would not be taken seriously.
That explains as well why parents take
young girls to hear an opera when, ii
the same piece was played without
music they would be appalled, at the
idea"
what Christian is ever shocked by
La Juive, or Catholic frightened away
from Les Hugenots?"
The Christian might, of course. feel
badly if he was at all concerned and
carefully considered the Significance
witnessing its performance, and so
might the Catholic feel that Meyer
beers story did not reflect an infinite
amount of credit on the Church of the
Sixteenth Century. But they don't
give the matter any serious thought
at the opera or anywhere else.
In these days when it is the fashion
10 deny to Mcyerbeer high rank as a
composer, and rather to sieer dcprecat-
ingly ut. the, claim that he is entitled
to a front place amongst the writers
Ct grand opera, it is pleasant to read
the criticism of NJ. Saint-Saens on the
accomplishments and the work of that
mucll-discussed musician.
Meyerbeer was born in Germany, but
his social and intellectual sympathies
were with France just as those of
lIeine We're. 1t was not lack of
patriotism that induced this sentiment.
1t was rather the natural sympathy of
an artistic soul for the freedom and
the spirit of the French people in their
relation to all art, and particularly to
music.
In writing about Mcyerbeer the au-
thor of the Memoirs says:
xvnt,lI bo r-o ,,rolirtp thnt thn
day would come when it would be
necessary to come to the defense OF
the author of Les HugenOts and La
prOphcte of the man who ut one time
dominated every stage in Europe by n
leadership which was so extraOrdin-
AIRY that it looked as tho it would
never end"
The critic admits Meycrbeer's faults
as II composer. but contends that his
fame was not due to meritoriOus con
stantial achievements.
Unlike Gluck and Berlioz who were
greater artists than musicians. Meyer
beer was more musician than an
artist"
In some respects he was a path
finder, for as the writer says. Meyer
teer gave us foretaste of the famous
lcit-Inotif." He was not mere mu-
sician.
"Meyerbeer belonged to the theatre
and sought above everything else the
atrical effects. Surely that's not ON
Of place on the operdtic stage.
Hans you Bulow once said to me
in the course of conversation"
After all Meyerbeer was Il man OF
,,onit,s ..If wa fail IN rafnpuizp