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Library Bureau Cat. no. 1137
^aj2(ter0 of Contemporary ^u0ic
A SERIES OF BIOGRAPHICAL AND
CRITICAL SKETCHES
i^asters of Contemporarg i^ustr.
With Portraits, <Scc.
MASTERS OF ENGLISH MUSIC.
By Charles Willeey,
Crown 8vo, cloth, 5s,
MASTERS OF GERMAN MUSIC.
By J. A. FcLLER Maitlanu,
Crown 8vo, cloth, 5s.
[/« ^Ae Press.
CH. GOUNOD
Frontispiece.
iS^asttts of iFtencl) S^nsit
BY
ARTHUR HERVEY
IV/TH ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
OSGOOD, McILVAINE & CO.
45 ALBEMARLE STREET
1894
v^
514-1-^
V\\ wS\'i-^«>^ ^^^
THIS LITTLE VOLUME
IS
BY SPECIAL PERMISSION
DEDICATED TO
HER ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE PRINCESS OF WALES
PREFACE
The reader who turns to these pages with the
idea of finding therein a large and exhaustive
account of the composers mentioned, with a technical
analysis of their works, willy I fear, he disappointed.
My intention has been afar more modest one.
The dimensions of this volume would not have
allowed me to devote that amount of space to each
composer that might he considered due to his merits.
The object I have had in view has been to give an
account of their lives and to draiv attention to the
tendencies exhibited in their works.
The French can boast a splendid musical record^
particularly as regards the opera. Paris was for
many years the centre towards which foreign artists
were wont to gravitate. It was here that Gluck
laid the seeds of his musical reforms ; that Cheru-
bini and Spontini lived and brought out their best
PREFACE
works ; it was the influence of French taste that
caused Rossini to forsake the inartistic devices of
his earlier Italian operas and write " Guillaume
Tell,'" his masterpiece ; it was for Paris that Meyer-
beer composed ^^ Robert le Diahle,"" '■'■ Lcs Huguenots,'"
" Le Prophete," and " U Africaine ; " that Donizetti
wrote the "Favorite,^' and Verdi, '^ Don Carlos."
It was Paris that Wagner had in his mind when
he composed his " Rienzi."
Then if we cast a glance at their native composers
what treasures of melody, what grace, and what
innate dramatic feeling do we not find in the works
of Mehul, BoieldieUj Auber, Herold, Adam, HaUvyy
and others whose operas during the first half of the
present century were heard all over Europe.
Of a different type to the above we meet the
Titanic figure of Berlioz, whose influence has been so
great over the younger generation of composers and
whose orchestral innovations have borne such fruit.
In the present volume I am only dealing with living
composers, otherwise there are four who occupy
prominent places in the records of contemporary music
whose names would have been included, Bizet, Lalo,
Cesar Franck, and Leo Delibes.
Bizet, the gifted author of " Carmen," the inspired
viii
PREFACE
musician ivlio wrote ^^ UArlesienne" snatched away
at the very moment when his genius was beginning
to meet with recognition. Who knows what he might
not have done had he lived! As it is, ^^ Carmen"
is probably the most generally popular opera that has
been ivritten by a Frenchman since Gounod produced
his " Faust" and Bizet was only thirty-seven years
of age wJien he died !
Edouard Lalo, whose death occurred last year (1892)^
had to wait a long time before his merits received
the recognition to which they were entitled. His
popularity in France may be said to date from the
time when his opera, " Le Roi d^Ys," was first
produced at the Opera Comique some five years ago,
Ziehen the composer had reached his sixtieth year.
An operaofhis entitled ^^Fiesque,'' composed many years
previously, zcas accepted by one manager after another,
but some circumstance invariably occurred to prevent
its being brought out. His ballet ^^ Namouna''
contains much that is both charming and original,
.yet it failed to captivate the public of the Paris Opera
when it was produced.
Amongst his orchestral works are to be found a
fine symphony, which I remember hearing at one
of the Lamoureux concerts in Paris and which ought
ix
PREFACE
to he given here; two Norwegian Rhapsodies, and
the " Symphonie Espagnole ''for violin and orchestra.
The work he will probably he best remembered by
is " Le Roi d'Ys." A great admirer of Wagner,
Lalo in this opera applies the masters theories
in a restricted sense only, and "L^ Roi d'Ys''
has a greater affinity with '^Tannhauser" and
" Lohengrin " thaji with " Tristan " or the " Meister-
singer." His chamber compositions and orchestral
works reveal a considerable amount of originality
and knowledge of effect, allied to consistently ele-
vated notions with regard to the cesthetics of his art.
A tendency towards the employment of curious
rhythms often imparts a peculiar " cachet " to Lalo's
compositions. In all his works he exhibits a com-
plete mastery over orchestral resources, a branch of
the art in which French composers as a rule
excel.
The name of Cesar Franck is less known in
England. Although a Belgian by birth, he may
through his long residence in France he reckoned
amongst the composers of that country. His reputa-
tion has been steadily on the increase of late, and
some of his enthnsiastic admirers have not scrupled
to call him the '' French Bach."
PREFACE
Perhaps i^>e may one day have an opportunity of
judging works such as ^^ Ruth,'" ^' Redemption'' and
" Les Beatitudes," which last is generally considered
as his masterpiece.
Leo Delibes will be remembered chiefly through
his exquisite ballet music, such as " Coppelia " and
" Sylvia," full of grace, charm and refinement,
never commonplace, and bearing the stamp of a
distinct individuality. His operas, " Le Roi Pa dit,"
" jfean de Nivelle," and " Lakme," do not show his
talent off to the same advantage, albeit containing
many delightful pages.
Leo Delibes' music is typically French and is full
of that ^^ esprit" so characteristic of our neighbours.
A pupil of Adolphe Adam, Delibes seems to have
acquired his master's lightness of touch and gift of
melody, to which he laas able to add a quality of
distinction which the composer of " Le Postilion de
Lonjumeau " did not possess.
It is, however, zcith the living that we are concerned,
and, having paid a passing tribute to the memory of
the above deceased musicians, I will now proceed
with my task, once more claiming the indulgence of
my readers, and begging them to bear in mind that,
whatever defects may be noticeable in these imperfect
PREFACE
sketches, I can at least claim that they have b»en
written in perfect good faith.
ARTHUR HERVEY.
P.S. — Among the books that I have had occasion
to consult I may mention especially Mons. Adolphe
ytiUien's ^'Musiciens d'A ujourd'hiii" Mons. Pagnerre's
" Charles Gounod,'' Mlle.de Bovefs ^^ Life of Gounod,''
Mons. Hugues Imbert's ''Profits de Musiciens," and
^^Nouveaux Profits de Musiciens."
I also take this opportunity of expressing my
indebtedness to my friend, Mr. Robin H. Legge, for
having been instrumental hv procuring for me in-
formation of a valuable nature.
A.H.
July 1893.
Note. — Since these sketches were written, the death
of Charles Gounod has deprived France of one of
her greatest musicians. The composer of ''Faust"
died on the 18th of October (1893), the anniversary of
the first performance of his opera, " La Nonne Sang-
lante,'^ which was produced in 1854. His loss is one
that will be mourned, not by France alone, but by all
other nations, and Englishmen will not forget that
their country was the birthplace of the " Redemp-
tion" and "Morsel Vita." ^ tt
xii
CONTENTS
PAGE
AMBROISE THOMAS
I
CHARLES GOUNOD ....
• 37
CAMILLE SAINT-SAEXS ....
. 107
JULES MASSENET
• 173
ERNEST REYER
. 207
ALFRED BRUNEAU ...
. 223
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
• 253
APPENDIX
• 277
ILLUSTRATIONS
CH, GOUNOD ....
AMBROISE THOMAS .
CH. GOUNOD ....
FACSIMILE OF AUTOGRAPH SCORE
GOUNOD ....
CAMILLE SAINT SAENS
FACSIMILE OF AUTOGRAPH SCORE
"SAMSON ET DALILA"
JULES MASSENET
FACSIMILE OF AUTOGRAPH SCORE
" WERTHER "
ERNEST REYER
ALFRED BRUNEAU
FACSIMILE OF AUTOGRAPH SCORE OF
REVE" ....
LE
Frontispiece
To face /. I
37
92
107
.. 144
.. 173
I. 200
207
223
240
The frontispiece and the portrait of M.
Massenet arc taken from photographs by M. G.
Camus, Pari<!. The portrait of the late 71/.
Gounod, facing page 37, is taken frotn a
photograph by M. Petit, Paris ; and the
portraits of MM. Thomas, Saint-Saens,
Reyer, and Brujieau, from photographs by
MISI. Benquc and Co., Paris.
li^
a-^A-^.^ J
¥>^'
AMBROISE THOMAS
It has become a trite saying that music is the
youngest of the arts. The truth of this is
nevertheless indisputable, and the remark is
perhaps more applicable to music as represented
in the " lyrical drama " than in any other form.
What pleases one generation is often distasteful
to the next, and a period of twenty or even ten
years has sometimes been sufficient to witness a
thorough evolution in the methods and general
style of dramatic music.
The career of the composer whose name
heads this chapter is, from this point of view,
interesting to study, and a cursory glance at the
state of musical affairs at the time when he
emerged from the Paris Conservatoire, having
won the "Grand Prix de Rome," will not be
I A
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
out of place, and may help towards forming a
more accurate estimate of his talent.
Every art has traversed a period of degenera-
tion, when true aesthetics have been neglected
and men of undoubted talent, or even genius,
have been unable to free themselves from the
shackles of a vitiated taste. This applies,
perhaps, more to music than to any other art,
probably for the reason that in this case the
demand upon the intellect is proportionately
greater, and a certain degree of culture is
absolutely necessary for its due appreciation.
There is a semblance of truth in the contention
advanced by Rubinstein, that music is the reflex
of its time, and even re-echoes the political
events and general state of culture of the age.
The following paradoxical opinion of the emi-
nent Russian composer and pianist, taken from
his "Conversation on Music,"* is well worth
quoting in extenso .• " I can follow musically even
the events of our century. Our century begins
either with 1789, the French Revolution (musi-
* Published by Messrs. Augener.
2
AMBROISE THOMAS
cally with Beethoven), or the year i8 15 is to be
looked upon as the close of the eighteenth
century, disappearance of Napoleon from the
political horizon, the Restoration, &c. (musically
the scholastic-virtuoso period : Hummel, Mo-
scheles, and others) ; flourish of modern philo-
sophy (third period of Beethoven) ; the July
Revolution of 1830, fall of the Legitimists,
raising the son of Philippe Egalite to the throne,
the Orleans dynasty, democratic and constitu-
tional principle in the foreground, monarchical
principle in the background, 1848 in sight
(Berlioz); the .^olian harp of the Polish
rebellion of 183 1 (Chopin); romanticism gene-
rally and its victory over the pseudo-classic
(Schumann) ; flourish of all the arts and sciences
(Mendelssohn) ; the triumph of the bourgeoisie,
in sense of material existence, a shield against
all disturbing elements of politics and culture
(Capellmeister music); Louis Napoleon becomes
Emperor (Liszt, the virtuoso, becomes the
composer of symphonies and oratorios) ; his
reign (the operetta a branch of art) ; the
3
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
German-Franco war, Germany's unity, the
freedom of Europe resting on ten millions of
soldiers, change in all formerly accepted political
principles (Wagner, his music-drama, his art
principles, &c.)."
We are able with a tolerable degree of
certainty to determine the period when a house
was built by the style of its architecture, just as
we experience no difficulty, as a rule, in dis-
covering the date w^hen a picture was painted
through details that unmistakably reveal the
epoch when the artist lived, even if the subject
he may have chosen to illustrate be ever so
remote. The well-known picture by Paul
Veronese of the " Marriage Feast of Cana " is a
case in point.
In respect to music, a similar law would
appear to govern its manifestations, and special
characteristics are associated with the pro-
ductions of different epochs. This is made
evident by the non-success that attends the
composer whose genius impels him onward
towards new and unknown horizons. Woe be
4
AMBROISE THOMAS
to the one who has the temerity to forestall
his own generation. Although immortality and
a tardy homage to his memory may be his
reward, these will perhaps scarcely afford com-
pensation for the trials and hardships endured
whilst battling for sheer existence in this vale of
tears. It is a moot consideration whether the
wisest course to adopt is that followed by Hector
Berlioz, or the one that has brought prosperity
as well as celebrity to Ambroise Thomas ; for
whereas the former may result in post-mortem
panegyrics, the latter procures a more immediate
recompense, and may lead to the directorship of
the Paris Conservatoire.
There is something inexpressibly sad in the
evanescence of music, and in thinking of the
comparatively small number of compositions
destined to survive their age. In this respect
music is at a decided disadvantage in compari-
son with the sister arts ; the fact of the former
being essentially creative possibly accounting
in some measure for this. At any rate, where-
as masterpieces of classic art, such as "The
5
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Dying Gladiator " and the " Apollo Belvedere "
remain unrivalled and do not betray a vestige of
their antiquity, much of the music composed
fifty years ago has become so hopelessly old-
fashioned that it can scarcely be listened to with
patience.
Is it that in this special case familiarity breeds
a larger dose of contempt than usual ? The fact
has been proved over and over again, that
compositions that seem absolutely incomprehen-
sible to one generation, are accepted as com-
paratively simple by the next; whereas those
that have caught on with the public at once
very soon lose their hold.
The great test of an art work, as such, is its
truth of expression. The moment this is want-
ing, its value diminishes, and it is powerless to
survive the caprice of fashion.
Thus we find that those works into which
composers have poured their innermost feelings,
untrammelled by any desire to purchase an
ephemeral popularity at the cost of the sacrifice
of principle, are those that have remained.
6
AMBROISE THOMAS
This is so much the case with stage works that
it is necessary to state it definitely before pro-
ceeding any further.
For years the operatic composer was ahiiost
entirely at the mercy of the singer, and it has
required many efforts on the part of great artists
to shake off the load, the final emancipation
being effected through the agency of one whose
genius towers far above that of his contem-
poraries, and whose influence upon music has
been as widespread as it has been beneficial.
Need I say that I allude to Richard Wagner ?
The spirit of routine, so engrained in the
human mind, has also much to account for
in preventing the development of music as
represented in the opera. It is far from my
desire to say anything in disparagement of a
form of art such as the "op^ra comique," a
genre that has been illustrated with so
conspicuous a degree of success by composers
such as Gretry, Monsigny, Dalayrac, Nicolo,
Boieldieu, Herold, and Auber. At the same
time, it must be admitted that the ideal aimed
7
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
at by modern French musicians is altogether a
higher one. The " lyrical drama " has usurped
the place of the old "opera comique," and those
composers whose inability or disinclination
have kept them from following the prevalent
movement, have perforce drifted into that
mongrel species of art known as the " operette."
From an aesthetic point of view the change is
emphatically for the better, as the " opera
comique," corresponding to the German " Sing-
spiel," and to our " ballad opera," and consisting
of an amalgam of speech and song, being neither
fish, flesh, nor fowl, is utterly inconsistent with
logic.
That there is still, however, a place for works
coming under the denomination of a modernised
form of ''opera comique," as distinct from the
" operette," without pretensions of too lofty an
order, is evidenced by the delightful works of
the late Ldo Delibes, " Le Roi I'adit," " Jean de
Nivelle," and " Lakme " ; and more recently by
Mons. Chabrier's " Le Roi Malgre Lui " and
Mens. Messager's " La Basoche."
AMBROISE THOMAS
In the year 1832, when Ambroise Thomas
had completed his twenty-first birthday, the
Rossini fever was at its height. Beethoven was
comparatively little known in France, and those
amongst his symphonies that had been brought
to a hearing had excited more wonder than
admiration.
" II ne faut pas faire de la musique comme
celle-la," Lesueur had said to Berlioz after
having listened to the C Minor Symphony;
"Soyez tranquille, cher maitre, on n'en fera
pas beaucoup," had been the answer vouch-
safed by the future author of "La Damna-
tion de Faust." In the meanwhile Boieldieu
never lost the opportunity of playing through
Rossini's operas to his pupils, and descanting
upon their merits. It is indeed difficult to
account for the extraordinary influence exercised
by Rossini over his contemporaries. That his
" facile " melodies should have proved agreeable
to the general public, and his florid ornamenta-
tions grateful to the singers, "passe encore."
But that an entire generation of composers
9
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
should have been so fascinated by the sham
glitter of his brilliant though shallow composi-
tions as to follow his methods in so faithful a
manner, is incomprehensible. It is eminently
to the credit of French taste that "Guillaume
Tell," his only really great work of serious
nnport, should have been written for the Paris
Grand Opera.
Entirely devoid of artistic conscience or of
any of those lofty aspirations towards the ideal
that stamp the true artist, be his name Bach or
Beethoven, Schubert or Schumann, Berlioz or
Wagner, Rossini deliberately squandered his
genius. Success seems to have been his only
object, and this once acquired he was content
to idle away the remainder of a long existence,
sublimely unconscious of the great musical
upheaval that was being accomplished by
genuine workers in the cause of art.
What can we think of a composer who could
employ the same overture to precede operas so
widely different in regard to their subject-matter
as " Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra " and " II
10
AMBROISE THOMAS
Barbiere " ? What of the musician who thought
that a brilHant martial strain was the right
musical interpretation of the sublime and
poignant words expressive of Mary at the foot
of the Cross ? " Cujus animam gementem,
contristantem et dolentem " j words of inde-
scribable sadness and depth ; a mother mourning
her Divine Son ; a theme unexampled in point of
pathos and emotion, set to a melody that would
be in its proper place in some pageant descrip-
tive of the triumphal entry of a conqueror into a
city !
What, again, of the composer who could prefix
a tragedy like " Othello " with an overture fit
for an " opera bouffe ? " And what would be
said nowadays of the musician who, finding
himself short of an idea, pilfered that of another
composer, as Rossini did in '^ II Barbiere," the
trio in the last act of which being palpably
taken from Haydn's " Seasons " ? The greater
a man's genius — and no one would dream of
denying this attribute to Rossini — the greater
his responsibility. Noblesse oblige. In order
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
that I may not be accused of formulating too
harsh a judgment upon the Italian master^ I will
quote the following words of Blaze de Bury, his
friend and admirer : " Avec du genie et les
circonstances, on fait les Rossini; pour etre
Mozart ou Raphael, Michel Ange ou Beethoven,
il faut avoir quelque chose de plus : des prin-
cipes."
What has been termed the "golden epoch"
of the "grand opera" was at this time at its
apogee^ and the period of ten years from 1828 to
1838 witnessed the production upon the same
boards of Auber's "La Muette de Portici,"
known here as " Masaniello," Rossini's " Guil-
laume Tell," Halevy's "La Juive," and
Meyerbeer's "Robert le Diable" and "Les
Huguenots."
It has been too much the fashion in recent
years to decry the works of Meyerbeer, and to
lay stress upon their shortcomings whilst giving
but a grudging half-hearted acknowledgment to
the many undeniable beauties that pervade
them. Against so unjust a verdict I desire
AMBROISE THOMAS
emphatically to protest, for however much
Meyerbeer may have sacrificed for the sake of
effect, there can be no doubt that he contributed
in a large measure towards raising the operatic
standard, then at a very low level.
If we find the rich crop of wheat not devoid
of chaff, we must at any rate admit that the
former is of excellent quality. To be the author
of " Les Huguenots," the fourth act of " Le
Prophete," and the music to "Struensee," not to
speak of many another dramatic masterpiece, is
in itself a sufficient title to rank amongst the
greatest musicians of the age.
It would occupy too much space were I to
enter further into a question which I may in the
course of this volume have occasion to allude to
again. I will therefore terminate these pre-
liminary observations by stating the position
occupied by the three great emancipators of
dramatic and instrumental music — Berlioz, Liszt,
and Wagner — at the time I mention, circa 1832.*
■" Berlioz was born in 1803, Liszt in 181 1, and
Wagner in 18 13.
13
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
The first was endeavouring to obtain a hearing
for works that were condemned as incoherent
and unintelligible, the second had achieved
high fame as a pianist, and the third was
qualifying for the humble position of " Capell-
meister" in a German provincial town. The
charge of incoherence was destined to cling to
Berlioz even unto the end, whilst the colossal
reputation of Liszt as an executant for a long
while caused his labours as a creative musician
to be underrated. As to Wagner, the number
of misrepresentations that he had to live
through are too numerous and too well known
to mention.
Time, however, sets all things right, and the
three masters are little by little gaining the
position in public estimation to which they are
entitled.
Ambroise Thomas was born at Metz on the
5th of August 1811, the same year as Liszt.
He entered the Paris Conservatoire, of which
institution he is at the time I am writing the
honoured director, in 1828, and studied there
14
AMBROISE THOMAS
under Zimmerman, Dourlen, and Lesueur;*
also receiving instructions from Kalkbrenner,t
and Barbereau.J The vein of sentiment which
in later years was to be so prominent a feature
in his compositions must have been noticeable
even at that time, for it is said that his master
Lesueur, on being told that the future author of
" Mignon " was seventh in the class, remarked :
" Thomas est vraiment ma note sensible." (The
seventh note of the scale, or what we in England
call the leading note, is known in French as
'*la note sensible.") Having won the "Prix de
Rome " in 1832, for a cantata entitled " Herman
et Ketty," Ambroise Thomas repaired to Italy,
where he spent the following three years accord-
ing to the usual custom.
