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Title: The Development of Certain Tendencies in Modern Opera
       Thesis for the degree of Bachelor of Music

Author: Kathryn Eleanor Browne

Release Date: January 31, 2017 [EBook #54077]

Language: English

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Transcriber’s Note: This e-text is reproduced from the original typescript submitted by the author for her bachelor’s degree. Whilst undoubtedly she would have liked it to be error-free, it wasn’t, and for authenticity the typos etc. have been left in situ—save for the incorporation of her handwritten corrections, and some attention to missing/extraneous punctuation/spacing.

[1]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

June 1, 1907

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY KATHRYN ELEANOR BROWNE ENTITLED THE DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN TENDENCIES IN MODERN OPERA.

IS APPROVED BY ME AS FULFILLING THIS PART OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF MUSIC

George F. Schwartz Instructor in Charge

APPROVED: J Lawrence Erb

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF Music

[2]

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN TENDENCIES IN MODERN OPERA.

Table of Contents.

[3]

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN TENDENCIES IN MODERN OPERA.

INTRODUCTION.

In this thesis there has been an attempt made to trace the origin, growth and development, and modification of various tendencies in the Opera. The form only of the opera has been considered and no attempt has been made towards the harmonic analysis of the various operas. The main tendencies that have been discussed are, the differences in regard to; (1) the number of acts employed; (2) the number and kind of characters; (3) a comparison; (a) of the proportion of orchestral work, overtures, ballets and ritornelli; (b) of solo work and the various voices employed; (c) of recitative, spoken, accompanied and unaccompanied; (d) of ensemble work, duets, trios, quartets, quintets and sextets; and (e) separate from this last, a consideration of the proportion of chorus work, mixed, and that sung by the men and the women alone.

A study has been made of thirty-four operas and in order to accurately consider these proportions, tables have been prepared, showing the percentage of the factors portrayed. These percentages have been obtained by actual count of the measures devoted to the solos, choruses, ensembles, etc. There are seven tables.

Table I is a general table showing the number of characters, acts, percentage of orchestra, solo, recitative, ensemble and chorus.

[4]

Table II shows the distribution and number of characters.

Table III shows the percentage of orchestral work, and also that of the divisions of the orchestral work into overture, ballet and ritornelli.

Table IV shows the percentage of solo work and its distribution to the various voices.

Table V shows the percentage of recitative and its distribution to the various voices.

Table VI shows the percentage of ensemble work and the various kinds.

Table VII shows the percentage of the chorus work and its distribution as to mixed choruses and those sung by the men and women alone.

"Rappresentatione de Anima" by Cavalieri is generally classed as an oratorio but many authorities consider it an opera, as he was one of Peri's contemporaries, and worked with the little band of Florentine nobles, and this was the first work which resulted from their meetings. However, whether it is an opera or an oratorio, the forms in those days were very vague, hence, the component factors are interesting as compared to the later operas, and inasmuch as no score could be obtained earlier than 1675, it will suffice as a type of that time. In studying the operas from Wagner on, the solos have been very difficult to distinguish from the recitative, and consequently any stretch of solo singing over twenty or twenty-five measures in length, with any sort of tune, has been considered as a solo.

[5]

I. THE BEGINNINGS OF OPERA TO GLUCK.

Before beginning the survey of modern operas and before tracing the development of the different tendencies, it will be interesting to consider briefly the historic source of the opera, and the part that music played in the various dramas, madrigals, ballets, church services, etc.

It is an acknowledged fact that Peri and his little band of Florentine reformers went back to the old Greek dramas for their models and forms. However, it is not to be supposed that opera was developed spontaneously among these reformers. Like every other world wide movement, it was the culmination of tendencies and customs from various sources. We have no reason to accept the Greek dramas as the only models which served, although they were considered seriously by the first opera writers.

The Egyptians sang jubilations to their Gods. These consisted of florid cadences on prolonged vowel sounds. In the old Greek dramas, music played an important part. The Greek tragedy and comedy developed from the hymns, choral dances and chants sung by a chorus of singers disguised as satyrs, at the festivals of Bacchus. The chorus often addressed the audience on topical subjects. The various actors intoned or chanted their words, and were often accompanied by a lyre and other instruments of the day. The chorus chanted their parts. This would not be termed music by us today, but was more of a recitative. Later the chorus chanted while the principals sang, forming a sort of background accompaniment.[6] The slow developement of the music in the mass must not be forgotten, but there is nothing which definitely resembles opera until the thirteenth century. "Noel" was supposed to be a song which the angels sang, and is found in many festivals. Perhaps this may be termed one of the sources of Wagner's ideas, the association of a particular song with one group of people. In the "Three Maries" the chorus sang words in Latin, Gabriel and the three virgins sang, but the words of the Savior had no music. The "Fete of the Ass" was quite an elaborate festival and here the various characters sang quite definitely, and the congregation was urged at stated intervals to join in the singing. Part of the words and music were symbolical, especially those imitating the braying of the ass. "The Passion", in 1264, enacted by the Fraternity of the Gonfalone, lasted for several days, and contained scenes which were sung, choruses and a trio.

At this period, we must consider the vaudeville plays which were plays interspersed with song. "Li gieus de Robin et de Marion", given at the court of Charles d'Artois in Naples in 1285, was an operatic symptom and was divided into songs, spoken dialogue, dialogue songs in which two voices alternated, and popular ballad tunes, although the music was not appropriate since it consisted of such complex counterpoint. The Madrigal plays, although comic in character, influenced in the introduction of village gossip related by chorus. The "Ballet de la Reine" was a brilliant ballet with elaborate scenery, costumes, music, etc. It contained solos, duets, choruses and instrumental interludes. The melody, however, was only loosely associated with the play. In 1554 "Il Sagrifigio", a pastoral drama, arose, in which the[7] priest sang solos, accompanied by lyre and the chorus. The first solo singing was in the Madrigal of Corteccia in 1539. In "Aminta", 1573, the choruses separated acts, and introduced the action danced to the chorus behind the scenes. There was no attempt at the complete setting of the text in these plays, and no union of the lyrics by any sort of recitative. In "Decameron" one or another of the personages sang to the company, and they all sang and danced. The lyric solo resembled somewhat the dramatic recitative of Peri and Caccini. The vocal melody was simple in melodic structure. Cecchi's "Esaltazione delle Croce", 1589, a sacred representation, had an orchestra of viols, lutes, horns and the orchestra played an interlude with special music. There was an accompanied solo allotted to the Deity and a dance of David. The orchestras were composed of lutes, trombones, which accomapnied the dancing, etc., but were usually silent after the entrance of the various characters, excepting the lyres. In the English masque the words and song were written for an actor but sung behind the scenes by a chorus.

The Madrigal dramas became comedies which exhibited a variety of style and expressive power. When a single character spoke, the chorus sang in madrigals, while the actors were on the stage. The music was from behind the curtain. These Madrigal dramas began to degenerate, however, as the spectacle disappeared, and the comic element became preeminent.

