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Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the monumental figures in the religious history of Germany, undoubtedly7 the most considerable in the two centuries following the death of Luther. Like Luther, of whom in some respects he reminds us, he was a man rooted fast in German soil, sprung from sturdy peasant stock, endowed with the sterling8 piety9 and steadfastness10 of moral purpose which had long been traditional in the Teutonic character. His culture was at its basis purely11 German. He never went abroad to seek the elegancies which his nation lacked. He did not despise them, but he let them come to him to be absorbed into the massive substance of his national education, in order that this education might become in the deepest sense liberal and human. He interpreted what was permanent and hereditary12 in German culture, not what was ephemeral and exotic. He ignored the opera, although it was the reigning13 form in every country in Europe. He planted himself squarely on German church music, particularly the essentially14 German art of organ playing, and on that foundation, supplemented with what was best of Italian and French device, he built up a massive edifice15 which bears in plan, outline, and every decorative16 detail the stamp of a German craftsman17.
The most musical family known to history was that of the Bachs. In six generations (Sebastian belonging to the fifth) we find marked musical ability, which in a number of instances before Sebastian appeared amounted almost to genius. As many as thirty-seven of the name are known to have held important musical positions. A large number during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries [285] were members of the town bands and choruses, which sustained almost the entire musical culture among the common people of Germany during that period. These organizations, combining the public practice of religious and secular music, were effective in nourishing both the artistic19 and the religious spirit of the time. In Germany in the seventeenth century there was as yet no opera and concert system to concentrate musical activity in the theatre and public hall. The Church was the nursery of musical culture, and this culture was in no sense artificial or borrowed,—it was based on types long known and beloved by the common people as their peculiar20 national inheritance, and associated with much that was stirring and honorable in their history.
Thuringia was one of the most musical districts in Germany in the seventeenth century, and was also a stronghold of the reformed religion. From this and its neighboring districts the Bachs never wandered. Eminent21 as they were in music, hardly one of them ever visited Italy or received instruction from a foreign master. They kept aloof22 from the courts, the hot-beds of foreign musical growths, and submitted themselves to the service of the Protestant Church. They were peasants and small farmers, well to do and everywhere respected. Their stern self-mastery held them uncontaminated by the wide-spread demoralization that followed the Thirty Years’ War. They appear as admirable types of that undemonstrative, patient, downright, and tenacious24 quality which has always saved Germany from social decline or disintegration25 in critical periods.
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Into such a legacy26 of intelligence, thrift27, and probity28 came Johann Sebastian Bach. All the most admirable traits of his ancestry29 shine out again in him, reinforced by a creative gift which seems the accumulation of all the several talents of his house. He was born at Eisenach, March 21, 1685. His training as a boy was mainly received in choir30 schools at Ohrdruf and Lüneburg, attaining31 mastership as organist and contrapuntist at the age of eighteen. He held official positions at Arnstadt, Mühlhausen, Weimar, and Anhalt-C?then, and was finally called to Leipsic as cantor of the Thomas school and director of music at the Thomas and Nicolai churches, where he labored33 from 1723 until his death in 1750. His life story presents no incidents of romantic interest. But little is known of his temperament35 or habits. In every place in which he labored his circumstances were much the same. He was a church organist and choir director from the beginning to the end of his career. He became the greatest organist of his time and the most accomplished36 master of musical science. His declared aim in life was to reform and perfect German church music. The means to achieve this were always afforded him, so far as the scanty37 musical facilities of the churches of that period would permit. His church compositions were a part of his official routine duties. His recognized abilities always procured38 him positions remunerative39 enough to protect him from anxiety. He was never subject to interruptions or serious discouragements. From first to last the path in life which he was especially qualified40 to pursue was clearly marked out before him. His genius, his immense physical and mental energy, and his high sense of duty to God and his employers did the rest. Nowhere is there the record of a life more simple, straightforward41, symmetrical, and complete.
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In spite of the intellectual and spiritual apathy42 prevailing43 in many sections of Germany, conditions were not altogether unfavorable for the special task which Bach assigned to himself. His desire to build up church music did not involve an effort to restore to congregational singing its pristine44 zeal45, or to revive an antiquarian taste for the historic choir anthem47. Bach was a man of the new time; he threw himself into the current of musical progress, seized upon the forms which were still in process of development, giving them technical completeness and bringing to light latent possibilities which lesser48 men had been unable to discern.
The material for his purpose was already within his reach. The religious folk-song, freighted with a precious store of memories, was still an essential factor in public and private worship. The art of organ playing had developed a vigorous and pregnant national style in the choral prelude49, the fugue, and a host of freer forms. The Passion music and the cantata50 had recently shown signs of brilliant promise. The Italian solo song was rejoicing in its first flush of conquest on German soil. No one, however, could foresee what might be done with these materials until Bach arose. He gathered them all in his hand, remoulded, blended, enlarged them, touched them with the fire of his genius and his religious passion, and thus produced works of [288] art which, intended for German evangelicalism, are now being adopted by the world as the most comprehensive symbols in music of the essential Christian51 faith.[73]
Bach was one of those supreme52 artists who concentrate in themselves the spirit and the experiments of an epoch53. In order, therefore, to know how the persistent54 religious consciousness of Germany strove to attain2 self-recognition through those art agencies which finally became fully55 operative in the eighteenth century, we need only study the works of this great representative musician, passing by the productions of the organists and cantors who shared, although in feebler measure, his illumination. For Bach was no isolated56 phenomenon of his time. He created no new styles; he gave art no new direction. He was one out of many poorly paid and overworked church musicians, performing the duties that were traditionally attached to his office, improvising57 fugues and preludes58, and accompanying choir and congregation at certain moments in the service, composing motets, cantatas59, and occasionally a larger work for the regular order of the day, providing special music for a church festival, a public funeral, the inauguration60 of a town council, or the installation of a pastor61. What distinguished62 Bach was simply the superiority of his work on these time-honored lines, the amazing variety of sentiment which he extracted from these conventional forms, the scientific learning which [289] puts him among the greatest technicians in the whole range of art, the prodigality63 of ideas, depth of feeling, and a sort of introspective mystical quality which he was able to impart to the involved and severe diction of his age.
Bach’s devotion to the Lutheran Church was almost as absorbed as Palestrina’s to the Catholic. His was a sort of cloistered64 seclusion65. Like every one who has made his mark upon church music he reverenced66 the Church as a historic institution. Her government, ceremonial, and traditions impressed his imagination, and kindled68 a blind, instinctive69 loyalty70. He felt that he attained to his true self only under her admonitions. Her service was to him perfect freedom. His opportunity to contribute to the glory of the Church was one that dwarfed72 every other privilege, and his official duty, his personal pleasure, and his highest ambition ran like a single current, fed by many streams, in one and the same channel. To measure the full strength of the mighty73 tide of feeling which runs through Bach’s church music we must recognize this element of conviction, of moral necessity. Given Bach’s inherited character, his education and his environment, add the personal factor—imagination and reverence67—and you have Bach’s music, spontaneous yet inevitable74, like a product of nature. Only out of such single-minded devotion to the interests of the Church, both as a spiritual nursery and as a venerated75 institution, has great church art ever sprung or can it spring.
