第39章

Rightlyconsidered，thequestionbetweenvocalandinstrumentalmusicamountstothis，Whatdoesmusicexpress？Thisisagreatpsychologicalquestion，andwehavenotnowthespaceortheleisurerequisitefordiscussingit，eveninthemostsummaryway。Wewillsay，however，thatwedonotseehowmusiccaninanywayexpressideas，oranythingbutmoodsoremotionalstatestowhichtheideasgiveninlanguagemayadddeterminationandprecision。Thepuresymphonygivesutterancetomoods，andwillbeasatisfactoryworkofartornot，accordingasthecomposerhasbeenactuatedbyalegitimatesequenceofemotionalstates，likeBeethoven，orbyadesiretoproducenovelandstartlingeffects，likeLiszt。Butthedangerinpurelyinstrumentalmusicisthatitmayrunriotintheextravagantutteranceofemotionalstateswhicharenotproperlyconcatenatedbyanynormalsequenceofideasassociatedwiththem。Thisissometimesexemplifiedinthemostmoderninstrumentalmusic。 Now，asinreallifeoursequentclustersofemotionalstatesareingeneraldeterminedbytheirassociationwithoursequentgroupsofintellectualideas，itwouldseemthatmusic，regardedasanexponentofpsychicallife，reachesitsfullestexpressivenesswhenthesequenceofthemoodswhichitincarnatesinsoundisdeterminedbysomesequenceofideas，suchasisfurnishedbythewordsofalibretto。Notthatthewordsshouldhavepredominanceoverthemusic，orevencoequalswaywithit，butthattheyshouldservetogivedirectiontothesuccessionoffeelingsexpressedbythemusic。“Liftupyourheads“and“Hallelujah“donotowetheirglorytothetext，buttothattremendousenergyofrhythmicandcontrapuntalprogressionwhichthetextservestoconcentrateandjustify。Whenprecisionanddefinitenessofdirectionarethusaddedtothepowerfulphysicalmeansofexpressionwhichwegetinthecombinationofchorus，orchestra，andorgan，wehaveattainedthegreatestsurenessaswellasthegreatestwealthofmusicalexpressiveness。AndthuswemayseethereasonablenessofDommer’sopinionthatinordertorestraininstrumentalmusicfromruiningitselfbymeaninglessextravagance，itisdesirablethatthereshouldbearenaissanceofvocalmusic，suchasitwasinthegoldenageofPalestrinaandOrlandoLasso。 Wearenotinclinedtodenythatinstructuralbeauty——inthesymmetricaldispositionandelaborationofmusicalthemes——thesymphonyhastheadvantage。Thewords，whichintheoratorioservetogivedefinitedirectiontothecurrentsofemotion，mayalsosometimeshamperthefreedevelopmentofthepuremusicalconception，justasinpsychicallifetheobtrusiveentranceofideaslinkedbyassociationmayhinderthefullfruitionofsomeemotionalstate。Nevertheless，inspiteofthispossibledrawback，itmaybedoubtedifthehigherformsofpolyphoniccompositionfallsoveryfarshortofthesymphonyincapabilityofgivingfullelaborationtothemusicalidea。ThepracticaltestimonyofBeethoven，inhisNinthSymphony，isdecidedlyadversetoanysuchsupposition。 Buttopursuethisinterestingquestionwouldcarryusfarbeyondourlimits。Whatevermaybethedecisionastotherespectiveclaimsofvocalandinstrumentalmusic，wehaveeveryreasonforwelcomingtheappearance，inourowncountry，ofanoriginalworkinthehighestformofvocalmusic。Itistobehopedthatweshalloftenhavetheopportunityto“hearwithourears“thisinterestingwork；forasarulegreatmusicalcompositionsarepeculiarlyunfortunateamongworksofart，inbeingknownatfirsthandbycomparativelyfewpersons。Inthiswayisrenderedpossiblethatpretentiouskindofdilettantecriticismwhichissocommoninmusicalmatters，andwhichisoftenpositivelyinjurious，assubstitutingafactitiouspublicopinionforonethatisgenuine。Wehopethatthefavourwithwhichtheneworatoriohasalreadybeenreceivedwillencouragetheauthortopursuetheenviablecareeruponwhichhehasentered。Evenrestrictingourselvestovocalmusic，thereisstillabroadfieldleftopenfororiginalwork。