Again has music reached the experimental stage. Sweeping3 upward in mighty4 spiral, and so conforming to creation's universal trend, now, at a point of departure overlooking the old, it finds inadequate5 that result of compromise, the diatonic scale. It faces the problem of tonality and those modern questions which a higher, wider outlook brings to view.
In estimating the value and longevity6 of Strauss' art, let us remember that the ancient experimenters in music evolved no definite types as Nature in her domain7 has done. Half-formed, their pale and bloodless attempts have perished from sheer lack of vitality8. On the other hand, the tone-dramas of our most modern virtuoso9 are anything but an?mic; an all-too-turbulent flood rushes through their every vein10. So much is Strauss a product of his time that the characteristics now placing him in the forefront would have little availed him in an age believing with Schumann that Harmony is king and Melody queen in the composer's realm.
Were Strauss endowed with a lyric11 gift comparable to that of Schubert, probably he would be impelled12 to exercise that gift almost within the compass of convention. Were he, like Handel, able to accomplish the majestic13 and the magical without recourse to chromatic14 progression, the bizarre would lead him less far afield. Again, were he capable of a kingdom like that wherein Beethoven, reigning15 by divine right, reigned16 supreme17, surely he would not have sought the seemingly unfruitful wastes, the perhaps barren Saharas of sound. Deficient18 in the crowning qualities of these masters, but not deficient in genius, he imagined, and actually undertook with ardor19, that of which they could never have dreamed.
Having accredited20 Strauss with genius, though of a peculiar21 sort, we are led, for the better understanding of this master, to ask, what is genius? To this query22 the wisdom of all ages has given various answers. According to Plato, a genius is one whose vision of Beauty, Truth, and Good, existing in the Divine Mind, is clearer than that of other men. Therefore genius does not actually originate. Its office is to translate, to reproduce the great originals, the eternal archetypes of the super-mundane world. Because of his high vision the artist reproduces Beauty, the philosopher Truth, while the saint, enamoured of Good, both teaches and practices it.
Granting this, we are at once led to ask, why the penetrating23 vision of genius? To this query a brief answer is that because the possibilities either latent or unfolding in man are immeasurable as the universe itself, therefore that which men are pleased to call genius is but the foreshowing of what the race as a whole shall attain24 to, but, in the present stage of human progress, genius is in fact a rare exception to Nature's slow and thorough methods. Nevertheless, the price of its defiance25 of the universal law must be paid by genius, and that price is unsymmetrical development.
Because of unsymmetrical development, genius may at times produce what, to the average normal being would seem the work of a degenerate26 mind; but in estimating Strauss it should be considered that the tonal interpreter of Don Quixote can often be sanely27 logical, and even wholly conventional.
The genius of Strauss, like that of Whitman, is essentially29 the genius of the explorer. Each of these burned to reach the limits of his art and plant victorious30 feet upon the pole. As in the material world, so here, such daring spirits are necessary if we would know the geography of the world of tone. To our old musical possessions, Strauss has joined a vast and as yet vague territory much of which, while of little present value, may yet develop unexpected and perhaps indispensable uses.
It argues against the real sanity31 of Strauss' art as a whole, that, for the exercise of his gifts, he chooses Oscar Wilde's version of the story of Salomé, a version in which the central theme is a monstrous32 and revolting passion unmatchable in actual life, and even unthinkable except by the sexual pervert33. Also, it is ominous34 that Strauss undertakes the tonal treatment of the brilliantly written but illogical work, ?Thus spake Zarathustra;? a work wherein is discovered the philosopher Neitzsche's ideal, the earth-shaping, earth-dominating man to be, a proud, unconcerned, scornful, violent, and fear-inspiring personage beloved of Wisdom the goddess woman that loves the warrior35 only. In this ?Super Man? evolved evil and evolved good are necessary. Free from gods, and every adoration36 save that of self, he rises over unnumbered small folk and timorous37 weaklings, and that protection artfully invented for them by the Christian39 Church, ?Slave Morality;? and so he attains40 his goal, ?Master Morality,? that which, to all but the mind of the moral pervert, is the morality of the tyrant41 whose will none dares gainsay42.
