New-York tribune., 1921-01-31
Interpretation
Of City Life Is
Not Real Music
Repetition of Vaughan vii
liasns's London Symphony
In Aeolian Hall Shows
Limitations Of Subject
Composers Work Good
Cacophony of Street, How.
ever, Only . Noise If 1t
Is Accurately Produced
By II. e. Krehbiel

Wu0u ~ td0utB90 oukSoANeU IN tue
music section Of yestsrday's issue Of
The Tribune in some observations on
the utilization Of street cries In artistic
music ws did not knew that va were to
be privileged 70 hear repetition Of the
London Symphony by the Symphony
Sesisty's Orchestra. Had tho fact that
Ns. Walter Damrosch hsd placed It
upon tho program Of one Of his regular
Sunday afternoon. concerts we might
have tried TO prepare ourselves and
The Tribune's readers 70 observe the
effect Of the Sweet lxvenderl" phrase
ia the composers symphonic fabric.
There was little loss, however, for
the little melody is all but negligible In
its aesthetic appeal, and wholly so In
respect Of its emotional. Mr.. Williams
plainly sought to paint with strokes at
once bolder and subtler, and indeed
this was his duty, 50 long - he had 'set
himself the task Of bodyihg forth the
spirit Of great city's life in musical
tones.
How far he succeded in doing this
would invits inquiry were there not
the danger that the inquiry might be-
come too curious and too prolonged;
cu.sion Of the numerous questions
touching the origin, nature and ca
pacity Of music in general. - we'll as
the propriety and limitations Of tonxl
elaboration, or programmatic music In
all its phases. That all music in It's
most primitive state was crude imita-
ton Of sounds heard by primitive man
il obvious. That sounds could be re-
fined, varied, combined and ideslized
until their original crude character, rs
well IS the original crude purpose Of
their use, were purged out OF them
the development Of artistic music
shows. That when composers found it
impossible or undesirable to confine
their art to IN attempt to utter the
language Of the soul. it's loves, long
ings. hopes, fears, striyyings, ideals, ais
even methods Of their primitive pred
ecessors, and become again imitators
Of natural sounds was inevitable, no
matter how deplorable the fact may
seem to us. There are many who
make use Of the primitive device to-
day, though they do not aim to dis
course Of merely material things, but
Of spiritual things which emanate
from the material.
Italian Tried Experiment
Not long ago an italian tried to make
a musical picture Of London by imi-
tating its roaring, clanking, shrieking
noises. He, or some one Of his fellows.
professed to hear harmonies created
by the cacophonous din. Had. his in
renuity been great enough to give such
accurate imitation to every sound that
IL would have been recognizable to the
hearer In the concert room he would
not have evoked musical picture Of
the great city. He would only have
reproduced It's noise.
Mr.. williams is not . compounder Of
noises, but composer Of music. He
aims through his music to make us
feel the emotions which are London
the emanations Of its popular life as
manifested in distinct localities. He
utilizes sounds which his hearers will
recognize as characteristic Of the city
the hustle and shoutings of traffic In
the main thproughfares, and for con-
trast the quieter sounds of the little
side streets leading down to the
Thames, the booming of Big Ben in
Westminster tower sounding the half
hour in the first movement and the
three quarter in the last. Here we
In the cry Of "Sweet lavender!" which
arises In the slow movement in which
the dusk and damp, Of Bloomsbury,
seek expression throuhg idealistic me-
diums, and the life Of a public house
by the broken strains Of q street mu-
sician-imitation again. but only by
suggestion.
ThA Work Analysed
IN the jocose movement, called
"Schsrzo-nocturne," there ara sounds Of
dancing . zig, alternated and blended
with some moody music, which IL sup
posed to utter the reflections and feel
lngs Of loitefers on the Thames En-
bankment, tho sounds Of merrymakinr
arising from across the river. In the
last movement there is predominant
lugubrious march, which tho hearer
is asked to conceive as the expression
Of the poor victims ground under the
meyciless wheel Of the city's activity.
Prologue and epilogue Of the work
are meant to symbolic the all-per-
vastve spirit Of the Thames, It's mists
and its mystery. For all this there
must be 2 verbal commentary, of
course, il tho composers purpose is
TO be understood; that Is, if we are to
xeei the things which fired his imagi-
nation. Mr. Coates, who conducted the
work at it's frst performance here. has
provided such commentary or pro-
gram. 1t is deft piece Of work. Il
doee attempt too much, but after pro-
vidang the fancy with . starting point
leaves the music to work its own Sal
vatton. It explains. If il does not ms
tifY, some Of Its thematic materiai'
Some OF that in the first movement
y, &Ssnkiy. no more to our taste fhan
the vulgarities Of Mr.. Sowerbv's con-
certo heard in the same room = wsaL
before. We should prefer to have vul-
gar things 70 vulgar uses. Blatant
commonplace tunes, Of the kind nrevs'
lent IN soratd places, offend the sense
of fitness sa = symphony which IL .
io1ty expSsseaon In art. Such TIMES
moseever,. Do not lend them selves ID
that development, that varied exprss.
sios q thought and feeling which II
essential ~ . symphony, In which Mel
imagination In the creation Of
theme, the kind Of imaginatien whies
inhuse II With the need and cauaeitr
OF varied expression, Is paired with M
Imagination which inspires Its degelop.
me1k
For ths mood Of mystery svskaa !,
gloom and fog, material anA spirituai
the harmonic and instrumentaf psletts
q the modern musician l. wstl sup.
piled, and Mr.. Williams hes used tks
colers admirably.
~ II O