It must have been about this time that he
composed the trio and " Caprices en forme de
* Lesueur, born 1763, died 1837 ; composer of " Les
Bardes," and other operas.
t Kalkbrenner, born 1788, died 1849; celebrated
pianist.
X Barbereau, born 1799, died 1879.
15
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Valses " for piano, marked respectively Opus 2
and 4, which were appreciated in the following
terms by Schumann.*
"We come to an extremely pleasant com-
position, a 'salon trio,' during which it is
possible to look around without completely
losing the musical thread ; neither heavy nor
light, neither deep nor superficial, not classical,
not romantic, but always euphonious and in
certain parts full of beautiful melody; for
instance, in the soft leading motive of the first
movement, which, however, loses a great deal of
its charm when it reappears in the major, and
even sounds commonplace," etc.
" The ' Caprices ' of Thomas move in a higher
circle than Wenzel's ' Adieu de St. Petersbourg,'
but, notwithstanding the evident application and
the great amount of talent evinced, are nothing
more nor less than higher-class Wenzel; 'le-
derne' German thoughts translated into the
French language, so pleasant that one must
needs beware of them, and so pretentious that
* " Gesammelte Schriften."
16
J
AMBROISE THOMAS
one could well get vexed with them. Occasion-
ally the composer wanders into mystic har-
monies, but, soon frightened at his own temerity,
returns to his natural mode of expression, to
what he possesses and is able to give. But
what do I expect ? The ' Caprices ' are pretty,
sound well," etc.
During his sojourn in the eternal city, Thomas
made himself popular with all who came across
him, and was alluded to by Ingres, the cele-
brated painter, at that time head of the school
whither were sent the successful young artists
and musicians who had won the "Prix de
Rome," as "I'excellent jeune homme, le bon
Thomas."
The operatic career of the composer of
"Mignon" dates from the year 1837, his first
venture being a one-act comic opera entitled
" La Double Echelle," produced at the Opera
Comique. This was succeeded the following
year by " Le Perruquier de la Regence," three
acts, at the same theatre; and in 1839 by "La
Gipsy," a ballet at the Opera, in collaboration
17 B
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
with Benoist, and " Le Panier Fleuri," at the
Opera Comique.
The prolific nature of the composer's talent
was further illustrated by the production in
quick succession of "Carline" (1840), "Le
Comte de Carmagnole " (1841), " Le Guerillero "
(1842), and "Angelique et Medor" (1843),
none of which obtained any appreciable success.
It was otherwise with "Mina," a three-act comic
opera, produced at the Opera Comique in 1843,
which enjoyed a certain vogue at the time, but
has not survived.
The first permanent success achieved by
Thomas was with " Le Caid," a light opera
given in 1849, which rapidly became popular,
and is regarded by some as the precursor of the
style of opera boiiffe which was destined later on
to achieve so great a notoriety at the hands of
Offenbach and his imitators. This is scarcely a
correct view to take, as the innate refinement of
a nature such as that of Ambroise Thomas has
little in common with the vulgarities associated
with the genre. "Le Caid," in which the
18
AMBROISE THOMAS
composer amusingly parodies the absurdities
associated with the now happily obsolete Italian
opera style of the period, would nowadays pass
muster as a high-class operette. This bright
little score is full of that esprit of which
French composers seem to possess the
secret, and is wedded to an exceedingly
amusing libretto. "Le Caid" has remained
popular in France, and occupies a permanent
place in the repertoire of the Paris Opera
Comique.
Before proceeding with the composer's oper-
atic career, it may be well to mention a phase in
his existence during which he bravely performed
his duties as a citizen. At the time of the
political troubles of 1848, when art was forcibly
relegated into the background, Ambroise
Thomas donned the uniform of a garde natio7tal.
It is related that one night, when passing under
the windows of his friend and collaborator
Sauvage, with whom he was at that moment
working, he shouted out to him, brandishing his
gun, "This is the instrument upon which I
19
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
must compose to-day; the music it produces
requires no words."
Happily Thomas was able soon to revert to
more pacific and profitable occupations.
The composer's next work was of a different
nature, and if " Le Songe d'une Nuit d'Ete "
(" A Midsummer Night's Dream "), given at the
Opera Comique in 185 1, did not achieve a
similar success to *' Le Caid," it possessed merit
of a higher order, and is even now still occa-
sionally performed.
This opera has nothing to do with Shake-
speare's comedy, as its name might imply.
Curiously enough, the immortal bard is made
to figure as the hero of the piece. He is repre-
sented as a drunkard, who is rescued by Queen
Elizabeth from his evil habits through a strata-
gem, by which he is made to see the veiled
figure of a woman, when he is recovering from a
drunken bout, whom he mistakes for the em-
bodiment of his own genius, and who threatens
to abandon him unless he promises to reform.
It is strange that such a farrago of nonsense
AMBROISE THOMAS
should have been deemed worthy of serving as
an operatic text.
" Raymond," a three-act opera, founded upon
the story of the Man with the Iron Mask, fol-
lowed the above work in 185 1. The overture
is the only number that has survived. It is a
brilliant orchestral piece, somewhat in the style
of Auber.
In the course of the same year Ambroise
Thomas was elected a member of the Institute
in the place of Spontini. It can scarcely be
said that this brought him much luck, for of the
five operas that he wrote within the ten suc-
ceeding years, not one has kept the stage.
They need not detain us long. Their
names are " La ToneUi " (1853) ; " La Cour de
C^limene" (1855); "Psyche" (1857), a revised
version of which was produced at the Op^ra
Comique in 1878; " Le Carnaval de Venise"
(1857) ; and " Le Roman d'Elvire " (i860).
After these comparative failures the composer
appears to have taken a much-needed rest and
devoted some time to reflection, which was to
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
be productive of excellent results. It may safely
be urged that had Thomas died at this period
he would have been only entitled to rank with
musicians of subordinate talent, such as Masse,
Maillart, Clapisson, "e tutti quanti."
As it happens, he had not then given the
full measure of his worth, and the two
works destined to procure for him the Euro-
pean reputation he enjoys belong to his full
maturity.
The following is the opinion emitted by
Fetis in his " Dictionnaire des Musiciens "
upon Ambroise Thomas. It must be remem-
bered that these lines were written before
the production of either " Mignon " or " Ham-
let " : "Talent fin, gracieux, elegant, toujours
distingue, ayant I'instinct de la scene, souvent
melodiste, ecrivant en maitre et instrumentant
de meme, cet artiste n'a malheureusement pas
la sante, necessaire a I'energie de la pen see. II
a le charme d^licat et I'esprit, quelquefois il lui
manque la force. Quoi qu'il en soit, M. Am-
broise Thomas n'en est pas moins un des
22
AMBROISE THOMAS
compositeurs les plus remarquables qu'ait pro-
duits la France."
Six years after the " Roman d'Elvire,'* the
bills of the Opera Comique announced the first
performance of " Mignon," the instantaneous
success of which must have helped to console
the composer for former reverses. In construct-
ing an opera book out of Goethe's " Wilhelm
Meister," the librettists, Michel Carre and Jules
Barbier, showed an even greater independence
of spirit than they displayed when adapting the
same poet's " Faust," for they deliberately
altered the original denouement^ and instead of
ending the work with Mignon's death, they pro-
saically allowed her to marry the hero, with
whom she is presumably supposed to live happily
for ever afrerwards, possibly in order not to
depart too abruptly from the conventionalities
of the Opera Comique Theatre, which has long
been a match-making centre for the bourgeoisie.
Happily, Ambroise Thomas did not compose
his " Hamlet " for the same boards, otherwise
who knows but that the Prince of Denmark
23
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
would not have been made to see the error
of his ways, and wed the fair Ophelia, who
would thereby have been saved from going
mad, and spared the trouble of mastering the
vocal acrobatics that are always indulged
in by operatic heroines who are bereft of
reason.
The marriage festivities given in honour of
Hamlet and Ophelia would have enabled
Ambroise Thomas to make use of his ballet
music, and every one would have been left
happy and contented, except perhaps the
Ghost, who is sufficiently tedious not to de-
serve any sympathy. It is but fair to say that
the requirements of habitues at the Opdra
Comique have considerably changed. Realism
has invaded the stage, and a tragic ending is
no longer the exception to the rule in works des-
tined for this theatre.
The poetical subject of " Mignon " was well
suited to the refined nature of the composer's
talent, and the musical value of the work has
amply justified its success. What soprano
24
AMBROTSE THOMAS
vocalist is there who has not sung the suave
cantilena, " Connais-tu le pays " ?
The melodious duet between Mignon and the
old harpist (" Legeres Hirondelles "), the piquant
little gavotte that precedes the second act, the
tenor song, "Adieu, Mignon," and the brilliant
overture, are amongst the most noteworthy and
popular numbers of the opera.
The original interpretation of " Mignon " was
of great excellence. Nothing could have been
more perfect than Mme. Galli Marie's* assump-
tion of the heroine, an actual embodiment of
Ary Scheffer's well-known pictures of Mignon.
I have heard many artists in this part, but none
who so completely realised the character in all
its details. Mme. Cabelt personified Philine,
and the cast was completed by Achard (Wilhelm
Meister), Couderc (Laertes), Bataille (Lothario),
etc. Mme. Christine Nilsson, Mme. Minnie
Hauk, and Miss van Zandt must be mentioned
* This admirable artist was later on destined to
create Bizet's "Carmen."
t The original of Meyerbeer's " Dinorah.
25
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
as successful interpreters of the title role. For
the Italian version, Ambroise Thomas altered
the small part of Frederic, and added a vocal
arrangement of the "Entr'acte Gavotte" for the
late Mme. Trebelli.
"Mignon," it may be mentioned, was the
opera that was being performed on the night of
the terrible fire that destroyed the Opera
Comique in 1887.
In Germany and in Austria this opera has not
proved less successful than it has in France, and
the following appreciation of Dr. Hanslick* may
not prove uninteresting : " This opera is in no
place powerfully striking, and is not the work of
a richly organised, original genius. Rather does
it appear to us as the work of a sensitive and
refined artist showing the practical ability of a
master-hand. Occasionally somewhat meagre
and tawdry, akin to the vaudeville style, the
* Hanslick, Edward. Born 1825. The well-known
critic and writer on music. Strongly antagonistic to
Wagner and his school. Author of "Das Musikal-
ische Schone,' etc.
26
AMBROISE THOMAS
music to ' Mignon ' is nevertheless mostly
dramatic, spirited and graceful^ not of deep, but
of true, and in many instances warm feeling.
Its merits and defects are particularly French,
which is the reason why the first are more notice-
able upon the French and the latter upon the
German boards."
Having followed the example of Gounod in
going to Goethe for a subject, Ambroise Thomas
further trod in his illustrious confrere's footsteps
by seeking for inspiration in the works of
Shakespeare.
The opera of " Hamlet," performed for the
first time in 1868, was the result. After having
cruelly libelled the bard of Avon by presenting
him in the character of a drunkard in his
" Songe d'une Nuit d'Ete," the composer of
" Mignon " was but making an amende honorable
in doing his best to provide one of the immortal
poet's greatest works with a worthy musical set-
ting. If his attempt can scarcely be said to
have been crowned with the fullest amount of
success, the fault is not entirely his own, unless
27
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
he may be blamed for ignoring the fact of dis-
cretion being the better part of valour.
In endeavouring to set Shakespeare's tragedy
to music Ambroise Thomas undertook an almost
impossible task, and it is scarcely surprising that
he should not have been absolutely successful.
It would require the genius of a Wagner to give
an adequate musical rendering of a work so deep
and philosophical, and the Bayreuth master took
care not to attempt it. Then again the peculiar
nature of Ambroise Thomas's talent would
appear to be absolutely unsuited to the musical
interpretation of a tragedy of this description.
In judging the operatic version of " Hamlet,"
the fact must be borne in mind that this was
written for the Paris Opera, and subjected to
the exigencies of that institution, which were
then far more stringent than at the present time,
when Wagner has at last been admitted into the
stronghold, " Lohengrin " forms part of the
regular repertoire^ and the " Walkiire " draws
large audiences. Amongst these exigencies
must be specially mentioned the introduction of
28
AMBROISE THOMAS
a " ballet " towards the middle of an opera,
whatever its subject. Wagner's refusal to con-
form to this practice had not a little to do with
the failure of "Tannhauser " at the Paris Opera
in 1861.
The French are ever priding themselves upon
their superiority to the rest of the world in all
matters theatrical. They are nevertheless pre-
pared to accept the most glaring inconsistencies
in the matter of operatic " libretti." What, for
instance, can be more incongruous than the
introduction of a set ballet in a tragedy like
"Hamlet"? This can almost be placed on a
similar level of absurdity as the mazourka intro-
duced by Gounod in his " Polyeucte," the action
of which takes place during the time of the early
Christian martyrs, or as the Scotch ballet sup-
posed to be performed at Richmond in Saint-
Saens' " Henry VHI."
Curiously enough, the most successful portion
of Ambroise Thomas's " Hamlet " turns out to
be precisely this ballet act, during which all the
choregraphic resources of the Paris Opera House
29
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
are called into play. In order to render justice
to this work it is necessary to try and forget
Shakespeare as much as possible and look upon
it in a purely operatic light, when much will be
found that can be unreservedly admired. The
melodies are refined, and a certain poetical
tinge, peculiar to the composer, pervades its
pages, whilst the instrumentation is altogether
of great excellence. In this last branch Ambroise
Thomas has ever shown himself highly profi-
cient, and I do not think that the following
remarks of Mons. Lavoix * are unmerited :
" Mons. Ambroise Thomas' orchestration is clear
in its general design, spirituel and ingenious in
its details, always interesting and full of poetical
touches and of pleasant surprises."
The original interpretation of " Hamlet " had
much to do with the success that attended
it, and the parts of Ophelia and Hamlet found
unrivalled exponents in Mme. Christine Nilsson
and Mons. Faure. During the rehearsals, in
order to be free from interruption, Ambroise
* " Histoire de 1' Instrumentation."
30
AMBROISE THOMAS
Thomas transferred his abode to the Opera
House itself^ where he was allotted a room and
kept a strict prisoner by the manager, with his
piano and a goodly assortment of cigars to keep
him company, for the composer of " Hamlet
has always been an inveterate smoker. On the
night following the first representation he was
re-accorded his liberty, and being asked to make
a few alterations in his score, plaintively remarked
that he thought " his two months were over."
At this period Ambroise Thomas was one of
the lions of the day, and a favourite at the Court
of Napoleon HI. His presence at the sump-
tuous entertainments given by the Emperor at
the palace of Compiegne will be remembered
by many who profited by the Imperial hos-
pitality. Every autumn the beautiful chateau
was used to entertain series of visitors, and all
the notabilities of Paris were bidden thither as
the Emperor's guests. How some of these
requited his hospitality later on, when trouble
had gathered about his head, is unhappily a
matter of history.
31
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Ambroise Thomas -had now reached the
apogee of his fame, and this was to receive its
final consecration when he was called upon to
succeed the veteran Auber, whose last days
were embitterred, and possibly shortened, by
the misfortunes that had befallen his country
and disturbed his essentially pacific habits, as
director of the Paris Conservatoire. This ofiice
he has continued to hold until the present day.
Since then his dramatic compositions have
been few and far between, and if we except
" Gille et Gillotin," a one-act trifle written many
years previously, and played at the Ope'ra
Comique in 1874, have consisted of " Fran9oise
de Rimini," a grand opera in five acts produced
at the Opera in 1882, and "La Tempete," a
ballet given at the same theatre in 1889. These
works have maintained their composer's reputa-
tion, without, however, in any material way
adding to it.
In examining the compositions of Ambroise
Thomas it is impossible to avoid being struck
by the eclecticism that pervades them all.
32
AMBROISE THOMAS
The composer of "Mignon" is not one of
those great leaders of musical thought whose
individuality becomes stamped in an indelible
fashion upon the art products of their period.
He has been content to follow at a respectful
distance the evolution that has gradually been
effected in the " lyrical drama," taking care to
avoid compromising himself through a too
marked disregard of recognised traditions.
Hence the presence of much needless orna-
mentation and countless florid passages, intro-
duced obviously in order to show off the singer's
voice, that cause many of his works to appear
old-fashioned.
Mons. Adolphe Jullien, the well-known critic,
somewhat severely sums up the measure of the
composer's talent in the following words ', " The
principal talent of Mons. Thomas consists in
having been able to bend himself to the taste of
the public by serving up in turn the style of
music that suited it best. Very clever in his
art, but without any originality or conviction of
any sort, he began by writing o/>a'a comiques
33 c
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
imitated from Auber, and pasticcios of Italian
opera buffa imitated from Rossini (such as
*' Carline " and " Le Caid ") ; he then attempted
the dramatic opera comique^ dSXtx the manner of
Halevy, in the " Songe d'une Nuit d'Ete," and
" Raymond." Later on he did not disdain to
compete with Clapisson in writing " Le Carnaval
de Venise" and " Psyche "j then, after a long
period of inaction provoked through several
repeated failures, during which the star of
M. Gounod had risen on the horizon, he has
attempted a new style, imitated from that of his
young rival, with "Mignon" and "Hamlet."
In one word, he is a musician of science and
worth absolutely devoid of artistic initiative,
and who turns to all the four quarters of the
winds when these blow in the direction of
success.''
These words contain undoubted elements of
truth, inasmuch as they accentuate the fact
that Ambroise Thomas' talent partakes largely
of an assimilative nature. Notwithstanding this,
there is a certain degree of personality evident
34
AMBROISE THOMAS
in much of his music, discernible through an
indefinable touch of melancholy that imparts a
measure of distinction to many of his works,
which can be sought for in vain amongst the
compositions of his more immediate contem-
poraries.
Ambroise Thomas is one of the last offshoots
of a brilliant period, showing in his later works
indications of a desire to follow the new move-
ment, without possessing sufficient strength to
do more than make a feeble attempt at breaking
through the bonds of operatic " routine," and
ridding himself of the tyranny of the vocalist.
His work is unequal as a whole, but there is
sufficient good in " Mignon " and " Hamlet " to
atone for many weaknesses, and it is through
these operas that his name will be handed down
to posterity.
35
^// , ^l^l^^S^yoJ
CHARLES GOUNOD
To be the composer of " Faust " is in itself suffi-
cient to establish a claim upon the sympathy
and gratitude of many thousands, as well as
to enjoy the indisputable right of occupying a
niche by the side of the greatest and most ori-
ginal composers of the century.
There are but few creative musicians whose in-
dividuality is so striking that it leaves its impress,
not only upon their own productions, but upon
those of their contemporaries. Their genius is
reflected, their mode of thought copied, and even
their mannerisms are reproduced by numberless
admirers and conscious or unconscious imitators.
As it was with Mendelssohn, Schumann, and
Wagner, so it has been with Gounod. A higher
tribute of praise it is indeed impossible to offer.
37
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
The French master has himself defined in a
few words the indebtedness of every composer
to his predecessors, and the difference existing
between that which is communicable and that
which is individual.
"The individuality of genius consists," he
says, "according to the beautiful and profound
expression of an ancient writer, in saying in a
new way things that are not new : ' Nove non
nova.' The influence of the masters is a
veritable paternity : wishing to do without them
is as foolish as to expect to become a father
without ever having been a son. Thus the life
which is transmitted from father to son, leaves
absolutely intact all that in the son constitutes
personality. In this way is it with regard to the
tradition of the masters, which is the transmis-
sion of life in its impersonal sense : it is this
which constitutes the doctrine which the genius
of St. Thomas Aquinas admirably defines as the
science of Hfe.""*
* Preface to the " Choix de Chorals de Bach, annotes
par Ch. Gounod." Published by Messrs. Choudens.
38
CHARLES GOUNOD
With some masters the personality above
alluded to shows itself earlier than usual, as in
the case both of Mendelssohn and Gounod.
There exists a point of contact between these
two composers, so entirely dissimilar one from
another in every way, which it may be well to
point out. This is in respect to the nature of
the influence they have exercised over other
composers, which consists not so much in the
adoption of any special mode of thought or art
principle, but is exemplified by the servile imi-
tation of specific mannerisms. Less far-reach-
ing and wide-spread than that of Wagner, the
influence of the above masters has also been
less beneficial, for the reason that it has been
more objective than subjective, and has shown
itself rather in the outward details of many a
composition than through its inward conception.
The likeness has been more in the cut of the
garment than in the material thereof. This may
be accounted for by the fact that both Men-
delssohn and Gounod are mannerists in the
highest sense of the word, and their favourite
39
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
methods of expression being easy to imitate, have
been repeated by others ad nauseam^ until they
have begun to pall; whereas Wagner has opened
a vast expanse, beyond which stretches an
illimitable horizon, whither the composer of the
future will be able to seek fresh sources of in-
spiration. His art, which has been described
by some as typically Teutonic, is in reality
universal, because it reposes upon the- immut-
able principles of truth and logic, and is
applicable to all nations, amongst which it has
imperceptibly struck root and become accli-
matised, perhaps nowhere more so than in the
country of the composer with whom I am now
dealing.