Thesecularcantata——attemptedinrecenttimesbySchumann，aswellasbyEnglishcomposersofsmallercalibre——isaveryhighformofvocalmusic；andiffoundedonanadequatelibretto，dealingwithsomesupremelygrandortragicalsituation，iscapableofbeingcarriedtoanunprecedentedheightofmusicalelaboration。Hereisanopportunityfororiginalachievement，ofwhichitistobehopedthatsomegiftedandwell-trainedcomposer，liketheauthorof“St。Peter，“mayfinditworthwhiletoavailhimself。 Wearegladofachancetointroducetoourreadersoneoftheworksofagreatwriter。Thoughnotyet[66]widelyknowninthiscountry，M。TainehasobtainedaveryhighreputationinEurope。 Heisstillquiteayoungman，butisneverthelesstheauthorofnineteengoodlyvolumes，witty，acute，andlearned；andalreadyheisoftenrankedwithRenan，Littre，andSainte-Beuve，thegreatestlivingFrenchwriters。 HippolyteAdolpheTainewasbornatVouziers，amongthegrandforestsofArdennes，in1828，andisthereforeaboutfortyyearsold。Hisfamilywassimpleinhabitsandtastes，andentertainedasteadfastbeliefinculture，alongwiththepossessionofafairamountofit。Hisgrandfatherwassub-prefectatRocroi，in1814and1815，underthefirstrestorationoftheBourbons。Hisfather，alawyerbyprofession，wasthefirstinstructorofhisson，andtaughthimLatin，andfromanuncle，whohadbeeninAmerica，helearnedEnglish，whilestillamerechild。HavinggonetoPariswithhismotherin1842，hebeganhisstudiesattheCollegeBourbonandin1848waspromotedtotheecoleNormale。Weiss，About，andPrevost-Paradolwerehiscontemporariesatthisinstitution。Atthattimegreatlibertywasenjoyedinregardtotheorderandthedetailsoftheexercises；sothatTaine，withhissurprisingrapidity，woulddoinoneweektheworklaidoutforamonth，andwouldspendtheremainderofthetimeinprivatereading。In1851heleftcollege，andaftertwoorthreeunsatisfactoryattemptsatteaching，inParisandintheprovinces，hesettleddownatParisasaprivatestudent。Hegavehimselftheverybestelementarypreparationwhichaliterarymancanhave，——athoroughcourseinmathematicsandthephysicalsciences。Hisstudiesinanatomyandphysiologywereespeciallyelaborateandminute。HeattendedtheSchoolofMedicineasregularlyasifheexpectedtomakehisdailybreadintheprofession。Inthisway，whenattheageoftwenty-fivehebegantowritebooks，M。Tainewasareallyeducatedman；andhisbooksshowit。Thedayispastwhenamancouldwritesecurely，withaknowledgeoftheclassicsalone。Wedoubtifaphilosophicalcriticisperfectlyeducatedforhistask，unlesshecanread，forinstance，Donaldson’s“NewCratylus“ontheonehand，andRokitansky’s“PathologicalAnatomy“ontheother，forthesheerpleasureofthething。Atanyrate，itwasaneducationofthissortwhichM。Taine，attheoutsetofhisliterarycareer，hadsecured。Bythissoliddisciplineofmathematics，chemistry，andmedicine，M。Tainebecamethatwhichaboveallthingshenowis，——amanpossessedofacentralphilosophy，ofanexact，categorical，well-definedsystem，whichaccompaniesandsupportshiminhismostdistantliteraryexcursions。Hedoesnotkeepthrowingoutideasatrandom，liketoomanyliterarycritics，butattachesallhiscriticismstoacommonfundamentalprinciple；inshort，heisnotadilettante，butasavant。 HistreatiseonLaFontaine，in1853，attractedmuchattention，boththestyleandthematterbeingsingularlyfreshandoriginal。Hehassincerepublishedit，withalterationswhichservetoshowthathecanbedociletowardintelligentcriticisms。AboutthesametimehepreparedfortheFrenchAcademyhisworkuponthehistorianLivy，whichwascrownedin1855。Sufferingthenfromoverwork，hewasobligedtomakeashortjourneytothePyrenees，whichhehassincedescribedinacharminglittlevolume，illustratedbyDore。 HissubsequentworksareatreatiseontheFrenchphilosophersofthepresentcentury，inwhichthevapidcharlatanismofM。