8/14/2019 French Composers With a Note on Maurice Ravel s Latest Work

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-composers-with-a-note-on-maurice-ravel-s-latest-work 1/4

French Composers: With a Note on Maurice Ravel's Latest WorkAuthor(s): Scott GoddardSource: The Musical Times, Vol. 66, No. 988 (Jun. 1, 1925), pp. 503-505Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/912827

Accessed: 04/12/2009 14:00

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless

you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=mtpl.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed

page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of 

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

 Musical Times Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The

 Musical Times.

http://www.jstor.org

8/14/2019 French Composers With a Note on Maurice Ravel s Latest Work

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-composers-with-a-note-on-maurice-ravel-s-latest-work 2/4

THE MUSICAL TIMES-JUNE I 1925HE MUSICAL TIMES-JUNE I 1925

from being really simple, except perhaps in a

few of the Mazurkas ?-the part of his work

which is so little in general favour as to

justify the conclusion that it is not deeplycharacteristic of the composer. One might ask

the same question of Liszt if one could be surethat as a composer he was a true genius. Can it

be that to the fastidious Chopin some secret was

withheld which was revealed to the bourgeois

Schubert; and can this have happened preciselybecause the one was fastidious and lived in salons

and the other was bourgeois and drank beer?

FRENCH COMPOSERS:

WITH A NOTE ON MAURICE RAVEL'S

LATEST WORK

By SCOTT GODDARD

It is no longer to be doubted that the time hascome when the attention of musicians which hasbeen so long focussed on things French is beingturned elsewhere. The change has taken placeso gently as to be almost imperceptible. It will

certainly remain incomprehensible to the sectionalmusician for some time to come. But the factremains that Paris has ceased to be in the

vanguard of musical evolution. It has given upthat place which it so clearly seemed to hold atthe time of the Versailles Treaty. Since then themusic that has come from Paris-with the

exception of what Stravinsky, who is not veryFrench, has put forth-has shown a pre-occupation

with questions of style, with the perfection andelaboration of what has already been attained,but not at all with fresh endeavour. It is not as

yet easy to see where the forward movement inmusic will most definitely show itself. Possiblyin Spain, where de Falla continues to strengthenhis position as a poetic craftsman. More probablyamong the Austrians, who acknowledge Schonbergas their source of inspiration. But wherever it

goes, it has already left France, and the time isnot far distant when a critical survey may bemade of the achievements of the Parisian school

(or schools) of composition.

Within the last few months two outstanding andwidely-different examples of modern French musichave been heard in London. One of them isin connection with the season of ballet thatM. Diaghilev produced at the Coliseum when'Le Train Bleu,' by Darius Milhaud, was given.The other important occurrence is the first

performance for many years in this country ofVincent d'Indy's Pianoforte Sonata in E minor,by Mr. Angus Morrison at Wigmore Hall on

January i2 last. Between these two aspects ofmodern French music a gulf is fixed. Thedistance between the two is greater than that

which exists between Ravel, to take a single instance,and either of them. For it is undeniable that ifM. Cocteau, the spokesman of the young group,

just delicately sneers at Ravel and his work, he

ignores d'Indy and his output altogether as beingnegligible in their effect upon the onward march of

from being really simple, except perhaps in a

few of the Mazurkas ?-the part of his work

which is so little in general favour as to

justify the conclusion that it is not deeplycharacteristic of the composer. One might ask

the same question of Liszt if one could be surethat as a composer he was a true genius. Can it

be that to the fastidious Chopin some secret was

withheld which was revealed to the bourgeois

Schubert; and can this have happened preciselybecause the one was fastidious and lived in salons

and the other was bourgeois and drank beer?

FRENCH COMPOSERS:

WITH A NOTE ON MAURICE RAVEL'S

LATEST WORK

By SCOTT GODDARD

It is no longer to be doubted that the time hascome when the attention of musicians which hasbeen so long focussed on things French is beingturned elsewhere. The change has taken placeso gently as to be almost imperceptible. It will

certainly remain incomprehensible to the sectionalmusician for some time to come. But the factremains that Paris has ceased to be in the

vanguard of musical evolution. It has given upthat place which it so clearly seemed to hold atthe time of the Versailles Treaty. Since then themusic that has come from Paris-with the

exception of what Stravinsky, who is not veryFrench, has put forth-has shown a pre-occupation

with questions of style, with the perfection andelaboration of what has already been attained,but not at all with fresh endeavour. It is not as

yet easy to see where the forward movement inmusic will most definitely show itself. Possiblyin Spain, where de Falla continues to strengthenhis position as a poetic craftsman. More probablyamong the Austrians, who acknowledge Schonbergas their source of inspiration. But wherever it

goes, it has already left France, and the time isnot far distant when a critical survey may bemade of the achievements of the Parisian school

(or schools) of composition.