Then came the band of Florentine nobles who were not originators, but merely revived certain musical practices and traditions of the 14th century and modeled these on the early Greek tragedies. "Eurydice" was accompanied by a large orchestra for[8] those days consisting of a chitarone, viola di gamba, theorba, three flutes and smaller trombones. There was a brief entr'acte, and a trio of two sopranos and a tenor. The chorus was in five parts. Previous to this the solo without harmony or harmonic support was unknown. The instrumental music was of course in its infancy and expressive melody was out of the question. This first operatic orchestra was concealed—perhaps this suggested the idea to Wagner—perhaps not. There were no set tunes, nor any sort of formal melody divided into periods, balancing each other symmetrically, but a sort of recitative which observed the inflection of the spoken words was created.

Peri developed this principle to a great extent. He expressed soft gentle speech by half spoken, half sung tones on a sustained instrumental bass. Feelings of deeper emotional kind, he expressed by melody with greater intervals and a lively tempo, accompanied by instrumental harmonies changing frequently, sometimes using dissonance. His prologue was in verse and he gave short metrical passages for the chorus which were rich in harmony. An instrumental episode in the first act and dancing in the end are effective.

Vecchi's "L'Amfiparnasso" and "Commedia Armonica" are really only a series of madrigals for five voices. There was no overture, no orchestral accompaniment, nor ritornello of any kind. When the stage was occupied by a single character, four voices were made to sing behind the scenes, foretelling the modern orchestra. In "Orfeo" the accompaniment was a figured bass. "Dafne" and "Arianna" were written in this newly invented "Stilo rappresentatino" with a larger orchestra. "Dafne" consisted of an[9] imitation of speech, a sort of melodious recitative accompanied only with a sustained bass. The instruments were really so contrasted and combined as to invest each character and scene with marked individuality. The introductory toccata (founded on a single chord) was followed by a ritornello, the recitative was accompanied by a figured bass, sometimes by two or more instruments indicated at the beginning.

These reformers really resuscitated a style of musical declamation, and their music better expressed passion and the like. There was a monodic exchanging of contrapuntal richness for the simplest of melodies, confined to a single part, and accompanied by bass of the rudest type and construction. The melodies were destitute of figure and the composers really aimed at exact oratorical rendering of the words. The possibilities of orchestral coloring were limited and the dry style of recitative really dramatically untruthful. There was little variety of contrast. This weakened the true power of the drama by the introduction of measured melody and formally constructed movements. The libbrettos were carefully considered at first, but finally declined, and more and more attention was paid to the aria and the various concerted music introduced without regard to the dramatic tendencies. The rules became strict, and it is not difficult to see how the operas became a concert in costume. We find a quotation of the rules:—

1. A woman always took a man's part.

2. Characters were stereotyped.

3. Position of the aria was determined to give entrance impressiveness.

[10]

4. The solos, duets, choruses and ballets were arranged artificially to suit the convenience of the performers and without regard for the dramatic context.

Monteverde has been termed "the Italian Wagner". He never ventured to introduce flowing melody save in the ritornello. His music was dramatic and he increased the dramatic scope of the recitative. His "Orfeo", 1607, contains the first dramatic duet. He was an innovator and gave a new developement to the harmonic system. His influence may be summed up as follows;

I. He made operatic recitative more melodious and expressive.

II. He boldly used unprepared discord to express dramatic emotions.

III. He greatly enlarged the orchestra, used special, appropriate groups of instruments to accompany characters, and employed separate combinations to announce the return and entry of persons. In his "Arianna" the widening influence of his orchestra developed to thirty-six instruments, including violins, trombones, trumpets and three small organs. He invented the pizzicato and tremolo on the violin. In his "Orfeo" there are parts for the harpsichords, lyres, violas, double basses, double harps with two rows of strings, two violins, guitars, organs, flutes, clarions and trombones. The apportionment of the instruments was as follows:—

The bass viols accompanied Orpheus.

The violas, Eurydice.

Four Trombones, Pluto.

The organs, Apollo.

The guitars, Charon.

The flute registers of the organs, the chorus of sprites.

[11]

Scarlatti's genius for melody modified the still though dramatically correct recitative, and substituted airs in its place. He introduced measured recitative for the first time, and invented the "de capo aria", his singers thus distracting attention from the important dramatic meaning. His knowledge of counterpoint aided him in the construction of the bass, and elaboration of accompaniments. He tired of the monotony of uninterrupted recitative, and organized three forms:—

1. Recitative secco for ordinary business.

2. Recitative stromentato which was accompanied and used for violent emotion, and used the "thorough bass" by the harpsichord to aid this passionate form of declamation. The sense of the verbal text was enforced by continual interposition of orchestral symphonies.

3. The aria, to which he added the "de capo"—that is, the repetition of the second part following the first.

Cavalli employed the ritornello constantly to relieve the monotony of continuous recitative, and introduced repetition in his ariettas, which was disapproved by the Florentine Caccini, who was the father of a new order of music, a style of melody which is not melody; a recitative melody, noble in character and surpassing the songs of the people, not altering the words nor depriving them of life, but augmenting them and giving them meaning and force.

Purcell had true dramatic instinct and a declamatory recitative second only to that of Wagner, and his airs show unfettered melody. The laws of his time, which he chose to disregard and modify, are interesting.

[12]

I. The number of characters was six, three women and three men.

a. Prima Donna (soprano).

b. A contralto.

c. An artificial or male soprano.

d. An artificial alto.

e. A tenor.

f. A bass.

II. (a) "Aria Cantabile" was quiet and slow with opportunities of ornamentation, accompanied by a figured bass under pathos.

(b) "Aria di portamento" in slow movement and marked rythm was sometimes accompanied only by one or two violins.

(c) "Aria di mezzo carattere" had the second part faster than the first, and the accompaniment was rich and varied.

(d) "Aria Parlante" was elaborately declamatory.

(e) "Aria di bravura" was allegro with brilliant divisions.

III. There were three acts and every scene terminated with an air. Every member sang one air but no one sang two airs in succession and no two airs of the same type followed each other. The most important ones came at the conclusion of the first and second act and here the hero and heroine claimed a grand scene, with accompanied recitative followed by "aria d'agilita" and then united in a grand duet. The third act ended with a chorus of lively movement frequently accompanied by a dance. There were no trios, quartets or other concentrated movements allowed, though three characters could join in harmonized exclamation at close of the recitative.

[13]

Handel broke away from these rules in "Radamisto" with an elaborate quartet and "Teseo" in five acts with two airs in succession to each character. His operas have been termed a ballad concert in costume, although he did a great deal toward faithful reproduction of the embodied sentiments of the text. Purcell rebelled against the idea of succession of songs and dances and in a tuneful chorus with dramatic spoken action, he introduced a decided dramatic feeling. The English opera was advertised to be performed after the Italian manner, with recitative in place of dialogue and measured melody for airs. Purcell's "Dido and Aeneus" contains not one spoken word, and his drawn out aria foreshadowed the dramatic aria of Gluck and Wagner. Balfe and Benedict raised the standard of the old ballad operas by using better music although Balfe only appealed to the ear. Tallis, Byrde and Purcell are tolerated for their voice parts only.