Two elements have in their turn exercised
their sway over Gounod, and both have helped
to impart, either separately or jointly, to his
music certain of those characteristics familiar to
all who have studied his works — religion and
love. The mysticism and sensuous tenderness
that pervade his compositions, whether sacred
or secular, are evidently the reflex of a mind
40
CHARLES GOUNOD
imbued with lofty aspirations, swayed at one
moment by worldly tendencies, but returning
with renewed intensity towards the pursuit of
the ideal. Something of the same spirit may
be discerned in the musical personality of
another great artist, and both Liszt and Gounod
exhibit in their widely different works the dual
ascendancy of divine and human love.
" Das Ewig Weibliche zieht uns hinan," the
words with which Goethe terminates the second
part of his " Faust,'' are singularly applicable to
the composer whose greatest work is founded
upon the immortal poet's tragedy, and who has
been especially successful in his treatment of
the sentimental portions thereof.
The sensuous nature of his music is notice-
able even in his religious compositions, of which
it does not constitute the least charm.
The future composer of " Faust " was born in
Paris on the 17th of June 1818.
From his earliest age he displayed exceptional
musical aptitudes, and showed signs of an un-
doubted vocation for the career in which he was
41
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
destined so conspicuously to shine. In her
" Life of Gounod " Mdlle. de Bovet relates the
following anecdotes of his childhood : " At the
age of two, in the gardens of Passy, w^here he
was taken for exercise, he would say, ' That dog
barks in Sol,' and the neighbours used to call
him Le petit miisicien. He likes to repeat what
he said one day in that far distant childhood.
He had been listening to the different cries of
the street vendors, ' Oh ! ' he exclaimed sud-
denly, ' that woman cries out a Do that weeps.'
The two notes with which she hawked her
carrots and cabbages actually formed the minor
third— C, E flat. The baby, scarcely out of
his leading-strings, already felt the mournful
character of this combination."
When about seven years of age he was taken
to hear Weber's " Freischiitz," or rather the
mutilated version of this masterpiece by Castil-
Blaze known under the name of "Robin des
Bois." The impression produced upon his youth-
ful mind by Weber's beautiful melodies appears to
have been very great. A few years later, when
42
CHARLES GOUNOD
a schoolboy, he heard Rossini's " Otello " inter-
preted by Malibran and Rubini, and the ItaHan
" maestro's " florid strains seem to have struck
him in an equal degree. His enthusiasm, how-
ever, reached its highest pitch when he became
acquainted with "Don Giovanni." He has ever
since been an ardent devotee at the shrine
of Mozart, and of late years his admiration for
the master's music seems, if anything, to have
increased.
Having had the misfortune to lose his father
at an early age, he was brought up under the
care of his mother. His first studies in compo-
sition were pursued under Reicha, one of the
most celebrated theorists of the time ; and hav-
ing completed his general education at the
college of St. Louis, he entered the classes of
the Conservatoire in 1836, receiving instruction
in counterpoint from Halevy, and in composi-
tion from Lesueur. In 1839 he obtained the
" Grand prix de Rome," and soon afterwards left
for Italy. During his sojourn in Rome Gounod
devoted himself largely to the study of religious
43
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
music, and spent a great portion of his time in
perusing the works of Palestrina and Bach.
Whilst residing at the famous Villa Medicis
he made the acquaintance of Fanny Hensel, the
sister of Mendelssohn, in whose correspondence
may be found several interesting details con-
cerning the future composer of " Faust."
In a letter dated April 23, 1840, she writes:
" Gounod has a passion for music ; it is a plea-
sure to have such a listener. My little Venetian
air delights him ; he has also a predilection for
the Romance in B Minor composed here at
Rome, for the duet of Felix, his ' Capriccio ' in
A minor, and especially for the concerto of
Bach, which he has made me play more than
ten times over." Later on, in another letter, she
writes as follows : " On Saturday evening I
played to my guests, and performed, amongst
other things, the Concerto of Bach ; although
they know it by heart, their enthusiasm
goes 'crescendo.' They pressed and kissed my
hands, especially Gounod, who is extraordi-
narily expansive ; he always finds himself short
44
CHARLES GOUNOD
of expressions when he wishes to convey to me
the influence I exercise over him, and how
happy my presence makes him. Our two
Frenchmen form a perfect contrast : Bousquet's
nature is cahii and correct, Gounod's is pas-
sionate and romantic to excess. Our German
music produces upon him the effect of a bomb
bursting inside a house."
In June 1840 Fanny Hensel and her hus-
band left for Naples. The following extract
from a letter is interesting, as showing to what
extent, even at that early period, Gounod had
become imbued with religious ideas : " Bousquet
confided to us on the way his fears concerning
the religious exaltation of Gounod since he had
come under the ascendancy of the Pere Lacor-
daire .... whose eloquence had already
during the previous winter grouped around him
a number of young men. Gounod, whose cha-
racter is weak and whose nature is impres-
sionable, was at once gained over by Lacor-
daire's stirring words; he has just become a
memoer of the association entitled ' John the
45
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Evangelist,' exclusively composed of young
artists who pursue the regeneration of humanity
through the means of art. The association con-
tains a large number of young men belonging
to the best Roman families ; several amongst
these have abandoned their career in order to
enter into holy orders. Bousquet's impression is
that Gounod is also on the point of exchanging
music for the priest's garb."
In 1843 we find Gounod in Vienna, where a
" Requiem " of his composition attracted some
attention. On his return to Paris he vainly
endeavoured to find a publisher for some songs
he had composed while at Rome. When we
hear that these included " Le Vallon," " Le
Soir," '' Jesus de Nazareth," and "Le Printemps "
— that is to say, some of the most beautiful in-
spirations that have emanated from his brain —
it becomes difficult to account for the obtuse-
ness of the pubUshers.
Discouraged in this quarter, Gounod devoted
his attention once more to religious music, and
accepted the post of organist to the chapel of
46
CHARLES GOUNOD
the " Missions Etrangeres." He even enter-
tained the idea of entering into holy orders.
Happily this was not to be. The name of
Gounod was becoming known in musical circles,
and through the influence of Mme. Viardot, the
celebrated singer, sister of Malibran, the young
composer was commissioned to write the music
of an opera to a book by Emile Augier,* for the
"Acade'mie Nationale." This, his first contribu-
tion to the lyric stage, was " Sapho," which was
brought out in 1851, without, however, achiev-
ing much more than a siicces d'estime. It was re-
vived in a curtailed form seven years later, and
finally, remodelled and enlarged, was repro-
duced in 1884. Notwithstanding its failure to
attract the public, " Sapho " commanded the
approbation of many competent judges, amongst
whom we find no less a musician than Berlioz,
who thus expressed himself upon the composer's
merits : " M. Gounod is a young musician en-
* Augier, Emile. Celebrated dramatist. Author of
"L'Aventuriere," " Le Mariage d'Olympe," "Lions
et Renards," etc.
47
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
dowed with precious qualities, whose tendencies
are noble and elevated, and whom one should
encourage and honour, all the more so as our
musical epoch is so corrupt."
" Sapho " is by no means the worst opera
Gounod has composed, though unequal as a
whole. The original version remains the best.
The year after the production of "Sapho"
Gounod married a daughter of Zimmermann,* a
well-known musician and professor.
His next venture was at the Theatre Frangais,
for which he wrote incidental music to " Ulysse,"
a tragedy by Ponsard. A detail to note is that
the orchestra was conducted by Offenbach.
Although the music to this was universally
praised, it did not suffice to save the piece from
dire failure. " La Nonne Sanglante," a five-act
opera, founded upon a novel by Monk Lewis,
produced in 1854, was even less successful than
"Sapho." At the same time, the press was
sufficiently favourable, and Gounod's reputation,
though awaiting its final consecration, was at
* Zimmermann, born 1775, died 1853.
48
CHARLES GOUNOD
any rate on the increase. It is as well to men-
tion here the success achieved in London of
some religious compositions of Gounod's at a
concert given in 185 1, which called forth an
enthusiastic article in the Athenceiim.
The year 1855 witnessed the production of
one of the master's most individual works, the
" Messe de Ste. Ce'cile," the popularity of which
has remained unabated on both sides of the
Channel, and which furnishes perhaps the most
typical example of his genius in this particular
line. Mons. Pagnerre, Gounod's biographer,
very rightly considers this as occupying the same
position in regard to his religious as "Faust"
does to his dramatic works.
For years Gounod had cherished the desire
of setting Goethe's " Faust " to music, and in
1855 he mentioned the subject to the librettists
Michel Carre and Jules Barbier, who imme-
diately set to work and provided the required
text. Circumstances, however, combined to
prevent him from completing his w^ork, and
Mons. Carvalho, then director of the Theatre
49 D
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Lyrique, having suggested something of a lighter
description, Gounod interrupted his labours, and
in five months completed the score of " Le
Medecin Malgre Lui," an operatic version of
Moliere's comedy, which was performed for the
first time on January 15, 1858. This little opera
is a perfect gem of delicate fancy and refined
humour. It affords a proof of what can be
achieved with limited means by a true artist,
and how burlesque situations are susceptible of
being treated without a suspicion of vulgarity or
triviality. Berlioz well defined its true worth
when he wrote : " Everything in this comic
opera is pretty, piquant, fresh, spontaneous;
there is not a note too much nor a note too
little." It has frequently been performed in
England under the title of "The Mock
Doctor."
We now approach the culminating point in
the composer's career. The score of " Faust "
was almost finished in October 1857, and Gou-
nod was said to be at work upon a grand opera
entitled " Ivan the Terrible," which was never
50
CHARLES GOUNOD
completed, or at all events never played. The
composer utilised several portions thereof in
other operas : the celebrated soldier's march in
" Faust " was originally composed for the above
work. " Faust " was first performed at the
Theatre Lyrique on the 19th of March 1859,
with the following cast : Faust, Barbot ; Mephis-
topheles, Balanque; Valentin, Reynald ; Siebel,
Mdlle. Faivre ; Marguerite, Mme. Carvalho. It
was transferred to the Grand Opera in 1869,
with certain alterations, including new ballet
music for the fifth act, when it was interpreted
by Colin, a young tenor of great talent and
promise, w^ho was destined to die prematurely
not long after ; Faure, unsurpassed as Mephis-
topheles ; Devoyod, Mdlle. Mauduit, and Mme.
Nilsson, the best of Marguerites.
The success of " Faust " did not for some
time assume anything like the proportions it
was destined to attain later on, and the follow-
ing extracts from some of the criticisms of the
day may not be uninteresting. BerHoz was on
the whole distinctly favourable to his young
51
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
rival's work, and his appreciation, coming from
one who had himself sought for inspiration from
the same source, acquires thereby additional
importance. According to him, the most
remarkable portion of the score is the mono-
logue of Marguerite at her window, which closes
the third act. In this it is probable that many
will now agree.
Scudo,* the once famous critic of the Revue
des Deux Mondes, was less favourable than
Berlioz, although he admitted the work to be
thoroughly distinguished; ''but," he added,
"the musician has not seized the vast con-
ception of the German poet ; he has not suffi-
ciently succeeded in appropriating unto himself
the epic force of Goethe, to render any new
attempt impossible." In this, Scudo was perhaps
not altogether wrong. As, however, he always
showed himself the uncompromising opponent
of Berlioz, Wagner, and the newer school of
musical thought, his judgment loses some of its
weight, and it is not surprising that he should
* Scudo. P. Born 1806. Died 1864.
52
CHARLES GOUNOD
have pronounced the soldier's march to be a
masterpiece, whilst failing to recognise the beauty
of the garden scene.
Strangely enough, neither Berlioz nor Scudo,
judging the work from such different stand-
points, were in any way impressed by the
musical beauties or dramatic force of the prison
scene. Jouvin, the critic of the Figaro, whilst
praising the second and fourth acts, thought the
third monotonous and lengthy. On the other
hand, the critic of the Illustration considered
this as the finest. Scudo having died in 1864,
he was succeeded on the Revue des Deux
Maudes by Blaze de Bury, who proved even
more hostile to Gounod than his predecessor.
" Faust " was first performed in . London
under Col. Mapleson's regime, in 1864, with
the following cast : Mme. Titiens, Marguerite ;
Mme. Trebelli, Siebel ; Giuglini, Faust ; Gassier,
Mephistopheles ; Santley, Valentine. Signor
Arditi was the conductor.
Later on, during the same season, it was
given at Covent Garden and interpreted as
53
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
follows : Mme. Miolan-Carvalho, Marguerite ;
Mme. Nantier Didier, Siebel ; Tamberlik,
Faust; Faure, Mephistopheles ; Graziani,
Valentine.
Since then, the number of singers who have
appeared in this unique work has been very
great. There probably does not exist a pri77ia
donna who has not enacted the part of
Marguerite ; and *' Faust " has usurped the
place formerly occupied by " La Sonnambula "
as the debutante^ s opera.
In his amusing Memoirs, Colonel Mapleson
gives an entertaining account of the production
of " Faust " in London.
Finding that there appeared to be a lack of
public interest in the new work, discernible
through the fact that only ;^3o worth of seats
had been disposed of for the first night, he
adopted the bold and singular course of dis-
tributing the tickets for the first three perform-
ances far and wide, and giving out that the
house was sold out. He then put an advertise-
ment in the Tmes^ stating that, " in consequence
54
CHARLES GOUNOD
of a death in the family, two stalls for the first
representation of 'Faust,' the opera that had
excited so much interest that all places for the
first three representations had been bought up,
could be had at 2^s. each." The success of
this stratagem appears to have been complete.
Public curiosity was aroused, and the triumphant
career of "Faust" in this country was begun.
The success *' Faust" has achieved all the
world over is probably unprecedented in operatic
annals.
Gounod is said to have got only ;£4o for the
English rights, and he was deemed lucky to get
even that.
It would appear to be an impossibility for a
composer to succeed in pleasing every one, and
although perhaps "Faust" possesses this gift
as much as any other operatic work, yet it is not
surprising that it should have been criticised
adversely from many varied points of view.
That it should have proved distasteful to
Wagner is but natural, considering the fact that
the " libretto " must have seemed to the German
55
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
master a desecration of Goethe's poem, even as
much as the book of " Guillaume Tell " was a
parody of Schiller's play.
Amongst the most singular appreciations of
'' Faust " is that emitted by Blaze de Bury, who
qualifies it as an " Italian " opera !
As a contrast to this, several others have
commented upon the composer's German
tendencies, and the names of Mendelssohn and
Schumann have been freely mentioned as
furnishing the source of his inspiration. In
point of fact, "Faust "is neither German nor
Italian, but French, essentially French in its
melody, essentially French in its harmony. The
few unmistakable reminiscences of Mendelssohn
do not detract from this any more than does the
undoubted influence in many places of Meyer-
beer. Of Schumann I can find but few if any
traces. On the other hand, the work bears the
stamp throughout of Gounod's own individuality.
It is not an occasional reminiscence or a passing
thought that suffices to class a work as belonging
to any special school, but rather its general
56
CHARLES GOUNOD
characteristics. Those who want a typical
German Faust must go to Schumann, whilst
those who prefer Goethe as seen through
Italian spectacles can apply to Boito. As
regards the essentially Gallic interpretations of
Berlioz and Gounod there can be no question.
Probably no legend has ever been turned to
such account by poet, dramatist, and musician as
•that of ** Faust." The fascination of the story,
whether looked at in its philosophical or purely
romantic aspect has proved irresistible to many
generations. The original Faust appears to be
a mythical personage, who in some form or
another has figured in the folk-lore of all nations,
and is not to be confounded with Faust, or Fust,
the printer. An individual of this name is
mentioned by Melancthon in his " Table Talk "
as having been a professor of magic at Cracow,
and a great traveller, who had startled the in-
habitants of Venice by flying through the air.
The Reformer pleasantly alludes to this person
as " Turpissima bestia et cloaca multorum dia-
bolorum." The existence of this Faust at Cracow
57
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
is further corroborated by Wierns in 1588, a year
later than the publication of the earliest version of
the Faust legend by Spiess. It is upon this last
that Marlowe founded his " Dr. Faustus," which
was brought out in the following year. The
long narrative of the story by Widman appeared
in 1599. In all these versions the character
of Marguerite is absent. It was reserved for
Goethe to evolve this beautiful conception from
his brain.*
Since the appearance of the great German
poet's masterwork, the subject, as treated by
him, has been utilised in various manners by
numberless musicians. It would perhaps not
be uninteresting to cast a glance at some of
these. The following composers had preceded
Gounod in making use of "Faust" as an opera
text : Lickl (18 15), Strauss (18 14), Spohr (18 14),
Seyfried (1820), Beancourt (1827), Sir Henry
Bishop (1825), Lindpaintner (1831), Mdlle.
* The above details are taken from " The Lyrical
Drama," by H. Sutherland Edwards. (W. H. Allen
&Co.)
5B
CHARLES GOUNOD
Bertin (1831), Rietz (1837), and Gordigiani
(1837).* What has become of all these works ?
Chi lo sa ? The only one that has in any way
survived is that by Spohr, extracts from which
are still occasionally heard in the concert-room.
Boito's " Mefistofele " belongs of course to a
subsequent period. It redounds greatly to the
credit of the Italian composer that he should
have succeeded in imposing a new operatic
setting of Goethe's poem when this was so
intimately associated in most people's minds
with the music of Gounod.
Although strangely unequal, " Mefistofele " is
nevertheless in many ways a highly remarkable
work, particularly as marking a departure from
the usual methods peculiar to Italian composers,
and aiming at a higher ideal. It has born fruit.
Boito is a poet as well as a musician, and in his
*Lickl; b. 1769, d. 1843. Spohr; b. 1784, d.
1859. Seyfried ; b. 1776, d. 1841. Bishop, Sir H. ;
b. 1786, d. 1855. Lindpaintner ; b. 1791, d. 1856.
Mdlle. Bertin; b. 1805, d. 1877. Rietz, J. ; b. 1812,
d. 1877. Gordigiani; b. 1806, d. i860.
59
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
operatic adaptation of " Faust " he has evidently
striven to depart as little as possible from
Goethe's plan. This is of course commendable.
Unfortunately, the result has not been altogether
satisfactory, for in endeavouring to compress the
two " Fausts " of Goethe into one work, the
Italian composer has been compelled to make a
selection from the different situations occurring
in the original, and has only succeeded in
presenting a succession of scenes strung together
apparently without rhyme or reason. A proper
sub-title for " Mefistofele" would be, " A selection
of scenes from the two Fausts of Goethe, opera-
tically treated by A. Boito." Certainly the
librettists of Gounod's opera have shown but
scant regard for Goethe's intentions, but they
have at any rate concocted a story with a well-
regulated and dramatically logical plot. Boito,
on the other hand, in his evident desire to do
justice to Goethe, has attempted too much and
achieved too little. "Qui trop embrasse, mal
etreint." This has been the case with Boito.
Many people have tried to discover a philoso
60
CHARLES GOUNOD
phical meaning, and the realisation of a quantity
of abstract notions in Boito's music, which only
exist in their imagination. Perhaps the three
composers who have best grasped the spirit of
the wonderful poem have been Schumann, Liszt,
and Wagner : the first in his " Scenes from
Faust," the second in his " Faust Symphony,"
the third in his " Faust Overture." Gounod has
been more successful in this respect than many
people are inclined to allow. It is only
necessary to point to the first bars of the Prelude
and the commencement of the first act as a
proof of this fact.
Of late years Berlioz's " Damnation de Faust "
has acquired a well-deserved though tardily-be-
stowed popularity. It was considered by the com-
poser as one of his best works, a judgment which
has since then received a practically universal en-
dorsement. At the same time, it is rather by
reason of its own individuality than as a satis-
factory interpretation of Goethe, that the above
" dramatic legend " is entitled to the high rank
it occupies in the esteem of musicians, and much
6i
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
of the effect produced by this extraordinary
composition can in a large measure be assigned
to the glamour shed over it by the wonderful
orchestral colouring that Berlioz knew so well
how to employ, his mastery of which will
probably remain his chief glory with posterity.
Berlioz states that the score of his " Faust " was
composed by him with an amount of facility
that he rarely experienced in connection with
his other works. The famous march on a
Hungarian theme was written by him in one
night. "The extraordinary effect," he writes,
" that it produced at Pesth decided me to intro-
duce it into the score of ' Faust*,' in taking the
liberty of placing my hero in Hungary at the
outset of the work, and causing him to assist at
the passing of a Hungarian army across the
plain where he is indulging in dreamy thoughts."
