The Great Composers. No. XV. Gluck (Continued) Author(s): Christoph Willibald Gluck and Joseph Bennett Source: The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, Vol. 25, No. 500 (Oct. 1, 1884), pp. 569-573 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3357568 Accessed: 22-12-2015 01:23 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Musical Times Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 204.235.148.92 on Tue, 22 Dec 2015 01:23:51 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-OCTOBER I, 1884. 569 employment. In his treatmentof those parts of poserwho otherwise, perhaps, would have stoodaloof. the story where action takes place, he followsthe Amongthese was the Abbe Arnaud,a famousand methodadopted in " Colomba"; subordinatingevery- influentiallitterateur of the time,who passed, also, thing to dramatic expression. Here, however,we as a musicalcritic. Arnaudpublished a long detailed have but an advance upon the plan followedby notice of the opera in the Gazettede litterature,and, Mendelssohnin correspondingparts of "Elijah." at that particular juncture, did the cause of Gluck's For the rest,there is no variancefrom the usual rule reformsno small amount of good. It was not for of developed movementsin accepted form. As a him, however,to enter into the very heart of the result,we have an interestingcombination of modern master'smethod, simply because no connoisseurof the deviceand classic method;the modern element being daycould conceive, much less understand,the extreme forthe most part associatedwith dramatic features, to which Gluck's ideas were carried. Some notion of but not exclusivelyso, since the Prologue,a con- thatextreme can be gatheredfrom a documentwritten tralto solo, is based upon the Leitmotivwhich by Corancez,the friendwho was the meansof intro- representsunconquerable love. In distributingthe ducingGluck to Rousseau. Corancez,though a man voices of his characters, Mr. Mackenzie makes of taste and feeling,was not a musician,and on that the Sulamite a soprano; the Beloved a tenor; account,perhaps, the Germanmaster talked to him Solomona baritone; the Elder a bass; and the freely,answering questions with a readiness by no First Womana contralto. All the soloistsare well means his usual characteristic. One day Corancez provided with music; the largest share of work observedthat in "Iphig6nie,"when Agamemnon first fallingnaturally to the soprano. The contraltoairs sangthe line, " Jen'ob6ira point a cet ordreinhumain," are specially effective;while those for the tenor, he dweltupon the "je," but subsequentlypassed the baritone,and bass are all moreor less importantand wordwithout such emphasis. Questionedas to this, graceful. A featureof the Oratorio,indeed, is the Gluckanswered:- admirable balance preservedby the composer in "I had a strongreason to put a long note on the dealing with the great divisions of his executive 'je' as firstpronounced by Agamemnon,and also to force. Althoughthe solo vocalistshave muchto do, avoid doing so whenever the word was repeated. the task ofthe chorusand orchestrais scarcelyless Observethat this Prince stands between two most weightyor less prominent. It may even be thatthe powerfulopposing forces-nature and religion. He choristersengaged will complain of too heavy a yieldsto nature,but beforepronouncing the terrible burden. Choral movementsin great variety are word of disobedience against the gods he hesitates. frequent;and at the close of the second Part,where My long note marks his hesitation,but, the word the processionof the Ark takes place, no less than once uttered,let him repeat it as oftenas he may, fifty-fourconsecutive pages of the pianofortescore there is no longercause for hesitation; and a long are taken up by a stringof concertedpieces. We note wouldsimply be a faultin prosody." ventureto say thatMr. Mackenzie will be praisedfor Again,Corancez demanded why the piece in which the admirableresource he has shownin dischargingthe anger of Achillesis expressedthrilled him to the a most exactingduty. Some of the choruses are core, although when singing it himself he was undoubtedlydifficult, but, as a rule,they are gratefulconscious of nothingbut a melodyagreeable to the to sing, and so distinguishedby varied meritsas ear. Gluck replied :- never to become monotonousand, consequently, " You will seek in vain amongthe notesthat make wearisome. The orchestrais throughouttreated in a tune forany characterproper to certainpassions. the mostapproved