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Bach’s productions for the Church are divided into two general classes, viz., organ music and vocal76 music. The organ music is better known to the world at large, and on account of its greater availability may outlive the vocal works in actual practice. For many reasons more or less obvious Bach’s organ works are constantly heard in connection with public worship, both Catholic and Protestant, in Europe and America, and their use is steadily77 increasing; while the choral compositions have almost entirely78 fallen out of the stated religious ceremony, even in Germany, and have been relegated79 to the concert hall. In course of time the organ solo had grown into a constituent80 feature of the public act of worship in the German Protestant Church. In the Catholic Church solo organ playing is less intrinsic; in fact it has no real historic or liturgic authorization81 and gives the impression rather of an embellishment, like elaborately carved choir-screens and rose windows, very ornamental83 and impressive, but not indispensable. But in the German system organ playing had become established by a sort of logic84, first as an accompaniment to the people’s hymn85—a function it assumed about 1600—and afterwards in the practice of extemporization86 upon choral themes. Out of this latter custom a style of organ composition grew up in the seventeenth century which, through association and a more or less definite correspondence with the spirit and order of the prescribed service, came to be looked upon as distinctively87 a church style. This German organ music was strictly88 church music according to the only adequate definition of church music that has ever been given, for it had grown up within the Church itself, and through its very liturgic connections had come to make its appeal to the worshipers, [291] not as an artistic decoration, but as an agency directly adapted to aid in promoting those ends which the church ceremony had in view. Furthermore, the dignity and severe intellectuality of this German organ style, combined with its majesty89 of sound and strength of movement, seemed to add distinctly to the biblical flavor of the liturgy90, the uncompromising dogmatism of the authoritative91 teaching, and the intense moral earnestness which prevailed in the Church of Luther in its best estate. It was a form of art which was native to the organ, implied in the very tone and mechanism92 of the instrument; it was absolutely untouched by the lighter93 tendencies already active in secular music. The notion of making the organ play pretty tunes94 and tickle96 the ear with the imitative sound of fancy stops never entered the heads of the German church musicians. The gravity and disciplined intelligence proper to the exercise of an ecclesiastical office must pervade97 every contribution of the organist. This conception was equally a matter of course to the mass of the people, and so the taste of the congregation and the conviction of the clerical authorities supported the organists in their adherence98 to the traditions of their strict and complex art. This lordly style was no less worthy99 of reverence in the eyes of all concerned because it was to all intents a German art, virtually unknown in other countries, except partially100 in the sister land of Holland, and therefore hedged about with the sanctions of patriotism101 as well as the universally admitted canons of religious musical expression.
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This form of music was evolved originally under the suggestion of the mediaeval vocal polyphony,—counterpoint redistributed and systematized in accordance with the modern development of rhythm, tonality, and sectional structure. Its birthplace was Italy; the canzona of Frescobaldi and his compeers was the parent of the fugue. The task of developing this Italian germ was given to the Dutch and Germans. The instrumental instinct and constructive102 genius of such men as Swelinck, Scheidt, Buxtehude, Froberger, and Pachelbel carried the movement so far as to reveal its full possibilities, and Bach brought these possibilities to complete realization103.
As an organ player and composer it would seem that Bach stands at the summit of human achievement. His whole art as a player is to be found in his fugues, preludes, fantasies, toccatas, sonatas105, and choral variations. In his fugues he shows perhaps most convincingly that supreme mastery of design and splendor106 of invention and fancy which have given him the place he holds by universal consent among the greatest artists of all time. In these compositions there is a variety and individuality which, without such examples, one could hardly suppose that this arbitrary form of construction would admit. With Bach the fugue is no dry intellectual exercise. So far as the absolutism of its laws permits, Bach’s imagination moved as freely in the fugue as Beethoven’s in the sonata104 or Schubert’s in the lied. Its peculiar idiom was as native to him as his rugged107 Teuton speech. A German student’s musical education in that day began with counterpoint, as at the present time it begins with figured bass108 harmony; the ability to write every species of polyphony with ease [293] was a matter of course with every musical apprentice109. But with Bach, the master, the fugue was not merely the sign of technical facility; it was a means of expression, a supreme manifestation110 of style. By the telling force of his subjects, the amazing dexterity111 and rich fancy displayed in their treatment, the ability to cover the widest range of emotional suggestion, his fugues appeal to a far deeper sense than wonder at technical cleverness. Considering that it lies in the very essence of the contrapuntal style that it should be governed by certain very rigid112 laws of design and procedure, we may apply to Bach’s organ works in general a term that has been given to architecture, and say that they are “construction beautified.” By this is meant that every feature, however beautiful in itself, finds its final charm and justification113 only as a necessary component114 in the comprehensive plan. Each detail helps to push onward115 the systematic116 unfolding of the design, it falls into its place by virtue117 of the laws of fitness and proportion; logical and organic, but at the same time decorative and satisfactory to the aesthetic118 sense. There is indeed something almost architectonic in these masterpieces of the great Sebastian. In their superb rolling harmonies, their dense119 involutions, their subtle and inevitable unfoldings, their long-drawn120 cadences121, and their thrilling climaxes122, they seem to possess a fit relation to the vaulted123, reverberating124 ceilings, the massive pillars, and the half-lighted recesses125 of the sombre old buildings in which they had their birth. In both the architecture and the music we seem to apprehend126 a religious earnestness which drew its nourishment127 from the most hidden depths of the soul, and which, even in its moments of exultation128, would not appear to disregard those stern convictions in which it believed that it found the essentials of its faith.
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A form of instrumental music existed in the German Protestant Church which was peculiar to that institution, and which was exceedingly significant as forming a connecting link between organ solo playing and the congregational worship. We have seen that the choral, at the very establishment of the new order by Luther, became a characteristic feature of the office of devotion, entering into the very framework of the liturgy by virtue of the official appointment of particular hymns129 (Hauptlieder) on certain days. As soon as the art of organ playing set out upon its independent career early in the seventeenth century, the organists began to take up the choral melodies as subjects for extempore performance. These tunes were especially adapted to this purpose by reason of their stately movement and breadth of style, which gave opportunity for the display of that mastery of florid harmonization in which the essence of the organist’s art consisted. The organist never played the printed compositions of others, or even his own, for voluntaries. He would no more think of doing so than a clergyman would preach another man’s sermon, or even read one of his own from manuscript. To this day German unwritten law is rigorous on both these matters. The organist’s method was always to improvise131 in the strict style upon themes invented by himself or borrowed from other sources. Nothing was more natural than that he should use the choral tunes as his [295] quarry132, not only on account of their technical suitableness, but still more from the interest that would be aroused in the congregation, and the unity71 that would be established between the office of the organist and that of the people. The chorals that were appointed for the day would commonly furnish the player with his raw material, and the song of the people would appear again soaring above their heads, adorned133 by effective tonal combinations. This method could also be employed to a more moderate extent in accompanying the congregation as they sang the hymn in unison134; interludes between the stanzas135 and even flourishes at the ends of the lines would give scope to the organist to exhibit his knowledge and fancy. The long-winded interlude at last became an abuse, and was reduced or suppressed; but the free organ prelude on the entire choral melody grew in favor, and before Bach’s day ability in this line was the chief test of a player’s competence137. In Bach’s early days choral preludes by famous masters had found their way into print in large numbers, and were the objects of his assiduous study. His own productions in this class surpassed all his models, and as a free improviser138 on choral themes he excelled all his contemporaries. “I had supposed,” said the famous Reinken, who at the age of ninety-seven heard Bach extemporize139 on “An Wasserflüssen Babylon” at Hamburg,—“I had supposed that this art was dead, but I see that it still lives in you.” In this species of playing, the hymn melody is given out with one hand or upon the pedals, while around it is woven a network of freely moving parts. The prelude may be brief, [296] included within the space limits of the original melody, or it may be indefinitely extended by increasing the length of the choral notes and working out interludes between the lines. The one hundred and thirty choral preludes which have come down to us from Bach’s pen are samples of the kind of thing that he was extemporizing140 Sunday after Sunday. In these pieces the accompaniment is sometimes fashioned on the basis of a definite melodic141 figure which is carried, with modulations and subtle modifications142, all through the stanza136, sometimes on figures whose pattern changes with every line; while beneath or within the sounding arabesques144 are heard the long sonorous145 notes of the choral, holding the hearer firmly to the ground idea which the player’s art is striving to impress and beautify. This form of music is something very different from the “theme and variations,” which has played so conspicuous146 a part in the modern instrumental school from Haydn down to the present. In the choral prelude there is no modification143 of the theme itself; the subject in single notes forms a cantus firmus, on the same principle that appears in the mediaeval vocal polyphony, around which the freely invented parts, moving laterally147, are entwined. Although these compositions vary greatly in length, a single presentation of the decorated choral tune95 suffices with Bach except in rare instances, such as the prelude on “O Lamm Gottes unschuldig,” in which the melody is given out three times, with a different scheme of ornament82 at each repetition.
