leo THE NATUEE OF MUSIC 



fellow man to whom you interpret these creations. 

 Your responsibility to the master-genius is twofold: 

 first of all, because the message of music is universal; 

 next, because the universal message embodied in 

 great music is the quintessence of an integral portion 

 of its creator's inner life, of his experience of universal 

 experience, for which he demands a corresponding 

 integral portion of your inner life and experience, — ■ 

 life for life, heart-beat for heart-beat, a whole for a 

 whole, and all this for each and every performance. 

 Your responsibility is not lessened in that your 

 performance is not handed down to posterity like 

 a building, statue and painting for deliberate con- 

 templation and for critical essay and assay. Yours is 

 but a moment, a unique moment in infinite time; 

 yours is a unique power and privilege exerted at the 

 musical moment when your heart-beat is merged 

 with the heart-beat of hundreds, even thousands of 

 your fellow men in one harmonious rhythm, **im 

 Ganzen, Guten, Schoenen." Worthy are those who 

 do not shirk the responsibility, who do not abuse the 

 power and the privilege. 



42. Subrhythm and Rhythm-Expansion. Music's 

 Classic Form 



The term period here used only in connection with 

 rhythm applies to rhythm-waves of every form and 

 length. There are beat-periods, subbeat-periods, 

 measure-periods, periods of two and four measures, of 

 three and six, of eight and twelve measures, and so on. 

 A beat-period may be divided and subdivided into 

 shorter and shorter waves or periods; a measure- 