[14]

II. GLUCK.

"In the early 18th century the condition of opera was very 'low'". The accepted number of characters was six, three of each sex. There were three acts of a given number of verses based on Greek drama. The chorus stood motionless except for the leader, in a double row with the sexes separated and masked. The same libretti were used time and time again. The poets became as stilted as the composers. There were five types of melody whose sequence and distribution were regulated by rules, and not by dramatic requirements. Though varied in other ways, the songs consisted of two parts, the first repeated "de capo" after the second, notwithstanding the histronic result. The vocalist tyrannized over the performance, displaying no musical feeling, nothing but vocal agility. In England and Germany the singers sang their own language during the performance, for every thing except the formal arias, which were sung in Italian. Each act had to close with an elaborate finale, and each singer had to have an aria.

Sammartini in Milan gave prominence to string quartets. There was much stress laid on technical proficiency and arias. The dances became better than the vocal music, for the arias especially were monotonous and forced, and overloaded with ornament and contained practically no counterpoint. The overture, customarily in three parts, was separated from the opera itself. The arias were in bravura style with long and prolix ritornelli. The dramatic airs were absolutely spoiled by florishes.

[15]

Gluck freed the opera from many of these forms. He maintained that the function of the music was to support the poetry without interrupting action or disfiguring by superfluous ornament. The dramatic action was given more importance and the concerted pieces with stereotyped de capo were discarded. He was criticized for sacrificing music to drama, which would often have been better without it. This has also been said of Debussy's "Pelleas and Melisande." Gluck colored his music and avoided interrupting the actor in the warmth of the dialogue to wait for ritornello, flourishes and repetitions. He maintained that the overture should prepare specifically for the character of action and indication of the subject. Instruments should be employed in proportion to the degree of interest and passion. Above all he worked for simplicity; that opera must express life in aria and in recitative, and in similarity between the passion and the object called forth. His melody was supported by harmony and was varied in rythm. He strove for pictorial representation in his airs and accompanied his recitatives by figured bass and chords of the harpsichord, and employed several airs preceded by long instrumental solos. He changed and consolidated the structure of the opera on the verbal basis, and repressed the vanity and egotism of the singers. He galvanized the lazy languid orchestra into life and made the recitative play a more important part, making his opera dignified, overture elucidatory, accompaniment significant, and emphasized the coherent principle of unity.

In "Telemaco" Gluck imitated aspects of nature in several of the arias with greater unity of handling, truer dramatic[16] expression, and continuous interest in the recitative. There are nine numbers following in dramatic sequence. He abandoned the symphony in three pieces making his overture lead into the opening aria. His two themes begin finely in contra-distinction but they degenerate into bravura style. Gluck studied literature and filled in the void for recitative so that the audience could-not play chess in between numbers.

"Orpheus" is lyrical and noticeable for the dramatic interest of the recitative, and the importance of the work given to the chorus. His duo-thematic treatment of the orchestra here is not successful. In his short orchestral prelude he breaks away from the spirit of the overture. The chorus takes up the broad sad theme. Orpheus cries, "Eurydice", twice, the third time he sings a note higher and stands against chords of diminished intervals, instead of blending with the chord of the minor third of the dominant, making a striking dramatic effect. The theme of the aria is echoed behind the scenes. In the accompanied recitative the orchestra has a share in producing the effect. In one aria when the sense of the words changes, the whole character of the music changes. Three fourth time, in the key of G, is used to depict the happiness of man. Where Cupid relates to Orpheus, an andante in three eighth time in the key of D is used.

Gluck has too many contrasts of slow and fast to be effective. His overtures and finales are weak, and he could not quite effect a compromise between the musical and the dramatic.

He improved the old antagonism between the aria and the recitative by giving the orchestra the function of adding some[17] sort of color to the mere vocal padding. He insisted on acting, instead of mere singing by posturing sopranos and a chorus of wax figures. He insisted also on his music being sung as written. His bold stroke was uneven, but such a dramatic genius has never been surpassed.

In "Alceste" his overture assumed a new significance. It had no formal end but was broken into by the chorus. In "Armide" each character had music personally distinctive. "Iphigenie en Tauride" combined dramatic sincerity, superb use of recitative, natural and telling though simple choruses, throbbing height of passion, unification of parts of soloists, chorus and orchestra. He is termed a "creator of dramatic music". Orchestration was his specialty although he introduced it subservient to action. However, Gluck never employed trill passages or cadenzas, for he wanted to accentuate nature and strengthen declamation. His choruses are treated as "an additional acting character", and his recitative is true to the dramatic import. Rameau's and Lulli's operas were crabbed and rigid in comparison. Gluck alone gives each personage a style that is proper. The musicians who would not, or could not sing, except from the wings, were ignored by Gluck, and he refused the undramatic demands of the manager. In "Iphigenia en Tauris" the chorus works into a background which appropriately and dramatically supports the singer. The two tendencies in Gluck are, to neglect all sensuous aesthetic pleasure for attainment of dramatic intensity through declamation, and to realize his purpose through emotional pleasure, harmony of color, greater unity of scenes, the carrying out of one dramatic idea from the beginning to the end, making each individual[18] part stronger.

Piccini was the innovator of the dramatic treatment of the duet and extended development of the finale. He was the first to turn choral masses to account on the stage. He used "Recitative instrumento" in pale of the ordinary "Recitative secco." Mozart enlarged on his ideas, for his command of the orchestra was unrivalled as a dramatic factor. Cimarosa placed a statue on the stage, with a pedestal in the orchestra, while Mozart placed the staue in the orchestra, using the work of the stage as the pedestal. Cimarosa uses the accompaniment for the support while Mozart intensifies the voice. Cimarosa was the first to introduce quartets and other concerted pieces in the midst of dramatic action, and not as an ornament at the end of the act, but he was outdistanced by Mozart. Before this, opera was merely a recitative, with a chorus at the end of each act, and then occasional airs were introduced, but not before the middle of the 18th century do we find trios, etc.

Beethoven and Weber followed Gluck. Beethoven gave to the orchestra the explanatory character of the chorus. He employs twenty phrases for a single character in "Fidelio". Weber used spoken dialogue and recitative sparingly but when neccessary composed with originality and dramatic vividness. He tried to construct drama by means of melody and failed. The first example of a grand orchestral prelude is written in six-fourth time to "Der Beberrscher der Geister." The overture to "Der Freischutz", by the use of leading themes, relates the entire story.

In the Italian and French school, "a la Sopontini" the orchestra lifted and balanced the words and the spirit of the orchestra[19] reveals the innermost emotions of the dramatic personae. The Mythical manner is chosen, and a use of alliterative verse with a peculiar use of the orchestra as preparing, supporting, commenting upon, enforcing and recalling the various situations of the text.

