674 MUSIC 



suggested. The incapacity to maintain the standard of style betrays 

 the lack of genuineness of the momentary spasm of inspiration which 

 seemed to promise such great things. The great minds maintain the 

 relevancy of the mood and the style. There is no variableness nor 

 shadow of turning in the rugged Promethean spirit of the first move- 

 ment of the Ninth Symphony, no shuffling make-believe to mar the 

 fiery concentration of the first movement of the C minor, no mundane 

 irrelevance to weaken the triumphant sweep as of the singing of an 

 infinite heavenly host in the Sanctus of the B minor Mass. The 

 consistent elevation of the style is equal to the depth and fervor of the 

 thought. 



All things are neither lawful nor expedient in style, but those only 

 which are perfectly consistent with the conditions, the material, and 

 the mood which the composer expresses. There is the style which is 

 apt for things mundane, and a style which is apt for things devo- 

 tional; a style for things pathetic, a style for things gay. Trivial 

 phraseology is out of place in times of mourning, tragic violence in 

 times of merriment. And as the style which is inconsistent with 

 the mood makes the product ring false, so is it with inconsistency in 

 relation to conditions of presentment the operatic work written in 

 the style of absolute music, the instrumental music written in the 

 histrionic style. There may be positive vulgarity in thought, but the 

 greater part of vulgarity arises from misapplication of style. While 

 even things little and light may be made admirable by dexterous con- 

 sistency of style, the greatest inspirations cannot dispense with it. 



In the end style is the sum of the appearances of all the factors 

 which make up a work of art or an entity. It is the sum of the out- 

 ward manifestations of qualities. The style of an apple-tree is the 

 sum of the appearances produced by the shape, color, texture, and set 

 of the foliage, the ruddy red of the fruit, and its relation to the color 

 and character of the foliage, and the angles of the ramifications of the 

 branches. The style of an orange-tree is quite different. The glossy 

 leaf, the bright yellow fruit, the scent, the method of growth of the 

 boughs, present quite a different effect, and suggest a different climate 

 and different conditions and surroundings. We can hardly imagine 

 such a monstrosity in nature as a tree made up half in the style of 

 an apple-tree and half of an orange. The absurdity of gathering 

 grapes of thorns or figs of thistles is self-evident. Yet the law of con- 

 sistency in art is just as essential and as logical as in things organic. 

 A perfect work of art is a perfectly organized presentation of an 

 original unity. If apples are found on one bough and figs on another, 

 men may guess that it is a sham. The perfect adaptation to condi- 

 tions entails perfect unity of style, and it may be inferred conversely 

 that complete perfection of style is to be found in perfect and relevant 

 con?i?tonov. 