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That Bach always restricts his choral elaboration to the end of illustrating148 the sentiment of the words with which the theme is illustrated149 would be saying too much. Certainly he often does so, as in such beautiful examples as “O Mensch, bewein’ dein’ Sünde gross,” “Schmücke dich, meine liebe Seele,” and that touching150 setting of “Wenn wir in h?chsten N?then sein” which Bach dictated151 upon his deathbed. But the purpose of the choral prelude in the church worship was not necessarily to reflect and emphasize the thought of the hymn. This usage having become conventional, and the organist being allowed much latitude152 in his treatment, his pride in his science would lead him to dilate153 and elaborate according to a musical rather than a poetic154 impulse, thinking less of appropriateness to a precise mood (an idea which, indeed, had hardly became lodged155 in instrumental music in Bach’s time) than of producing an abstract work of art contrived156 in accordance with the formal prescriptions157 of German musical science. The majority of Bach’s works in this form are, it must be said, conventional and scholastic159, some even dry and pedantic160. Efforts at popularizing them at the present day have but slight success; but in not a few Bach’s craving161 for expression crops out, and some of his most gracious inspirations are to be found in these incidental and apparently162 fugitive163 productions.
In order to win the clue to Bach’s vocal as well as his instrumental style, we must constantly refer back to his works for the organ. As H?ndel’s genius in oratorio164 was shaped under the influence of the Italian aria46, direct or derived165, and as certain modern composers, such as Berlioz, seize their first conceptions already clothed in orchestral garb166, so Bach seemed to think in [298] terms of the organ. Examine one of his contrapuntal choruses, or even one of his arias167 with its obligato accompaniment, and you are instantly reminded of the mode of facture of his organ pieces. His education rested upon organ music, and he only yielded to one of the most potent168 influences of his time when he made the organ the dominant169 factor in his musical expression. The instrumental genius of Germany had already come to self-consciousness at the end of the seventeenth century, and was as plainly revealing itself in organ music as it did a century later in the sonata and symphony. The virtuoso170 spirit—the just pride in technical skill—always keeps pace with the development of style; in the nature of things these two are mutually dependent elements in progress. In Bach the love of exercising his skill as an executant was a part of his very birthright as a musician. The organ was to him very much what the pianoforte was to Liszt, and in each the virtuoso instinct was a fire which must burst forth171, or it would consume the very soul of its possessor. And so we find among the fugues, fantasies, and toccatas of Bach compositions whose dazzling magnificence is not exceeded by the most sensational172 effusions of the modern pianoforte and orchestral schools. In all the realm of music there is nothing more superb than those Niagaras of impetuous sound which roll through such works as the F major and D minor173 toccatas and the G major fantasie,—to select examples out of scores of equally apt illustrations. But sound and fury are by no means their aim; Bach’s invention and science are never more resourceful than when apparently driven by the demon23 of unrest. In [299] order to give the freest sweep to his fancy Bach, the supreme lord of form, often broke through form’s conventionalisms, so that even his fugues sometimes became, as they have been called, fantasies in the form of fugues, just as Beethoven, under a similar impulse, wrote sonate quasi fantasie. Witness the E minor fugue with the “wedge theme.” In Bach’s day and country there was no concert stage; the instrumental virtuoso was the organist. It is not necessary to suppose, therefore, that pieces so exciting to the nerves as those to which I have alluded174 were all composed strictly for the ordinary church worship. There were many occasions, such as the “opening” of a new organ or a civic175 festival, when the organist could “let himself go” without incurring176 the charge of introducing a profane177 or alien element. And yet, even as church music, these pieces were not altogether incongruous. We must always keep in mind that the question of appropriateness in church music depends very much upon association and custom. A style that would be execrated178 as blasphemous179 in a Calvinist assembly would be received as perfectly180 becoming in a Catholic or Lutheran ceremony. A style of music that has grown up in the very heart of a certain Church, identified for generations with the peculiar ritual and history of that Church, is proper ecclesiastical music so far as that particular institution is concerned. Those who condemn181 Bach’s music—organ works, cantatas, and Passions—as unchurchly ignore this vital point. Moreover, the conception of the function of music in the service of the German Evangelical Church was never so austere182 that brilliancy and grandeur183 [300] were deemed incompatible184 with the theory of religious ceremony. It may be said that Bach’s grandest organ pieces are conceived as the expression of what may be called the religious passion—the rapture185 which may not unworthily come upon the believer when his soul opens to the reception of ideas the most penetrating186 and sublime187.
Certainly no other religious institution has come so near the solution of the problem of the proper use of the instrumental solo in public worship. Through the connection of the organ music with the people’s hymn in the choral prelude, and the conformity188 of its style to that of the choir music in motet and cantata, it became vitally blended with the whole office of praise and prayer; its effect was to gather up and merge189 all individual emotions into the projection190 of the mood of aspiration191 that was common to all.
The work performed by Bach for the church cantata was somewhat similar in nature to his service to the choral prelude, and was carried out with a far more lavish192 expenditure193 of creative power. The cantata, now no longer a constituent of the German Evangelical worship, in the eighteenth century held a place in the ritual analogous194 to that occupied by the anthem in the morning and evening prayer of the Church of England. It is always of larger scale than the anthem, and its size was one cause of its exclusion195 in the arbitrary and irregular reductions which the Evangelical liturgies196 have undergone in the last century and a half. There is nothing in its florid character to justify197 this procedure, for it may be, and in Bach usually is, more closely related to the [301] ritual framework than the English anthem, in consequence of the manner in which it has been made to absorb strictly liturgic forms into its substance. Bach, in his cantatas, kept the notion of liturgic unity clearly in mind. He effected this unity largely by his use of the choral as a conspicuous element in the cantata, often as its very foundation. He checked the Italianizing process by working the arioso recitative, the aria for one or more voices, and the chorus into one grand musical scheme, in which his intricate organ style served both as fabric198 and decoration. By the unexampled prominence199 which he gave the choral as a mine of thematic material, he gave the cantata not only a striking originality200, but also an air of unmistakable fitness to the character and special expression of the confession201 which it served. By these means, which are concerned with its form, and still more by the astonishing variety, truth, and beauty with which he was able to meet the needs of each occasion for which a work of this kind was appointed, he endowed his Church and nation with a treasure of religious song compared with which, for magnitude, diversity, and power, the creative work of any other church musician that may be named—Palestrina, Gabrieli, or whoever he may be—sinks into insignificance202.