[20]

III. ROSSINI AND HIS SCHOOL UP TO WAGNER.

In 1814 the operatic conditions were deplorable. Vocalists were masters over the composers. They accepted the mere skeleton of a tune, and so adorned it with their own trills and flourishes that the poor composer could scarcely recognize it. The solos were placed to suit their convenience, whether or not they were suited dramatically. The tenor singers were very prominent and the bass singers had not as yet emerged from the background.

Rossini expelled the male soprani from the stage, directed and controlled his own operas. His music was sensuous and, as shown in "William Tell", of a simple dramatic style. The operas were of two acts and scarcely conducive to the maintenance of dramatic action, separated by a ballet. His "Elizabetha" contained an overture, a duet and the finale had involved motives in the orchestra. There were two tenors, for the bass was still in the background. This was the first opera in which the recitative was accompanied by a stringed quartet and double bass. He supported the declamation by brilliant themes for the orchestra. "The Barber of Seville" is a series of melodies, continuous, and the characters only ceased to sing for strains executed by the instrumentalists. The transfer of the current of the melody from the voices to the orchestra was an entirely new idea. He also introduced new instruments into the orchestra.

Mozart was indebted to the Italians for the sweetness of his melodies and gave to Italy, through Rossini, new instrumental[21] combinations, new dramatic methods and new operatic forms. The horn, eighty years ago, was not very important in Italy and the orchestration played in the operatic band probably had a part in developing the taste for wind instruments and especially for horns. Rossini was a student of Haydn's symphonies and quartets.

In the opera-buffo "L'Equivaco Stravagante" the concerted pieces are good, and the final rondo a type of final airs. "L'Inganno Felice" was the first to make an impression. "Ciro in Babilonia" was given to accomodate a woman, who sustained one tone while the orchetra played the melody. With "Tancredi" came the commencement of reforms and the character of the easily comprehended melodies was fascinating. Rossini substituted singing for declamation, for monologues supported by chords, and concerted pieces connected with and supported by a brilliant orchestral accompaniment. In "Tancredi" the bass was given prominence, in fact he was as prominent as the tenor. In "Semiramide" the principal is a bass. The action is sustained, the number of formal airs decreased, the number of characters increased and a free use made of the chorus, which previous to this time had been merely a subordinate part with no dramatic functions. In "Otello" the recitative is used more sparingly and accompanied by a full band, from which the piano was banished. This had been expelled before in Germany, and by Gluck in France. The two leading parts are assigned to bass voices, and the interminable recitative accompanied by double piano or piano and double bass, is done away with. The most beautiful airs for the prima donna are in "La Cenercatola".

Rossini was now bringing his operas to a brilliant termination,[22] and beginning to emphasize the alto and mezzo voice. It was only toward the end of his Italian career in "Matilda di Shubrun" that he assigned the leading part to a soprano. We find now that there are no leading parts written for contralto and whether this is due the fact that the soprano has bean forced into activity to suit new tastes, or because contraltos are rare, we can not say. Of course Meyerbeer's "L'Africaine" and Donnizetti's "La Favorita" are exceptions. The orchestration of "La Gazza Ladrone" is more brilliant and sonorous than that of its predecessors and introduces new instruments, new combinations, a new distribution of voice parts, and of orchestral melodies with declamatory phrases for the singers instead of the endless recitative accompanied only by chords for the cellos or piano.

He introduced cornets and ophicleides in the overture to "William Tell", as the nearest approach to the actual instruments used by the cowherders of Switzerland. In "Semiramide" he brought an entire band onto the stage and wrote beautifully harmonized music which suggests the chase. He began the overture to "La Gazza Ladrona" with a duet for the drums, and did away with the extemporaneous attempts at orchestration by solo instrumentalists in the accompaniment, who were every bit as disagreeable and authoritative os the vocal soloists.

Berlioz charged that Rossini's music was heartless, unemotional and written entirely for the singer, utterly disregarding the vocal effect. His particular attention to orchestral and choral effects may be traced to the Parisian influence of his fine experience in hearing their choruses and orchestras. His music changed from the soft voluptuous melodies of "Semiramide" to simple[23] emotional dramatic ones in "William Tell".

Rossini, as mentioned before, was the first Italian to accompany recitative with a full band, assign leading parts to the bass, make each dramatic scene one continuous piece of music, and bring to perfection the highly varied, amply developed, concerted finales.

Donizetti wrote from sixty to seventy operas, but his "Don Pasquale" is in a light style as compared to the "Barber of Seville" and does not approach "Semeramide" for melody, nor "William Tell" for dramatic value. Stendhal foretold that the florid music of Rossini would be followed by a master of simple melodies and we find Bellini to be the one. Donizetti's work is not well balanced and he sways from one extreme to the other. His tenor air in "Anne Bolena" is attractive for it possesses more dramatic significance than most of his. He counted on the pure musical effect, which is naturally more effective in spoken drama than in opera, which is sung through out. For instance, the horn of "Hermani" is terrifying when heard in the play, but merely ordinary when heard in the opera. He seldom wrote a tune, or scored a half dozen measures of simple accompaniment, without burying the voice under ponderous chords for the wood winds. "Lucrezia Borgia" contains less recitative than was customary with Rossini. Notice must be taken of the brilliancy of the introduction, the series of dramatic scenes and the large number of tuneful themes distributed judiciously for the four leading personages. "Lucia" is broadly conceived, well constructed and highly dramatic, especially where the chorus informs Lucia of the end of Edgar. In "La Favorita" there is passionate impulsiveness in the final duet, the[24] choruses are impressive, and the music appropriate to the various personages and situations of the piece.

Bellini had true melody and his creative power was more effective than Donizetti's, as was his use of the orchestra. He abandoned trills and for ornamentation delivered simple phrases. "La Somnambula" is an endless flow of melodies full of true emotion and thoroughly dramatic, for he gave attention to the orchestration and concerted melodies. Rossini emphasized the necessity of introducing choruses, which he maintained were indispensable for dramatic effect, and we find his ideas developed by these men. However, these, and Paisiello's form of long scenes of recitative are old now.

Mozart's introduction to "Figaro" first introduces the air by the orchestra, then transcribed for the solo voice and finally sung by the chorus. The melody of his "Zitti Zitti" trio was take I from Hayden's "Seasons". He has adapted also an air from a Russian dance to aid in the dramatic effect. He reached the highest perfection of expression of melody with the strings, woodwinds and voice. His librettos are weak, however, although he rewrote the less important ones himself. His recitative is barren, for in his operas one had only to sing beautifully, while in Wagner one must declaim beautifully. Mozart knew music as the art of expression and gave this in its fullest sense to airs, duets and ensemble pieces, yet he left opera forms as he found them. He spoke of and depicted scenes, animals, etc. in his music. "Magic Flute" is a primma donna opera. Mozart considered first music, then the book and lastly the performance. In "Figaro" the psychological handling of the characters is unconvincing. He has applied one invariable musical formula[25] to every character. He repeats one or two chords ad infinitum in the orchestra. The voice trips along on top of these in semi speed. He sanctioned formulas for cadences used in every situation. Even in "Don Giovanni" the formulas for the cadences are used in this manner. He uses the same method for light scenes as well as tragic situations, depicting indignant heroines and chorus in the same manner. He was more musical but he did not realize the dramatic situations.

