Page:Pratt - The history of music (1907).djvu/94



This region abuts on the west upon that affected by the Trouvères. Hence the western Minnesinger were often influenced by French models, while those in Austria or Bohemia were rather dominated by indigenous popular song.

The early strength of the movement, with its connection with courtly pomp, was evinced in a notable song-contest said to have been held at the stately fortress of the Wartburg (Thuringia) in 1207 under the patronage of the Landgrave Hermann—an occasion celebrated in a half-mythic way by a curious narrative poem (whence came part of the plot of Wagner's opera Tannhäuser in 1845).

In general, the Minnesongs differ from those of Provence in more emphasis upon the beauty of nature, upon religious feelings, and upon abstract qualities of character, though many are not wanting in passion, pure fancy and even jocularity. Their versification is far less conscious and artificial. They are often less lyric than epic or reflective in style, verging more upon heroic or bardic poetry than the casual songs of the light-hearted Troubadours. Being akin to the sagas and runes of the North generally, materials in them have often been sought for dramatic treatment.

The melodies were more austere and stately than those of Provence, though ultimately marked by the same modern rhythm, phrase and tonality, with the indescribable naïveté that belongs to Germanic folk-music. At first, however, they adhered more to the formless style of Plain-Song, not very different from a modulated recitative. The text was primary and the melody subordinate, so that, like the Greeks, the Minnesinger have been called 'rhapsodists' rather than song-singers. Yet the principle of the true song was not absent, finally shaping melodies into forms related to the popular airs that in the 16th century led to the Protestant chorales.

Performance depended much on the warmth and depth of expression imparted by the singer rather than on the essential charm of the tone-design. Hence Minnesongs can seldom be reproduced with the same pleasurable effect as, for instance, some of the Trouvère songs.

As a rule, the Minnesinger avoided the help of jongleurs, probably from a sense of the dignity of their art. They were their own interpreters and accompanists, and, though using the same classes of instruments as in France, were not apparently urgent about instrumental effects. The true Minnesong, there