Within the last few months two outstanding andwidely-different examples of modern French musichave been heard in London. One of them isin connection with the season of ballet thatM. Diaghilev produced at the Coliseum when'Le Train Bleu,' by Darius Milhaud, was given.The other important occurrence is the first

performance for many years in this country ofVincent d'Indy's Pianoforte Sonata in E minor,by Mr. Angus Morrison at Wigmore Hall on

January i2 last. Between these two aspects ofmodern French music a gulf is fixed. Thedistance between the two is greater than that

which exists between Ravel, to take a single instance,and either of them. For it is undeniable that ifM. Cocteau, the spokesman of the young group,

just delicately sneers at Ravel and his work, he

ignores d'Indy and his output altogether as beingnegligible in their effect upon the onward march of

French music. And, conversely, if d'Indyholds out the hand of friendship to Ravel witha dignified condescension, he will have nothing todo with these younger people or with theirMaitre d'Auteuil, M. Satie. And thus the chasm

widens year by year, work by work.All d'Indy's predilections start from the pointwhere Cesar Franck placed him during the

years in which he learnt from that master. Addedto this there is the vieille noblesse of his ancestrywhich fitted him for the romantic classicism ofFranck and his circle. He underwent that

schooling to the utmost extent of his, and of its,powers; wrote a remarkable reminiscent, critical

biography of his master; and now-head of theSchola Cantorum that he and Charles Bordes

founded, itself a tangent from the Franck circle-sustains the position of leader of the classicistsection of French composers.

The Pianoforte Sonata in E minor is classicalin shape: its economy of material is very stern.Two themes dominate the whole work. They arethe germ from which springs every melodicoutline that appears as the work goes forward.This economy is managed with great subtlety.The common relationship is never so insisted

upon as to become obvious. At the opening atheme and four variations are combined into what

approximates closely to the form of the firstmovement of a classical sonata. The lastmovement of the three passes in review thethematic material of the preceding ones. As

might be expected, the strongest influence that isfelt in this work is that of Cesar Franck. In

shape of phrase, in technique of pianofortewriting, in many moments of lofty expressiveness,Franck's example is the motive force. From this

affinity d'Indy goes forward, however, fartherthan Franck ever dreamed of going. He is less

detached, spiritually, than his master, and is awaketo sensations more mundane. Franck studied

fairly deeply, or, at least, read far, into Beethoven,and in passing on to his pupils the result of that

attachment, transformed the Beethovenic ideasand ideals into something quite other than those

Beethoven himself stood for. In Franck the lateBeethoven found a resting-place that was allsoftness and suavity, where angularity was roundedoff and roughness planed down. The curious

thing is, however, that without the later BeethovenFranck could not have written his pianoforte piecesas they now stand, and that the influence, thoughso tempered, is still so strong. D'Indy seems,for once, to have been chary of accepting hismaster's readings of Beethoven, and to have gonehimself to the original source. There he hasfound more than Franck ever allowed for, and inthis Sonata the influence of Beethoven, enlarging

the bounds of form and procedure, making use ofthe virtuosity of the pianoforte in a ruthlesslymasterful way, surpasses the less virile methods ofthe Franck school. To the ample design ofBeethoven and the graceful phrases of Franck,other influences are joined. The work is, in fact,

French music. And, conversely, if d'Indyholds out the hand of friendship to Ravel witha dignified condescension, he will have nothing todo with these younger people or with theirMaitre d'Auteuil, M. Satie. And thus the chasm

widens year by year, work by work.All d'Indy's predilections start from the pointwhere Cesar Franck placed him during the

years in which he learnt from that master. Addedto this there is the vieille noblesse of his ancestrywhich fitted him for the romantic classicism ofFranck and his circle. He underwent that

schooling to the utmost extent of his, and of its,powers; wrote a remarkable reminiscent, critical

biography of his master; and now-head of theSchola Cantorum that he and Charles Bordes

founded, itself a tangent from the Franck circle-sustains the position of leader of the classicistsection of French composers.

