第38章

isintroducedinfullchorus，inacheeringallegromovement，preparingthewayforaclimaxhigherthananyyetreachedinthecourseofthework。Thisclimax——delayedforafewmomentsbyanandanteariaforacontraltovoice，“TheLordisfaithfulandrighteous“——atlastburstsuponuswithasuperbcrescendoofstrings，andthewords，“Awake，thouthatsleepest，arisefromthedead，andChristshallgivetheelight。“Thischorus，whichforreasonspresentlytobegivenwasheardatconsiderabledisadvantageatPortland，containssomeofthebestfugue-writinginthework，andisespeciallyrichandpowerfulinitsinstrumentation。 ThesecondpartoftheoratoriobeginswiththecrucifixionandascensionofJesus。Herewemustnoteespeciallythedeeplypatheticopeningchorus，“TheSonofManwasdeliveredintothehandsofsinfulmen，“thejoyousallegro，“Andonthethirddayheroseagain，“thechoral，“Jesus，myRedeemer，lives，“andthequartet，“FeedtheflockofGod，“commentinguponthecommandofJesus，“Feedmylambs。“ThisquartethasalltheheavenlysweetnessofHandel’s“Heshallfeedhisflock，“whichitsuggestsbysimilarityofsubject，thoughnotbysimilarityoftreatment；butinacertainqualityofinwardness，orreligiousmeditativeness，itremindsonemoreofMr。Paine’sfavouritemaster，Bach。Thechoral，liketheoneinthefirstpartandtheonewhichfollowsthesceneofPentecost，istakenfromtheLutheranChoralBook，andarrangedwithoriginalharmonyandinstrumentation，inaccordancewiththecustomofBach，Mendelssohn，andothercomposers，“ofintroducingintotheirsacredcompositionstheoldpopularchoralmelodieswhicharethepeculiaroffspringofareligiousage。“Thusthenoblestchoraleverwritten，the“Sleepers，wake，“in“St。Paul，“wascomposedin1604byPraetorius，theharmonizationandaccompanimentonlybeingtheworkofMendelssohn。 In“St。Peter，“asin“Elijah，“thesecondpart，whileformingthetruemusicalclimaxoftheoratorio，admitsofabrieferdescriptionthanthefirstpart。Thewaveofemotionansweringtothesensuouslydramaticelementhavingpartlyspentitself，thewaveoflyricemotiongathersfreshstrength，andonefeelsthatonehasreachedtheheightofspiritualexaltation，while，nevertheless，thereisnotsomuchwhichonecandescribetootherswhomaynothappentohavegonethroughwiththesameexperience。SomethingofthesamefeelingonegetsinstudyingDante’s“Paradiso，“afterfinishingtheprecedingdivisionsofhispoem:thereislesswhichcanbepicturedtotheeyeofsense，orlefttobesuppliedbytheconcreteimagination。 Nevertheless，inthesceneofPentecost，whichfollowsthatoftheAscension，thereisnolackofdramaticvividness。Indeed，thereisnothingintheworkmorestrikingthantheorchestrationoftheintroductorytenorrecitative，themysteriouschorus，“ThevoiceoftheLorddivideththeflamesoffire，“ortheamazedquerywhichfollows，“Behold，arenotallthesewhospeakGalileans？andhowisitthatweeveryoneheartheminourowntonguewhereinwewereborn？“WehaveheardtheopinionexpressedthatMr。Paine’soratoriomustbelackinginoriginality，sinceitsuggestssuchstrongreminiscencesof“St。Paul。“Now，thissuggestion，itseemstous，isduepartlytothesimilarityofthesubjects，independentlyofanylikenessinthemodesoftreatment，andpartly，perhaps，tothefactthatMr。Paine，aswellasMendelssohn，hasbeenadevotedstudentofBach，whosecharacteristicsaresostrongthattheymaywellhavelefttheirmarkupontheworksofbothcomposers。Butespeciallyitwouldseemthatthereissomereal，thoughverygeneralresemblancebetweenthiscolloquialchorus，“Behold，“etc。，andsomechorusesin“St。Paul，“as，forexampleNos。29and36-38。Inthesamewaythesceneinthehigh-priest’shallmightdistantlysuggesteitherofthesepassages，orothersin“Elijah；“Theseresemblances，however，areverysuperficial，pertainingnottothemusicalbuttothedramatictreatmentofsituationswhicharegenericallysimilarinsofar，andonlyinsofar，astheyrepresentconversationalpassagesbetweenanapostleorprophetandanignorantmultitude，whetheramazedorhostile，undertheswayofviolentexcitement。Asregardsthemusicalelaborationoftheseterseandstrikingalternationsofchorusandrecitative，itsoriginalitycanbequestionedonlyafterwehavedecidedtoreferalloriginalityonsuchmatterstoBach，or，indeed，evenbehindhim，intotheMiddleAges。 