We have already contended that the wide departure of Strauss was natural and necessary to a genius lacking in certain gifts indispensable to the older schools; also we have accredited him with being a compound of various tendencies essentially modern. It may with assurance be affirmed that the art of sound could have originated only in a time like our own, a time whose methods are well illustrated43 by the attitude of certain of our modern novelists.
Having proved to themselves and their following the correctness of the new methods, and the falsity of the old, these have largely abandoned plot and incident, and devoted44 their talents to psychology45. Now while it is incontestable that Walter Scott could by no means have brought to the trivial and the commonplace the analytical46 mind of Henry James, still we venture that the world has lost nothing because of this. The poor plodding47 world looks downward; so its eyes must again and again be diverted from the trivial and the commonplace, and lifted toward an ideal which, even if overdrawn48, is immeasurably better than none.
While preferring to grope in the dark regions of the abnormal, the art of Strauss, the art of the modern psychologist has, as one might expect, often treated the trivial and the commonplace. Besides it is evident that neither in Salomé nor in ?Thus spake Zarathustra? has it given to the world a normal ideal. With the great masters of the past it was always an ideal, the noblest within the range of their inspired vision. To Haydn it was the terrestrial Eden yet undarkened by the Fall. To Handel it was the Greater Adam, and His coming long foretold49. To Bach it was Gethsemane, and its immortal50, crowning passion of sorrow. To Mendelssohn it was the prophet and the saint those rich flowerings of his ancient race. To Wagner it was the eternal womanly prompting to noblest deeds of devotion and self-sacrifice.
With men like these, the presentation of high moral ideals resulted from intuitive knowledge that the perpetuity of mankind, as something nobler than the brute51 kingdom, depends upon acceptance of these ideals, and therefore any so-called masterpiece which brings about confusion of ideals, would render the real purpose of art abortive52.
The music of such masters as Haydn and Mozart voices the pure emotions spontaneous in the breast of man. God-given emotions, never to be quenched53, they will burst into utterance54 while throbs55 the human heart. The evolution of music, as of all art, accords with the evolution of man from a creature of primal56 impulses to one of a thousand involved emotions and interests. The latest methods of Strauss are fraught57 with peculiar peril58 to his art, as an epitome59 of life, in that a well-nigh exclusive use of obscure and chromatic harmonies is restricting that art to an expression of complex emotions only. Now, while through no composer however gifted can music revert60 to the prevailing61 simplicity62 of Handel, still, whatever its evolution, it must as an epitome of life, have moments of native and simple emotion. Therefore it was a sane28 and saving reaction which turned the efforts of Strauss from the abnormal to the smaller, more subdued63 models of the song writer, and also to that wholesome64 and human idyll, the Enoch Arden of Tennyson.
As an orchestral writer, Strauss has gathered to himself the technical knowledge of Berlioz, Liszt, and Wagner. Having enlarged his resources through original discovery, he dazzles by display of a virtuosity65 wholly unprecedented66. Technically67 he is fully38 equipped for exploration; and thus he is pushing on into that new hemisphere the realm of sound.
In our exposition we have endeavored to point out certain tendencies in the work of Strauss, tendencies which endanger realism in every art whatsoever68, tendencies which we believe are turning Strauss from full and sane achievement, and so from his prospective69 goal the art of sound. That such an art is legitimate70 and actually within sight we have endeavored to show, as also the certainty that, once our possession, it will supplement and not supersede71 its predecessors72. Failing to find in Strauss the lofty personage his worshippers deem him to be, we nevertheless have accredited him with real though peculiar genius, and this is but justice due. Living in a transition period largely of his own bringing about, he has produced both the unquestioned and the problematical. But that problematical can be ignored or forgotten no more than the problematical of Whitman. At very least, it will survive as a curiosity of tonal art.
In his theoretical writings on the opera and the drama, Wagner likens music to the soulless nymph, a real woman only through the love of some man. Poetry, to Wagner, is that masculine endowing music with an immortal part. This novel finding of the poet-musician is but the outcome of a theory; an outcome which the patent facts easily and wholly refute. Instrumental music when treated by a virile73 master, like Wagner himself, can be masculine enough, while, in the hands of a versifier gifted chiefly with grace and smoothness, Poetry, the masculine art so called, becomes weakly feminine, or even a characterless thing not attaining74 to sex.