The Pianoforte Sonata in E minor is classicalin shape: its economy of material is very stern.Two themes dominate the whole work. They arethe germ from which springs every melodicoutline that appears as the work goes forward.This economy is managed with great subtlety.The common relationship is never so insisted

upon as to become obvious. At the opening atheme and four variations are combined into what

approximates closely to the form of the firstmovement of a classical sonata. The lastmovement of the three passes in review thethematic material of the preceding ones. As

might be expected, the strongest influence that isfelt in this work is that of Cesar Franck. In

shape of phrase, in technique of pianofortewriting, in many moments of lofty expressiveness,Franck's example is the motive force. From this

affinity d'Indy goes forward, however, fartherthan Franck ever dreamed of going. He is less

detached, spiritually, than his master, and is awaketo sensations more mundane. Franck studied

fairly deeply, or, at least, read far, into Beethoven,and in passing on to his pupils the result of that

attachment, transformed the Beethovenic ideasand ideals into something quite other than those

Beethoven himself stood for. In Franck the lateBeethoven found a resting-place that was allsoftness and suavity, where angularity was roundedoff and roughness planed down. The curious

thing is, however, that without the later BeethovenFranck could not have written his pianoforte piecesas they now stand, and that the influence, thoughso tempered, is still so strong. D'Indy seems,for once, to have been chary of accepting hismaster's readings of Beethoven, and to have gonehimself to the original source. There he hasfound more than Franck ever allowed for, and inthis Sonata the influence of Beethoven, enlarging

the bounds of form and procedure, making use ofthe virtuosity of the pianoforte in a ruthlesslymasterful way, surpasses the less virile methods ofthe Franck school. To the ample design ofBeethoven and the graceful phrases of Franck,other influences are joined. The work is, in fact,

50303

8/14/2019 French Composers With a Note on Maurice Ravel s Latest Work

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-composers-with-a-note-on-maurice-ravel-s-latest-work 3/4

THE MUSICAL TIMES-JUNE I 1925

a historian's composition. Now it is the rhythmof the Russian composers, now the harmonies of

Debussy. The work as a whole is a massive

conglomeration of affinities, a comprehensive over-

sight of the attainments of the last hundred years

or more. And yet when all this has been said,there remains over sufficient vitality in the

conception, enough personality in the work-

manship of phrases and movements, to give thework a reasonable existence of its own apart from

questions of extraneous sources of inspiration.Above all, the Sonata is deeply and sincerely felt.

It is also very soundly constructed. It will

hardly appeal at first hearing even to the most

receptive audience. There is a terse severity

surrounding its melodies, and there is not muchin it that pleases instantaneously. Familiaritywith the score brings to light an increasing

number of examples of fine thought and delicateappreciation of the values of tone and line.

The Sonata can be 'placed with Ravel's

'Gaspard de la Nuit' (written in I908, a yearlater than d'Indy's work) as one of the highestachievements of contemporary French pianofortemusic. The differences between the two worksare obvious. The things expressed, and themethod of their expression, are both dissimilar.The works are alike in the way in which they bothsucceed in doing things on the pianoforte thatcould not have been done with the same amountof effectiveness on any other instrument or

combination of instruments. They are purepianoforte music, both slightly tinged with theinfluence of Liszt's technique of pianoforte playing.A comparison of the two compositions instantlyreveals divergence of outlook, but shows as clearlythe perfection of form that French music alwayspossesses, strengthened by a depth of meaning thatis perhaps more unusual.

Between d'Indy and the 'PEcole d'Auteuil'there stands the now solitary figure of Ravel.In the retirement of a country existence Ravel

pursues with undisturbed composure a way that ishidden from all. Having early been exalted intoa sort of enfant terrible of his art, he has now cometo be considered a kind of Don Quixote. (Inthis signification it may be allowed to considerM. Roland Manuel as his Sancho Panza.)Suspected alike by the classicists and by the

younger groups, uneasily acknowledged to be yetas full of vitality as ever, he occupies a positionabove the battle. From time to time he throwsout a fresh work to be worried at by the opposingfactions.

He is as difficult to label as ever. It is as

impossible as ever it was to foresee his nextmove. He does not shrink from holding theview that it is not needful to hold any view at all.

