Year: 1874

Yet deepest SHOWS and ferccst lashing seas


Bring not such cold or bitter thoughts as these.
A few soiled lilies dropped by childish hands,
| A few dried orange-blooms from distant lands,
1 A few remembered smiles of some lost friend,
Few words Of love some dear dead fingers penncd
They arc not beautiful for love to sec,


1 And deaths pale presence seems in them to be;
| Yet never living blooms, most fresh and gay,


Fill US with thoughts Of love SO sweet as they.


London Spectator.


MUSIC OF THE FUTURE.


THERE are those who have looked upon
Wagner as in some manner the prophet
of the musical future. How far, how
ever, he comprehends the vast progress
that is to take place in musical art s.-iti.;n
THO nuAt hundred years may be gathered
from the annexed vision of what is to be,
which is taken from the New York Eeen-
ing Post, which paper makes the follow
ing predatory explanation:


Enterprise is the secret of successful
journalism. We feel that we cannot find
sufficient praise for our own enterprise
in securing, SO far in advance, the proof
sheets of the following article to appear
in the great musical journal Of New
York on the 14th Of December, 1895.
Newspapers conducted in the old style
always running in the same rutland de-
voted only to the publication of facts
and sensible comments are "stupid," as
everybody knows or ought to know in
these progressive times. What the peo-
pie want is something new and fresh.
We think that the annexed criticism is
very new and very fresh. 1t would be
| unjust, however, to take the whole need
of praise for securing this admirable
picture of art-life in the twentieth cen
tury entirely to ourselves, and to pub
lish it without acknowledging our obi:
cations to that comely and volatile
ghost, Miss Katie King Eds Erentng
| Post


What dwarfish minds, what incompe-
tence, are shown in the writings of the
musical critics of the last century! We





can but smile as we read long articles
from musty old newspapers and maya
zines on the subject of music-written in
an old-fogy style, praising and extolling
to the very skies those old, forgotten
nonentities, Bach, Beethoven, Mendels-
sohn and Wagner. We wonder what
these critics, and what those who thought
that musical art had reached the culmi-
mating point in its history when Wagner
appeared, would think and say could
they hear performance in one of our
concert-roOms or opera houses. Perhaps
they would be unable to appreciate our
modern compositions The development
Of the human race during the last hun
dred years or so has no doubt given us
stronger nerves; but could they listen to
one of our great compositions, with all
the additions of the newly-invented in
strWments, those old fogy-writcrs would
indeed think their ideas of the Emusic
of the future" as they were wont to
style anything that was incomprehensi-
BILE to them, were very vague.


We attended last evening the four hun
dred and twenty second performance of
Horridnoisc's great symphony (opus
SAID, and after this number Of hearings
we repeat our words, written some
weeks ago, according to the eminent
composer all the praise in our power,
finding only little fault with him for
the construction of the fiftieth move
ment As our previous writing was only
notice of the work, preferring to hear
it many times before entering upon an
extended criticism, we give below de-
| tailed description to our readers in New
York, and also for the benefit of those
of our subscribers in the moon who have
been unable to visit us this season, owing
to the eXorbitant balloon rates. We are
happy to inform the latter that Horrid-
noise purposes treating them to a per-
tormance Of his work as soon as the large
balloon necessary to carry the enormous
instrument (the cornct.ether-whistlc) is
finished. Horridnoise takes for his idea
in the work the combination of "the
obsolete" with the density of the air just
below the north star, combining the two
with the superiority of man over the
insect race. We see that the subject
admits Of great and broad treatment,
and we accord to the eminent composer
much praise, our only disappointment in
the work being, as we remarked before,
| in the tiftieth movement.


The first twcnty-six movements, occu
pying five days and cighty-three minutes
| in performance, give great evidence OF
| the composers genius. From the open,
| ing chords Tin M flat major) the mind is
at once directed toward the advent OF
that exquisite harmonic treatment OF the
theme that follows Tin Q minor), falling
on the ear SO evenly and gracefully that
we regret that we have to part with it Sc
soon. That the composer has used the
great Columbiad in the accented parts OF
| the 81 -264 measures we have heard some
complaints, but so firm and square is the
rhythm (the object being to convey tc
the mind the gradual proximity of the
obsolete to the vapory ether through
which it is passing) that we are satisfied
that the use of the instrument is allow
able. In smaller hall the effect might
be different, but in this great apartment
the floor Of which is thirty-two miles
long, the object in the composers mind
explains itself. The progress from
the chord of the $40 in the
eighteenth movement to the diminished
chord of X fiat major is one of the finest
effects we so far find. The wall of the
catometer, distantly heard through the
heavy thud that emanates from the rock
| and wood instruments, the magnificent
roll of the tubs and the final reversion t6
E@the obsolete" movement Of the frs
| treatment, brings us to the twenty
seventh. From thence to the fifty
seventh we are to prepare for ten days
Of enjoyment.


The great hall is now filled to overflow
ing, presenting a scene such as would as
tonish that nearly forgotten composer
Wagner, whose longest work 1--WE read
required only three nights for its per
formance. Each person has brough
food for ten days, and here we are, read!
for the thirty movements Of this grea
work-music such as the world seems Il
have been made for. How exquisite ar