Bellini was a pure melodist, but his instrumentation was faulty, and he objected to ornamentation.

The French opera helps to develop the tendency of individual expression while the German crushes it in striving for a whole general effect. Rameau's "Hyppolyte et Aricie" is the most highly developed study of character. Lulli's work is an amplification of Ramean's work. He combined simplicity, natural melody and dramatic intentions. He developed his attention to the orchestra, and employed the chorus as an integral factor in the situation. He invented the overture using a slow movement, followed by a quick fugal style with the third division, a short dance. He developed the style of the French ballet. Both he and Ramean considered accompanied recitative a matter of more importance than a continuous flow of melodies. He reduced music to a minimum in this and did not dominate it in time, rythm nor musical feeling. He characterized it by accentuating the metrical and prosodial elements of the words themselves, and followed closely the accent of the words, changing rapidly from four-four rythm to three-four, and back again.

There is no feeling in his arias for he was restricted to conventional forms, and his melodies are characterless. In his[26] "Comique de la Rayne", arranged by Baltazan de Beaujoyeaux, with dance, tunes, chorus, musical dialogues and ritornelli he exhibits a bold and highly cultivated taste for instrumental music which led him to mold the overture into a more perfect form.

The serious opera, however, was becoming a mass of absurdities, emphasizing the spectacle as superior to the music, with bad libretti, degenerating under aristocratic patronage. The overture was to anticipate the opera and a better recitative was wanted. Gluck wished to minimize the disparity between opera and recitative and protested against the frequent use of the de capo and repetition of words, maintaining that the words should only be repeated where required by circumstances of passion.

Meyerbeer was feeble in harmonic invention with no psychological grip but with a talent for manipulating broad contrasts and climaxes of sound. He is a creator of modern stage technique, merging scenes and music into unity, a school of dramatic effects closely studied by Berlioz and Wagner.

Bizet's "Carmen" is the most brilliant and best to convey the romance of the nomadic desire in the gypsy. The ballets and operas of Delibes are like the fashioning of a piece of Sevres china. Cesar Franck's veil of harmonies envelops a multitude of themes so that the tragic ending almost gives one a sense of peace. Auber was the last to represent the Opera Comique and is noted for his simple melodies, and the rythm and brilliancy of his orchestral effects. Bizet's operas are notable for their abundance of local color, but Meyerbeer was the most influential except Wagner. He opened up a new epoch in French opera.

[27]

IV. WAGNER.

Wagner objected to the sentimental Italian music. He considered Gluck only a musician of airs, and himself insisted on absolute equality of words and music. His "Trilogy" is the longest musical work in the world, containing 984,033 notes. He discarded formal arias, finales, separate movements, to a great extent choruses, whereever histrionic delineation did not demand them. He considered a full close or final cadence quaint and for usual formal melodies substituted declamatory recitative or speech song.

Gluck and Wagner brought back undying principles of dramatic worth. In the days of Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti, melody was supreme. The dramatic truth was lost sight of and the melody was not appropriate. In "William Tell" and "Der Freischutz" there was a step onwards towards the Wagner reform and a return to the first principles of dramatic art as applied to opera by the Bardi coterie. There was recitative, declamation and melody. Individualism was the prevailing tendency, and the success depends on the forcibleness of character development by means of the leitmotiv. Operatic art was here swaying between Wagnerism and the ancient Greek drama. This union of drama and music does away with the old absurd Italian form, in which the libretto was a mere skeleton, the situations unnatural and the music inappropriate and undramatic.

The Wagner texts were better and abolished concerted music which was unnatural, and he demanded distinctness in ennunciation, musical embodiment of emotional speech, melodic independence of the orchestra and rapid and natural action. The Italian libretto was merely an excuse for musical adornment, but the Wagnerian opera[28] was a source of inspiration. Wagner translated every character, emotion, dramatic action, symbolic idea by a series of characteristic phrases. He joined motive to motive, developed with artistic skill a musical current rolling along in the orchestral accompaniment and ample in every word.

In his earlier works Wagner adhered to the lyrical conception of the opera. Speech was raised by stress of emotion into song with the orchestra used only as an accompaniment and, under this new system, effected an organization of instrumental and vocal forces. In "Das Rheingold" the orchestra is exalted to symphonic dignity with the traditional alternations of the formal song and recitative merged into free declamation. The symphonic treatment of the orchestra led to increased developmentt of leading motives. As symphonic music presupposes the use of musical themes, Wagner drew his themes not from the words sung by the characters but from the characters themselves, their thoughts, feelings and aspirations. In the love duet in "Die Walküre" the most delicious harmony is expressed.

Wagner was both a poet and a musician and combined poetry, music and pantomine painting. He is called the "reformer of opera", a "regenerator of modern drama". Wagner's great work aside from the leitmotiv was his work with recitative. Up to this time the recitative and the arias were dry, weak, barren and hampered every composer and poet. Up to his time the recitative aria and the ballet had undergone no organic change, though the aria had suffered many changes of fashion. He did not mean to sacrifice the beauty of sound in the Italian operas, but this had so far usurped the first place, while the dramatic motive which had inspired the[29] invention of the opera. His works are not conspicuous for pure melody, for he considered the dramatic effect of chords and discords. He paid deference to the language employed and the vocal peculiarities of the people, for the German words were unintelligible when sung to the florid Italian tunes. He wrote the vocal parts of his lyric dramas to bring out the force of his poetry.

He gave new expression to new ideas. Peri, in "Eurydice", concealed an orchestra behind the scenes. In Monteverde's "Orfeo", thirty-six different instruments were relegated to each personage. Wagner assigned an instrument or set of instruments to each person. His typical phrases are most interesting. He pictures the giants, in "Das Rheingold", with loud heavy octaves, the Nibelung, tricksters and schemers, with music of a descending figure, twothirds the interval of a seventh, the melodies of the Rhine with characteristic figures depicting slow undulation of water in its depths, flux and reflux of element, ripples on the surface and the motion of the swimmers.

His "Rheingold" music is truly scenic. It begins with a single deep tone and then introduces instruments of a lighter color. The graduated augmentation of the wavy accompaniment and the doubly delineative spirit reflects the sinless quiet of the Golden Age. There are themes for mental states and the evil Alberich is represented by abrupt jerky music. The orchestra discourses mournfully of the renunciation of love. Loga is depicted by fitful chromatic phrases which crackle and flash thru the orchestra. The sword phrase consists of major harmonies over sustained pedal point, and the thunderstorm of rushing figures in bass, and staccato lightning in short rapid figures in lighter instruments, crashing of the[30] wind in chromatic phrases, a hammering rythm for the Nibelung. Siegfried's boyhood is pictured as a wild forest lad with a hunting call, and when he gathers pieces of the spear the music accompaniment is in broken rythm.

