596 



MUSIC, RECENT PROGRESS OF. 



0. Cooke (London, 1871) ; a new and illustrated 

 edition of this work is now (1887) in course of 

 preparation; also, ''British Fungi," by Rev. 

 John Stevenson (London, 1886). For a thor- 

 ough examination of the whole subject of 

 fungi, microscopic and those herein treated, see 

 "The International Scientific Series," XV: 

 " Fungi : their Nature, Influence, and Uses," 

 by M. 0. Cooke, M. A., LL. D., edited by Rev. 

 M. J. Berkeley, M. A., F. L. S., with 109 Il- 

 lustrations (New York, 1875). The orders and 

 nomenclature of Messrs. Cooke and Berkeley 

 are those followed in this article. 



The nature of this subject is such that it can 

 not be reduced to the limits of an exact science. 

 The progress achieved has been chiefly made 

 within the past twenty-five years. Even at 

 the present time (1887) those best informed 

 are the most willing to admit that much still 

 remains to be learned. 



MUSIC, RECENT PROGRESS OF. The most 

 characteristic feature of the present standard 

 of musical art is the endeavor to express a 

 definite idea, which is steadily growing in favor. 

 This tendency toward the establishment of rep- 

 resentative music has for years been opposed 

 by one of the most eminent musical critics of 

 the day, Eduard Hanslick, of Vienna, who 

 holds that it is not the object of music to rep- 

 resent anything in particular ; but the increas- 

 ing number of partisans, defending the con- 

 trary view, that all music, without a concrete 

 thought or sentiment for its basis, is a mere 

 play with sounds, would seem to decide the 

 battle in favor of the reformers ; and a glance 

 at the musical literature of the day will show 

 that works with titles implying a definite pro- 

 gramme, that is, exacting a distinct conception 

 of their contents on the part of the listener, are 

 much more frequent than such as merely indi- 

 cate the form, be it symphony, overture, or 

 concerto. This feature is most conspicuous in 

 orchestral works and compositions for the pi- 

 ano ; but the literature for the latter instru- 

 ment with the co-operation of others, and the 

 domain of vocal music, have likewise been in- 

 vaded by the new spirit. The construction of 

 a melody according to purely musical princi- 

 ples, as we observe it in the operas of Mozart 

 and the songs of Schubert, is constantly be- 

 coming rarer ; the song of the modern school 

 is heightened speech, in which the main stress 

 is laid upon declamation and natural accentua- 

 tion, rather than beautiful melody, which as- 

 sumes prominence only by way of exception. 

 Likewise the instrumental accompaniment rare- 

 ly attains to melodious breadth, but is confined 

 to the treatment of short and pregnant motives, 

 following step by step the verbal sense of the 

 poem, which constantly requires new charac- 

 teristic forms, thus rendering impossible an in- 

 tegral development of pure melody. This may 

 be seen, not only in Wagner's musical dramas, 

 but in every lyric song of the new school. 



As a matter of course, music of that descrip- 

 tion can not become popular in the ordinary 



sense of the word ; nevertheless, we can under- 

 stand that works like the "Nibelungen Cycle "of 

 Wagner will, with the growing appreciation of 

 their intrinsic merit, rise in favor with the pub- 

 lic, and become common property, le*s on ac- 

 count of the music, than in their totality as 

 great works of art, full of sublime poetry. 



While cheerfully acknowledging the great- 

 ness of Wagner and the high importance of his 

 creations, a serious protest should be made 

 against the pretension that this kind of vocal 

 music is the only true and justified ; for, do we 

 not owe to the opposite combination of factors, 

 in which poetry makes concessions to the re- 

 quirements of musical structure, the entire op- 

 eratic and song literature of the past? 



Stronger than elsewhere the movement in 

 favor of representative music asserts itself in 

 Germany, where it is fostered by the Wagner 

 associations and the German Musical Union. 

 The latter, with a tendency to promote young 

 talent by the performance of new works, espe- 

 cially instrumental, arranges annual music fes- 

 tivals, alternately in a city of North and of 

 South Germany. Besides these, the court-or- 

 chestras at Sondershausen and Weimar are well 

 deserving of credit for the promotion of novel- 

 ties. The former had acquired wide reputation 

 under the able direction of Erdmannsdorfer in 

 1871-'80 ; in Weimar, Eduard Lassen, himself 

 a composer of merit, wields the bdton in the 

 spirit of the new German tendency. Foremost 

 among the musical institutions of the Father- 

 land stand the Nether-Rhenish music festivals, 

 which have taken place almost annually since 

 1818, in regular turn at Cologne, Dusseldorf, 

 and Aix-la-Chapelle (and until 1827 also at El- 

 berfeld), the former three cities combining their 

 choral and orchestral forces. Their object is 

 the performance of acknowledged masterpieces 

 on a large scale, especially symphonies and 

 choral works by the classical composers, though 

 without excluding important novelties by liv- 

 ing masters like Brahms and Rubenstein. The 

 stronghold of classical music is the Gewand- 

 haus Concerte at Leipsic, instituted since 1781, 

 at present under the direction of Carl Reinecke. 

 Of late even their programmes have contained 

 new compositions, somewhat out of keeping 

 with their general tendency. Other prominent 

 concert institutions are the court-orchestras in 

 Berlin, Darmstadt, Dresden, Hanover, Mann- 

 heim, Munich, and Stuttgart, the Giirzenich 

 concerts in Cologne, the Symphony and Bilse's 

 concerts in Berlin,thePhilharmonicand Laube's 

 concerts in Hamburg, Mannfeldt's in Dresden, 

 the Euterpe in Leipsic, and Speidel's popular 

 concerts in Stuttgart. Almost every consider- 

 able city has a singing society devoted to tlie 

 performance of great choral works with soli 

 and orchestra ; Stern's Gesansrverein and the 

 Singakademie in Berlin, and Riedel's Gesang- 

 verein in Leipsic, deserve especial mention. 

 Excellent exponents of church music are the 

 Domchor (cathedral choir) in Berlin, the Hof- 

 kapellen (court chapels) in Munich and Vien- 