Berlioz excuses this liberty by stating that in
composing his " Faust " he had never intended
to bind himself into following the plan adopted
by Goethe in his masterpiece. This specious
sort of argument is all very well in its way, and
62
CHARLES GOUNOD
the adoption of similar methods might prove of
infinite service to composers in enabling them
to utilise previously-written works, and thereby
save themselves trouble. Whether it is artistic
or not, is another matter. If we suppose, for
instance, that Berlioz had had by him a " Taran-
tella " and an Irish jig, he might have transported
his hero alternately to Italy and to Erin, and
named his work " The Travels of Faust," which
at any rate would not have been open to the
same objection as the original title chosen by
him. Despite these casual observations and the
fact that, looked at from the point of view of a
satisfactory interpretation of Goethe's poem, the
work falls short, Berlioz's "Faust" none the less
remains one of its author's most inspired com-
positions; beautiful in parts, though needlessly
eccentric in others ; powerful, and, above all,
eminently individual.
If the " Faust " of Berlioz may be ranked as
one of its author's best works, the same place of
honour can undoubtedly be ascribed to the
"Scenes from Faust" of Schumann in the
63
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
lengthy catalogue of the master of Zwickau's
compositions, and it is strange that so few
opportunities should be afforded to Londoners
of appreciating its beauties. The second part
of this work is generally considered by
musicians as being the most remarkable, but
Schumann's setting of the Church scene counts
amongst his finest inspirations. The overture
is the weakest portion, and cannot compare
with Wagner's masterly tone-poem known as
" Eine Faust Ouverture," one of the most
striking examples of modern orchestral music.
I must not omit to mention the "Faust
Symphony " of Liszt, which is also too seldom
performed, probably on account of its length
and extreme difficulty, also possibly owing to
the uncompromising hostility entertained in
certain quarters against the master's music.
Although consisting of three movements —
labelled respectively " Faust," " Marguerite," and
" Mephistopheles," the work in question might
rather come under the category of a " symphonic
poem." It is constructed upon entirely uncon-
64
CHARLES GOUNOD
ventional lines, the themes being subjected
to various transformations, after the method
peculiar to Liszt. The second portion is one
of the most beautiful movements in the entire
range of instrumental music.
The following composers have also treated
the same subject more or less successfully :
Prince Radziwill, Litolff, Hugo Pierson,
ZoUner, and Eduard Lassen.* The latter's
incidental music is constantly given in Germany
in conjunction with the drama. As this is the
age of festivals, I should like to suggest to the
minds of those responsible in such matters the
feasibility of attempting what might be termed
a " Faust " festival. This could be made to
occupy the inside of a week, and would
be devoted entirely to works inspired by
Goethe's poem. I venture to think that the
idea is susceptible of being turned to good
account. Many musical treasures, the existence
* Radziwill; b. 1775, d. 1833. Litolff, Henry;
b, 1819, d. 1891. Pierson, H.; b. 1815, d. 1873.
Lassen, E.; b. 1830.
65 E
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
of which is unsuspected, would thereby come
to light.
It would appear to be almost needless to
attempt to give a description of the music that
Gounod has wedded to Messrs. Michel Carre
and Jules Barbier's operatic version of " Faust."
That it is perhaps the most popular opera
composed during the last fifty years is a
generally recognised fact, and one that is not
likely to be seriously contested, whatever
restrictions may be made from different points
of view concerning its merits. Since it was
first produced, a new generation has sprung up,
and what appeared startlingly bold thirty years
ago has long ceased to be so considered. In
1859 matters were very different from what they
now are. The operatic pabulum in England
consisted of the works of Balfe and Wallace.
In France, Auber was at the head of the
Conservatoire ; Ambroise Thomas had written
neither "Mignon" nor "Hamlet"; Clapisson,
Masse, Maillart, and composers of that calibre,
enjoyed the confidence of the patrons of the
66
CHARLES GOUNOD
Opera Comique ; whilst Berlioz and Wagner
were looked upon as musical iconoclasts.
In Italy, Verdi reigned supreme, the Verdi of
" II Trovatore " and "La Traviata," and no-
thing tended to foreshadow the astonishing
transformation of style that was eventually to
lead the master to compose works such as
''Aida," the "Requiem," " Otello," and
" Falstaff."
Musical education has made considerable
progress since those days, and the all-absorbing
individuality of Wagner has exercised a sway
over musical art that is far from having spent
itself.
The form in which " Faust " was composed
did not tend to differ in any appreciable
degree from that adopted by Meyerbeer, with
the exception that certain Italianisms and
concessions to the vocalist were dispensed
with.
Gounod's method, from which he has not
since departed, seems to have been to musically
delineate each phase of the drama, treating
67
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
every scene as a separate whole — that is to say,
without having recourse to any connecting Hnk
or kit motiv ; the recurrence of previously-
heard melodies in the fifth act hardly coming
under this category. He is satisfied to depict
his characters in music that is intended to be
more or less in accordance with their individu-
ality. Herein consists the great difference that
separates his works from those that are con-
ceived after Wagnerian ideas.
The music allotted to Mephistopheles has an
appropriate amount of Satanic colouring, and is
invested with a certain grim humour. It has
been remarked that Gounod has been less
successful than Berlioz in his musical depiction
of the philosophical side of Goethe's poem.
This may or may not be true, but in comparing
the two works it must be recollected that the
composers cannot be judged from the same
point of view, for whereas Berlioz was hampered
by no theatrical trammels or operatic con-
ventionalities, but was able to turn the legend
to whatever account he chose, even to trans-
68
CHARLES GOUNOD
porting Faust to the plains of Hungary and
accompanying him to the infernal regions,
Gounod was to a certain extent dependent
upon his librettists, who saw in Goethe's poem
nothing more than a story susceptible of being
turned to operatic purposes. As to what really
constitutes the philosophical in music, probably
no two people will agree. Music is intended to
convey certain impressions which in turn cause
corresponding emotions to the listener, in
accordance with that which it has been the
composer's intention to depict. If it fails in so
doing, the fault may be ascribed either to the
composer's incapacity, or to a want of sym-
pathetic feeling on the part of the listener.
It is eminently to the credit of Gounod that
he should have found the means in his
"Faust" of pleasing a variety of differently
constituted individuals, who probably admire
his work from totally different standpoints.
To the great majority the charm of " Faust '^
lies in melodies such as those of the "old
men's " and soldiers' choruses, the Kermesse
69
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
and well-known waltz ; the more refined and
sentimental will prefer the famous love duet
and the prison trio ; prime donne will
incline to the jewel song, which furnishes them
with the opportunity of displaying the agility
of their throats ; and the cultivated musician
will single out parts that do not attract the
same amount of attention, but are not the less
noteworthy — such as the opening bars of the
Prelude, the entire first act, the end of the
third act, the death of Valentine, the Church
scene, the commencement and end of the last
act. When "Faust" was transferred from the
Theatre Lyrique to the Grand Opera in 1869,
Gounod wrote additional ballet music, which,
though charming enough in itself, is absolutely
out of keeping with the nature of the subject,
and might equally well figure in any opera of
the type associated with this theatre.
*' Faust " may be considered as an important
landmark in Fiench music, and from the year
1859 may be said to have sprung up an entirely
new generation of composers, imbued with a
70
CHARLES GOUNOD
high and noble ideal, and differing in many
essentials from their predecessors. Previous to
this the voice of Berlioz remained that of one
crying in the desert, unheeded and scoffed at.
The author of the " Symphonic Fantastique "
had come too soon, and, moreover, was
altogether too thorough in his ideas and devoid
of any spirit of compromise. The pen of the
critic, which he wielded with such a conspicuous
amount of success, was too often dipped in gall,
and the shafts of sarcasm which he unremit-
tingly hurled at his enemies kept their rancour
alive, and mayhap did something to prevent even
a moderate amount of fair criticism from being
meted to his musical compositions. Although
not a reformer in the same sense, Gounod
nevertheless contrived, in a quieter and less
obtrusive manner, to impose certain innovations
without offending the prejudices of the partisans
of the older style of operatic music. To us
nowadays it seems difficult to realise that an
opera so full of melody as " Faust " should have
seemed at all unduly complicated, but so it
71
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
appears to have been thought, and the Parisians
of thirty years ago concentrated their admiration
upon the lighter portions, and looked askance at
the rest. These same Parisians were destined
two years later to show the measure of their
musical aptitudes by the disgraceful manner in
which they received Wagner's "Tannhaiiser"
on the occasion of the memorable performances
of this work at the Opera in 1 86 1. At that
period Gounod was professedly an admirer of
the German master, although since then his
opinions seem to have become sensibly modi-
fied. It is necessary to remember that "Wagner
was only known then as the author of " Tann-
haiiser" and "Lohengrin," and as holding
certain heterodox views upon dramatic art.
After the fiasco of " Tannhaiiser " Gounod
appealed to the detractors of the master, and
gave them rendezvous in ten years' time be-
fore the same work and the same man, when,
he said, they would lift their hats to them both.
It has required somewhat more than ten years
for this, but the Parisians have gone even
72
CHARLES GOUNOD
further now than Gounod, and possibly the
popularity of Wagner in Paris may eventually
equal, if it does not surpass, that of the
composer of '^ Faust."
Within a year after the production of this
last work, a new opera by Gounod was brought
out at the Theatre Lyrique. "Philemon et
Baucis/' played for the first time on February
1 8th, i860, is a graceful and delicate little
score, that has remained popular in France and
only recently has obtained a fair measure of
success in London, where it was produced by
Sir Augustus Harris at Covent Garden in 1891.
This pleasing work belongs entirely to the
Opera Comique genre, and consists of a
number of detached pieces connected together
through the means of spoken dialogue. In
writing it Gounod evidently did not trouble
himself about questions of operatic reform, but
was content with filling in the framework
provided for him, and allowing his ideas to flow
naturally. There is nothing forced in this
melodious little opera. Everything is pure and
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
limpid as crystal. Putting aside all aesthetic
considerations as to the somewhat old-fashioned
form in which the composer's ideas are
expressed, it is impossible not to feel charmed
by their refinement and delicacy.
" La Colombe," a little comic opera given at
Baden in i860, and later on at the Opera
Comique, is comparatively of little importance.
A charming entr'acte still occasionally finds
its way into concert programmes. A work of
larger dimensions was " La Reine de Saba,"
produced on February 28th, 1862, the third
opera written by Gounod for the Grand Opera.
The music of this work is unequal, and the
libretto devoid of interest. There are, how-
ever, certain numbers that have survived the
wreck of this ill-fated score, which has been
somewhat too harshly condemned. Amongst
these may be mentioned the air, "Plus grand
dans son obscurite" (which has remained a
favourite with dramatic prime donne), the
graceful women's chorus at the beginning of
the second act, the characteristic ballet music,
74
CHARLES GOUNOD
and the grand march. These last two extracts
have become popular, and form part of all pro-
perly constituted concert repertoires. At the
period when this opera was produced, the
peculiar disease known as " Wagnerophobia "
was raging in Paris, and every composer with
something new to say was gratified with the
epithet Wagnerian, which was held to be a term
of contumely, implying absence of melodic ideas
and want of inspiration.
There is not much in the "Reine de Saba"
that suggests the influence of the German
master, except a passing reminiscence of
" Tannhaiiser," but at that time people did not
look too closely into these matters. The score
was both long and monotonous, it did not con-
tain too plentiful a proportion of sops to the
singers, and it was forthwith pronounced to be
Wagnerian, an expression as condemnatory in
its intention as its real meaning was little under-
stood. Gounod himself laid great store upon
his work, and being met a short time after its
production by a musical critic at Baden, he told
75
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
him that he was travelHng on account of a
family bereavement. "I have lost," he said,
"a woman whom I loved deeply, the Queen of
Sheba."
Only those who know the amount of labour
involved in the composition of a five-act opera
can measure the disappointment that must
accrue to its author on finding that his work
has failed to satisfy that agglomeration of en-
tities known as the public. "La Reine de
Saba " was more successful in Brussels than in
Paris, and was well received in Germany, where,
however, it has been dethroned in favour of the
far finer work by Goldmark bearing the same
name. It has also been heard in London
under the title of "Irene."
The opera of "Mireille," played for the first
time at the Theatre Lyrique in 1864, and intro-
duced to the notice of the English public at
Her Majesty's Theatre during the same year, is
one of Gounod's most characteristic produc-
tions in the way that it illustrates the com-
poser's quahties and defects perhaps as much
76
CHARLES GOUNOD
as anything he has done. The poem upon
which it is founded is the " Mireio " of
Frederick Mistral, the celebrated Provencal
poet. It is a pastoral, and as such necessarily
appealed irresistibly to a composer who is
never so happy as when treating a subject of
this kind.
The story is simple enough, and is thus con-
densed by Mons. Pagnerre, Gounod's clever
biographer, to whose work I may refer those
amongst my readers who seek for further infor-
mation upon the composer's Hfe : " A rich
young girl, a poor young man, an ill-fated
love ; and death of the young girl through
sunstroke."
This tragic denoiieuient was subsequently
altered, and, according to the latest version of
the opera, Mireille lives presumably to enjoy
connubial bliss with her lover.
Gounod has been less happy in his treatment
of the essentially dramatic portions of the story
than in those in which the lyrical element pre-
dominates. The general colour of his score is
77
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
quite in keeping with a subject dealing with
Provengale life, although it can scarcely be said
that he has proved so successful in this respect
as Bizet has in his music to Alphonse Daudet's
" L'Arlesienne."
Notwithstanding this, there are many charm-
ing pages in " Mireille," strongly marked with
the composer's individuality, suggestive of warm
sunshine and southern skies. If the opera is
emphatically a disappointment when considered
as a whole, if it absolutely fails to carry con-
viction as a musical drama, if it is full of con-
tradictions of style and concessions to the
vocalist, it may at least claim to be replete with
melody of a refined nature and to contain
several numbers that are always heard with
pleasure. The melodious duet, "Oh Magali
ma bienaimee," has been one of the chief items
in the repertoire of tenors and sopranos
during the last five-and-twenty years, and has
been massacred by numberless amateurs in
countless drawing-rooms.
The overture is a delightfully fresh composi-
78
CHARLES GOUNOD
tion of a pastoral nature, and serves as a fitting
prelude to the story. For some reason, best
known to himself^ Gounod has written two
endings to this, the first of which is immeasur-
ably superior, which is probably the reason why
the second is usually played. In the first act
the composer has introduced a vocal waltz of
the same type as the one he was subsequently
to place in the mouth of Juliet, both being
evidently written for the purpose of giving
Mme. Carvalho, the creatrix of these parts, the
opportunity of indulging in vocal acrobatics.
Such concessions to the exigencies of the singer
are much to be deplored.
Amongst the most noticeable numbers in
" Mireille " I would mention, in addition to
those I have already singled out, the opening
chorus of the first act, the "couplets" of
Ourrias, so often sung in our concert rooms
by Mr. Santley, the " Musette," the shepherd's
song, and Mireille's air, " Heureux petit berger."
This opera was originally in five acts ; it was
then reduced to three, and restored to five, with
79
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
certain modifications, on the occasion of its
revival at the Op^ra Comique in 1874.
If Gounod had not succeeded since his
" Faust " in producing any work that could bear
comparison with this masterpiece (however
creditable in their way the operas that had
followed it might be), he was destined in
" Romeo and Juliet " to be more fortunate, and
to wed music to Shakespeare's story, that many
of his admirers have not scrupled to place upon
the same level as the former work. With this
estimate 1 am by no means disposed to agree,
although I should be inclined to consider
" Romeo " as occupying the second place in
the list of the composer's dramatic works.
Shakespeare's wondrous tragedy had already
been set to music by several composers,*
amongst whom it will be sufficient to mention
Dalayrac, Steibelt, Zingarelli, Vaccai, Bellini,
"" Dalayrac ; b. 1753, d. 1809. Steibelt ; b. 1764,
d. 1823. Zingarelli; b. 1752, d. 1837. Vaccai;
b. 1791, d. 1849. Bellini; b. 1802, d. 1835. Mar-
chetti ; b. 1831. Marquis d' I vry; b. 1829.
80
CHARLES GOUNOD
and Marchetti. An opera by the Marquis
d'lvry, entitled " Les Amants de Verone," on
the same theme, although written before the
production of Gounod's work, was brought
out in Paris in 1878 with Capoul as Romeo.
It may be well to point out also that, by a
curious coincidence, Gounod once more chose
a subject that had been treated by Berlioz,
whose symphony of " Romeo and Juliet "
remains one of his greatest works.
In her interesting biography of Gounod, Mdlle.
de Bovet makes the following apt observations :
" ' Faust,' as we have seen, is remarkable for its
homogeneity, the happy outcome of the sub-
ordination of the fantastic to the emotional
element. It is not possible to say that all the
parts of * Romeo et Juliette ' are linked by so
close a bond, and this could not well have been
so. All Jules Barbier's cleverness could not
make the plot other than a love duet, or rather
a succession of love duets."
It is this fact that accounts in a measure for
the tinge of monotony noticeable in this opera.
81 F
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
When Mons. A. Jullien very truly remarks
that of all musicians Gounod is the one whose
ideas, method, and style vary the least, he
strikes a vulnerable point in the composer's
armour. Thus the duets in " Romeo " have
appeared to many people as attenuated versions
of the love music in " Faust." Not that the
themes in themselves bear any appreciable like-
ness one to another, but that the general cha-
racteristics and harmonic colouring are similar.
To many this will appear an additional evidence
of powerful individuality, whereas others will
see in it an element of weakness. "Wagner has
proved that it is possible to write love duets
totally distinct in conception one from the other,
yet bearing the impress of the same hand, in
"Lohengrin," "Die Walkiire," "Tristan," and
" Siegfried."
Although the love music of " Romeo " cannot
compare with that of " Faust," yet there is no
denying the charm that pervades it. Over-
sentimental and apt to cloy, it is eminently
poetical and full of melody. If we miss the
82
CHARLES GOUNOD
note of true passion, we find in its stead a fund
of tenderness. The prelude, or prologue, in
which the characters are seen grouped upon the
stage, is altogether happily conceived and novel
in point of form. There is little in the first act
that calls for much notice, with the exception of
the clever song for Mercutio, *' La Reine Mab,"
and the graceful two-voiced madrigal. The
vocal waltz to which I have previously alluded
is out of place in a work of this kind. The
second act contains the balcony scene, and is
conceived in a delicate and refined vein well
adapted to the situation. The music throughout
is suave and charming. There is nothing par-
ticularly noticeable in the treatment of the
marriage scene in the cell of Brother Law-
rence.
During the next scene we witness the famous
quarrels in which Mercutio and Tybalt are killed.
The influence of Meyerbeer is strongly marked
here, although the music lacks the dramatic force
which is so prominent in the works of the com-
poser of the " Huguenots." The finale to
83
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
this, with its impassioned tenor solo, is highly
effective.
Gounod is once more in his element in the
fourth act, which contains the celebrated love
duet, " Nuit d'Hymenee," and in the phrase
" Non ce n'est pas le jour " he strikes a note of
genuine inspiration.
The charming orchestral movement accom-
panying the sleep of Juliet and the final love
duet bring us to the end of the numbers
demanding special attention.
" Romeo " proved successful in France from
the outset, whereas in England it failed to
maintain itself in the operatic repertoire for a
number of years, notwithstanding the appearance
of Mme. Patti as Juliet. Recently it has acquired
an undoubted popularity, owing possibly in part
to Mons. Jean de Reszke's assumption of the
principal character.
Alike to " Faust," " Romeo " has also been
transferred to the repertoire of the Grand Opera.
It is in these two works that the essence of the
master's genius would appear to be concentrated.
84
CHARLES GOUNOD
Gounod having been successful in his treat-
ment of works by Moliere, Goethe, and Shake-
speare, now turned his attention to Corneille,
whose " Polyeucte " exercised an irresistible
fascination over his mind.
Several events, however, were destined to
transpire before this work was to be brought to a
termination.
The Franco -German war broke out, and
Gounod, who was past the age to serve his
country in a military capacity, took refuge in
England. During his sojourn in London he
composed the cantata " Gallia," inspired by the
troubles that had befallen his native land. This
work was written for the inaguration of the Royal
Albert Hall, where it was performed for the first
time on May ist, 187 1. On this occasion
four composers were asked to contribute to
the solemnity. Sir Arthur Sullivan represented
England, Gounod France, Pinsuti Italy, and
Ferdinand Hiller Germany. Gounod entitled
his work a " biblical elegy." It met with success
in London, and was subsequently performed in
85
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Paris. The best portion of "Gallia" is the
effective /■;/<?/(? for soprano and chorus, "Jeru-
salem." Gounod was at that time working at
his " Polyeucte," and was also engaged upon the
" Redemption." Mrs. Weldon was to take the
principal part in the first of these works.
