Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 3.djvu/97

RECITATIVE. of a fuller Accompaniment. The only modification of the original idea which has found favour in modern times has been the substitution of Arpeggios, played by the principal Violoncello, for the Harmonies formerly filled in upon the Harpsichord, or Organ and we believe we are right in asserting that this device has never been extensively adopted in any other country than our own. Here it prevailed exclusively for many years. A return has however lately been made to the old method by the employment of the Piano, first by Mr. Otto Goldschmidt at a performance of Handel's L'Allegro in 1863, and more recently by Dr. Stainer, at St. Paul's, in various Oratorios.

Again, this simple kind of Recitative is as free, now, as it was in the first year of the 17th century, from the trammels imposed by the laws of Modulation. It is the only kind of Music which need not begin and end in the same Key. As a matter of fact, it usually begins upon some Chord not far removed from the Tonic Harmony of the Aria, or Concerted Piece, which preceded it; and ends in, or near, the Key of that which is to follow: but its intermediate course is governed by no law whatever beyond that of euphony. Its Harmonies exhibit more variety, now, than they did two centuries ago; but they are none the less free to wander wherever they please, passing through one Key after another, until they land the hearer somewhere in the immediate neighbourhood of the Key chosen for the next regularly-constructed Movement. Hence it is, that Recitatives of this kind are always written without the introduction of Sharps, or Flats, at the Signature; since it is manifestly more convenient to employ any number of Accidentals that may be needed, than to place three or four Sharps at the beginning of a piece which is perfectly at liberty to end in seven Flats.

But, notwithstanding the unchangeable character of Recitative secco, declamatory Music has not been relieved from the condition which imposes progress upon every really living branch of Art. As the resources of the Orchestra increased, it became evident that they might be no less profitably employed, in the Accompaniment of highly impassioned Recitative, than in that of the Aria, or Chorus: and thus arose a new style of Rhetorical Composition, called Accompanied Recitative (Recitative stromentato), in which the vocal phrases, themselves unchanged, received a vast accession of power, by means of elaborate Orchestral Symphonies interpolated between them, or even by instrumental passages designed expressly for their support. The invention of this new form of impassioned Monologue is generally ascribed to Alessandro Scarlatti (1659–1725), who used it with admirable effect, both in his Operas and his Cantatas; but its advantages, in telling situations, were so obvious, that it was immediately adopted by other Composers, and at once recognised as a legitimate form of Art—not, indeed, as a substitute for Simple Recitative, which has always been retained for the ordinary business of the Stage, but, as a means of producing powerful effects, in Scenes, or portions of Scenes, in which the introduction of the measured Aria would be out of place. [App. p.767 "for correction [of this sentence] see vol. iii. p. 695, note 2."]

It will be readily understood, that the stability of Simple Recitative was not communicable to the newer style. The steadily increasing weight of the Orchestra, accompanied by a correspondent increase of attention to Orchestral Effects, exercised an irresistible influence over it. Moreover, time has proved it to be no less sensitive to changes of School, and Style, than the Aria itself; whence it frequently happens that a Composer may be as easily recognised by his Accompanied Recitatives as by his regularly constructed Movements. Scarlatti's Accompaniments exhibit a freedom of thought immeasurably in advance of the age in which he lived. Sebastian Bach's Recitatives, though priceless, as Music, are more remarkable for the beauty of their Harmonies, than for that spontaneity of expression which is rarely attained by Composers unfamiliar with the traditions of the Stage. Handel's, on the contrary, though generally based upon the simplest possible harmonic foundation, exhibit a rhetorical perfection of which the most accomplished Orator might well feel proud: and we cannot doubt that it is to this high quality, combined with a never-failing truthfulness of feeling, that so many of them owe their deathless reputation to the unfair exclusion of many others, of equal worth, which still lie hidden among the unclaimed treasures of his long-forgotten Operas. Scarcely less successful, in his own peculiar style, was Haydn, whose 'Creation' and 'Seasons,' owe half their charm to their pictorial Recitatives. Mozart was so uniformly great, in his declamatory passages, that it is almost impossible to decide upon their comparative merits; though he has certainly never exceeded the perfection of 'Die Weiselehre dieser Knaben,' or 'Non temer.' Beethoven attained his highest flights in 'Abscheulicher! wo eilst du hin?' and 'Ah, perfido!' Spohr, in 'Faust,' and 'Die letzten Dinge.' Weber, in 'Der Freischütz.' The works of Cimarosa, Rossini, and Cherubini, abound in examples of Accompanied Recitative, which rival their Airs in beauty: and it would be difficult to point out any really great Composer who has failed to appreciate the value of Scarlatti's happy invention.

Yet, even this invention failed, either to meet the needs of the Dramatic Composer, or to exhaust his ingenuity. It was reserved for Gluck to strike out yet another form of Recitative, destined to furnish a more powerful engine for the production of a certain class of effects than any that had preceded it. He it was, who first conceived the idea of rendering the Orchestra, and the Singer, to all outward appearance, entirely independent of each other: of filling the Scene, so to speak, with a finished orchestral groundwork, complete in itself, and needing no vocal Melody to enhance its interest, while the Singer declaimed his part in tones, which, however