Bach wrote five series of cantatas for the Sundays and festal days of the church year—in all two hundred and ninety-five. Of these two hundred and sixty-six were written at Leipsic. They vary greatly in length, the shortest occupying twenty minutes or so in performance, the longest an hour or more. Taken together, they [302] afford such an astonishing display of versatility203 that any proper characterization of them in a single chapter would be quite out of the question. A considerable number are available for study in Peters’s cheap edition, and the majority are analyzed204 with respect to their salient features in Spitta’s encyclopedic Bach biography. Among the great diversity of interesting qualities which they exhibit, the employment of the choral must be especially emphasized as affording the clue, already indicated, to Bach’s whole conception of the cantata as a species of religious art. The choral, especially that appointed for a particular day (Hauptlied), is often used as the guiding thread which weaves the work into the texture205 of the whole daily office. In such cases the chosen choral will appear in the different numbers of the work in fragments or motives207, sometimes as subject for voice parts, or woven into the accompaniment as theme or in obligato fashion. It is more common for entire lines of the choral to be treated as canti firmi, forming the subjects on which elaborate contrapuntal choruses are constructed, following precisely208 the same principle of design that I have described in the case of the organ choral preludes. In multitudes of cantata movements lines or verses from two or more chorals are introduced. There are cantatas, such as “Wer nur den34 lieben Gott,” in which each number, whether recitative, aria, or chorus, takes its thematic material, intact or modified, from a choral. The famous “Ein’ feste Burg,” is a notable example of a cantata in which Bach adheres to a hymn-tune in every number, treating it line by line, deriving209 from it the pervading210 tone of the work is well as its constructional plan. The [303] ways in which Bach applies the store of popular religious melody to the higher uses of art are legion. A cantata of Bach usually ends with a choral in its complete ordinary form, plainly but richly harmonized in note-for-note four-part setting as though for congregational singing. It was not the custom, however, in Bach’s day for the congregation to join in this closing choral. There are cantatas, such as the renowned211 “Ich hatte viel Bekümmerniss,” in which the choral melody nowhere appears. Such cantatas are rare, and the use of the choral became more prominent and systematic in Bach’s work as time went on.
The devotional ideal of the Protestant Church as compared with the Catholic gives far more liberal recognition to the private religious consciousness of the individual. The believer does not so completely surrender his personality; in his mental reactions to the ministrations of the clergy130 he still remains212 aware of that inner world of experience which is his world, not merged213 and lost in the universalized life of a religious community. The Church is his inspirer and guide, not his absolute master. The foundation of the German choral was a religious declaration of independence. The German hymns were each the testimony214 of a thinker to his own private conception of religious truth. The tone and feeling of each hymn were suggested and colored by the general doctrine215 of the Church, but not dictated. The adoption216 of these utterances217 of independent feeling into the liturgy was a recognition on the part of authority of individual right. It was not a concession218; it was the legal acknowledgment [304] of a fundamental principle. Parallel to this significant privilege was the admission of music of the largest variety and penetrated219 at will with subjective220 feeling. This conception was carried out consistently in the cantata as established by Bach, most liberally, of course, in the arias. The words of the cantata consisted of Bible texts, stanzas of church hymns, and religious poems, the whole illustrating some Scripture221 theme or referring to some especial commemoration. The hard and fast metrical schemes of the German hymns were unsuited to the structure and rhythm of the aria, and so a form of verse known as the madrigal222, derived from Italy, was used when rhythmical223 flexibility224 was an object. For all these reasons we have in Bach’s arias the widest license225 of expression admissible in the school of art which he represented. The Hamburg composers, in their shallow aims, had boldly transferred the Italian concert aria as it stood into the Church, as a sign of their complete defiance226 of ecclesiastical prescription158. Not so Bach; the ancient churchly ideal was to him a thing to be reverenced, even when he departed from it. He, therefore, took a middle course. The Italian notion of an aria—buoyant, tuneful, the voice part sufficient unto itself—had no place in Bach’s method. A melody to him was usually a detail in a contrapuntal scheme. And so be wove the voice part into the accompaniment, a single instrument—a violin, perhaps, or oboe—often raised into relief, vying227 with the voice on equal terms, often soaring above it and carrying the principal theme, while the voice part serves as an obligato. This [305] method, hardly consistent with a pure vocal system, often results with Bach, it must be confessed, in something very mechanical and monotonous228 to modern ears. The artifice229 is apparent; the author seems more bent230 on working out a sort of algebraic formula than interpreting the text to the sensibility. From the traditional point of view this method is not in itself mal à propos, for such a treatment raises the sentiment into that calm region of abstraction which is the proper refuge of the devotional mood. But here, as in the organ pieces, Bach is no slave to his technic. There are many arias in his cantatas in which the musical expression is not only beautiful and touching in the highest degree, but also yields with wonderful truth to every mutation231 of feeling in the text. Still more impressively is this mastery of expression shown in the arioso recitatives. In their depth and beauty they are unique in religious music. Only in very rare moments can H?ndel pretend to rival them. Mendelssohn reflects them in his oratorios232 and psalms,—as the moon reflects the sun.
The choruses of Bach’s cantatas would furnish a field for endless study. Nowhere else is his genius more grandly displayed. The only work entitled to be compared with these choruses is found in H?ndel’s oratorios. In drawing such a parallel, and observing the greater variety of style in H?ndel, we must remember that Bach’s cantatas are church music. H?ndel’s oratorios are not. Bach’s cantata texts are not only confined to a single sphere of thought, viz., the devotional, but they are also strictly lyric233. The church cantata does not admit any suggestion of action or [306] external picture. The oratorio, on the other hand, is practically unlimited234 in scope, and in H?ndel’s choruses the style and treatment are given almost unrestrained license in the way of dramatic and epic235 suggestion. Within the restrictions236 imposed upon him, however, Bach expends237 upon his choruses a wealth of invention in design and expression not less wonderful than that exhibited in his organ works. The motet form, the free fantasia and the choral fantasia forms are all employed, and every device known to his art is applied238 for the illustration of the text. Grace and tenderness, when the cheering assurances of the Gospel are the theme, crushing burdens of gloom when the author’s thought turns to the mysteries of death and judgment239, mournfulness in view of sin, the pleading accents of contrition,—every manifestation of emotion which a rigid creed240, allied241 to a racial mysticism which evades positive conceptions, can call forth is projected in tones whose strength and fervor242 were never attained before in religious music. It is Bach’s organ style which is here in evidence, imparting to the chorus its close-knit structure and majesty of sound, humanized by a melody drawn from the choral and from what was most refined in Italian art.