In "Parsifal" the music depicts little of external things. In "Tannhaüser" there are fancies which Wagner wished to float thru the minds of the audience and the Pilgrim's Chant swells and disappears. In "Tristan and Isolde" the prelude represents the spiritual progress of the tragedy. The suffering of the wounded Tristan is shown by a theme of descending half steps and a closing cadence of short phrases which stand for the love glance is a downward leap of the seventh. The symbol of death is expressed with a sudden and unprepared change from A flat to A. The music consists of a few phrases which unfold themselves over and over again in a variety of combinations with continually changing instrumental color. "Die Meistersinger" prelude delineates the characteristic traits of the personages, and the symphonic introduction indicates the elements of the plot, the progress in its developement and the outcome. The two classes of melodies are broadly distinguished in external physiognomy and emotional essence, at first consecutively, then in conflict and finally in harmonious and contented union. The solid old burghers of Nuremburg, a little vain, are pictured by strong simple tunes with sequences of the intervals of the simple diatonic scale, strongly and simply harmonized, a trifle pompous in opposition to the passion of the lovers displayed. These themes differ in every respect, melodic, rythmic, and harmonic, and also in their treatment. The lover's theme is chromatic, the rythme are less regular and more eager by syncopation. This is harmonized with greater warmth and set for the instruments with greater passion.

[31]

Wagner's orchestra acquired gradually the functions of the Greek chorus, in that it takes part in the action to publish that which is beyond the capacity of the personages alone to utter. He unfolds thoughts, emotions, motives and passions by means of mode, harmony, rythm, time and the orchestration. By applying the principles of augmentation to a phrase in the three phases of melodic, harmonic and instrumental structure, he illustrates the tragic growth of Siegfried. He wrote his own librettos so that his works would be consistent. "Tristan and Isolde", "Die Meistersinger", "Der Ring des Nibelunger" and "Parsifal" realized his conception of what a poet composer should be. Music had usurped the place in lyric drama and music is a medium only and not an end of dramatic expression. His leitmotiv, infinite melody and symbolical themes gave his orchestra color. He used musical declamation for recitative secco, employed choruses with intelligent regard, and originated arias from the situations. Wagner lived for pure singing and did not make abnormal demands upon the voice like those of Strauss' "Electra". He has long solo passages and orderly development of orchestral themes, as different from Debussy whose sounds are not connected. Wagner elevated the orchestra from a mere accompanying force to an essential factor. He maintained that formal song should be abolished, that the dialogue should be musical and that the orchestra should have an orderly development of melodic material save when the climaxes justify an apparently disconnected dramatic melodramatic method. Damrosch criticizes Wagner because he says everything in his orchestra, and his singer is too little considered.

[32]

However, his operas are a tableaux of gorgeous glowing pictures, and he has had no successful imitation. His scheme of thematic identification and development in its union of calculation and reflection and musical inspiration, is beyond the capacities of those who have come after him. Musical critics and historians have been occupied with the question as to whether or not the progress in operatic composition is possible on the lines laid down, although his influence is a modification of the old method rather than the invention of new ideas. We look to the theatres of Paris for his influence in corrections and technical finish. The clear musical phrases of the "Flying Dutchman" are presented in symphonic way and there is an introduction, aria, scene, duet and chorus. The commencement of each of the three acts with a chorus was a mannerism, but Wagner scarcely ever employed it. In "Tannhauser" there is only one duet. He advanced individualism of the dramatic mood by banishing the aria. He made the orchetra the chief sustainer of the musical framework with the voice for the dramatic organ. The lyric recitative is reechoed at times by melodic phrases and developed motives. The extreme limit of Wagner's methods is "Salome", which is really a symphonic poem for a gigantic orchestra to the accompaniment of dramatic action with a voice obligato.

Gounod did not use prolonged themes unless for a dramatic or purely ethical reason. "Faust" is the best suited for the human voice. The orchestra never submerges the voice and is only a factor and not a sum total. At this time the Italian school was at the height where flimsy librettos only served to string together duets, quartets or choruses. In "Faust" there is the first artistic union of score and words.

[33]

Verdi had a keen dramatic vision and assigned greater importance to the orchestra than his Italian predecessors. There is an absence, for the most part, of set airs, and there is a continuity of musical structure. The orchestration is wonderful, but the voice still remains the centre of the musical system. The style is more that of Donizetti's than Bellini's, although critics declare the music of "Ernani" noisy and commonplace, with too much brass in the orchestra. His chorus was written in unison, and passed too abruptly from one piece to another, and his effects were not sufficiently prepared, but under his direction the brassiness was kept down, and a proper balance maintained. There is genuine emotion in his strains, significance in his melodies, characterization of personages and forcible construction of scenes, though he did not surpass "William Tell". He neglected concerted music and does not include one separate regularly constructed piece. His solo melodies are beautiful. His "Aida" is saturated with local color, Egyptian music, with a masterly combination of strings, woodwind and voice. "Il Trovatore" is not an opera but a set of detached pieces held in loose contact on a string. There was little action and we find page after page to be sung at the footlights with only mechanical gestures. Verdi avoided the "leitmotiv", and relegated mere tune to the background. In "Falstaff" there is a complete independence of restrictive formalism that modern music drama requires to illustrate the play, which enhances the significance of the situations.

[34]

V. POST WAGNERIAN SCHOOL—INCLUDING MODERN RUSSIAN, FRENCH, ITALIAN, GERMAN, AND AMERICAN COMPOSERS.

Michael Ivanovitch Glinka is called the "Father of Russian Opera". He combined the technique, forms and counterpoint of Italy and Germany with the Russian folksong and rythm. He was choice of his subjects, and thought that the management of the plots ought to be more simple, and the music in the style of natural song. There is energy and also vitality in "La Vie pour le Tsar" and "Russlau et Ludmille". In Russian folk songs we find the music suitable to the words.

The Russian folk like acting and their customs in their wedding ceremonies, etc., are an ideal basis for an opera school. Glinka used the fierce struggle of the contending nations for a background, and let the story be related and enacted by four central figures. His realism surpassed the trivial impossibilities of the Italian school. He did not combine involved themes in a pot-pourri style so that none could be distinguished, but rather created atmosphere. His instrumentalism is sonorous and uses five-four, six-four and seven-four time.

The "Pique Dame" of Tschaikovsky has a style like that of other composers beyond set forms of the older operas though not of the music drama. The arias, duets, choruses and ballets are dramatically appropriate, and the orchestra is more of a function than an accompaniment. In "Boris Godonnow" there is no principle tenor part, no principle contralto part and no principle soprano part. If it is a singer's opera at all it is a basso's, but it really is[35] more for chorus. The writing for solo declamatory passages occassioned the use of the lyric passages in the orchestra, which was made the purveyor of color. The atmosphere is not symphonic, though the development is important and we find a remarkable use of the leitmotiv but the composer never even heard of Wagner.