Whilst in London Gounod composed a great
deal. In addition to " Gallia " he wrote several
choral works and a quantity of songs. Amongst
these last may be mentioned such popular
favourites as " Maid of Athens," " Oh that we two
were maying," " There is a green hill far away,"
" The Worker," " The fountain mingles with the
river," and the fascinating duet entitled, " Bar-
carolle." The " Funeral march of a Marionette "
also dates from this epoch, as does the charm-
ing " Recueil " of songs entitled " Biondina,"
instinct with southern spirit. It may be amusing
to peruse his opinion of English musical feeling,
as recorded by Mdlle. de Bovet : "When one
sees Englishmen attentively follow the execution
of a score, as grave and solemn as if they were
fulfilling an austere duty ; then suddenly, as if
86
CHARLES GOUNOD
a spring had been touched, raise their heads and
with beaming faces exclaim, ' Oh, how nice !
very beautiful indeed !' and again bury themselves
in their book as gravely and solemnly as before,
one cannot help thinking that they are would-be
rather than real musicians. They are actuated
by British pride, because their artistic taste must
be superior to the taste of other nations, just as
their navy is more powerful and their cotton and
flannel of better quality."
The opera " Polyeucte," which was terminated
in London, was not brought out until October 7,
1878. Previous to this Gounod had set to
music an operatic version of Alfred de Vigny's
" Cinq Mars," given for the first time at the
Paris Opera Comique on April 5, 1877, which
may be classed among his weakest productions.
It bears manifest signs of haste. Apart from a
suave " cantilena," " Nuit resplendissante," and
some graceful ballet music, there is little in
" Cinq Mars " that calls for notice.
Gounod was not much luckier with his
" Polyeucte," over which he had devoted so
^7
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
much thought and labour. This opera, which
savours rather of the oratorio, was not particu-
larly suited to the stage of the Grand Opera,
notwithstanding the introduction of a set ballet,
very charming in its way, but utterly unfit for
the subject. A gorgeous viise e?i scene and an
admirable interpretation did not save it from
failure. Out of this elaborate and unequal score
it is possible to detach certain pages that are
worthy of the illustrious name by which they are
signed, but the work in its ejisemhle is thoroughly
disappointing. Gounod seems after "Romeo"
to have adopted an entirely retrograde style of
composition in his operas, and to have receded
with each new operatic attempt.
If " Cinq Mars " and " Polyeucte " were both
destined to accentuate this fact, " Le Tribut de
Zamora," given at the Grand Opera in 1881,
confirmed it without further doubt. This last
work is certainly one of his least interesting
operas, not so much in respect of want of ideas,
as from the fact of its being constiucted upon
old and obsolete models. Gounod has pursued
88
CHARLES GOUNOD
an absolutely contrary course to that adopted by
Wagner and Verdi, for whereas these masters
have produced their greatest works at a compa-
ratively advanced period of their lives, the
composer of " Faust " has lost ground at each
successive production. In saying this I allude
especially to his operas. Mons. Adolphe Jullien,
in an article on the " Tribut de Zamora," makes
the following apt remarks : " Generally speak-
ing, musicians as they advance in their career
obtain renewed strength, and follow an upward
course — at any rate, as long as they have not
attained old age. It is even the case with cer-
tain musicians, such as Rossini and Verdi, that
a revelation at a later stage of their career en-
ables them to perceive a new ideal, which they
endeavour to attain, with more or less success,
according to the amount of genius they possess;
even for the one who is unable to reach his aim,
it is always a merit to have had it in view.
There is nothing of this in M. Gounod. After
the long period of rest that followed the pro-
duction of his best works, from '■ Faust ' to
89
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
* Romeo,' he has re-entered the career with
ideas absolutely modified as regards dramatic
music ; he has returned straight to the old type
of opera comique and opera, carefully cutting up
each act into airs and recitatives, each romance
or melody into short square periods, simplifying
the orchestral accompaniment as much as pos-
sible, and subordinating it to the voices, which
it often doubles. According to this retro-
grade system he has written his last operas,
' Cinq Mars,' ' Polyeucte,' and ' Le Tribut
de Zamora,' whilst the young French musicians
taking his earlier works as their starting-point,
were endeavouring to add to the refinement of
his orchestration, and to treat each act as a
vocal and orchestral symphony. There can be
no doubt that it is to this that the dramatic
music of the present day tends, and it is all the
more strange to see M. Gounod going against
this irresistible movement that he has been one
of the first to help."
Before taking leave of the master as a dra-
matic composer it is necessary to mention a
90
CHARLES GOTTNOD
musical version of Moliere's " Georges Dandin,"
which has never been performed, and may
possibly be still unfinished. The peculiarity of
this work consists in the fact of the music being
composed to Moliere's actual prose. In a pre-
face destined to precede the above opera,
Gounod has exposed his ideas with a consider-
able amount of ingenuity regarding the supe-
riority he considers that prose possesses over
verse for operatic purposes. It is to be hoped
that an opportunity may some time or other be
offered to the public of judging the practical
value of these theories by the production of
" Georges Dandin." According to Gounod, the
substitution of prose for verse opens to the musi-
cian "an entirely new horizon, which rescues
him from monotony and uniformity." The
question, it may be added, had already been
mooted by Berlioz, who expressed himself
favourable to the employment of prose in an
article published in 1858.
There remain two important compositions of
Gounod's to be mentioned, both of which natu-
91
FRENCH MUSICAL COATPOSERS
rally possess great interest to the British public,
having been heard for the first time in England.
" The Redemption," which was produced at the
Birmingham Festival of 1882, has obtained a
great and lasting success amongst us. It forms
part of the current repertoire of the Royal Choral
Society.
Gounod has preceded the score of what he
terms a sacred "trilogy" with a few explanatory
words. He describes his work as being the ex-
pression of the three great events upon which
rest the existence of Christianity : (i) The Passion
and death of the Saviour ; (2) His glorious life
on earth between His resurrection and ascension;
(3) The diffusion of Christianity throughout the
world by the apostolical mission. These three
parts of the " trilogy " are preceded by a pro-
logue on the Creation, the first Fall, and the
promise of a Redeemer. This is, indeed, an
ambitious programme, and it is scarcely to be
wondered at that Gounod should not have suc-
ceeded altogether in realising it. The music
rarely approaches the grandeur and depth of
92
CHARLES GOUNOD
expression requisite for an adequate interpreta-
tion of such a theme. It is full of sensuousness
and mystic charm, but although containing seve-
ral numbers of undeniable beauty, the effect of
the work as a whole is decidedly monotonous.
Having dedicated the " Redemption " to Queen
Victoria, Gounod dedicated " Mors et Vita," a
sacred " trilogy " produced at the Birmingham
Festival of 1885, to Pope Leo XIII. This com-
panion work to the " Redemption " is at least
equally ambitious in its scope. The first part
consists of a " Requiem," the second is descrip-
tive of the Judgment, and the last deals with
Eternal Life. Hence its title, " Mors et Vita."
This work has not obtained the same popularity
in England as the " Redemption," to which I
personally am inclined to prefer it.
Having arrived thus far in the composer's life,
I will have to content myself with the bare
mention of works, such as the incidental music
written by him to " Les Deux Reines," " Jeanne
D'Arc," and "Les Drames Sacres." Gounod is
also the author of two symphonies, composed at
93
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
an early stage of his career, several masses, and
other religious works. As a song-writer he has
greatly distinguished himself, and his melodies
have long been the delight of vocalists all the
world over. Amongst these is one that deserves
special mention and has probably done more to
popularise his name than the majority of his
larger works. I allude to the famous " Ave
Maria," composed upon the first prelude of
Bach. A facetious Teuton a year or two ago
published a book purporting to contain biogra-
phies of great musicians. His sketch of Bach
runs thus : " John vSebastian Bach owes his
great reputation almost entirely to the fortunate
circumstance that he received a commission to
write the accompaniment to a famous melody
by Gounod. ^Vith a most incomprehensible
impertinence he also published his accom-
paniment, without Gounod's melody, as a so-
called 'prelude,' together with a number of
small pieces under the title of ' Wohltemperirte
Clavier,' but the book had little success, on
account of its silly title, among the admirers of
94
CHARLES GOUNOD
the melody. His numerous sons are, to the
annoyance of historians, also called Bach."
Gounod has lately attempted to improve (?)
another of Bach's preludes, but with indifferent
results. Such things are not to be repeated.
Amongst his other songs it is only necessary to
mention at random such exquisite gems as
the " Serenade," " Medje," '' Le Vallon," " Le
Printemps," "Au Printemps," "Priere," "Ce
que je suis sans toi," &c., in order to revive the
most delightful recollections. Occasionally the
composer of " Faust " has been tempted to
express his views upon art and artists. Of late
years he has exhibited an exuberant admiration
for Mozart, upon whose "Don Juan" he has
written a pamphlet abounding in expressions of
the most dithyrambic description. In a preface
to the " Lettres Intimes " of Berlioz, he expresses
his great admiration for that master. He
has also written two interesting and eulogistic
notices of Saint-Saens's " Henry VHI." and
' Ascanio."
Composers are proverbially bad judges of
95
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
each other's works. This is probably due to the
fact that every composer looks upon his art from
a special point of view, and is often unable to
appreciate works that are constructed upon
different lines to his own. Every one knows
the manner in which Weber and Spohr criticised
Beethoven, and how Schubert was unable to
perceive the beauties of Weber's " Euryanthe."
Meyerbeer fared badly at the hands of Mendels-
sohn, Schumann, and Wagner. The last-named
has been freely condemned by many of his
contemporaries. Nevertheless, there is a decided
attraction in hearing the opinion of one creative
artist about another, and Gounod's ideas con-
cerning some of the great musicians are worth
recording. We are already aware of his boundless
enthusiasm for Mozart, whom he terms "the
first, the only one." Bach and Beethoven have
also exercised their sway upon him, and both
these masters run the composer of " Don
Giovanni" hard in Gounod's estimation. He
is reported to have one day expressed him-
self in the following terms concerning Bach :
96
CHARLES GOUNOD
" If the greatest masters, Beethoven, Haydn,
Mozart, were to be annihilated by an un-
foreseen cataclysm, in the same manner in
which the painters might be through a fire, it
would be easy to reconstitute the whole of music
with Bach. Dans le del de Fart^ Bach est une
nebuleuse qui ne s' est pas encore condensee.^^
According to Mdlle. de Bovet, " Rossini is in
Gounod's estimation the most limpid, broad,
and lofty of lyric authors " — after Mozart be it
said. This certainly would seem to upset my
theory that a composer is not able to appreciate
works conceived after different methods to his
own, for what operas could possibly be more
opposed in style than say " Semiramide " or
" La Gazza Ladra " and " Faust ? " Certainly,
if we read the following passage in Mdlle. de
Bovet's book we find that Gounod considers
that Rossini's work " is summed up in two
masterpieces of strangely opposite character,
♦ II Barbiere di Seviglia ' and ' Guillaume Tell,' "
which possibly qualifies the force of the preceding
passage. His appreciation of Berlioz is curious.
97 G
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
According to Gounod, the composer of the
''Romeo and Juliet " symphony is "fantastical
and emotional ; he suffers, he weeps, he grows
desperate, or loses his head. The personal side
of things seizes hold of him : he has been called
the Jupiter of music. Granted ; but a Jupiter
who stumbles, a god who is a slave to his
passions and his transports ; but withal possess-
ing masterly qualities : a marvellous colourist, he
handles orchestration — which is the musician's
palette — with a sure and powerful grasp. And
then we come suddenly amongst remarkable
passages, upon mistakes, awkward bits, betraying
a tardy and faulty education — in short, an
incomplete genius." As regards Wagner, the
composer of " Faust " prefers to keep his opinion
to himself, or at any rate only to deliver it in
words the ambiguity of which fit them for an
illustration of the saying that La parole a ete
donnee a Fhomme potir cacher sa pensee.
Gounod inhabits a handsome house in Paris.
Mdlle. de Bovet has given the following interest-
ing description of his study, which I will take
98
CHARLES GOUNOD
the liberty of reproducing : " It is an immense
apartment, rising the height of two floors, lit by
a broad window with light-stained glass ; it is
panelled with oak and vaulted like a church.
And is it not the sanctuary of art? At the
further extremity, on a platform reached by
several low steps, stands a large organ by
Cavaille Coll ; the bellows are worked by a
hydraulic machine in the basement. A medallion
representing a head of Christ is placed in the
centre of the instrument. The writing-table,
under the stained-glass window, is one of those
composite ones used by musicians, a movable
keyboard sliding backwards and forwards under
the desk at will. The Renaissance mantelpiece
in wood, richly carved in high relief representing
scenes of the Passion, is decorated with a bronze
medallion of Joan of Arc and massive iron
ornaments. In the centre of the room is a
large grand piano by Pleyel. One side is
filled with bookcases — works on Theology and
Philosophy occupying a conspicuous place —
and with musical scores ; amongst these, the
99
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
collection of ancient ones inherited by Gounod
from his father-in-law is extremely valuable."
" In this immense room," writes Mons. Pagnerre,
" the author of ' Faust ' can often be seen, clad
in black velvet, with a loose cravat round his
neck, and his feet imprisoned in small slippers
fit for a woman. There is ever something
feminine about Gounod. His conversation is
charming and persuasive. The musician is a
witty and eloquent conversationalist. His
physiognomy is mobile, his voice is soft, and
when he speaks it is like music."
The individuality of a great composer is ever
attractive to his admirers, and when in addition
to his gifts as a creator he possesses that peculiar
qualification known as "personal magnetism,"
their enthusiasm occasionally causes them to
outstep the bounds of common-sense. It is
especially members of the fair sex who are
prone to indulge in exaggerated expressions of
hero-worship. The emotional nature of music
causes it to appeal to their minds with such
intensity that they make a fetish of their idol,
CHARLES GOUNOD
and fall down and worship not only him but
everything he touches and looks upon. There
are plenty of most amusing incidents on record
which might be cited in support of this. Amongst
these I will mention the following, concerning
which it may be said, Se non e vero e be?i
trovato :
A story is told of a lady admirer of his who
once paid him a visit. Noticing a cherry-stone
on the mantelpiece, she annexed it, took it
home and had it set by a jeweller as a brooch,
surrounded by diamonds and pearls. Paying
a visit to Gounod some weeks later the lady
drew attention to* her act of reverence, when
Gounod said: "But, madam, I never eat cherries;
the stone you found on the mantelpiece was
from a cherry eaten by my servant Jean !
Tableau !
In summing up the qualifications of a great
composer — and as such there can be no doubt
that Gounod must be reckoned — it is evidently
better to dwell upon that which he has actually
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
achieved than upon what he may have left
undone.
The composer of " Faust " has imprinted his
mark in an unmistakable manner upon his
epoch. He has struck a note that had not
previously been heard, and if he has perhaps
reiterated this note somewhat too frequently,
thereby attenuating its effect, the credit of
having been the first to employ it must not be
refused to him.
Mons. Adolphe JuUien judges him severely
when he says that the more he has had occasion
to hear and study his works, the more con-
vinced he has become that Gounod possesses
the genius of assimilation. According to him,
the greatness of Gounod's talent is derived
through the study of the works of all the mas-
ters, and especially of those of Bach, Handel,
Schumann, and Berlioz. This I consider open
to doubt. That Gounod has studied the works
of his predecessors and profited thereby is evi-
dent, but this has been the case with all
musicians. Something more is required to
102
CHARLES GOUNOD
compose a work such as " Faust " ; that some-
thing which is the appanage of but few com-
posers, and which is known as " individuaHty."
Mons. Arthur Pougin, in his Supplement to
Fetis's " Dictionnaire des Musiciens," thus de-
scribes the genius of Gounod : " Musically and
as regards the theatre, M. Gounod is more
spiritualistic than materialistic, more of a poet
than a painter, more elegiac and more nervous
than truly pathetic. It is perhaps this that
has caused people to say that he lacked dramatic
feeling ; those who have expressed themselves
thus have been mistaken, for it is not the
dramatic feeling — that is to say, la perceptio7i
passioiik — which Gounod occasionally wants,
but rather the temperament. At the same time,
the author of ' Faust,' ' Romeo,' ' Le M^decin
Malgre Lui,' remains a true poet, an inspired
creator, an artist of the first rank and of high
order."
The essence of the master's genius is con-
tained in " Faust." Although since then he has
composed many works of great merit, yet he has
103
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
never been inspired to a similar degree. He
may have abused certain formulas, and employed
the same devices ad naHsea??i, but at any rate
he can claim them as his own. It is not his
fault if his imitators have reproduced his man-
nerisms to so great an extent.
Ernest Reyer once remarked that every one
nowadays wrote music in the style of Gounod.
"So far," added the witty Academician, "it is
still that of Gounod himself that I prefer."
This opinion, I venture to think, will probably
be endorsed by my readers.
I cannot better terminate this notice on the
composer of " Faust " than by reproducing the
following sonnet addressed to him by Camille
Saint-Saens :
" Son art a la douceur, h ton des vieux pastels
Toujours il adora vos voluptcs hhiies,
Cloches saintes, concert des orgues, purs autels ;
De son ceil clair, il voit les beautes infinies.
Sur sa lyre d'ivoire, avec les Polymnies,
II dit I'hymne pai'en, cher aux Dieux immortels.
'Faust,' qui met dans sa mam le sceptre des genies
Egale les Juan, les Raoul et les Tell.
104
CHARLES CxOUNOD
De Shakespeare et de Goethe il (lore V aureole ;
Sa voix a rehausse Vcclat de leur parole,
Leiir mivre de sa fiamme a garde le reflet.
Echos du Mont Olympe, i-chos du Paraclet
Sont redis par sa Muse aux langtietirs de Creole,
Telle vibre a tons les vents nne harpe d'Eole."
105
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
There probably does not exist a living composer
who is gifted with a musical organisation so
complete as that of Camille Saint-Saens. A
perfect master of his craft, the French composer
has contributed his quota to every branch of his
art, and may truly be said to have distinguished
himself in each. An eclectic in the highest
sense of the word, Saint-Saens has attempted
every style and form, disseminating his works
right and left with seemingly reckless prodigality.
Never at a loss for an idea, invariably correct and
often imaginative, going from a piano concerto
to an opera, and from a cantata to a symphonic
poem with disconcerting ease, composing rapidly,
yet never exhibiting any trace of slovenly work-
manship, finding time in the meanwhile to dis-
107
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
tinguish himself as organist and pianist, and to
wield the pen of the critic, the astonishing capa-
bilities of this wonderfully gifted musician may
be put down as absolutely unique. His eclec-
ticism may indeed be said to have been with
him both a source of strength and weakness,
for reasons which I shall propose to examine
later on. Before endeavouring to formulate
an opinion upon his multifarious works, a
few biographical notes will not be out of
place.
Camille Saint-Saens was born on October 9,
1835. He lost his father when a child, and was
brought up by his mother and his great-aunt,
thanks to whose combined care he was able to
battle against the natural delicacy of his consti-
tution. Many anecdotes are related concerning
the precocity of his musical development, and
the ease with which he mastered those first
principles of his art which usually appear so
trying to the youthful mind.
One day, when he was at play, a visitor hav-
ing been ushered into the adjoining room, the
io8
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
child, in listening to his footsteps, gravely
observed, to the amusement of those present :
"That gentleman in walking marks a crotchet
and a quaver." The visitor in question walked
with a limp.
It was from his great-aunt that he learnt the
elements of music. Later on, he studied the
piano under Stamaty,* and composition under
Maleden, subsequently entering the Conserva-
toire in the class presided over by Halevy.
In 1852 he competed without success for the
" Prix de Rome," and that same year witnessed
tht^ production of his first symphony by the
Societe de Sainte-Cecile under Seghers.
Twelve years later, he once more entered the
lists, but again failed, and the prize was awarded
to Victor Sieg.t
Saint-Saens was luckier in 1867, when his
cantata " Les Noces de Promethee " was
allotted the first place in a competition organ-
ised for a work to be performed on the occasion
of the opening of the International Exhibition.
*■ B. 181 1 ; d. 1870. t Victor Sieg, b. 1837.
109
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
No less than one hundred and two musicians
competed for the prize. Berhoz wrote as follows
to his friend Ferrand concerning the success
achieved by Saint-Saens : " On avait entendu les
jours precedents cent quatre cantates, et j'ai eu
le plaisir de voir couronner (a I'unanimite) celle
de mon jeune ami Camille Saint-Saens, Fun des
plus grands musiciens de notre epoque
Je suis tout emu de notre seance du jury !
Comme Saint-Saens va etre heureux ! j'ai couru
chez lui lui annoncer la chose, il etait sorti avec
sa mere. C'est un maitre pianiste foudroyant.
Enfin ! voila done une chose de bon sens faite
dans notre monde musical. Cela m'a donne de
la force ; je ne vous aurais pas ecrit si longue-
ment sans cette joie."^
A curious incident is related as having
occurred on the occasion of this competition.
The works sent in naturally did not bear the
names of their authors, and many of the judges
seemed to imagine that Saint-Saens' cantata,
which was far ahead of the others in point of
t " Lettres Intimes. "
no
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
merit, was by a foreigner. This caused the
veteran Auber to make the following remark :
"Je voudrais etre certain que I'auteur de ces
' Noces ' soit un Frangais. C'est un symphoniste
si sur de ses moyens, si franc du collier, d'allure
si libre, que je ne vois pas chez nous son
pareil."
The fact of Saint-Saens having sent his score
from London led some of his judges to imagine
that they were voting for Sir Julius (then Mr.)
Benedict.
