Page:Scottishartrevie01unse.djvu/414

358 to guarantee that they are exact. That was prudent ! ' The self-contradictory character of BerHoz's ideal, and his method of embodying it, is pointed out with con- spicuous acumen and fairness. ' He wishes to assign to the Symphony a task infinitely more complex than that which usually devolves on it, and yet he pretends to respect established form. He insists that opera might attain to a far higher degree of dramatic truth, and yet he proposes to gain this without any modifi- cation of conventional form : he acknowledges that melody should be the vehicle of musical expression, and yet he strives to render a sentiment not by a general effect, but by the most subtle nuances, and flatters himself that he is avoiding dangei'S of ' absolute melody.' In a word, his desire was to reconcile the irreconcilable. 'In general,' says Bei-lioz, in his Mi'- moires, ' my style is very bold, but it has not the least tendency to destroy what ought to be the constituent element of art — on the contrary, I seek to add to the number of these elements.' But in trying to extend and enlarge forms which do lend themselves to inde- finite extension, was he not exposed to the risk of destroying them altogether, and of overturning the art which he sought to enrich and consolidate ?

The great defect, in M. Jullien's opinion — and it is impossible not to admit great force in his criticism — is that Berlioz did not dream of the intimate fusion of poetry and music, which was becoming every year more possible. He left that idea untouched, along with a greatly improved orchestra, to his successor, Wagner. To Berlioz it was quite the same whether ii motive was intrusted to the voice or to any other instrument ; it had the same meaning, which ought to be equally easy to understand in either case. Wagner, on the contrary, held that music is all the more comprehensible, and therefore effiective, if it have some definite starting-point for its pathos, such as words can give. Berlioz's melodies, again, ' of which every tone taken by itself exhibits rare intensity of expression,' are not of the kind Beethoven hammered out with such labour. They are from their very nature incapable of contrapuntal or symphonic development, so that instead of amplifying or elaborating the initial musical phrase, or presenting it under a different aspect, he is driven to announce a second. It is impossible, on the other hand, to over-estimate his services to music in multiplying eff'ects in in- strumentation and timbre, or the importance of his researches into the possibilities of light and shade in expressive melodies.

The caustic style of his criticism and feuilleton- writing made him many enemies. His hates and enthusiasms were very marked, and knew no modera- tion. His critical faculty was by no means infallible ; witness his savage attack on Handel, ' Cet homme de ventre ' ; and on Bach. His much extolled wit seems a little poverty-stricken to our graver northern ears. Here is a ' boutade vraiment drole ' : 'A sailor accustomed to long absences from home said one day ; "Every time I leave Paris on a long voyage I see La Favorila advertised, and every time I return I find Lucia occupying the boards." To which a comrade re- plied : " Come, now, you exaggerate ; they don't play Lucia quite so often. When I leave for India I cer- tainly see La Favoiita advertised, but when I return I don't always find Lucia ; occasionally they are still playing La Favorila." '

His verse in Adelina Patti's album is a little neater — ' Oportet Pati.' ' Les latinistes traduisent cet adage pav — II faiit souffrir : Les moines par — Apportez le pate :

Les amis de la musique — Il nous faut la Patti.' It is in reference to the fund for the Festival in his honour, and for the Berlioz statue, that the witty little extract from Charivari is reproduced with its attendant illustration.

'Cher collegue, votre souscription me touche d'autant plus que vous avez attaque Berlioz pendant sa vie.'

'Oh! maintenant qu'il ne peut plus faire de musique. . . ! '

Franklin Peterson.