“One peculiar trait in Bach’s nature,” says Kretzschmar, “is revealed in the cantatas in grand, half-distinct outlines, and this is the longing18 for death and life with the Lord. This theme is struck in the cantatas more frequently than almost any other. We know him as a giant nature in all situations; great and grandiose243 is also his joy and cheerfulness. But [307] never, we believe, does his art work with fuller energy and abandonment than when his texts express earth-weariness and the longing for the last hour. The fervor which then displays itself in ever-varying registers, in both calm and stormy regions, has in it something almost demonic.”[74]
The work that has most contributed to make the name of Bach familiar to the educated world at large is the Passion according to St. Matthew. Bach wrote five Passions, of which only two—the St. John and the St. Matthew—have come down to us. The former has a rugged force like one of Michael Angelo’s unpolished statues, but it cannot fairly be compared to the St. Matthew in largeness of conception or beauty of detail. In Bach’s treatment of the Passion story we have the culmination244 of the artistic development of the early liturgic practice whose progress has already been sketched245. Bach completed the process of fusing the Italian aria and recitative with the German chorus, hymn-tune, and organ and orchestral music, interspersing246 the Gospel narrative247 with lyric sections in the form of airs, arioso recitatives, and choruses, in which the feelings proper to a believer meditating248 on the sufferings of Christ in behalf of mankind are portrayed249 with all the poignancy250 of pathos251 of which Bach was master.
Injudicious critics have sometimes attempted to set up a comparison between the St. Matthew Passion and Handel’s “Messiah,” questioning which is the greater. But such captious252 rivalry253 is derogatory to both, for they are not to be gauged254 by the same standard. To [308] say nothing of the radical255 differences in style, origin, and artistic conception,—the one a piece of Lutheran church music, the other an English concert oratorio of Italian ancestry,—they are utterly256 unlike also in poetic intention. Bach’s work deals only with the human in Christ; it is the narrative of his last interviews with his disciples258, his arrest, trial, and death, together with comments by imagined personalities259 contemplating260 these events, both in their immediate261 action upon the sensibilities and in their doctrinal bearing. It is, therefore, a work so mixed in style that it is difficult to classify it, for it is both epic and implicitly262 dramatic, while in all its lyric features it is set firmly into the Evangelical liturgic scheme. The text and musical construction of the “Messiah” have no connection with any liturgy; it is concert music of a universal religious character, almost devoid263 of narrative, and with no dramatic suggestion whatever. Each is a triumph of genius, but of genius working with quite different intentions.
In the formal arrangement of the St. Matthew Passion Bach had no option; he must perforce comply with church tradition. The narrative of the evangelist, taken without change from St. Matthew’s Gospel and sung in recitative by a tenor264, is the thread upon which the successive divisions are strung. The words of Jesus, Peter, the high priest, and Pilate are given to a bass, and are also in recitative. The Jews and the disciples are represented by choruses. The “Protestant congregation” forms another group, singing appropriate chorals. A third element comprises the company of [309] believers and the “daughter of Zion,” singing choruses and arias in comment upon the situations as described by the evangelist. It must be remembered that these chorus factors are not indicated by any division of singers into groups. The work is performed throughout by the same company of singers, in Bach’s day by the diminutive265 choir of the Leipsic Church, composed of boys and young men. Even in the chorals the congregation took no part. The idea of the whole is much the same as in a series of old Italian chapel266 frescoes267. The disciple257 sits with Christ at the last supper, accompanies him to the garden of Gethsemane and to the procurator’s hall, witnesses his mockery and condemnation268, and takes his station at the foot of the cross, lamenting269 alternately the sufferings of his Lord and the sin which demanded such a sacrifice.
Upon this prescribed formula Bach has poured all the wealth of his experience, his imagination, and his piety. His science is not brought forward so prominently as in many of his works, and where he finds it necessary to employ it he subordinates it to the expression of feeling. Yet we cannot hear without amazement270 the gigantic opening movement in which the awful burden of the great tragedy is foreshadowed; where, as if organ, orchestra, and double chorus were not enough to sustain the composer’s conception, a ninth part, bearing a choral melody, floats above the surging mass of sound, holding the thought of the hearer to the significance of the coming scenes. The long chorus which closes the first part, which is constructed in the form of a figured choral, is also built upon a scale which [310] Bach has seldom exceeded. But the structure of the work in general is comparatively open, and the expression direct and clear. An atmosphere of profoundest gloom pervades271 the work from beginning to end, ever growing darker as the scenes of the terrible drama advance and culminate272, yet here and there relieved by gleams of divine tenderness and human pity. That Bach was able to carry a single mood, and that a depressing one, through a composition of three hours’ length without falling into monotony at any point is one of the miracles of musical creation.
The meditative273 portions of the work in aria, recitative, and chorus are rendered with great beauty and pathos, in spite of occasional archaic274 stiffness. Dry and artificial some of the da capo arias undoubtedly are, for that quality of fluency275 which always accompanies genius never yet failed to beguile276 its possessor into by-paths of dulness. But work purely formalistic is not common in the St. Matthew Passion. Never did religious music afford anything more touching and serene277 than such numbers as the tenor solo and chorus, “Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen,” the bass solo, “Am Abend, da es kühle war,” and the recitative and chorus, matchless in tenderness, beginning “Nun ist der Herr zur Ruh’ gebracht.” Especially impressive are the tones given to the words of the Saviour278. These tones are distinguished from those of the other personages not only by their greater melodic beauty, but also by their accompaniment, which consists of the stringed instruments, while the other recitatives are supported by the organ alone. In Christ’s despairing cry upon [311] the cross, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” this ethereal stringed accompaniment is extinguished. What Bach intended to signify by this change is not certainly known. This exclamation279 of Jesus, the only instance in his life when he seemed to lose his certainty of the divine co?peration, must be distinguished in some way, Bach probably thought, from all his other utterances. Additional musical means would be utterly futile280, for neither music nor any other art has any expression for the mental anguish281 of that supreme moment. The only expedient282 possible was to reduce music at that point, substituting plain organ chords, and let the words of Christ stand out in bold relief in all their terrible significance.
The chorals in the St. Matthew Passion are taken bodily, both words and tunes, from the church hymn-book. Prominent among them is the famous “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” by Gerhardt after St. Bernard, which is used five times. These choral melodies are harmonized in simple homophonic style, but with extreme beauty. As an instance of the poetic fitness with which these chorals are introduced we may cite the last in the work, where immediately after the words “Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost,” the chorus sings a stanza beginning “When my death hour approaches forsake283 not me, O Lord.” “This climax,” says Spitta, “has always been justly regarded as one of the most thrilling of the whole work. The infinite significance of the sacrifice could not be more simply, comprehensively, and convincingly expressed than in this marvellous prayer.”
[312]
This wonderful creation closes with a chorus of farewell sung beside the tomb of Jesus. It is a worthy close, for nothing more lovely and affecting was ever confided285 to human lips. The gloom and agony that have pervaded286 the scenes of temptation, trial, and death have quite vanished. The tone is indeed that of lamentation287, for the Passion drama in its very aim and tradition did not admit any anticipation288 of the resurrection; neither in the Catholic or Lutheran ceremonies of Good Friday is there a foreshadowing of the Easter rejoicing. But the sentiment of this closing chorus is not one of hopeless grief; it expresses rather a sense of relief that suffering is past, mingled289 with a strain of solemn rapture, as if dimly conscious that the tomb is not the end of all.