Saint-Saens had been named organist at the
church of Saint Merry when only seventeen years
of age, and in 1858 was appointed to a similar
post at the Madeleine, in succession to Lefebure
Wely.* He relinquished this position in 1877,
finding that he had not sufficient time to devote
to his duties, and was succeeded by Theodore
Dubois.t In the meanwhile, the reputation of
Saint-Saens as a pianist had been spreading,
and during frequent journeys over Europe he
* Lefebure Wely, b. 181 7 ; d. 1870.
t See last chapter.
Ill
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
invariably met with great success wherever he
went.
The opinion of one artist concerning another
is ever interesting, and the following words of
Hans von Biilow, written in 1859, will give an
idea of the esteem in which the great German
pianist held his French colleague : " There does
not exist a monument of art of whatsoever
country, school, or epoch, that Saint-Saens has
not thoroughly studied. When we came to talk
about the symphonies of Schumann, I was most
astonished to hear him reproduce them on the
piano with such an amount of facility and
exactitude that I remained dumbfounded in
comparing this prodigious memory with my
own, which is thought so much of. In talking
with him I saw that nothing was unknown to
him, and what made him appear still greater in
my eyes was the sincerity of his enthusiasm and
his great modesty." It must be recollected that
at that time Schumann was comparatively little
known in France. Testimony of this kind
coming from a musician like Hans von Biilow
112
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
is indeed precious. We have already seen what
Auber and Berlioz thought of Saint-Saens, it
remains to record the opinions emitted by Wagner
and Gounod.
The composer of " Tristan," in a reunion
consisting of several French artists who had
journeyed to Switzerland to see him, drank to
the health of Saint-Saens, whom he qualified
as the "greatest living French composer."
Gounod has never lost an opportunity of
expressing his admiration for his friend's wonder-
ful gifts, and has recorded his appreciation of
the surprising versatility so often exhibited by
Saint-Saens in the following words : " He could
write at will a work in the style of Rossini, of
Verdi, of Schumann, or of Wagner."
Mons. Edouard Schure has endeavoured to
trace the musical physiognomy of Saint-Saens in
the following lines, occuring in the preface written
by him to the interesting " Profils de Musiciens "
of Mons. Hugues Imbert : "Personne ne possede
plus a fond la science technique de la musique,
personne ne connait mieux les maitres, de Bach
113 H
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
jusqu'a Liszt, a Brahms, et Rubinstein, personne
ne manie plus habilement toutes les formes
vocales et instrumentales. Mons. Saint-Saens
peut dire : 'Rien de musical ne m'tst etranger.'
II a aborde tour a tour tous les genres et presque
avec un egal bonheur. On remarque chez lui
une imagination souple et vive, une constante
aspiration a la force, a la noblesse, a la majeste.
De ses quatuors, de ses symphonies se detachent
des echappees grandioses, des fusees trop vite
evanouies. Mais il serait impossible de definir
I'individualite' qui se detache de I'ensemble de
son oeuvre. On n'y sent pas le tourment d'une
ame, la poursuite d'un ideal. C'est le Protee
multiforme et polyphone de la musique. Essayez
de le saisir ; le voila qui se change en sirene.
Vous etes sous le charme ? II se metamorphose
en oiseau moqueur. Vous croyez le tenir enfin ?
mais il monte dans les nuages en hypogriffe.
Sa nature propre perce le mieux en certaines
fantaisies spirituelles d'un caractere sceptique et
mordant comme la ' Danse Macabre' et le 'Rouet
d'Omphale.' "
114
CAMILLE SAINTSAENS
Saint-Saens is no stranger to us. His visits
to London have been frequent, and his can-
tata, "The Lyre and the Harp," was com-
posed expressly for the Birmingham Festival
of 1879. This very year, 1893, the University
of Cambridge has paid homage to the greatness
of the musician by conferring upon him the
honorary degree of Doctor of Music. His first
appearance in London was at the Musical Union
in 187 1. He played at Philharmonic Concerts
in 1874 and 1879, choosing Beethoven's concerto
in G on the first occasion, and his own concerto
in G minor on the second. He has also been
heard at the Crystal Palace, and this year (1893)
he again appeared at a Philharmonic Concert,
playing the same concerto in G minor of his
own composition, and conducting his symphonic
poem, " Le Rouet d'Omphale." During one of
his visits to London, some ten or twelve years
ago, he met with an accident that might have
had fatal results. He fell through an open trap-
door, and received serious injuries to his back,
from which he did not recover for a long while.
115
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Having promised to take part in an arrangement
for eight hands of his " Marche Heroique," at
a concert given by Sir JuHus Benedict, he
somehow contrived to get on to the platform
and perform his task, but when it came to
acknowledge the applause of the audience he
was unable to bend forward or bow, and had
to slide off as best he could. As a pianist,
Saint-Saens may be classed in the very first
rank. His execution is prodigious, and his
lightness of touch quite unique. He is, perhaps,
heard at his best when interpreting Bach, with
whose works he is as intimately acquainted as
any living musician.
Unfortunately, he now seriously contemplates
giving up performing in public, not feeling
anxious to continue after his powers are on the
wane. The reason he alleges will scarcely be
accepted as a good one, for so far there has been
no falling off whatever in his execution. What
is more likely is that he finds he has no time to
practise. As a matter of fact he now rarely touches
the instrument, and a paragraph that recently
ii6
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
appeared in a paper to the effect that he was "in
the habit of practising all day long, caused him
to indulge in a prolonged fit of merriment. In
his humorous way — for Saint-Saens is a humor-
ist, comme il y en a pen — he told me that he con-
sidered that an executant should know how to
stop in time, and that he was not desirous of
emulating the example of certain artists who
went on giving concerts until they had com-
pleted their allotted span of life, and were
capable, even after their demise, of finding
sufficient strength to announce a " posthumous
recital."
In the course of his eventful career Saint-
Saens has had some amusing experiences of the
stupidity of those amateurs who pretend to be
musical, and whose knowledge may be put down
at zero. The Duchess de C once expressed
the desire to hear him perform some strictly
classical music. A party was organised, and
none were invited but those whose musical pro-
clivities were known to be of a serious order.
Saint-Saens seated himself at the piano, and
117
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
asked the Duchess de C , who was by his
side, what she would wish him to play. There
was a pause, the Duchess thought deeply, and
suddenly turning towards him, said she would so
like to hear the Miserere from the " TrovatoreP
On another occasion he was asked by a lady
who was giving a party to play something that
would not be too difficult of comprehension.
" Play a piece suitable for a pack of donkeys,"
she said. As it happened, Saint-Saens had just
got up a " fantasia " upon Bellini's " Casta diva,"
one of those drawing-room show pieces utterly
devoid of any musical value ; so he expressed
himself ready to provide the required article.
The evening arrived ; he sat down at the piano
and duly went through his fireworks. The
moment the piece was at an end, up jumped
a gentleman, who was profuse in his expressions
of delight, and warmly clasping the hostess's
hand, exclaimed : " I am sure you got him to
play this beautiful piece for my benefit ! "
Having remarked at the beginning of this
sketch that Saint-Saens had distinguished him
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
self as a composer in every branch of his art, I
will endeavour to allude briefly to those amongst
his works that have contributed the most to
ensure him the supremacy he now occupies
amongst the musicians of his country, a supre-
macy which is practically uncontested, if only
for the reason of the universality of his gifts.
Whereas other composers occupy, perhaps, an
equal or even superior rank in some particular
line, there is not one who has shown himself
capable of shining in conspicuous fashion in so
many varied styles. Mons. Gauthier Villars, in a
clever article upon the composer, has remarked
that there exist in Camille Saint-Saens " three
men— three temperaments that influence one
another. There is an ' absolute ' musician, a dra-
matic musician, and a critic, whose polemics are
always erudite, frequently witty, occasionally bitter
and violent." These words will serve in a great
measure to explain certain apparent inconsisten-
cies that are noticeable in the composer's works.
A thorough master of every technical detail of his
art, a contrapuntist of unsurpassed excellence,
119
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
a musician endowed with a prodigious facility of
production, Camille Saint-Saens has not always
been able to keep his productivity within due
bounds. His sureness of hand enables him to
complete a work in so short a time that he has
not invariably given proof of that spirit of con-
centration which shows itself in the compositions
of some masters. With Saint-Saens it is the
impulse of the moment that compels him to
compose in one style or another. This will
account for the fact that if in some cases his
works betray a want of inspiration, yet they
rarely smell of lamp oil, or seem unduly laboured.
He is essentially a fantaisiste, careless of any
preconceived plan, but exhibiting a wondrous
command of musical resources, and a complete
grasp over his subject. The themes he employs
may sometimes lack character or distinction, yet
no one knows better than he does how best to
treat them, and by ingenious transformations to
render them interesting. This applies more
especially to his chamber music, of which the
piano trio in F, op. i8, the piano quartet,
120
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
op. 41, and the septet for trumpet, piano, and
strings, op. 65, are perhaps the best examples.
In these compositions the classical turn of mind,
to which a happy admixture of modern elements
lends additional charm, is very noticeable. This
peculiar combination of the classical and the
romantic is a special characteristic in the works
of Saint-Saens, and is found in the majority of
his productions. Jauus-like, he keeps one side
of his head turned towards Bach, Handel, and
Beethoven, whilst he finds means with the other
of gazing at Liszt, Wagner, and Gounod. These
masters have exercised a very marked influence
upon his style.
The simplicity of treatment and perfect clear-
ness in the workmanship noticeable in his
chamber music, form a distinct contrast to the
complexities indulged in by that section of the
modern German school represented by Brahms.
The perfectly balanced nature of his mind, and
his predilection for works of classic proportions,
prevent Saint-Saens from ever falling into any
musical aberrations of intellect. At the same
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
time, he rightly considers that new forms in
music do not necessarily imply formlessness, as
some people appear to imagine, and in his larger
orchestral compositions he has ever displayed a
tendency to avoid recognised models. His four
symphonic poems illustrate the dual nature of his
talent as much as any of his productions. If in
these we miss the powerful grandeur of Liszt, we
find in its stead a clearer and more compact
method of expression.
These four works constitute one of the most
abiding titles to the composer's fame. They also
offer an opportunity of discussing a question over
which there has been much controversy — viz.,
the position occupied by so-called "programme
music " in contradistinction to " absolute music."
The partisans of musical reaction, who are ever
doing their utmost to stifle any attempt at
emancipation from routine, and place every
obstacle in the way of true progress, have
often directed their sneers against this particular
form of art. It is diflicult to understand the
reason that actuates them when they try all
122
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
they can to shut the doors upon the efforts of
musicians whose only desire is to serve the
cause of true art to the best of their ability.
These dogmatic pedants would lead one to
believe that ^'programme music" is the product
of our degenerate age, invented by musicians
barren of inspiration, eagerly clutching at any-
thing enabling them to earn even a fictitious
reputation.
In reality, "programme music," in some
form or other, has existed for many genera-
tions.
Kiihnau, the precursor of Bach, has left a
sonata intended to describe the fight between
David and Goliath. Bach himself has not dis-
dained the " form " in question. His capriccio
on the departure of a friend, with its differently
labelled parts, comes distinctly under the above
denomination.
It is as well though, in dealing with this
subject, to draw a distinction between purely
imitative and descriptive music. Whereas the
former exemplifies a puerile, and necessarily
123
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
inferior, form of art, the latter is susceptible of
serving the noblest ends.
It stands to reason that a musical imitation
of physical sounds must necessarily fall short of
the reality.
A single clap of thunder will produce more
effect than all the symphonic thunderstorms
that have ever been composed, with all due
deference to Beethoven and Rossini. Haydn
has attempted to imitate all manner of sounds
in the " Creation," from the bounding of a deer
to the falling of snow ! These things fail to do
more than provoke a smile. Music should act
by suggestion rather than actual imitation. At
the same time, a composer should not be denied
the use of any device calculated to aid his
inspiration, or to enable him to enlarge the
domain of art by the employment of new or
little used formulas.
Beethoven and Mendelssohn have both given
the sanction of their names to " programme "
music, and the example shown by the composers
of the "Pastoral " symphony and the "Hebrides"
124
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
overture ought to be sufficient to silence the
objections of the partisans quand mane of
" absolute " music.
In an admirable article upon the "Symphonic
Poems " of Liszt, Saint-Saens has dealt fully and
conclusively with the matter, and I cannot do
better than reproduce the French master's own
words, which have the advantage also of drawing
attention to the great and still imperfectly recog-
nised merits of Liszt as a composer. After
laying stress upon the fact that Liszt had dared
to break with the traditions regulating the
symphonic form, and had by this shown a
greater amount of boldness than Weber,
Mendelssohn, Schubert, or Schumann, he
proceeds to discuss the principle of " pro-
gramme music " in the following terms :
" To many people, ' programme music ' is a
necessarily inferior genre. A quantity of things
have been written upon this subject that I
find it impossible to understand. Is the
music in itself good or bad } Everything Hes
there. Whether it be or not accompanied by
125
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
a programme, it will be neither better nor worse.
It is exactly as in painting, when the subject of
a picture, which is everything for the vulgar, is
nothing or is but little for the amateur. There
is yet more : the reproach made against music
of expressing nothing of itself, without the help
of words, applies equally to paintings. A picture
will never represent Adam and Eve to a spectator
who does not know the Bible ; it will only
represent a naked man and woman in a garden.
And yet the spectator, or listener, will lend
themselves easily to this deception, which
consists in adding to the pleasure of the eyes
or ears the interest or emotion of a subject.
There is no reason to refuse them this pleasure,
neither is there any compelling one to grant it.
The liberty in the matter is complete; the
artists profit by it, and they are right. What is
undeniable is that the taste of the public at the
present epoch tends towards the picture with
a distinct subject and towards music with a
programme, and that the taste of the public, at
least in France, has drawn artists in this direction.
126
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
* Programme music ' is, for the artist, only a
pretext to explore new tracks, and new effects
require new means."
Saint-Saens has put his theory into practice
with considerable success in the four symphonic
poems entitled " Le Rouet d'Omphale," " Danse
Macabre," " Phaeton," and "Lajeunesse d'Her-
cule." Fundamentally different the one from
the other, each of these compositions comes
under the category of descriptive music, and is
intended to illustrate a special subject. In the
" Rouet d'Omphale," the composer has employed
the well-known classic tale of Hercules at the
feet of Omphale as a pretext for illustrating the
triumph of weakness over strength.
No words can express the art with which the
composer has developed his themes, or give an
idea of the delicacy of an instrumentation which,
gossamer-like, seems to float in an atmosphere
of melody.
Perhaps the most characteristic of the four
symphonic poems is the well-known " Danse
Macabre." This work is suggested by a poem
127
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
of Henri Cazalis, the first verse of which runs
thus :
"• Zig et zig et zag, la mort en cadence
Frappant une tomhe avec son talon
La mort a mimdt joue un air de danse
Zig et zig et zag, sur son violon."
The hour of midnight is heard to strike, and
Death is supposed to perform a weird and ghastly
dance, which grows wilder and wilder, until the
cock having crowed, the excitement gradually
subsides, and quiet reigns once more.
The way in which Saint-Saens has succeeded
in musically depicting the above story is in-
tensely original and masterly. The general
plan of the piece is perfectly clear and logically
worked out. The two themes upon which it is
constructed are admirably adapted for the pur-
pose, and susceptible of being employed together
with striking effect. There is a certain passage
which produces the uncanny impression of the
wailing of an unhealthy night wind through the
trees of a churchyard. In order to give an imi-
tation of the rattUng of bones, Saint-Saens has
128
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
made use of the xylophone. A curious detail
to be noted is the introduction, in a species of
burlesque manner, of the "Dies Irae," transposed
into the major and converted into a waltz, to
which the skeletons are supposed to dance.
Strikingly original and ingenious is the effect
of the "solo" violin, with its string tuned to
E|^, producing a diminished fifth on the open
strings A and Et>, which, being reiterated several
times, conveys a peculiar sensation of weird-
ness. The " Dance Macabre " has contributed
largely to spread its author's reputation all over
Europe. It is undoubtedly one of his most
popular works. " Phaeton," op. 39, and " La
Jeunesse d'Hercule," op. 50, although less well
known, are not the less remarkable. The first
of these deals with the well-known story of
Phaeton, who has obtained permission to drive
the chariot of his father, the Sun, through the
skies. His unskilled hands are powerless to re-
tain the steeds. The entire universe is about to
perish through the too close proximity of the
flaming chariot, when Jupiter strikes the impru-
129 I
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
dent Phaeton with his thunderbolts. Upon this
legend Saint-Saens has constructed a symphonic
piece of great descriptive power. The music
may indeed be said to tell its own story. A
prelude of a few bars describes Phaeton gathering
up his reins. He starts, and, presumably, after a
preliminary canter, induces the horses to proceed
quietly. Suddenly, however, they break away.
Vainly does he use all his endeavours to stop
them in their frantic course. The catastrophe
is nearing, when a formidable crash puts an end
to Phaeton and his misplaced ambition.
The instrumentation of " Phaeton " is in
itself worth a detailed notice, and is a perfect
marvel of ingenuity.
" La Jeunesse d'Hercule " is the most elabo-
rate of the four symphonic poems^ and is, per-
haps, the least well-known. It attempts to
describe the legend of Hercules, who at the out-
set of life saw two roads open to him, that of
pleasure and that of duty. The hero does not
allow himself to be swayed by the seductions of
nymphs or bacchantae, but resolutely follows
130
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
the path of struggles and of combats, at the end
of which he is to receive the recompense of
immortality.
In treating this subject Saint-Saens has given
full rein to his imagination, and has shown a
complete independence of spirit in the matter of
construction. The score of this poetical and
original composition will fully repay any amount
of study that may be devoted to it. It is, of
course, impossible to attempt an analysis of this
interesting work in these pages. I would, how-
ever, draw the attention of musicians to the
wonderfully ingenious manner in which the
climax is reached, producing an accumulative
effect of concentrated force bursting through its
bonds, evidently descriptive of the final triumph
of Hercules.
A symbolic meaning is attached to all these
symphonic poems, with the possible exception
of the " Danse Macabre," and although they are
each professedly intended to describe an actual
story, this is only used as a means of suggesting
the abstract idea that underlies it.
131
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Saint-Saens has published four pianoforte
concertos, the second and fourth of which are
the best known. Some years since he told me
that he contemplated writing a fifth, but for some
reason best known to himself he did not put his
project into execution. The second and fourth
concertos are two of the most striking examples
of the kind that have proceeded from the pen of
a modern composer. ^Yhy the third should be
so persistently neglected is more than I profess
to understand, except for the reason that pianists
. are like the traditional viojitons de Fanurge^ and
are, as a race singularly destitute of initiative,
preferring to follow on the beaten track sooner
than give themselves more trouble than necessary.
The form adopted by Saint-Saens in his
second concerto, op. 25, is sufficiently novel.
Its first movement is labelled " Andante soste-
nuto," and commences with a long introduction
for the piano, somewhat in the style of Bach.
The passionate melody which succeeds to this,
and may be considered as the principal theme
of the movement, is, however, quite modern in
132
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
character The delightful " Scherzo " and in-
spiriting " Finale," are slightly suggestive of both
Weber and Mendelssohn, whilst bearing the
distinctive mark of their composer's personality.
In his fourth concerto in C minor, op. 44, Saint-
Saens has departed still further from the usual
model. This work is divided into two sections,
which include five changes in the "tempo." A
noticeable feature in the concerto is the reintro-
duction in the last movement of themes pre-
viously heard in the first, thus producing a sense
of homogeneity.
The fourth concerto is the most ambitious
work of the kind that Saint-Saens has written.
It is also the best. A few years since, the com-
poser attempted the experiment of performing
all four works in succession at a concert given
at the St. James's Hall.
Saint-Saens did not make his debut as an
operatic composer until he had reached the age
of thirty-seven, and then only with a one-act
opera-comique, entided " La Princesse Jeaune,"
produced at the Opera Comique Theatre in
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
1872. This curious little work, the scene of
which is laid in China, was not well received
and speedily disappeared from the bills. The
overture is delightfully quaint, and is occasionally
heard at concerts. Now that one-act works are
coming into vogue, this delicate little score
might well be reproduced.
The reputation acquired by Saint-Saens as a
symphonist, and what is known in France as
" un musicien savant," had been sufficient to
cause any pretension on his part to aspire to the
fame of a dramatic composer to be looked upon
with suspicion. Added to this, he had the
reputation of harbouring feelings of admiration
for Wagner, which at that time was quite
enough to prevent a manager from producing
his vrorks.
An opera entitled " Le Timbre d' Argent,"
not to be confounded with Vasseur's operetta
" La Timbale d' Argent," was written before the
war of 1870, and was destined for the Opera
Comique Theatre. It was, however, not brought
out until 1877, when it was played at the
134
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Theatre Lyrique under the direction of Mons.
A. Vizentini.
The influence of Gounod is very apparent in
this work, and Bizet even found therein certain
affinities with Auber which I confess myself
unable to discover. One thing certain is, that
this opera has but little in common with Wagner.