AfterthepreachingofPeter，andthesweetcontraltoaria，“Asforman，hisdaysareasgrass，“theculminationofthisscenecomesintheD-majorchorus，“ThisisthewitnessofGod。“Whatfollows，beginningwiththechoral，“PraisetotheFather，“istoberegardedasanepilogueorperorationtothewholework。Itisinaccordancewithasoundtraditionthatthegrandsacreddramaofanoratorioshouldconcludewithalyricoutburstofthanksgiving，apsalmofpraisetotheGiverofeverygoodandperfectgift。Thus，afterPeter’slaboursareendedinthearia，“Nowasyewereredeemed，“inwhichthetwelvedisciplesandthefullchorusjoin，aduetfortenorandsoprano，“SinguntoGod，“ bringsustothegrandfinalchorusinCmajor，“Greatandmarvellousarethyworks，LordGodAlmighty。“ Thecadenceofthisconcludingchorusremindsusthatoneofthenoteworthypointsintheoratorioisthecharacterofitscadences。Thecadencepreparedbythe6/4chord，nowbecomesohackneyedfromitsperpetualandwearisomerepetitioninpopularchurchmusic，seemstobeespeciallydislikedbyMr。Paine，asitoccursbutonceortwiceinthecourseofthework。Inthegreatchorusesthecadenceisusuallyreachedeitherbyapedalonthetonic，asinthechorus，“Awake，thouthatsleepest，“orbyapedalonthedominantculminatinginachordofthemajorninth，asinthefinalchorus；orthereisaplagalcadence，asinthefirstchorusofthesecondpart；or，ifthe6/4chordisintroduced，asitisinthechorus，“Hethatovercometh，“itsordinaryeffectiscoveredandobscuredbythemovementofthedividedsopranos。Wedonotremembernoticinganywheresuchadecideduseofthe6/4chordasismade，forexample，byMendelssohn，in“ThanksbetoGod，“orinthefinalchorusof“St。Paul。“Perhapsifweweretoconfessourlingeringfondnessforthecadencepreparedbythe6/4chord，whennottoofrequentlyintroduced，itmightonlyshowthatweretainalikingforNewEngland“psalm-tunes“；butitdoesseemtousthatasenseoffinalrepose，ofentirecessationofmovement，ismoreeffectuallysecuredbythiscadencethanbyanyother。Yetwhilethe6/4cadencemostcompletelyexpressesfinalityandrest，itwouldseemthattheplagalandothercadencesaboveenumeratedaspreferredbyMr。Painehaveacertainsortofsuperioritybyreasonoftheveryincompletenesswithwhichtheyexpressfinality。ThereisnosenseoffinalitywhateveraboutthePhrygiancadence；itleavesthemindoccupiedwiththefeelingofaboundlessregionbeyond，intowhichonewouldfainpenetrate； andforthisreasonithas，insacredmusic，agreatvalue。 Somethingofthesamefeeling，too，attachestothosecadencesinwhichanunexpectedmajorthirdusurpstheplaceoftheminorwhichtheearwasexpecting，asinthe“Incarnatus“ofMozart’s“TwelfthMass，“orinBach’ssublime“Prelude，“PartI。，No。22 ofthe“Well-temperedClavichord。“Inalessdegree，ananalogouseffectwasproduceduponusbythecadencewithapedalonthetonicinthechoruses，“TheChurchisbuilt，“and“Awake，thouthatsleepest。“OntheseconsiderationsitmaybecomeintelligiblethattosomehearersMr。Paine’scadenceshaveseemedunsatisfactory，theirearshavingmissedthepositivecategoricalassertionoffinalitywhichthe6/4cadencealonecangive。Togofurtherintothissubjectwouldtakeusfarbeyondourlimits。 ThepleasantlittletownofPortlandhasreasontocongratulateitself，first，onbeingthebirthplaceofsuchacomposerasMr。 Paine；secondly，onhavingbeentheplacewherethefirstgreatworkofAmericainthedomainofmusicwasbroughtout；andthirdly，onpossessingwhatisprobablythemostthoroughlydisciplinedchoralsocietyinthiscountry。OurNewYorkfriends，aftertheirrecentexperiences，willperhapsbeslowtobelieveuswhenwesaythatthePortlandchoirsangthisnewworkevenbetter，inmanyrespects，thantheHandelandHaydnSocietysingtheoldandfamiliar“Elijah“；butitistrue。Intheircommandofthepianissimoandthegradualcrescendo，andintheprecisionoftheirattack，thePortlandsingerscaneasilyteachtheHandelandHaydnaquarter’slessons。And，besidesallthis，theyknowhowtopreservetheirequanimityunderthegravestpersecutionsoftheorchestra；keepingtheeventenouroftheirwaywherealessdisciplinedchoir，incitedbytheexcessiveblareofthetrombonesandtheunduescrapingofthesecondviolins，wouldbelikelytoloseitspresenceofmindandbreakoutintoanuntimelyfortissimo。 