Cousinissatisfactorilydealtwith；ahistoryofEnglishliteratureinfivevolumes；ahumorousbookonParis；threevolumesuponthegeneraltheoryofart；andtwovolumesoftravelsinItaly； besidesaconsiderablecollectionofhistoricalandcriticalessays。WethinkthatseveraloftheseworkswouldbeinterestingtotheAmericanpublic，andmightprofitablybetranslated。 Somethreeorfouryearsago，M。TainewasappointedProfessorintheecoledesBeauxArts，andwesupposehisjourneytoItalymusthavebeenundertakenpartlywithaviewtoqualifyhimselfforhisnewposition。HevisitedthefourcitieswhichmaybeconsideredtheartisticcentresofItaly，——Rome，Naples，Florence，andVenice，——andalargepartofhisaccountofhisjourneyistakenupwithdescriptionsandcriticismsofpictures，statues，andbuildings。 Thisisadepartmentofcriticismwhich，wemayaswellfranklyacknowledge，isfarbetterappreciatedonthecontinentofEuropethaninEnglandorAmerica。OvertheEnglishracetherepassed，abouttwocenturiesago，adelugeofPuritanism，whichforatimealmostdrownedoutitsartistictastesandpropensities。ThePuritanmovement，inproportiontoitssuccess，wasnearlyasdestructivetoartintheWest，asMohammedanismhadlongbeforebeenintheEast。Initsintenseandone-sidedregardformorality，Puritanismnotonlyrelegatedtheloveforbeautytoaninferiorplace，butcontemnedandspatuponit，assomethingsinfulanddegrading。Hence，theutterarchitecturalimpotencewhichcharacterizestheAmericansandthemodernEnglish；andhencethebewilderedignorantwayinwhichweordinarilycontemplatepicturesandstatues。Fortwocenturieswehavebeenremovedfromanartisticenvironment，andconsequentlycanwithdifficultyenterintothefeelingsofthosewhohaveallthistimebeennurturedinloveforart，andbeliefinartforitsownsake。Thesepeculiarities，asMr。Millhasablypointedout，haveentereddeepintoourethniccharacter。EveninpuremoralsthereisaradicaldifferencebetweentheEnglishmanandtheinhabitantofthecontinentofEurope。TheEnglishmanfollowsvirtuefromasenseofduty，theFrenchmanfromanemotionalaspirationtowardthebeautifulTheoneadmiresanobleactionbecauseitisright，theotherbecauseitisattractive。AndthisdifferenceunderliesthemoraljudgmentsuponmenandeventswhicharetobefoundrespectivelyinEnglishandincontinentalliterature。Bykeepingitconstantlyinview，weshallbeenabledtounderstandmanythingswhichmightotherwisesurpriseusinthewritingsofFrenchauthors。 WearenowslowlyoutgrowingtheextravagancesofPuritanism。Ithasgivenusanearnestnessandsobrietyofcharacter，towhichmuchofourrealgreatnessisowing，bothhereandinthemothercountry。Ithasmadeusstrongerandsteadier，butithasatthesametimenarrowedusinmanyrespects，andrenderedourlivesincomplete。Thisincompleteness，entailedbyPuritanism，wearegraduallygettingridof；andwearelearningtoadmireandrespectmanythingsuponwhichPuritanismsetitsmarkofcontempt。Wearebeginning，forinstance，torecognizethetranscendentmeritsofthatgreatcivilizingagency，thedrama； wenolongerthinkitnecessarythatourtemplesforworshippingGodshouldbeconstructedlikehideousbarracks；wearegraduallypermittingourchoirstodiscardthedroningandsentimentalmodern“psalm-tune“fortheinspiringharmoniesofBeethovenandMozart；andweadmittheclassicalpictureandtheundrapedstatuetoahighplaceinouresteem。Yetwithallthisitwillprobablybesometimebeforegenuineartceasestobeanexoticamongus，andbecomesaplantofunhinderednativegrowth。Itwillbesometimebeforeweceasetoregardpicturesandstatuesasahigherspeciesofupholstery，andplacetheminthesamecategorywithpoemsanddramas，dulyreverencingthemasauthenticrevelationsofthebeautywhichistobefoundinnature。Itwillbesometimebeforewerealizethatartisathingtobestudied，aswellasliterature，andbeforewecanbequitereconciledtothefamiliarwayinwhichaFrenchmanquotesapictureaswewouldquoteapoemornovel。