Wagner's theories are founded on a philosophy essentially of Eastern origin, but, had he looked deeper, our speculator would have discovered that Eastern philosophy considers sex to be but an outward manifestation75 incident to the present stage of world evolution. The human soul, and also the soul of every art, contains within itself the potentiality of both male and female. Sex in the physical world is lack of equilibrium76, the temporary preponderance in the soul of specific male or female characteristics outwardly exhibited, but, in the mental world, the offspring of highest genius would attain an equilibrium superior to distinction of sex.
In art, as in man its author, the masculine, untempered by the feminine, becomes not wisely masterful, but harsh and brutal77; hence the peril of Strauss. The feminine, untempered by the masculine, becomes not intuitive, but weakly capricious and wholly illogical; hence the peril of Debussy. The great authors, whichever their sex, have produced works wherein specific male and female characteristics modify one another.
This view of sex in art makes for the validity of instrumental music as such, and re?nforces the position of Strauss when, in his wholly instrumental tone poems, he would delineate every phase of life, and even certain phases of philosophic78 thought as Wagner, despite theory, has done in his ?Faust Overture79.?
Owing to the increasing vogue80 of Strauss, no prophet is necessary to foretell81 a rank growth of imitators. These, because barren of originality82, will succeed in copying the eccentricities83 rather than the merits of their model. What infliction84, what torture to human ears will result from the inevitable85 Bedlam86 of noise and fury, the near future must reveal. But let us believe that a modicum87 of pity and saving common sense, in even the most cruel devotee of such a school, will insure speedy reaction toward saner88 and more satisfying methods.
While ignoring not its old estate, music is moving from its centre in the emotional nature, to a stronghold well within the intellectual life. Failures and wanderings indeed must be, but stagnation89 never in this onward90 world. So, looking to desired fulfillment, let us prophesy91 of music such rise as that of man from his emotional, half-formed self toward an ideal not coldly intellectual, but always warmly and nobly human with what the future foreshadows, namely, the balanced blending of emotion and mind, the ideal of both man and his artistic92 creations, in fact, the ideal of ideals in whose very anticipation93 is forgotten the ?Super Man? of Nieztsche.
The End
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1
founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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longevity
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| n.长命；长寿 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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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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vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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lyric
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| n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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chromatic
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| adj.色彩的，颜色的 | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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ardor
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| n.热情，狂热 | |
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accredited
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| adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于 | |
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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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query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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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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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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sanely
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| ad.神志清楚地 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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pervert
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| n.堕落者，反常者；vt.误用，滥用；使人堕落，使入邪路 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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timorous
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| adj.胆怯的，胆小的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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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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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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gainsay
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| v.否认，反驳 | |
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43
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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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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analytical
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| adj.分析的；用分析法的 | |
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plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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48
overdrawn
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| 透支( overdraw的过去分词 )； (overdraw的过去分词) | |
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49
foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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51
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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52
abortive
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| adj.不成功的，发育不全的 | |
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53
quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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54
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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55
throbs
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| 体内的跳动( throb的名词复数 ) | |
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56
primal
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| adj.原始的；最重要的 | |
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57
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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epitome
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| n.典型，梗概 | |
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60
revert
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| v.恢复，复归，回到 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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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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virtuosity
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| n.精湛技巧 | |
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unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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technically
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| adv.专门地，技术上地 | |
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68
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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supersede
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| v.替代；充任 | |
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72
predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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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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manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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overture
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| n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉 | |
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Vogue
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| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
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81
foretell
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| v.预言，预告，预示 | |
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82
originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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83
eccentricities
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| n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 )；反常；怪癖 | |
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84
infliction
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| n.（强加于人身的）痛苦，刑罚 | |
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85
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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86
bedlam
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| n.混乱，骚乱；疯人院 | |
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modicum
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| n.少量，一小份 | |
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saner
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| adj.心智健全的( sane的比较级 )；神志正常的；明智的；稳健的 | |
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stagnation
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| n. 停滞 | |
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90
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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prophesy
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| v.预言；预示 | |
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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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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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