Nicolai Andreyevitch Rimski-Korsakov was a serious student of Russian folk lore. His music is free and expressive—so much so that when he studied technique seriously, it was almost impaired. His operas are versatile, but his "Snow Maiden" is a trifle old-fashioned, although he fails to express pathos, delicate tenderness etc. The stage phantasmoriga, of "Christmas Eve or Vakoul the Smith", especially at the transformation scenes is accompanied with music wild and bizarre, yet consummate in its descriptive finesse. He was dissatisfied with the foreign elements of the Italian form of opera which Glinka and Tschaikovsky could assimilate to excellent purpose. He cannot seem to decide whether opera is lyrical or symphonic. His orchestra suggests the soft freshness of a May night atmosphere in the steppes of Russia, the aroma of flowers, the enchanting long drawn notes of a nightingale interspersed with the love element, and the vocal characterization of the Mayor and the Bailiff in this "A May Night" is extremely clever. Like Strauss, he uses certain themes for certain instruments and has the Russian desire to mingle meaning and sound.

Wagner laid down the theories but his imitators have failed because they did not have his genius. Rimski-Korsakov is noted for his brilliant orchestration and the ugly and cruel music leading up to his situations, but he combines dignity and simplicity with realism and not with the romantic. The protogonists of his drama[36] are, the Russian people, and that is the reason for the extended use of the chorus. There is no central situation, as the people and one character, or sometimes two, make up the drama. It is easy to omit or transpose a scene thus showing the loosenes of the dramatic construction, which is a merit in a musical play, for the composer can express the central ideas of the drama without being bound hand and foot by dramatic situations. In the modern music drama the orchestra expresses all that cannot be expressed by the dramatic action and the singers. Rimski-Korsakov's is mainly a subjective expression of composition, while Moussorgsky's orchestra is never subjective, but always objective. Borodini's "Prince Igor" is a colorful barbaric ballet while in Dargomysky's "The Water Sprite", "The Stone Guest" there are interesting intermediary recitative sections, although the recitative of "La Pskovitaine" is dry.

Xaver Schwarwenka'a opera "Mataswinthe" resembles those of Wagner of the "Lohengrin" period. They are thoroughly modern. The muted horns in the orchestra give dramatic expressiveness in harmony and the composer uses the free arioso style. There is not the set form of the Italian school, but the modern declamatory arioso, monologues and duets, discarding recitative, and introducing massive ensembles with key complexity, but never smothering them with the orchestra.

Balakirew and Borodini employ good airs, especially in the ballet, and color their orchestra wonderfully. Cesar Cui used melodic recitative with the interdiction of the repetitions of words, and there is an absence of duets and trios and every piece of ensemble, and every one affecting a definite and complete character.[37] "Angelo" and "The Filibuster" are too extreme, for the three acts of recitaive become monotonous. This school's form is vague except for the audacious harmonization.

Puccini adds to Wagner's reform, with the peculiar style of modern French and Italian composers which alternates light and varied orchestration and melody, with harsh, almost crude instrumentation. He demonstrates that the orchestra may be made to interpret shades and transitions of rapid and subtle emotion, and he produced an actual musical diction with some of the finest passages for the orchestra alone. His sense of melody is supreme in his combination of Italian and German methods. His impressive manner of intensifying and underscoring dramatic moments in the action is unparalleled as is also his capacity for forceful and succinct orchestral commentary. He uses his music to paint scenes and makes continuous use of distinctive and rythmic melody and there is an absence of any definite characterization by means of a leitmotiv, for his work is lighter than that of Wagner's. He maintains that opera must have local color, so therefore we find an interweaving of American airs in his "Girl of the Golden West" and American and Japanese airs in "Madame Butterfly". His score is genuinely Puccinean and an influence of Debussy is betrayed in an harmonic way.

The prelude to "Madame Butterfly" Is not an overture, though it does state some motives. His songs constantly contain one melody in the instrumental against the unrelated vocal part, and he reflects the modern moods and ideas in a score intricate in counterpoint, rich in embellishment, full of the melodic fluency of the Italian temperament and strength of the German school. The[38] Japanese effects give beautiful lyric movements but they are not as great as Verdi's. There is intense dramatic vigor in "Manon Lescaut" which has spoken dialogue with running orchestral accompaniment and motives. "La Boheme" has neither overture nor intermezzo, and lacks sustained melody. Puccini is termed the only one with as much genius as Wagner, for he agrees that too much realism is cramping to good music, and he proves that music drama can be loosely constructed and need not conform to spoken drama standards.

Debussy, in "Pelleas and Melisande" places a statue on a stage, not a musical one, but one of dramatic action and declamation. The vocal parts are reduced to a minimum of musical expressiveness and the music, a sort of rythmless chant, is subordinate to action. He is about the only composer who makes music dependent entirely on the drama. Wagner's orchestra is a bug driving force, while Strauss' delicate shifting of the background of the polyphony does not drown the voices. Debussy does not compose with the aim of orchestral composition as do Wagner and Strauss. With Puccini, Debussy and Charpentier, the human voice counts as a real medium. In "Pelleas and Melisande" there is a tress on the naturalness of the recitative. Debussy makes music the servant of the drama and makes a symphonic use of motives which are not developed formally, but manipulated in an undercurrent of musical thought. He declares melody anti-dramatic, and in recitative with the orchestra there is freedom for individual interpretation. His "L'Enfant Prodigue" is composed along the regular lines and is his best work. He follows Cesar Franck's method of scattering a number of disconnected themes and leaving them to sort themselves.

In Dukas' "Ariane and Bluebeard", set melodies are avoided[39] and everything is in plastic style of music drama, with shimmering tone color and a wealth of orchestral touches. Louis Aubert's "The Blue Forest", is an effective combination of modernity and simplicity with much use of leading motives and some fairly definite numbers. "Les Heretiques" displays enervating voluptuousness and languor in the duet. There are grave and large accents for the invocation to Venus by Daphne. The orchestral lamentation at the close is graceful and the choruses are charming, but the dialogue is wearisome. He is a disciple of Massenet in his correct portrayal of the suavity, sweetnes and fascination of women. In "Le Petite Boheme" the orchestration is rich and effective and the dramatic action is developed.

Franchetti's "Germania" is a lyric two act drama with a prologue and an epilogue, aping Wagner, Verdi, Puccini and Tschaikovski. Delibes, a new dramatist, uses unusual discretion in the color expression of the orchestra but with very little acting. His modulation scheme is rich and more melodic, but it is almost as declamatory as that of Strauss. Saint Saens and Massenet are less radical with a light melodic orchestra. Massenet's music in "Le Jongleur" and "Griselidis" is not strong enough to atone for tiresome episodes in the plot. The chorus plays an important but invisible part, throughout.