Nodoubtitiseasiertoachieveperfectchorus-singingwithachoirofonehundredandtwenty-fivevoicesthanwithachoirofsixhundred。Butthisdiminutivesize，whichwasanadvantagesofarasconcernedthetechnicalexcellenceofthePortlandchoir，wasdecidedlyadisadvantagesofarasconcernedtheproperrenderingofthemoremassivechorusesin“St。Peter。“Allthegreatestchoruses——suchasNos。1，8，19，20，28，35，and39——wereseriouslyimpairedintherenderingbythelackofmassivenessinthevoices。Forexample，thegrandchorus，“Awake，thouthatsleepest，“beginswitharapidcrescendoofstrings，introducingthefullchorusontheword“Awake，“uponthedominanttriadofDmajor；andafteracoupleofbeatsthevoicesarereinforcedbythetrombones，producingthemosttremendouseffectpossibleinsuchacrescendo。Unfortunately，however，thebrassasserteditselfatthispointsomuchmoreemphaticallythanthevoicesthattheeffectwasalmosttodisjointhelatterportionofthechordfromitsbeginning，andthustodwarftheutteranceoftheword“Awake。“Tousthiseffectwasverydisagreeable；anditwasobviouslycontrarytotheeffectintendedbythecomposer。Butwithaweightoffourorfivehundredvoices，theeffectwouldbeentirelydifferent。Insteadofenteringuponthesceneasintruders，themightytromboneswouldonlyservetoswellandenrichtheponderouschordwhichopensthisnoblechorus。Givengreaterweightonly，andtheperformanceoftheadmirablePortlandchoirwouldhaveleftnothingtobedesired。 Wecannotspeakwithsomuchsatisfactionoftheperformanceoftheorchestra。Theinstrumentationof“St。Peter“isremarkablyfine。Butthisinstrumentationwasratherclumsilyrenderedbytheorchestra，whosedoingsconstitutedtheleastenjoyablepartoftheperformance。Therewastoomuchblareofbrass，whineofhautboy，andscrapingofstrings。Butincondonationofthisseriousdefect，onemustadmitthattherequisiteamountofrehearsalisoutofthequestionwhenone’schoirisinPortlandandone’sorchestrainBoston；besideswhichthepartshadbeeninaccuratelycopied。Foramoment，atthebeginningoftheorchestrallament，therewasriskofdisaster，thewindinstrumentsfailingtocomeinattherighttime，whenMr。Paine，withfortunatepresenceofmind，stoppedtheplayers，andthemovementwasbegunoveragain，——thewholeoccurringsoquicklyandquietlyashardlytoattractattention。 InconclusionwewouldsayafewwordssuggestedbyarecentcriticalnoticeofMr。Paine’sworkinthe“Nation。“Whileacknowledgingtheimportanceofthepublicationofthisoratorio，asaneventintheart-historyofAmerica，thewriterbetraysmanifestdisappointmentthatthisworkshouldnotratherhavebeenasymphony，[63]andthushavebelongedtowhathecallsthe“domainofabsolutemusic。“Nowwithregardtotheassumptionthattheoratorioisnotsohighaformofmusicasthesymphony，or，inotherwords，thatvocalmusicingeneralisartisticallyinferiortoinstrumentalmusic，wemayobserve，first，thatAmbrosandDommer——twoofthemostprofoundmusicalcriticsnowliving——donotsustainit。ItisBeanquier，wethink，whosuggeststhatinstrumentalmusicshouldrankabovevocal，becauseitis“puremusic，“bereftofthefictitiousaidsoflanguageandoftheemotionalassociationswhicharegroupedaboutthepeculiartimbreofthehumanvoice。[64]Atfirstthesuggestionseemsplausible；butonanalogousgroundswemightsetthepianoabovetheorchestra，becausethepianogivesuspureharmonyandcounterpoint，withouttheadventitiousaidofvarietyintimbre。 Anditisindeedtruethat，forsomesuchreasonasthis，musiciansdelightinpiano-sonatas，whichareaboveallthingstediousandunintelligibletotheminduntrainedinmusic。 Nevertheless，inspiteofitsgreatandpeculiarprerogatives，itwouldbeabsurdtopreferthepianototheorchestra；andthereisakindredabsurdityinvolvedinsettingtheorchestraabovethatmightyunionoforchestra，organ，andvoiceswhichwegetintheoratorio。Whenthereasonallegedforrankingthesymphonyabovetheoratorioleadsuslikewisetorankthesonataabovethesymphony，weseemtohavereachedareductioadabsurdum。 Nowwithintwoyears，Mr。Paine’sC-minorsymphonyhasfollowedthecompletionofhisoratorio。 Thesepeculiarassociationsarenodoubtwhatischieflyenjoyedinmusic，antecedenttoaproperlymusicalculture。 Personsofslightacquaintancewithmusicinvariablypreferthevoicetothepiano。