" ].e Timbre d' Argent " reveals the hand of the
practised musician, but is very unequal as a
whole, and does not occupy an important place
in the composer's dramatic outfit. A point to
note in this opera is the superiority of the
orchestral treatment and general workmanship
over the melodies, many of which border upon
the commonplace.
The same year that " Le Timbre d' Argent "
was produced in Paris, the Grand Ducal
Theatre of Weimar announced the first perform-
ance of a new opera by Saint-Saens, entitled
*' Samson et Dalila."
As many consider this the composer's finest
dramatic work, and as it is only compara-
tively recently that its beauties have come
135
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
to be generally recognised, and that it has
been incorporated into the repertoire of the
Paris Opera, a short account of the genesis of
this remarkable composition may not be out of
place, the more so as it will accentuate the diffi-
culties that appear to beset composers and stand
in the way of works of the highest merit.
" Samson et Dalila " was begun by Saint-Saens
before the year of the Franco-German war.
The second act was tried over in private,
when the part of Samson was sung by the ill-
fated painter, Henri Regnault, who was destined
to be killed a year later, during the war. The
" Marche Heroique," composed by Saint-Saens,
is dedicated to the memory of the unfortunate
artist.
The score of "Samson et DaHla" was ter-
minated towards 1872, and a performance of the
second act was given by Madame Viardot at
her country-house at Croissy two years later.
On this occasion the gifted hostess undertook
the part of Dalila, and all who can remember
her incomparable method of singing will agree
136
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
that she must have been an admirable interpre-
tress of the passionate accents allotted by Saint-
Saens to the heroine of his opera.
The influence of this admirable artist upon
French music has been very great. In a volume
of verses recently published Saint-Saens thus
apostrophises her :
" Glolre de la Mtisique et de la Tragedie ;
Muse qu'un lauriev d'ov couvonna tant de fois,
Oscvai-je parler de vous, lovsquc ma voix
An langage des vers folkment s'etudie ?
Les poetes par Apollon vainqueuv
Out seuls assez de fleurs pour en faire une gerhe
Digne de ce genie eclatant et superbe
Qui pour rC'ternite vous a faiie leur soeur.
Du culte du beau chant pretresse veneree,
Ne laissez pas crouler son autel precieux,
Vous qui Vavez regu comme un depot des cieux,
Vous qui du souvenir etes la pre/era !
Ah! comment outlier r implacable Fides
De I'amour maternel endurant le supplice,
Orphce en pleurs qui pour revoir son Eurydice
Enhardi par Eros pauire dans I'Hades I
137
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Grande comme la Lyre et vihrante comme elle,
Vous avez eu dans VArt un eclat nonpareil.
Vision trop rapide, hclas ! que mil soleil
Dans Vavenir jamais ne nous rendra plus belle!''
In 1875 the first act of " Samson et Dalila"
was given in its entirety in Paris at one of
Mons. Colonne's concerts.
It was, however, not until the second of
December 1877 that "Samson et Dalila" was
brought out upon the stage. Liszt, ever anxious
to further the progress of art, had been struck
by the merits of the work, and undertook to
have it mounted at Weimar, where some twenty-
five years earlier he had been instrumental in
producing " Lohengrin " for the first time on
any stage.
Musicians of the calibre of Liszt are indeed
rare, and it is right to tender a passing tribute
to the absolute disinterestedness of this great
man, who never lost an opportunity of helping a
brother artist. Having been brought out on
German soil for the first time, a fact which the
composer should remember when indulging in
138
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
those patriotic ebullitions that of late years have
so frequently appeared from his pen, " Samson
et Dalila" was played at Hamburg in 1883 with
Frau Sucher in the principal part.
It was not until 1890 that the opera was
given in France, Rouen being the first town in
which it was played. During that year it was
produced in Paris at the Eden Theatre under
the same manager. On this occasion the prin-
cipal parts were interpreted by Mme. Rosin e
Bloch and Mons. Talazac, both of whom have
recently died.
Lyons, Marseilles, and Aix-les-Bains followed
in 1891, and the next year "Samson et Dalila"
was given at Toulouse, Bordeaux, Montpellier,
Nantes, Nice, Florence, Monte Carlo, Geneva,
and Dijon, receiving its final consecration by
being produced on a grand scale at the Paris
Opera House, having thus occupied a period of
twenty years in reaching its goal. It has since
then been played in other continental towns.
London still remains, and upon this I should
like to say a word. The fact of " Samson et
139
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Dalila " being taken from a Biblical source has
been accepted as a reason for its non-production
in our metropolis. That a work of the most
serious import should thus be excluded from
our stage when productions of the most futile
description are passed without demur, is another
example of the contradictions that exist in our
Pharisaical country.
Not so long ago an operetta was licensed in
which ministers of religion were held up to
ridicule, and jokes were freely made concerning
matters that must by a great portion of the
audience have been held sacred, and yet
nothing was said. But should some manager
think of producing an episode culled from the
Old Testament, and treated in a strictly serious
and even reverent manner, the British con-
science, that article of home manufacture of
which Englishmen are so proud, is at once up
in arms. We cannot support too many music-
halls or give too much encouragement to those
bastard specimens of operatic music known as
" original " (?) comic operas, but our feelings of
140
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
propriety revolt against anything like the stage
treatment of works founded upon Biblical
subjects. Let us be consistent whilst we are
about it. If it is wrong to introduce Samson,
Dalila, the Queen of Sheba, Joseph, Moses,
or other Biblical personages upon the stage,
it is surely worse to sanction the perform-
ance of operas or dramas in which scenes are
introduced representing the interior of churches,
or religious ceremonies of any description !
Worse than all is the performance of pieces
calculated to throw ridicule upon ministers of
religion. To see respectable audiences sitting
complacently gazing at a popular actor personi-
fying a clergyman dancing in a pas de quatre
with his chapel in the background, and to think
that some of these very individuals may pos-
sibly be numbered amongst those who object to
Sunday concerts, is indeed more than strange.
In the meanwhile as this state of things
exists, and the musical public is debarred from
hearing a work like " Samson et Dalila " on the
stage, it may be wondered that no one seems to
141
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
have been struck with the idea of producing it
in oratorio form in the concert-room. It is not
creditable that England should remain the only
nation where " Samson et Dalila " has not been
given.*
The prejudice existing against the employ-
ment of Biblical subjects for operatic purposes
is unfortunate, as the fund of material is appar-
ently exhaustless. The story of Samson and
Dalila has furnished Saint-Saens with a plot
such as he has since sought for in vain in the
pages of English and French history. The less
complicated the story, the better it is fitted for
operatic treatment. Wagner has exposed his
reasons at length concerning the superiority of a
legendary over a historical subject. Saint-Saens
is unfortunately not of this way of thinking. Of
later years the bias of his mind has been rather
tending towards historical subjects.
* Since these lines were written, a solitary per-
formance of " Samson et Dalila," in concert form, has
taken place at Covent Garden Theatre during Mr.
Farley Sinkins's season of Promenade Concerts, under
somewhat untoward circumstances.
142
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
" Samson et Dalila " may be considered not
only as one of the master's best operas, perhaps
even as the very best, but as one of the finest
dramatic works produced by any French com-
poser during the last five-and-twenty or thirty
years.
A work like this cannot be otherwise than the
spontaneous outcome of a composer's feelings,
untrammelled by outward considerations. The
varied influences that are noticeable in the
musical style of Saint-Saens, and to which I
have already made allusion, are perhaps more
marked in this work than in any of his other
operas. In the first act the choruses sung by
the captive Hebrews breathe the spirit of Bach
and Handel, and are conceived rather in the
oratorio style. As a strong contrast to these we
have the dainty chorus of the priestesses of
Dagon and their characteristic dance, the
fascinating trio in which Dalila endeavours to
cast her spell over Samson, and the lovely air,
"Printemps qui commence," which terminates
the act and which has been sung by every
143
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
contralto. Samson's spirited appeal to arms
must also be mentioned. The second act
commences with Dalila's invocation to love,
praying for aid in her design to ensnare Samson.
The lengthy duet between the heroine and the
high priest is eminently dramatic, and the
following duet between her and Samson may be
ranked amongst the finest love scenes ever
written. It contains a beautiful phrase sung by
the temptress when endeavouring to inveigle
her victim, which is reproduced later on in an
admirably suggestive manner by the orchestra,
and reappears in the third act, transformed into
a mocking theme, when Dalila is scoffing at her
victim in chains and deprived of his sight. The
third and last act contains a touching prayer for
Samson, bewailing his lost sight, some admirable
ballet music, in which the composer has made
effective use of the Eastern scale, and a
masterly scene depicting the revelries of the
Philistines, culminating in the destruction of
the temple by Samson. So ends this beauti-
ful score, the merits of which are so trans-
144
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
parent and yet have remained so long
unrecognised.
In " Samson et Dalila " Saint-Saens had made
use of representative themes, and although he
has done so in a sufificiently discreet fashion,
avoiding anything approaching to Wagnerian
polyphony, the fact deserves to be noted as
affording, perhaps, the first instance in which
the system has been rigorously followed by a
French composer. There can be no doubt
but that the device contributes to a great extent
in securing that unity which is so much sought
for nowadays in dramatic works. Another point
to be noted is the suppression of detached
numbers, the opera being divided into scenes
that are logically developed.
The instrumentation of " Samson et Dalila "
is rich and varied, yet never unduly complicated.
Saint-Saens knows how to distribute his effects
with unerring certainty, and his work is a model
of orchestral skill. The opera is scored for a
very full orchestra, of which it may be interesting
to give the composition. In addition to the
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Strings and usual wood wind, he employs a
third flute, a cor anglais^ a bass clarinet, a
double bassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two
cornets, three trombones, a bass tuba, two
ophicleides, two harps, three kettledrums, a
grosse caisse^ cymbals, a triangle, a glockenspiel^
crotales^ castagnettes made of wood and iron, a
tambour de basque^ and a tamtam.
These constitute a powerful engine of sound,
which is made subservient to the composer's
will, and reproduces his thoughts with unim-
peachable exactitude.
" Samson et Dalila " perhaps remains the
dramatic masterpiece of Saint-Saens. His other
operas may be equally remarkable in point of
style and more elaborate in the matter of detail,
but they often lack that apparent spontaneity
which constitutes not the least charm of the
Biblical work, and, although containing much
that is admirable, are perhaps less inspired.
Saint-Saens could not write an uninteresting
work if he chose, and musicians will find much
to admire in his later operas. In " Samson et
146
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Dalila " he has succeeded in compelling the
admiration of both musicians and the public
at large, perhaps for the very reason that when
he wrote it he did not attempt to please either,
but was content to follow the bent of his
inspiration without arriere pensee of any sort.
"Etienne Marcel," the composer's next opera,
produced at Lyons in 1879, t'^s not received the
amount of attention due to its merits. The
defects in this work arise from a certain want of
unity, consequent upon the obvious desire of the
composer to reconcile the conflicting elements
of the old and the new schools. Putting such
considerations aside, there can be no doubt as
to the general effectiveness of the music. The
subject deals with a stirring episode of French
history. If in treating it the composer has not
discarded the older forms associated with the
" grand opera " style, he has imparted a modern
colouring to his score which goes far to redeem
any shortcomings in this respect. He has been
particularly happy in his treatment of the scenes
of popular life that abound in this opera.
147
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
There is a freshness and an irresistible entram
in the ballet music, which is deliciously scored
and abounds in charming details. The presence
of a waltz in an opera, the action of which is
laid in the fourteenth century, may cause some
surprise, but it does not do to be over-particular
in such matters, and much may be forgiven
when the result is so pleasing.
A few years ago it was quite on the cards
that "Etienne Marcel" should be performed at
Covent Garden, with Mme. Patti in the principal
character. The grtdit prima donna had taken a
strong fancy to the music, and expressed a desire
to sing it. Unfortunately circumstances occurred
which induced the diva to change her mind,
and to display her vocalisation in an opera of
little musical worth, which has long since dis-
appeared from the repertoire.
If would be a thousand pities if an opera
containing so much that is excellent should
be allowed to suffer perpetual neglect, and it
may be hoped that some day we may be afforded
the chance of hearing it in England.
148
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
The great moment In the dramatic career of
Saint-Saens was now at hand — that psycho-
logical moment so long desired and eagerly
anticipated by every French aspirant to operatic
fame. The doors of the Opera, that sanctum
sanctoni7n, was at length to be opened to him.
After the comparative failure of such works as
Gounod's "Tribut de Zamora," and Ambroise
Thomas' " Frangoise de Rimini," the prestige
of the French school wanted looking after, and
some fresh blood was required to renew it.
That a composer such as Saint-Saens should
be obliged to go to Weimar and Lyons in order
to get played seemed an anomaly, and the
author of " Samson et Dalila " was at last, and
not too soon, commissioned to write a work for
the leading operatic stage of Paris.
Great expectations had been formed concern-
ing the opera that so consummate a musician,
and one holding such high artistic notions, would
produce. It was held that a composer so well en-
dowed would prove to be the one, par excelkfice^
destined to free the French operatic stage from
149
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
the bondage of " routine," and be the standard-
bearer of French progressive art. These antici-
pations were destined to be only partly realised.
Leaving French history for the nonce, Saint-
Saens found in the life of our much-married
monarch a subject congenial to his muse, and
*' Henri VIII." was produced with success in
March 1883. If this opera is ever to be per-
formed in England certain alterations will have
to be made, as the inclusion of a Scotch ballet
danced at Richmond might tend to ridicule.
It must be admitted that if the book of
" Henri VIII." is in many senses disappointing,
yet it is not devoid of merit, and contains
several highly dramatic situations that have
been well treated by the musician. The
authors, Messrs. Detroyat and Silvestre, have
not adhered entirely to Shakespeare. The
action takes place at the time when Henry has
begun to be struck with the charms of Anne
Boleyn, who also has an admirer in Don Gomez,
the Spanish ambassador. The divorce of the
King from Katharine of Arragon is at hand, and
150
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
the Pope's Legate having refused to sanction
it, the King, amidst the acclamation of the
people, proclaims the schism with the Roman
Church. The last act is perhaps the best.
Anne Boleyn is now Queen, and Katharine,
who is dying, has in her possession a compro-
mising letter from Anne to Don Gomez. Henry
is devoured by jealousy, and comes, accompanied
by Don Gomez, to endeavour to obtain posses-
sion of this document. Anne has also come to
see if she can regain the letter. This leads to the
capital situation in the opera. Henry, in order
to excite the jealous and revengeful feelings of
Katharine, speaks in the tenderest tones to
Anne, whose eyes are fixed upon the note that
Katharine has in her hands. At length Katha-
rine, having prayed for strength to resist the
temptation, throws the letter in the fire, and
falls down dead.
There is no denying the dramatic force of this
situation, which has been treated by Saint-Saens
in a masterly manner. The splendid quartet
which terminates the work, in which the different
151
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
emotions of the four characters are depicted in
accents as powerful as they are varied, may rank
amongst his finest inspirations, and as one of
the most stirring scenes in the entire range
of modern opera.
An interesting feature in " Henri VIII." is
the partial employment of kit-uwtive?i. Saint-
Saens, who at one time was looked upon
as a disciple of Wagner, has taken pains to dis-
pel this impression. And yet in the first work
composed by him for the chief French operatic
theatre, he set to work by making use of one of
the Bayreuth master's favourite devices. He
will probably urge that it is not so much Wagner
himself that he has been combating, but the
unreasoning enthusiasm of some of his thick-
and-thin admirers. This may be so, but the
fact remains, that Saint- Saens has laid himself
open to misconception, which might easily have
been avoided had he displayed a less militant
tendency in his criticisms. At any rate, he
has deliberately adopted the system of represen-
tative themes in his " Henri VIU.," and if,
152
CAMILLE SAINT-SAKNS
whilst SO doing, he has not abandoned the
old operatic set forms, the innovation is a suffi-
ciently important one to note. It is this attempt
to reconcile such antagonistic elements that is
held by some as constituting a weak point in
this remarkable work. " From the beginning,"
writes a well-known critic, " we see the two
forms of the opera and the lyrical drama in
juxtaposition, and thus all unity of style is at
once broken."
The opinions of Saint-Saens himself on the
subject of dramatic music are interesting, as they
explain the spirit of compromise that exists in
all his works. "Henri VIII." was considered
by some as foreshadowing a new departure in
the composer's style. These were doomed to be
disappointed, for the works that have succeeded
it are not in any way more " advanced." Saint-
Saens has taken the trouble to write and explain
his views on the subject, and from these it is highly
unlikely that he will now depart. In a letter
written to the editor of the Carillon Theatral^
soon after the performance of his opera " Proser-
153
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
pine," Saint-Saens expressed himself thus : " My
theory of dramatic art is this : I beheve the
drama is progressing towards a synthesis of
different elements, song, declamation, and sym-
phony blending in an equilibrium which leaves
the composer free to avail himself of all the
resources of art, while it affords the spectator
the gratification of every legitimate desire. It
is this equilibrium which I seek, and which
others will one day find. Both heart and head
impel me to pursue this aim, and to this I must
adhere. It is for this reason that I am dis-
owned, now by those Wagnerites who despise
the melodic style and the art of singing, now by
those reactionaries who lay the entire stress on
those elements, and consider declamation and
symphony as mere accessories."
The above definition of the " musical drama "
is rational enough, and I do not see what even
the most uncompromising Wagnerite could find
to object in it. As to the allusion to " those
Wagnerites who despise the melodic style," it
would be interesting to know precisely to whom
154
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
the composer refers. If there exist a few
fanatics who imagine that melody can be
banished with impunity, they are in absolute
disaccord with Wagner himself, who wrote that
"the one and only form of music is melody;
no music is conceivable without melody, and
both are absolutely inseparable." Mons.
Imbert, in an article upon Saint-Saens, has
amusingly termed him " le Wagnerien sans le
savoir."
The truth of the matter is, that every com-
poser nowadays is actuated by the same desire,
namely, to make his music lit the subject he is
illustrating as closely as possible. If the method
adopted differs in any way, this must be ascribed
to a variety of causes, the composer's tempera-
ment, his education, his nationality, and others.
As to the interpolation of ballets and sundry
ho7-s (Tci'iivre introduced often apparently with-
out rhyme or reason, that still find their way
into operas, it must in justice to the composer
be remembered that he has a number of con-
ventionalities to fight against and prejudices to
155
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
overcome. Every one has not got the prestige
of a Wagner, and even he had to fight a fear-
fully uphill battle, and only reaped the full fruits
of his labours at the end of his career.
The taste of the public is little by little
coming round to the " lyrical drama " as distinct
from the opera, and composers are but following
the tendency of the age. The transformation
of style that has led Verdi to rise from
" Trovatore " to " Otello " is there to attest it.
The next opera — or shall we say "lyrical
drama " ? — composed by Saint-Saens was " Pro-
serpine," brought out at the ill-fated Opera
Comique in 1887, the same year during which
the theatre was destined to be burned to the
ground. Despite its title, this work has nothing
in common with mythology. It is taken from
an early work by the poet Vacquerie, published
some fifty years ago.
The action takes place in Italy during the
sixteenth century. Proserpine, a courtesan, is
in love with Sabatino, a young nobleman, who
is engaged to be married to Angiola, the sister
156
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
of his friend. After endeavouring vainly to
entrap Angiola and her brother, assisted by
Squarocca, a bandit, she seeks Sabatino, who is
awaiting his bride. When Angiola enters,
Proserpine hides behind some drapery.
Maddened by jealousy at hearing the lovers
interchange protestations of affection, she
rushes forward and strikes Angiola with her
stiletto. Sabatino then snatches the weapon
from her hands and plunges it into her
heart.
This story was considered somewhat melo-
dramatic in Paris, and the denouement has since
been somewhat modified. A few alterations
have been made in the score, and in its new
form " Proserpine " will surely be performed
sooner or later. There are some delightful
numbers in this opera, which throughout bears
the impress of the master's hand. I will
especially draw attention to the closing scene of
the second act, which is a perfect gem of
delicate fancy and exquisite workmanship. The
scene represents the interior of a convent, and a
^57
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
number of mendicants enter to receive alms.
Their voices are accompanied by a melodic
figure which is repeated in various guises until
the fall of the curtain, without ever sounding
monotonous in any degree, through the con-
summate art and skilful manipulation with
which it is handled.
With his next opera Saint-Saens returned to
the Grand Opera, where " Ascanio " was pro-
duced in 1890. Benvenuto Cellini is the lead-
ing character in this work, but the composer
discarded the great sculptor's name as his title,
probably out of deference to the memory of
Berlioz, whose first dramatic attempt bore that
name. These scruples did not trouble Mons.
Diaz, who curiously enough brought out an
opera bearing that title during the same year at
the Opera Comique, where it met with no
success. There has always been something of
the mystifier in Saint-Saens. He likes to go
his own way, regardless of what may be expected
of him or whether he satisfies the partisans of
any particular style of music. Mons. Camille
158
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Bellaigue remarks that he was not much
astonished that this work should have produced
a feeling of surprise and even of disappointment.
" L'oeuvre," he says, "que peut-etre on attendait
puissante et grandiose, n'est que touchante par-
fois, toujours intime et presque familiere."