The Charpentier orchestra and neither Strauss-like nor Wagnerian. His "Louise" is constructed according to Wagner but creates an atmosphere rather emphasizing themes. It has musical originality, dramatic novelty and picturesque reproductions of life, style, and a blend of romanticism and reality. He is influenced by Massenet in musical speech and orchestral style. He emphasizes the[40] lyrical element by the use of melodic recitative rather than by aria. He develops motives for descriptive importance with polyphonic style. The individual sonority of the orchestra reduses the stress on the orchestra's departure from the Wagnerian ideas. He reduced the dependence of these ideas to a minimum, and asserted the value of reliance on the native sources of music and drama.

Bruneau was a pupil of Massenet with undistinguished melodic patterns. He followed Wagner in the close continuity of drama and accurate characterization in music, fitting a characterization for varying dramatic atmospheres. His "Kerim" displays militarism and is a contrast to the pastoral elements in "L'Attaque du Moulin". His thematic manipulation is not flexible enough but his harmonic idiom is ingenuous and true to the qualities of race and time. D'Albert's "Tiefland" has a prologue and two acts, and combines the Wagner and Puccini swift and pliant orchestra, which colors and intensifies, but dispenses with the elaboration of Wagner's symphonic chorus. Chenier's "Liberia", strange to say, has one strain repeated and repeated. Chabrier is noted for his delicate expression and his fidelity and vigor of delineation. In "Briseis" the fresh aroma of the sea is suggested by the soft singing of the sailors without any overture or prelude. Bruneau in "Zola" writes flexible music and has a capacity for unmetred prose used for vocal purposes, a caustic rugged sincerity with an element of passion and little tenderness. Charpentier's "Louise" has the quick lithe movement of the Parisian character; gay, amused and amusing.

Richard Strauss uses a more complex orchestra than Wagner and we find leading motives as in Wagner. He is one of the most severely criticized composers of modern times. He has been accused of outrageous infraction of every musical law. The mood[41] in "Electra" is implicit in the play, but it is reinforced by Strauss' orchestration. Where Beethoven or Wagner entrances are splendid, the instrumental equivalent of Strauss grates. He is typical to the moods, etc., of the play. He uses discords to represent a mad woman, but is musically beautiful in the recognition of brother and sister and love. The chief characters are depicted by leading motives, dissonance and orchestral bewilderments, and his power of characterization is extraordinary. There are forty-five themes in "Electra". He uses different instruments to represent the different animals, etc. For instance, the grunting of the pigs is represented by six bassoons and a flute.

There are one hundred and four musicians in "Salome", with sixty strings and an organ celeste. Three men carry on an excited conversation, one in seven eighth time, one in five eighth time and one in four four time, while the orchestra continues its original tempo.

Puccini, Humperdinck and Mascagni are considered by many to be the best living composers. "Königskinder" is chiefly declamatory and never sacrfices the human voice for the orchestra, and expounds and illustrates, but never fails to support the shapely arioso by rarely defined melody.

"Conchita" by Riccardo Zandonai embraces a few fragmentary themes and the voice parts are declamatory without a melodic line or the shapeliness of an arioso. Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" shows the introduction of a new device with the performance of the orchestral interlude and division of the work into two parts, with the curtain remaining up and showing the empty stage. Both he and Leoncavello have written short operas with effective librettos, and they stand for dramatic verities.[42] Our American composers seem to follow different schools and styles without establishing one of their own. "Mona" by Horatio Parker assigns not a motive for a label to each character but a tonality, though only one blessed with absolute pitch can appreciate this. Walter Damrosch's "Cyrano" is in a post-Wagnerian style, a sort of melodious arioso frequently broadening into definitely shaped airs, with numerous ensembles, trios, quartets and choruses and the orchestra plays an important part, being continuously melodious, but not monopolizing melodic interest with leading motives attached to characters. "The Pipe of Desire", by F. S. Converse, has passages in a later Wagnerian style, and there are four prominent motives while the orchestra is exceedingly good, especially in depicting the "Naioa" theme. Victor Herbert's music is replete with local color and drama, and the representative themes are not developed, although his music is rather light and better suited for the operetta and the salon.

Thus we see how the musical forms of the opera have changed from the older more vocal feats to the newer well developed music drama. Gluck and Wagner brought back the undying principles of dramatic truth. In the days of Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti, melody was supreme and the dramatic truth was lost sight of. In "William Tell" and "Der Freischütz" there was a step onward, and with Wagner we find a return to, or reform, of the first principles of true dramatic art as applied to the opera by the Bardi coterie. Individualism is the prevailing tendency and succes depends on the forcibleness of the characters and the development of the leitmotiv.

In our consideration of the operas, from "Rappresentatione di Anima" to "Madeleine" we find the number of characters[43] growing larger, the orchestra more complex and perhaps usurping more time, the solo work increasing considerably, recitative increasing, ensemble almost vanishing and chorus work reduced to a minmum. The opera of the future will be a medium between Wagner and Strauss, orchestral music drama, and the Debussy incidental music, and the melodiousness of the Italian school. The most vital music dramas of the day do not abandon nor drown out the voice, nor do they cast aside all musical connections, but combine orchestra, voice and dramatic action in an artistic way.

[44]

APPENDIX OF TABLES.

Table I. This table is general, comparing, by means of a percentage system, the amount of space devoted to the orchestra solo, recitative, ensemble and chorus work in the thirty-four operas considered. The date, name, composer, number of acts and number of characters is shown.

Table II. This develops column "D" of table I and shows the first the entire number of characters, and then the number of sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, altos, tenors, baritones and bass in these same thirty-four operas.

Table III. This table develops "F" of Table I showing the entire percentage of orchestration in each of the thirty-four operas, and further the division of this percentage into that devoted to overtures, ballets and interludes.

Table IV. This table develops column "G" of Table I concerning solo works. The percentage of the entire solo work is given and this is then divided into the percentage devoted to that of soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass.

Table V. In this table column "H" of Table I is developed. A record is shown of the operas which contain accompanied and unaccompanied recitative of the thirty-four operas is shown, and this, in turn, is divided into that of soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone and bass.

Table VI. Column "I" of Table I is considered here. The entire percentage of ensemble work is shown, and this is divided into that of duets, trios, quartets, quintets and sextets.

[45]

Table VII. This table develops column "J" of Table I and shows the percentage of the opera devoted to chorus work and further, the division into mixed chorus and men's and women's choruses.

[46]
[47]

TABLE I. GENERAL.

[48]
[49]

TABLE II. NUMBER AND KIND OF CHARACTERS.

[50]
[51]

TABLE III. ORCHESTRATION.

[52]
[53]

TABLE IV. SOLOS.

[54]
[55]

TABLE V. RECITATIVE.

[56]
[57]

TABLE VI. ENSEMBLE

[58]
[59]

TABLE VII. CHORUS

[60]

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Books.

Program Notes.

Special Articles in the Programs.

Aid has been recieved from the following first hand sources.

Magazine Articles.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Development of Certain Tendencies
in Modern Opera, by Kathryn Eleanor Browne

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