The first performance of the St. Matthew Passion took place in the Thomas church at Leipsic, on Good Friday, April 15, 1729. It was afterwards revised and extended, and performed again in 1740. From that time it was nowhere heard until it was produced by Felix Mendelssohn in the Sing Academie at Berlin in 1829. The impression it produced was profound, and marked the beginning of the revival290 of the study of Bach which has been one of the most fruitful movements in nineteenth-century music.
A work equally great in a different way, although it can never become the object of such popular regard as the St. Matthew Passion, is the Mass in B minor. It may seem strange that the man who more than any other interpreted in art the genius of Protestantism should have contributed to a form of music that is identified [313] with the Catholic ritual. It must be remembered that Luther was by no means inclined to break with all the forms and usages of the mother Church. He had no quarrel with those features of her rites291 which did not embody292 the doctrines293 which he disavowed, and most heartily294 did he recognize the beauty and edifying295 power of Catholic music. We have seen also that he was in favor of retaining the Latin in communities where it was understood. Hence it was that not only in Luther’s day, but long after, the Evangelical Church retained many musical features that had become sacred in the practice of the ancient Church. The congregations of Leipsic were especially conservative in this respect. The entire mass in figured form, however, was not used in the Leipsic service; on certain special days a part only would be sung. The Kyrie and Gloria, known among the Lutheran musicians as the “short mass,” were frequently employed. The B minor Mass was not composed for the Leipsic service, but for the chapel of the king of Saxony in Bach’s honorary capacity of composer to the royal and electoral court. It was begun in 1735 and finished in 1738, but was not performed entire in Bach’s lifetime. By the time it was completed it had outgrown296 the dimensions of a service mass, and it has probably never been sung in actual church worship. It is so difficult that its performance is an event worthy of special commemoration. Its first complete production in the United States was at Bethlehem, Pa., in the spring of 1900. It is enough to say of this work here that all Bach’s powers as fabricator of intricate [314] design, and as master of all the shades of expression which the contrapuntal style admits, are forced to their furthest limit. So vast is it in scale, so majestic297 in its movement, so elemental in the grandeur of its climaxes, that it may well be taken as the loftiest expression in tones of the prophetic faith of Christendom, unless Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis may dispute the title. It belongs not to the Catholic communion alone, nor to the Protestant, but to the Church universal, the Church visible and invisible, the Church militant298 and triumphant299. The greatest master of the sublime in choral music, Bach in this mass sounded all the depths of his unrivalled science and his imaginative energy.
There is no loftier example in history of artistic genius devoted to the service of religion than we find in Johann Sebastian Bach. He always felt that his life was consecrated300 to God, to the honor of the Church and the well-being301 of men. Next to this fact we are impressed in studying him with his vigorous intellectuality, by which I mean his accurate estimate of the nature and extent of his own powers and his easy self-adjustment to his environment. He was never the sport of his genius but always its master, never carried away like so many others, even the greatest, into extravagancies or rash experiments. Mozart and Beethoven failed in oratorio, Schubert in opera; the Italian operas of Gluck and H?ndel have perished. Even in the successful work of these men there is a strange inequality. But upon all that Bach attempted—and the amount of his work is no less a marvel284 than its quality—he affixed302 the stamp of final and inimitable perfection. [315] We know from testimony that this perfection was the result of thought and unflagging toil303. The file was not the least serviceable tool in his workshop. This intellectual restraint, operating upon a highly intellectualized form of art, often gives Bach’s music an air of severity, a scholastic hardness, which repels304 sympathy and makes difficult the path to the treasures it contains. The musical culture of our age has been so long based on a different school that no little discipline is needed to adjust the mind to Bach’s manner of presenting his profound ideas. The difficulty is analogous to that experienced in acquiring an appreciation305 of Gothic sculpture and the Florentine painting of the fourteenth century. We are compelled to learn a new musical language, for it is only in a qualified sense that the language of music is universal. We must put ourselves into another century, face another order of ideas than those of our own age. We must learn the temper of the German mind in the Reformation period and after, its proud self-assertion, led to an aggressive positiveness of religious belief, which, after all, was but the hard shell which enclosed a rare sweetness of piety.
All through Bach we feel the well-known German mysticism which seeks the truth in the instinctive convictions of the soul, the idealism which takes the mind as the measure of existence, the romanticism which colors the outer world with the hues306 of personal temperament. Bach’s historic position required that this spirit, in many ways so modern, should take shape in forms to which still clung the technical [316] methods of an earlier time. His all-encompassing organ style was Gothic—if we may use such a term for illustration’s sake—not Renaissance307. His style is Teutonic in the widest as well as the most literal sense. It is based on forms identified with the practice of the people in church and home. He recognized not the priestly or the aristocratic element, but the popular. His significance in the history of German Evangelical Christianity is great. Protestantism, like Catholicism, has had its supreme poet. As Dante embodied308 in an immortal309 epic the philosophic310 conceptions, the hopes and fears of mediaeval Catholicism, so Bach, less obviously but no less truly, in his cantatas, Passions, and choral preludes, lent the illuminating311 power of his art to the ideas which brought forth the Reformation. It is the central demand of Protestantism, the immediate personal access of man to God, which, constituting a new motive206 in German national music, gave shape and direction to Bach’s creative genius.
It has been reserved for recent years to discover that the title of chief representative in art of German Protestantism is, after all, not the sum of Bach’s claims to honor. There is something in his art that touches the deepest chords of religious feeling in whatever communion that feeling has been nurtured312. His music is not the music of a confession, but of humanity. What changes the spirit of religious progress is destined313 to undergo in the coming years it would be vain to predict; but it is safe to assume that the warrant of faith will not consist in authority committed to councils or synods, or altogether in a verbal [317] revelation supposed to have been vouchsafed314 at certain epochs in the past, but in the intuition of the continued presence of the eternal creative spirit in the soul of man. This consciousness, of which creeds315 and liturgies are but partial and temporary symbols, can find no adequate artistic expression unless it be in the art of music. The more clearly this fact is recognized by the world, the more the fame of Sebastian Bach will increase, for no other musician has so amply embraced and so deeply penetrated the universal religious sentiment. It may well be said of Bach what a French critic says of Albrecht Dürer: “He was an intermediary between the Middle Age and our modern times. Typical of the former in that he was primarily a craftsman, laboring316 with all the sincerity317 and unconscious modesty318 of the good workman who delights in his labor32, he yet felt something of the tormented319 spiritual unrest of the latter; and indeed so strikingly reflects what we call the ‘modern spirit’ that his work has to-day more influence upon our own thought and art than it had upon that of his contemporaries.”[75]
The verdict of the admirers of Bach in respect to his greatness is not annulled320 when it is found that the power and real significance of his work were not comprehended by the mass of his countrymen during his life, and that outside of Leipsic he exerted little influence upon religious art for nearly a century after his death. He was not the less a typical German on this account. Only at certain critical moments do nations [318] seem to be true to their better selves, and it often happens that their greatest men appear in periods of general moral relaxation321, apparently rebuking322 the unworthiness of their fellow citizens instead of exemplifying common traits of character. But later generations are able to see that, after all, these men are not detached; their real bases, although out of sight for the time, are immovably set in nationality. Milton was no less representative of permanent elements in English character when “fallen upon evil days,” when the direction of affairs seemed given over to “sons of Belial,” who mocked at all he held necessary to social welfare. Michael Angelo was still a genuine son of Italy when he mourned in bitterness of soul over her degradation323. And so the spirit that pervaded the life and works of Bach is a German spirit,—a spirit which Germany has often seemed to disown, but which in times of need has often reasserted itself with splendid confidence and called her back to soberness and sincerity.