It may even be that he does not clearly see whitherhe is going or what his goal is. In that case hewould assuredly be the first to plead guilty to thecharge. He shares with Schonberg this gift ofthe tentative explorer's humble-mindedness.None the less it can hardly be said with justifica-

tion that because of this uncertainty he will not goahead of the point that he has already reached.His purely technical gifts are undeniably service-able. The road he is travelling seems to be anarduous an,d circuitous one. In the meantime,

while the 'Ecole d'Auteuil' feels itself superior tohim, he removes himself ever farther away fromit and what it stands for. It is probable thathe it is who will effect a junction between theParisian and Viennese idioms. Already in theDuet Sonata (for violin and 'cello) he seems tobe directing his work towards that point.

Maurice Ravel's latest work, produced at MonteCarlo in March, is a 'Lyric Fantasy' in two

parts with no break between. The libretto is by

Colette, the authoress who has made it her aim to

interpret the state of mind of animals, giving theman almost human impress. At the same time she

seems to have tinged her really human characters,such as Claudine in ' La Retraite Sentimentale'and Renee in 'La Vagabonde,' with a curiousand disquieting animalism. In this little playwhich Ravel has set, 'L'Enfant et les Sortileges'('The Child and the Enchantment'), Colettehas taken animals for the larger number ofcharacters. And though the child is certainly alittle beast, he is a ' beast' in the school-boy senseof the word, not at all an animal like Colette'sother heroes and heroines.

The play represents the chastisement andeventual repentance of this beastly little boy,

who has always delighted in pulling the wings offflies, pinning live dragon-flies to the wall, pullingthe cat's tail, poking the caged squirrel with a pin,and cruelly annoying all that surround him. Thescene opens with the entry of his Mother into the

nursery, and his refusal to 'be a good boy.' Sheleaves him with his punishment-rations, and heexults in his naughtiness, pouring water on the

fire, slashing the hangings with the poker, until

suddenly the old easy-chair starts to move acrossthe room and, to the child's horror and amazement,starts a colloquy and dance with the little Louis XV.chair. The two tell each other of the bad treat-ment they have received at the hands of the horridlittle boy, and in turn the other pieces of furnituremove and talk, all vowing vengeance. The piecesof torn tapestry rise up, and the figures of shepherdsand shepherdesses dance sadly. The torn fragmentsof a picture-book stir, and from out of the midstof them there comes a Fairy Princess who mournsher broken life. The child goes to the fire, in his

fright. The fire spits at him. The cats come inand make love before his eyes. He finds himselfin the garden (the second part of the opera), andhears the tree moan over its bleeding bark cut bya knife. The animals threaten him-bats, owls,squirrels. (It is like the scene in the forest in

Kenneth Grahame's 'Wind in the Willows,' wherethe animals get lost in the winter dark.) Suddenlyall the enraged beasts fall on the child and start

rending him. In the fight he manages to creepto a corner, and there finds a little squirrel with awounded paw. He has a moment in which to

504

8/14/2019 French Composers With a Note on Maurice Ravel s Latest Work

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-composers-with-a-note-on-maurice-ravel-s-latest-work 4/4

THE MUSICAL TIMES-JUNE I 1925HE MUSICAL TIMES-JUNE I 1925

attempt to bind up the wound before he faints

away. The animals are filled with consternation.They bear him to the house. His mother comesout just as he awakens,and the curtainfalls as hecries out 'Maman!'

Such a tale should make a good opera. It issufficiently far-fetchedfor operatic presentation.There is no strainingafter an impossible realism.The whole thing is so franklymake-believe thatall the operatic conventions can be acceptedwithout hindrance. Ravel has filled the scorewith lovely music. All the little dances are

distinctlycharacterised. The harmoniccolouringis very varied. The rhythmic basis is ever-changing,therebeing such unusualmeasures as a'Valse Americaine'and a kind of music-hall-songFox-trot, which are balanced by an old Frenchdance for pipes and tabors. There is much fine

coloraturafor ' Fire' and for the 'Nightingale.'And the whole workends with a piece of delicatechoralwriting n the style of ' Ma Mere l'Oye,' asfinely expressedas anythingRavel has done. Inthe score there are pages which show a certainlikeness to the methodsof the Duet Sonata. Therhythmsof ' La Valse' are used with more rapidmodificationsand withincreasingeffect.

Of the orchestration here is as yet no chanceto judge, though this may be taken for grantedas adequate, it being the one provinceof the artin which even those who can see no good in himas regards general ability as a composer agreethat Ravel never fails.