modern fashion, playing a part in It does not exist. The composerhas the resourceof the drama by meansof its "representativethemes," harmony, but even that is insufficient. In the piece and being mostly distinctiveand conspicuous in of whichyou speak,my magic consistsin the nature accompaniment. It has two movementsto itself-- of the precedingair and its accompaniment. You one describinga " Spring Morningon Lebanon," a have heard for some time nothing but the tender softlyflowing Adagio tranquillo; the other,entitled regrets of Ithiginie and her adieux to Achilles; the " Sleep," being a beautiful Larghetto continued flutes and the lugubrious tone of the horns there play into and all through the Sulamite's dream, the the principal part. It is not marvellous if your events of which are seen, so to speak, throughreposeful ears, struck suddenly by the sharp sound of its translucent veil. The Oratorio contains no all the military instruments together, cause within regular fugue,that formbeing obviouslyunfitted you an extraordinarymovement-one which, in truth, forthe subject,but contrapuntalwriting abounds, in it was my duty to bring about, but which, neverthe- quantitymore than sufficientto satisfythe scientificless, owes its principal force to a physical effect." ear, and in abilitymore than able to please it. We Other questions and answers might be cited, but believethat the melodiesof the workshow a marked the foregoing serve to show the vast amount of advance upon anythingyet done by Mr. Mackenzie. thought and the great faculty of taking pains which They are, many of them,fully developed, well sus- Gluck brought to the exercise of his art. He sought tained,and thoroughlyvocal. As forthe handlingof the accents of nature, and held everythingsubordinate the ensembles,it will be found,we have notthe smallest to perfectedand true expression. All this was, of doubt,that Mr. Mackenzie has reacheda very high course, lost upon a section of the public who could standard,and showsthe masterfulnessof a master. see nothinggood in whatwas new. Gluck's critics We have now advancedall the pointsdemanded in rejectedhis melodyas no melodyat all because it a preliminarynotice, and leave till afterthe per- lackedthe ornamentsand " passages" to whichthey formanceat Norwich, on the i6th inst.,the full had been accustomed. Another grievance was the analysis deservedby a work of the noblestpurpose absence of dance music in the usual formof sarabande, and highestachievement. chaconne, &c. At that time it was the fashion to conclude an opera with a brilliant display of saltatory THE GREAT COMPOSERS art, and one can easily imagine the disappointment of the Vestris worshippers on finding that their idol BY JOSEPH BENNETT. had nothingto do. As forVestris himself, he went, No. XV.-GLUCK (continuedfrom page 515). both in sorrow and in anger, to remonstrate with SUccEss never lacks friends, and the and Gluck the of his offence the great " upon enormity against growing favour shown to " Iphig6nie en Aulide by establishedproprieties. Vainlydid the masterpoint the Parisians brought many to the side of the com- out to the dancer that he could hardly introduce This content downloaded from 204.235.148.92 on Tue, 22 Dec 2015 01:23:51 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 570 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-OCTOBER I, s884. pirouettes into a sombre Greek tragedy. Vestris Op6ra as an opera-ballet. The master thought insisted: " I must have my chaconne." nothing of such a trifle,but his enemies saw in it a " A chaconne !" retorted Gluck, " do you suppose great deal, and loud was the outcry against the work the Greeks knew of such a thing ? " on the score of faults quite needless to recapitulate "They had no chaconne !" exclaimed Vestris, " so here. That it had faults seems evident since Abb6 much the worse for them!" Arnaud, Gluck's foremostchampion, said in reference The prosperous run of " Iphigenie " was ended by to it : " Hercules wielded the club better than he the death of Louis XV., an event which closed the handled the distaff." theatres from May ii till June 13, and Gluck then The master had, at this time, plenty of work in addressed himselfto the task of bringingout Moline's hand. He had undertaken to prepare " Alceste " for French version of " Orfeo," under the title " Orph6e performance in French, and also to write a couple et Eurydice." This work, coming after the success of operas on the subjects of " Roland" and