When Bach had passed away, it seemed as if the mighty force he exerted had been dissipated. He had not checked the decline of church music. The art of organ playing degenerated324. The choirs325, never really adequate, became more and more unable to do justice to the great works that had been bequeathed to them. The public taste relaxed, and the demand for a more florid and fetching kind of song naturalized in the Church the theatrical326 style already predominant in France and Italy. The people lost their perception of the real merit of their old chorals and permitted them to be altered to suit the requirements of contemporary [319] fashion, or else slighted them altogether in favor of the new “art song.” No composers appeared who were able or cared to perpetuate327 the old traditions. This tendency was inevitable; its causes are perfectly apparent to any one who knows the conditions prevailing in religion and art in Germany in the last half of the eighteenth and the early part of the nineteenth centuries. Pietism, with all its merits, had thrown a sort of puritanic wet blanket over art in its protest against the external and formal in worship. In the orthodox church circles the enthusiasm necessary to nourish a wholesome328 spiritual life and a living church art at the same time had sadly abated329. The inculcation of a dry utilitarian330 morality and the cultivation331 of a dogmatic pedantry332 had taken the place of the joyous333 freedom of the Gospel. Other more direct causes also entered to turn public interest away from the music of the Church. The Italian opera, with its equipment of sensuous334 fascinations335, devoid of serious aims, was at the high tide of its popularity, patronized by the ruling classes, and giving the tone to all the musical culture of the time. A still more obvious impediment to the revival of popular interest in church music was the rapid formation throughout Germany of choral societies devoted to the performance of oratorios. Following the example of England, these societies took up the works of H?ndel, and the enthusiasm excited by Haydn’s “Creation” in 1798 gave a still more powerful stimulus336 to the movement. These choral unions had no connection with the church choirs of the eighteenth century, but grew out of private musical associations. The great German [320] music festivals date from about 1810, and they absorbed the interest of those composers whose talent turned towards works of religious content. The church choirs were already in decline when the choral societies began to raise their heads. Cantatas and Passions were no longer heard in church worship. Their place in public regard was taken by the concert oratorio. The current of instrumental music, one of the chief glories of German art in the nineteenth century, was absorbing more and more of the contributions of German genius. The whole trend of the age was toward secular music. It would appear that a truly great art of church music cannot maintain itself beside a rising enthusiasm for secular music. Either the two styles will be amalgamated337, and church music be transformed to the measure of the other, as happened in the case of Catholic music, or church song will stagnate338, as was the case in Protestant Germany.
After the War of Liberation, ending with the downfall of Napoleon’s tyranny, and when Germany began to enter upon a period of critical self-examination, demands began to be heard for the reinstatement of church music on a worthier339 basis. The assertion of nationality in other branches of musical art—the symphonies of Beethoven, the songs of Schubert, the operas of Weber—was echoed in the domain340 of church music, not at first in the production of great works, but in performance, criticism, and appeal. It is not to be denied that a steady uplift in the department of church music has been in progress in Germany all through the nineteenth century. The transition from rationalism [321] and infidelity to a new and higher phase of evangelical religion effected under the lead of Schleiermacher, the renewed interest in church history, the effort to bring the forms of worship into co?peration with a quickened spiritual life, the revival of the study of the great works of German art as related to national intellectual development,—these influences and many more have strongly stirred the cause of church music both in composition and performance. Choirs have been enlarged and strengthened; the soprano and alto parts are still exclusively sung by boys, but the tenor and bass parts are taken by mature and thoroughly341 trained men, instead of by raw youths, as in Bach’s time and after. In such choirs as those of the Berlin cathedral and the Leipsic Thomas church, artistic singing attains342 a richness of tone and finish of style hardly to be surpassed.
The most wholesome result of these movements has been to bring about a clearer distinction in the minds of churchmen between a proper church style in music and the concert style. Church-music associations (evangelische Kirchengesang-Vereine), analogous to the Catholic St. Cecilia Society, have taken in hand the question of the establishment of church music on a more strict and efficient basis. Such masters as Mendelssohn, Richter, Hauptmann, Kiel, and Grell have produced works of great beauty, and at the same time admirably suited to the ideal requirements of public worship.
[322]
In spite of the present more healthful condition of German Evangelical music as compared with the feebleness and indefiniteness of the early part of the nineteenth century, there is little assurance of the restoration of this branch of art to the position which it held in the national life two hundred years ago. In the strict sense writers of the school of Spitta are correct in asserting that a Protestant church music no longer exists. “It must be denied that an independent branch of the tonal art is to be found which has its home only in the Church, which contains life and the capacity for development in itself, and in whose sphere the creative artist seeks his ideals.”[76]
On the other hand, a hopeful sign has appeared in recent German musical history in the foundation of the New Bach Society, with headquarters at Leipsic, in 1900. The task assumed by this society, which includes a large number of the most eminent musicians of Germany, is that of making Bach’s choral works better known, and especially of reintroducing them into their old place in the worship of the Evangelical churches. The success of such an effort would doubtless be fraught343 with important consequences, and perhaps inaugurate a new era in the history of German church music.