The circleof young composersthat is at presentmost acceptable to the general public consists ofthose who at first were placed togetherunder themisleading title of 'Les Six,'and now are labelledas the 'tcole d'Auteuil,' a designationas vagueas the former one. CertainlyM. Satie does liveat Auteuil, and it is of course to him thatMM. Poulenc and Auric owe the definition oftheir undoubted talent. The simplicity thatM. Satie shows forth in his compositions is

upheld by these young composers. Each oftheir works reaffirmsthis attitude. It is tooearly to say whether this return to a pre-Bachsimplicity s more than mere attitudinising. Afterall, not a few great movementsin art started insome such way. Time must be allowed theseyoung Frenchmen in order that they may showmore fully the amount of truth that is in them.They may also be able at the same time to showhow much there ever has been in M. Satie.

attempt to bind up the wound before he faints

away. The animals are filled with consternation.They bear him to the house. His mother comesout just as he awakens,and the curtainfalls as hecries out 'Maman!'

Such a tale should make a good opera. It issufficiently far-fetchedfor operatic presentation.There is no strainingafter an impossible realism.The whole thing is so franklymake-believe thatall the operatic conventions can be acceptedwithout hindrance. Ravel has filled the scorewith lovely music. All the little dances are

distinctlycharacterised. The harmoniccolouringis very varied. The rhythmic basis is ever-changing,therebeing such unusualmeasures as a'Valse Americaine'and a kind of music-hall-songFox-trot, which are balanced by an old Frenchdance for pipes and tabors. There is much fine

coloraturafor ' Fire' and for the 'Nightingale.'And the whole workends with a piece of delicatechoralwriting n the style of ' Ma Mere l'Oye,' asfinely expressedas anythingRavel has done. Inthe score there are pages which show a certainlikeness to the methodsof the Duet Sonata. Therhythmsof ' La Valse' are used with more rapidmodificationsand withincreasingeffect.

Of the orchestration here is as yet no chanceto judge, though this may be taken for grantedas adequate, it being the one provinceof the artin which even those who can see no good in himas regards general ability as a composer agreethat Ravel never fails.

The circleof young composersthat is at presentmost acceptable to the general public consists ofthose who at first were placed togetherunder themisleading title of 'Les Six,'and now are labelledas the 'tcole d'Auteuil,' a designationas vagueas the former one. CertainlyM. Satie does liveat Auteuil, and it is of course to him thatMM. Poulenc and Auric owe the definition oftheir undoubted talent. The simplicity thatM. Satie shows forth in his compositions is

upheld by these young composers. Each oftheir works reaffirmsthis attitude. It is tooearly to say whether this return to a pre-Bachsimplicity s more than mere attitudinising. Afterall, not a few great movementsin art started insome such way. Time must be allowed theseyoung Frenchmen in order that they may showmore fully the amount of truth that is in them.They may also be able at the same time to showhow much there ever has been in M. Satie.

The Aberystwyth Musical Festival, which takes place o

June 26, 27, 28, and 29, promises to be an interestinevent. Modern writers will be represented by works frorthe pen of Gustav Holst (' St. Paul's' Suite and Ballemusic from 'The Perfect Fool'), Vaughan William

('Pastoral Symphony' and Mass in G minor), Coleridge

Taylor (' Hiawatha's Wedding-Feast '), Rimsky-Korsako(Sinfonietta), Sinigaglia ('Le Baruffe Chiozotte '), anDelius ('On hearing the first Cuckoo in Spring'). Thconductors will be Dr. Vaughan Williams, Mr. GustaHoist, Dr. AdrianC. Boult, Dr. David de Lloyd, Sir HugAllen, and Sir Walford Davies. Welsh choral items will bincluded in the programme,and on Sundayevening a singinfestival will take place.

The Aberystwyth Musical Festival, which takes place o

June 26, 27, 28, and 29, promises to be an interestinevent. Modern writers will be represented by works frorthe pen of Gustav Holst (' St. Paul's' Suite and Ballemusic from 'The Perfect Fool'), Vaughan William

('Pastoral Symphony' and Mass in G minor), Coleridge

Taylor (' Hiawatha's Wedding-Feast '), Rimsky-Korsako(Sinfonietta), Sinigaglia ('Le Baruffe Chiozotte '), anDelius ('On hearing the first Cuckoo in Spring'). Thconductors will be Dr. Vaughan Williams, Mr. GustaHoist, Dr. AdrianC. Boult, Dr. David de Lloyd, Sir HugAllen, and Sir Walford Davies. Welsh choral items will bincluded in the programme,and on Sundayevening a singinfestival will take place.

LISZT'S

'DANTE' SYMPHONY AND TONE-POEMS

By M.-D. CALVOCORESSI

There can be no question that the 'Dante'

Symphony ranks foremost, together with the'Faust' Symphony, mongLiszt'sorchestralworks.I must confessto beingeven fonder of the 'Dante'Symphony han of the 'Faust' Symphony. I findit more compact in texture; I find the interestmoresustainedandmoreevenlydistributedhrough-out, as regards he ideas and their treatment.

The most remarkable eature of the first move-ment is its extraordinary ehemence. The music

grips the listener at once, and holds him spell-bound untilthe end. The formmaybe described,roughly,as that of a triptych: for thereis a middlesection, lyrical and tender in character-it is

inspired bythe

episodeof Paolo and Francesca-

that stands in strong contrast with the seethingturmoilof the first and third sections. But apartfromthe reliefwhichthiscontrastaffords, he musicdoes not lag a single instant, nor give the listener

breathing space.There is a good deal of insistent repetition, but

it is never felt that Liszt is repeating himself

otiosely. The hypercritical reader of the score-

though not, I believe, the listener-may perhapsmake an exception in the case of a few bars

(seventeen in all) in the Andante Amoroso of the

middle section, which it is possible, a la rigueur,to cut if one considers things from the purelyformal point of view, at the expense of the

psychological. But apart from that. the pace is

sustained and the substance never thins out.

Another noteworthy point is that the dramatic

grandeur is marred by no single trace of histrionic,melodramatic over-emphasis. There is no singleinstance of meretricious facility. And a third

point is the perfect homogeneity and compactnessof the texture. Although a reading of the score

may suggest that Liszt indulges too freelyin purely chromatic patterns and trains of

diminished sevenths, the music does not ramble

nor convey the impression of holding together

loosely or precariously. Here is a purely chromatictheme from the introduction in the first section:

Ex. I.A4 &? ^ I _

LISZT'S

'DANTE' SYMPHONY AND TONE-POEMS

By M.-D. CALVOCORESSI

There can be no question that the 'Dante'

Symphony ranks foremost, together with the'Faust' Symphony, mongLiszt'sorchestralworks.I must confessto beingeven fonder of the 'Dante'Symphony han of the 'Faust' Symphony. I findit more compact in texture; I find the interestmoresustainedandmoreevenlydistributedhrough-out, as regards he ideas and their treatment.

The most remarkable eature of the first move-ment is its extraordinary ehemence. The music

grips the listener at once, and holds him spell-bound untilthe end. The formmaybe described,roughly,as that of a triptych: for thereis a middlesection, lyrical and tender in character-it is

inspired bythe

episodeof Paolo and Francesca-

that stands in strong contrast with the seethingturmoilof the first and third sections. But apartfromthe reliefwhichthiscontrastaffords, he musicdoes not lag a single instant, nor give the listener

breathing space.There is a good deal of insistent repetition, but

it is never felt that Liszt is repeating himself

otiosely. The hypercritical reader of the score-

though not, I believe, the listener-may perhapsmake an exception in the case of a few bars

(seventeen in all) in the Andante Amoroso of the

middle section, which it is possible, a la rigueur,to cut if one considers things from the purelyformal point of view, at the expense of the

psychological. But apart from that. the pace is

sustained and the substance never thins out.

Another noteworthy point is that the dramatic

grandeur is marred by no single trace of histrionic,melodramatic over-emphasis. There is no singleinstance of meretricious facility. And a third

point is the perfect homogeneity and compactnessof the texture. Although a reading of the score

may suggest that Liszt indulges too freelyin purely chromatic patterns and trains of

diminished sevenths, the music does not ramble

nor convey the impression of holding together

loosely or precariously. Here is a purely chromatictheme from the introduction in the first section:

Ex. I.A4 &? ^ I _

It is just the kind of thing which, used as

extensively as it happens to be, might lead to a

mere see-saw or turning in a circle. But nothingof the kind occurs.

The other-two main themes of the first sections

are:

Ex. 2.

It is just the kind of thing which, used as

extensively as it happens to be, might lead to a

mere see-saw or turning in a circle. But nothingof the kind occurs.

The other-two main themes of the first sections

are:

Ex. 2.

-Qn K i Jj 1 rQn K i Jj 1 r

,.0 , , . .. I .

,.0 , , . .. I .

V

t: L. 4--L: L. 4--L

,; T . *; T . *

50505