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secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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steadfastness
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| n.坚定，稳当 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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decorative
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| adj.装饰的，可作装饰的 | |
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craftsman
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| n.技工，精于一门工艺的匠人 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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24
tenacious
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| adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的 | |
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25
disintegration
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| n.分散，解体 | |
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26
legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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27
thrift
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| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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28
probity
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| n.刚直；廉洁，正直 | |
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29
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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30
choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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31
attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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32
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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33
labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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34
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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35
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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36
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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37
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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38
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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39
remunerative
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| adj.有报酬的 | |
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40
qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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41
straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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42
apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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43
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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44
pristine
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| adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的 | |
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45
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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46
aria
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| n.独唱曲，咏叹调 | |
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47
anthem
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| n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌 | |
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48
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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49
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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50
cantata
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| n.清唱剧，大合唱 | |
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51
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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52
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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53
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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54
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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55
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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56
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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57
improvising
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| 即兴创作（improvise的现在分词形式） | |
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58
preludes
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| n.开端( prelude的名词复数 )；序幕；序曲；短篇作品 | |
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59
cantatas
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| n.大合唱( cantata的名词复数 )；清唱剧 | |
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60
inauguration
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| n.开幕、就职典礼 | |
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61
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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62
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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63
prodigality
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| n.浪费，挥霍 | |
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64
cloistered
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| adj.隐居的，躲开尘世纷争的v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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66
reverenced
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| v.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的过去式和过去分词 )；敬礼 | |
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67
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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68
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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69
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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70
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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71
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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72
dwarfed
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| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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73
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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74
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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75
venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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76
vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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77
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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78
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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79
relegated
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| v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类 | |
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80
constituent
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| n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的 | |
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81
authorization
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| n.授权，委任状 | |
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82
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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83
ornamental
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|
| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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84
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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85
hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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86
extemporization
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| n.即席作成，即兴之作，即席演说 | |
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87
distinctively
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| adv.特殊地，区别地 | |
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88
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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89
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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90
liturgy
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| n.礼拜仪式 | |
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91
authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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92
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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93
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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94
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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95
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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96
tickle
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| v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒 | |
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97
pervade
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| v.弥漫，遍及，充满，渗透，漫延 | |
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98
adherence
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| n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着 | |
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99
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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100
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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101
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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102
constructive
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| adj.建设的，建设性的 | |
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103
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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104
sonata
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| n.奏鸣曲 | |
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105
sonatas
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| n.奏鸣曲( sonata的名词复数 ) | |
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106
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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107
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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108
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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109
apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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110
manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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111
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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112
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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113
justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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114
component
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| n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的 | |
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115
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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116
systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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117
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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118
aesthetic
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| adj.美学的，审美的，有美感 | |
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119
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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120
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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121
cadences
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| n.（声音的）抑扬顿挫( cadence的名词复数 )；节奏；韵律；调子 | |
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122
climaxes
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| n.顶点( climax的名词复数 )；极点；高潮；性高潮 | |
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123
vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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124
reverberating
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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125
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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126
apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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127
nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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128
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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129
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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130
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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131
improvise
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| v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成 | |
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132
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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133
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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134
unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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135
stanzas
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| 节，段( stanza的名词复数 ) | |
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136
stanza
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| n.（诗）节，段 | |
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137
competence
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| n.能力，胜任，称职 | |
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138
improviser
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| n.即席演奏者 | |
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139
extemporize
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| v.即席演说，即兴演奏，当场作成 | |
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140
extemporizing
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| v.即兴创作，即席演奏( extemporize的现在分词 ) | |
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141
melodic
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| adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的 | |
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142
modifications
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| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
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143
modification
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| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
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144
arabesques
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| n.阿拉伯式花饰( arabesque的名词复数 )；错综图饰；阿拉伯图案；阿拉贝斯克芭蕾舞姿（独脚站立，手前伸，另一脚一手向后伸） | |
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145
sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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146
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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147
laterally
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| ad.横向地；侧面地；旁边地 | |
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148
illustrating
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|
| 给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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149
illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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150
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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151
dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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152
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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153
dilate
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| vt.使膨胀，使扩大 | |
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154
poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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155
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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156
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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157
prescriptions
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| 药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划 | |
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158
prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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159
scholastic
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| adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的 | |
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160
pedantic
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| adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的 | |
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161
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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162
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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163
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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164
oratorio
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| n.神剧，宗教剧，清唱剧 | |
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165
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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166
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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167
arias
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| n.咏叹调( aria的名词复数 ) | |
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168
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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169
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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170
virtuoso
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| n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手 | |
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171
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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172
sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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173
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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174
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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175
civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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176
incurring
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| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 ) | |
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177
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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178
execrated
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| v.憎恶( execrate的过去式和过去分词 )；厌恶；诅咒；咒骂 | |
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179
blasphemous
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|
| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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180
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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181
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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182
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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183
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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184
incompatible
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| adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的 | |
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185
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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186
penetrating
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|
| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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187
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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188
conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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189
merge
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| v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体 | |
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190
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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191
aspiration
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| n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出 | |
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192
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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193
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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194
analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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195
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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196
liturgies
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| n.礼拜仪式( liturgy的名词复数 )；（英国国教的）祈祷书 | |
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197
justify
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|
| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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198
fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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199
prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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200
originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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201
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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202
insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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203
versatility
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| n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能 | |
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204
analyzed
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| v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析 | |
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205
texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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206
motive
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|
| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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207
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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208
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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209
deriving
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| v.得到( derive的现在分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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210
pervading
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的现在分词 ) | |
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211
renowned
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|
| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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212
remains
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|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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213
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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214
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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215
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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216
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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217
utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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218
concession
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|
| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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219
penetrated
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|
| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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220
subjective
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| a.主观(上)的，个人的 | |
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221
scripture
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|
| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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222
madrigal
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| n.牧歌；（流行于16和17世纪无乐器伴奏的）合唱歌曲 | |
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223
rhythmical
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|
| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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224
flexibility
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|
| n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性 | |
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225
license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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226
defiance
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|
| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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227
vying
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| adj.竞争的；比赛的 | |
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228
monotonous
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|
| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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229
artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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230
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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231
mutation
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| n.变化，变异，转变 | |
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232
oratorios
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|
| n.（以宗教为主题的）清唱剧，神剧( oratorio的名词复数 ) | |
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233
lyric
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| n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的 | |
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234
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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235
epic
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| n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的 | |
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236
restrictions
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|
| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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237
expends
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| v.花费( expend的第三人称单数 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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238
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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239
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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240
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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241
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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242
fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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243
grandiose
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|
| adj.宏伟的，宏大的，堂皇的，铺张的 | |
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244
culmination
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| n.顶点；最高潮 | |
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245
sketched
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| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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246
interspersing
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| v.散布，散置( intersperse的现在分词 )；点缀 | |
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247
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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248
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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249
portrayed
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| v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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250
poignancy
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| n.辛酸事，尖锐 | |
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251
pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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252
captious
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| adj.难讨好的，吹毛求疵的 | |
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253
rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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254
gauged
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|
| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
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255
radical
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|
| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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256
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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257
disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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258
disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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259
personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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260
contemplating
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|
| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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261
immediate
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|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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262
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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263
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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264
tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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265
diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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266
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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267
frescoes
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| n.壁画( fresco的名词复数 )；温壁画技法，湿壁画 | |
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268
condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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269
lamenting
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|
| adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 ) | |
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270
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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271
pervades
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的第三人称单数 ) | |
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272
culminate
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| v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮 | |
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273
meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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274
archaic
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|
| adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的 | |
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275
fluency
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| n.流畅，雄辩，善辩 | |
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276
beguile
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| vt.欺骗，消遣 | |
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277
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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278
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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279
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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280
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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281
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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282
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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283
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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284
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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285
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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286
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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287
lamentation
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| n.悲叹，哀悼 | |
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288
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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289
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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290
revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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291
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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292
embody
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| vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录 | |
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293
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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294
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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295
edifying
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| adj.有教训意味的，教训性的，有益的v.开导，启发( edify的现在分词 ) | |
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296
outgrown
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| 长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过 | |
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297
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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298
militant
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| adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士 | |
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299
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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300
consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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301
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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302
affixed
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| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
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303
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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304
repels
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| v.击退( repel的第三人称单数 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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305
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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306
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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307
renaissance
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| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
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308
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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309
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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310
philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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311
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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312
nurtured
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| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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313
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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314
vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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315
creeds
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| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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316
laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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317
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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318
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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319
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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320
annulled
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| v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去 | |
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321
relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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322
rebuking
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的现在分词 ) | |
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323
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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324
degenerated
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| 衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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325
choirs
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| n.教堂的唱诗班( choir的名词复数 )；唱诗队；公开表演的合唱团；（教堂）唱经楼 | |
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326
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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327
perpetuate
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| v.使永存，使永记不忘 | |
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328
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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329
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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330
utilitarian
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| adj.实用的，功利的 | |
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331
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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332
pedantry
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| n.迂腐，卖弄学问 | |
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333
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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334
sensuous
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| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
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335
fascinations
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| n.魅力( fascination的名词复数 )；有魅力的东西；迷恋；陶醉 | |
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336
stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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337
amalgamated
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| v.（使）（金属）汞齐化( amalgamate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）合并；联合；结合 | |
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338
stagnate
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| v.停止 | |
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339
worthier
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| 应得某事物( worthy的比较级 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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340
domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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341
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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342
attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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343
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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