This definition gives so good an idea of the
general character of the opera that I do not
hesitate to reproduce it here. The plot of
" Ascanio " is rather complicated for a " lyrical
drama," the numberless episodes that occur
detracting from the continuity of the work.
Saint-Saens appears to have composed the
music in a remarkably short space of time, less
than a year. Those who take the trouble to
study this interesting score, which has been
aptly termed a musical mosaic, will appreciate
the prodigious amount of labour involved.
The composer has again employed representative
themes, very much after the system he had
previously adopted in his "Henri VIII." The
score of " Ascanio " is a veritable monument of
ingenuity, and if it does not produce an
159
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
altogether satisfactory impression, the fault may
be ascribed rather to the book than to the
music.
A curious incident in connection with the
first performance of this opera was that the
composer, doubtless anxious to seek perfect
rest after his prolonged labours, and desirous of
avoiding the fatigues consequent upon attend-
ing its production, took himself away and
carefully omitted to leave his address behind.
Weeks elapsed, and no news of him was
forthcoming. Fanciful stories were concocted
of how he had met with foul play. Telegrams
were dispatched all the world over, with the
result that he was authoritatively declared to have
been seen in at least a dozen different places
several hundred miles away one from the other.
Finally, he was discovered, quite by chance,
under an assumed name in the Canary Islands.
A visitor staying in the same hotel, hearing
some one playing the piano in a manner the
reverse of amateurish, and having that morning
read about the mysterious disappearance in the
i6o
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
French papers, had the curiosity to go down
and verify the suspicions that had occurred to
him. He had no difficulty in identifying the
composer, and in a very short time the news
had spread all over the place. Saint-Saens
then had to pay the penalty of being a
celebrity. He wrote thus to Mons. Louis
Gallet, his friend and collaborator : " For the
last three days, since I have been recognised, I
lead an insupportable life. I do not have a
moment to myself. I am scribbling you these
lines whilst talking. If there is no common sense
in what I say, do not be surprised."
The last dramatic work produced by Saint-
Saens is " Phryne," a two-act comic opera, given
at the Opera Comique in the month of May of
the present year (1893).
It might have been hoped that a composer
such as Saint-Saens would have thought fit to
devote his great gifts to the elaboration of a
" musical comedy " that might have ranked side
by side with Wagner's " Meistersinger " and
Verdi's" " Falstaff." Not one of his countrymen
161 L
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
is better qualified than he is for such a task.
Perhaps he may undertake it later on. At any
rate, he has not attempted anything of the kind
in "Phryne," which is modelled upon an old
pattern, includes spoken dialogue, and consists
of a number of detached pieces, following the
conventional practice associated with the Opera
Comique.
In writing this graceful score Saint-Saens has
evidently aimed at simplicity. There are some
charming numbers of a melodious nature in this
little work, which also displays the composer's
capacity of dealing with humorous situations to
great advantage. Perhaps the best portion is
the " Invocation to Venus," in which the means
employed are of the simplest, whilst the results
are eminently poetical and effective. " Phryne "
has proved very successful in Paris. The title
part has been interpreted by Miss Sybil San-
derson, whom the composer has gratified with a
liberal allowance of roulades and other vocal
acrobatics.
It now remains for me to allude to some
162
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
of the other compositions of Saint-Saens in
various Hnes — and what Hne has he not
attempted? That one who has achieved so
great a reputation as an organist should also
have distinguished himself as a composer of
sacred music stands to reason. One of his
most representative works of this kind is his
oratorio " Le Deluge," which exhibits the pecu-
liar characteristics of his style to an almost
equal degree as "Samson et Dalila." Every
one knows, or ought to know, the beautiful
Prelude with the lovely violin solo, the com-
mencement of which is suggestive of Bach,
whilst the end is reminiscent of Gounod. I
must also mention his noble " Requiem " and
fine setting of the psalm " CoeH enarrant."
The " Oratorio de Noel " is an early work, but
contains several charming pages.
To analyse in detail all the compositions of
this indefatigable worker would take up a
volume in itself. I must therefore be content
with the bare mention of songs full of originality,
such as the " Melodies Persanes," pianoforte
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FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
music like the " Menuet et Valse," " Six etudes,"
and the three Mazourkas ; violin music such as
the three Concertos, the " Introduction et Rondo
Capriccioso " so often played by Senor Sarasate,
the Sonata, op. 75, for the same instrument ; and
violoncello music such as the characteristic
" Suite," the admirable Sonata, op. 32, and the
Concerto, which is a favourite with all 'cellists.
Neither must I omit the masterly variations for
two pianos on a theme of Beethoven, or the
splendid pianoforte transcriptions from Bach.
Several of these works may almost be said to
rank as classics. Two important compositions
remain to be noted, both of which were produced
for the first time in England. The first of these
is the picturesque cantata " La Lyre et la Harpe,"
composed for the Birmingham Festival of 1879 ;
and the second is the Symphony in C Minor,
first produced by the Philharmonic Society in
1885. It seems strange indeed that a work so
remarkable in every way as the last should not
be given oftener. Saint-Saens has not here
written a symphony upon the usual model, but
164
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
has endeavoured to produce something entirely
unconventional, whilst keeping within certain
limits, that enabled him to claim the title of
symphony for a work which, although possessing
many of the characteristics of the genre, yet
in the matter of form differs much from the
compositions of recognised masters. If the
influence of Beethoven is not absent, neither
is that of Liszt, and there is as much if not more
of the " symphonic poem " in a work, that is
unique in its way, than of the symphony proper.
A curious detail to note is that in this work
the organ and piano are added to the usual
orchestra.
Saint-Saens is a very quick worker. The
rapidity with which he is able to conceive and
transcribe a work of large proportions is all the
more remarkable for the reason that his writing
never exhibits the slightest sign of that careless-
ness often engendered by undue haste. The
following extract from Mons. Hugues Imbert's
" Profils de Musiciens " will give an idea of this :
*' With Saint-Saens the conception is rapid ; he
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FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
writes without pause or hesitation {d'un seiiljet).
Once the idea is chosen and defined, he imme-
diately realises the development. He orches-
trates with the greatest ease, whilst conversing,
and almost without making any corrections.
Scarcely does he find it necessary to have re-
course to the piano in order to aid his inspira-
tion. His opera ' Proserpine ' was composed
at Chaville, without the aid of any instrument.
He writes a score or a symphony as he would
pen a letter or an article, or as he would solve a
problem. A number of instances are cited con-
cerning his prodigious facility of creation ; we
will only recall the following : A few years ago
he had promised to write an operette reviie
for the Cercle Volney, of which he is a member.
A few days before the performance nothing had
as yet arrived. Upon inquiry from Saint-Saens
himself it was discovered that he had totally
forgotten his promise. ' But,' said he, ' the evil
can be repaired ; ' and in the space of two hours
he wrote ofi" twenty-one pages of full score."
Some critics have found the music of Saint-
i66
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saens devoid of feeling, cold and passionless.
How it is possible to come to this conclusion
after hearing pages such as the famous love
duet in " Samson et Dalila," or the quartet in
" Henri VHL," it is difficult to understand.
And yet Mons. Arthur Pougin, the well-known
critic, has not scrupled to pass the following
judgment on Saint-Saens in his article upon the
composer, included in the Supplement to Fetis's
" Biographic des Musiciens " : "Le temperament
musical de Mons. Saint-Saens est sec, nerveux,
absolument depourvu de tendresse, de senti-
ment et de passion." After this it again
becomes evident that a great man is not
necessarily a prophet in his own country.
When he penned the above lines Mons. Arthur
Pougin was presumably unacquainted with
" Samson et Dalila."
In the course of this incomplete sketch of
one of the most remarkable artists of his time I
have alluded to his polemics as a critic. A few
years since, he collected some of his writings
together, and published them in a volume
167
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
entitled " Harmonie et Melodie." In this book
will be found various criticisms, many of which
are as just as they are well expressed, but it is to
be regretted that the author should occasionally
have thought fit to mix up so-called " patriotic
ideas " with his musical opinions.
For many years Saint-Saens used to be con-
sidered one of the ardent champions of Wagner.
The moment, though, that the Bayreuth master's
music seemed to obtain a firm hold upon the
French public, through the medium of the
weekly concerts given by Messrs. Lamoureux
and Colonne, the French composer's zeal
appeared to cool down, and the enthusiast gave
way to the critic. Any one is of course entitled
to air his opinions, and no one more so than a
composer of such eminence as Saint-Saens.
The mistake was that he chose the wrong
moment to publish his views, and thereby stirred
up a controversy which would best have been
avoided.
In 1879 he recorded his impressions of the
168
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
" Ring des Nibelungen '' in a series of remark-
able articles that are reproduced in the volume
above mentioned. His opinion of this colossal
work was summed up in these words : " From
the height of the last act of the ' Gotter-
dammerung,' the entire work appears, in its
almost supernatural immensity, like the chain
of the Alps seen from the summit of Mont
Blanc."
He terminates the preface of " Harmonic et
Melodic " by these words : " I admire the works
of Richard Wagner profoundly, in spite of their
eccentricities {en depit de leur bizarrerie). They
are superior and powerful, which suffices for me.
But I have never belonged, I do not belong,
and I never shall belong, to the Wagnerian
religion ! "
This being the case, I am unable to see why
the composer of " Henri VHI." should have
taken so much pains to qualify his opinions.
He admires Wagner, and it certainly would be
odd if a composer of his value did not ;
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FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
but he is anxious to avoid being comprised
amongst those fanatics, whose admiration of
Wagner prevents their acknowledging the great-
ness of any other composer.
It may here be noted that when the pub-
Hsher Flaxland acquired the French copyright
of " Lohengrin," the translation was at the
author's request submitted to Saint-Saens, who
wrote, in the newspaper La France^ that when
" Lohengrin " was about to be produced in
Paris, he, at the desire of the publisher and
M. Charles Nuitter the translator, revised the
French version and refused to participate in the
droits d'auteurs.
Amongst his many gifts Saint-Saens possesses
that of the poet, and has proved his capability
of writing charming verses. I will quote the
following satirical lines written by him after the
production of Bizet's " Djamileh," the delightful
little one-act work which has recently been
revived with success on various operatic boards,
the merits of which were totally unrecognised by
the Parisians in 1872 :
170
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
" ' Djamileh,' fille et jieur de V Orient sacre,
D'line change guzla faisant vibrer la corde,
Chante, en s'accompagnant siir Vinstniment nacre,
U amour extravagant dont son dme dchorde.
Le bourgeois ruminant dans sa stalle serve,
Ventru, laid, a regret scparc de sa horde,
Entr'onvre un ceil vitreux, mange vn bonbon sitcre.
Puis se rendorf, croyant que Vorchestre s'accorde.
Elle, dans les parfums de rose et de santal,
Poursuit son rcve d'or, d'azur et de crystal,
Dedaigneuse a jamais de la foule Jieheiee.
Et ran voit, au travers des mauresques arceaux,
Ses cheveux denoues tombant en noirs ruisseaux,
S' eloigner la Houvi, perle, aux ponrceaux jetee."
He has lately published a little volume of poems
which he has entitled "Rimes Familieres,"
from which I have extracted the lines addressed
to Mme. Viardot.
There is a great fund of humour in Saint-
Saens. This has shown itself in many of his
works, and occasionally he has given full rein
to his fanciful imagination by writing a bur-
lesque set of pieces entitled " Le Carnaval
des Animaux," and another time by composing
171
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
a parody of Italian opera, which he called
"Gabriella di Vergy." Is there not a vein of
grim humour in the " Danse Macabre " ?
It is related that he once took part in an
amateur performance of Offenbach's " Belle
Helene," and interpreted the character of
Calchas ! A detail to note : the composer of
" Samson et Dalila " is still known as " ce jeune
maitre," although his birthday belongs to the
year 1835. ^^ ^^ more than probable that he
will keep this title to the end.
Camille Saint-Saens has retained all his fresh-
ness of inspiration, and there is no knowing
into what paths his fancy may lead him. But
whether he elects to add to the number of
his symphonic poems, to produce some fresh
example of chamber music, or to elaborate the
score of a " lyrical drama," he may rest assured
that his doings will be followed with deep
attention on the part of all who take interest in
music.
172
^■M
*■(!
JULES MASSENET
In the year 1842 there lived near St. Etienne,
in the department of the Loire, an ironmaster
of the name of Massenet, an ex-superior officer
of engineers, who had been twice married, and
both of whose unions had been blessed in a
manner apparently rare in France. In the year
in question yet one more offspring was destined
to be added to the already crowded quiverful.
This child, who was named Jules, was the future
composer of " Manon " and " Werther." It is
needless to state that, alike to all great musicians,
Massenet gave evidence of talent at an early age,
to the extent that he was sent to the Conserva-
toire, where he rapidly distinguished himself.
His family, who at that time resided in Paris,
were, however, obliged, on account of his father's
173
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
health, to leave the capital. It appears that
young Massenet, tormented by the desire to
resume studies that had been so brilliantly
begun, thereupon made up his mind to quit
the paternal roof, which was then situated in
the town of Chambery, in Savoy, and one day,
without saying a word to any one, he undertook
to walk all the way to Lyons. How he ever got
there it is difficult to say, for he had apparently
neglected to provide himself with ready cash,
doubtless deeming this a superfluity and a
needless encumbrance. Trifles such as these
sit lightly on a mind of fourteen, and young
Massenet succeeded somehow or other in
reaching the great manufacturing centre, where
he discovered the abode of a relative, and
presented himself, tired and hungry, to his
astonished gaze. Having explained the cause
of his sudden appearance, the young truant
was forthwith expedited back to his parents,
who, seeing that it was useless to combat so
decided a vocation, made up their minds to
send him to Paris in order that he might
174
JULES MASSENET
continue his studies. Unfortunately, it is im-
possible to live upon air, and during the time
when he was mastering the principles of his art
the young neophyte was obliged to look for some
occupation that would help him to keep body
and soul together. This he was fortunate
enough to find at the Theatre Lyrique, where he
obtained the privilege of presiding over the
kettledrums at a salary of 65 francs a month.
It was not precisely riches, but it sufficed to
keep the wolf from the door. For six years did
Massenet have the opportunity of venting the
superfluity of his energies by striking the drums.
In the meanwhile he was not idle, and the first
prize for piano as well as the first prize for fugue
were both successfully awarded to him. Finally,
at the age of twenty-one he reached the goal of his
ambition, obtained the " Grand Prix de Rome "
through a cantata entitled " Rizzio," and de-
parted for the Eternal City, where he remained
for two years.
Massenet has himself recorded his im-
pressions of Rome in some interesting auto-
175
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
biographical notes published recently in the
Century.
" It was at Rome," he says, " that I began to
live ; there it was that during my happy walks
with my comrades, painters or sculptors, and
in our talks under the Villa Borghese or under
the pines of the Villa Pamphili, I felt my first
stirrings of admiration for Nature and for Art.
What charming hours we spent in wandering
through the museums of Naples and Florence !
What tender, thoughtful emotions we felt in the
dusky churches of Siena and Assisi ! How
thoroughly forgotten was Paris with its rushing
crowds ! Now I had ceased to be merely a
musician ; now I was much more than a musi-
cian. This ardour, this healthful fever still sus-
tains me^ for we musicians, like poets, must be
the interpreters of true emotions. To feel, to
make others feel — therein lies the whole secret."
It is natural that with recollections such as
these Massenet should consider a sojourn in
Rome to be fraught with great advantage to
young musicians. He believes that a residence
176
JULES MASSENET
there " may give birth to poets and artists, and
may awaken sentiments that otherwise might
remain unknown to those in whom they lie
dormant."
It was at the close of the year 1865 that he
left Rome, and shortly after, a one-act comic
opera from his pen, entitled " La Grande Tante,"
was produced at the Opera Comique, according
to the regulations, which prescribe that every
winner of the "Prix de Rome" should have a
one-act work played at this theatre. Massenet's
hour had not yet arrived. His " Poeme d'Avril,"
one of his most delicate inspirations, had been
refused by a publisher, and he found himself
obliged to earn his livelihood by giving lessons.
In 1869 he took part in the competition for
the composition of an opera upon a libretto
entitled " La Coupe du Roi de Thule," * but
without success, the prize being awarded to
Mons. Diazjt whose work was subsequently
* Massenet has introduced some of the music of
this work into " Le Roi de Lahore,"
t Diaz ; b. 1837.
177 M
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
brought out at the Opera without creating any
great sensation. This shows the value from an
artistic point of view of these competitions.
The Franco-German war came to interrupt
Massenet in his labours, and like a good patriot
he served his country on the ramparts of
Paris.
After matters had settled down he was able to
again set to work. His next operatic venture
was " Don Cesar de Bazan," played at the Opera
Comique in 1872, concerning which it is not
necessary to say much. A piquant little
entr'acte has survived, and is occasionally
heard at concerts. A more important work
was the music he composed to Leconte de
Lisle's drama, " Les Erinnyes," which still ranks
amongst his most remarkable productions.
Massenet has been most successful in impart-
ing a sort of antique colouring to his score. A
selection of the music has found its way into the
concert-room, and was heard at the Crystal
Palace under the composer's direction some
years ago. The best numbers are the beautiful
178
JULES MASSENET
invocation of Electra and the characteristic
dances.
The turning-point in the composer's career
was at hand. He had written a sort of oratorio
entitled " Marie Magdeleine," and having shown
the score to Mme. Viardot, this great artist, who
had been instrumental in furthering Gounod's
debut as an operatic composer, was much struck
by its merit, and determined to have it produced
and sing in it herself. " Marie Magdeleine "
was accordingly performed at the Odeon in 1873,
and created a great stir in musical circles. This
delicate and refined score reveals many of the
special characteristics well known to those who
admire the composer's music. It is very different
from what we understand in England as an
oratorio. The sensuous vein of melody and
the sickly sentimentality which Massenet so
often mistakes for true feeling are noticeable
in many of its pages. " Marie Magdeleine "
was just the sort of work to please a French
audience of twenty years ago, whose acquaintance
with Berlioz and Wagner was limited, and whose
179
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
ideal was bounded by Gounod. It was the
Bible doctored up in a manner suitable to the
taste of impressionable Parisian ladies — utterly
inadequate for the theme, at the same time
very charming and effective. These words apply
equally to " Eve," a work of the same nature that
was produced two years later with equal success.
It is but right to say that Massenet has not
employed the title of " oratorio " for either of
the above works. " Marie Magdeleine " is
styled a sacred drama, and " Eve " a mystere.
Concerning the first of these Mons. Arthur
Pougin informs us that Massenet had not
intended to adopt " the broad, noble, and
pompous style of the oratorio. Painter and
poet, he had endeavoured in this new and long-
thought-out work, to introduce reverie and
description ; he further employed the accents
of a veritably human passion, of a tenderness
in some way terrestrial, which might have given
rise to criticism had he let it be imagined that
he intended to follow on the traces of Handel,
Bach, or Mendelssohn."
i8o
JULES MASSENET
The feminine nature of Massenet's talent has
often led him to choose frail members of the
fair sex as heroines of his works, such as Mary
Magdalen, Eve, Herodias, and Manon. He
lacks depth of thought and strength to grapple
successfully with Biblical subjects, and the
absence of these is not atoned for by an arti-
ficiality of expression, and the too frequent
employment of affected mannerisms. At the
same time, there is a distinct element of poetry
noticeable in all his works, and a peculiar sensuous
charm is prominent in most of his compositions-
These qualities are not to be despised. To
them are to be added a richly-coloured and
varied instrumentation, and an always interesting
and often original harmonic treatment. Masse-
net's name was now well known to concert-
goers, and was shortly to become so to that
larger section of the community, the theatre-
going public, through the production of his
opera " Le Roi de Lahore." Previous to dis-
cussing the value of this work it will be well to
mention the orchestral suites composed by him
i8x
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
at different times, some of which occupy a per-
manent place in concert repertoires. Of these the
most popular is entitled "Scenes Pittoresques,"
a set of four short movements,. simple in structure,
melodious, and well scored. There is not much
in them, but although the material is scanty
the workmanship is extremely clever, and the
general effect decidedly pleasing. The " Scenes
Dramatiques," after Shakespeare, the "Scenes
Hongroises," and the '' Scenes Alsaciennes "
are interesting and replete with imagination and
fancy.
Perhaps the most remarkable of the composer's
purely instrumental works is the overture to
Racine's " Phedre," a composition full of passion
and feeling, well worked out and admirably
orchestrated, which is fully entitled to rank
amongst the best modern concert overtures.
It is to be regretted that the composer has not
produced more works of the same kind. There
is a virility of accent and an avoidance of spe-
cific mannerisms that may often be sought for
in vain in his other compositions.
182
JULES MASSENET
" Le Roi de Lahore^" produced at the Opera
in 1877, obtained a great success, partly,
perhaps, owing to the magnificence of the
mounting, but also, it must be said, on ac-
count of the intrinsic value of the music.
A spectacular opera in the fullest sense of
the word, '' Le Roi de Lahore '' was a work
eminently suited to a theatre such as the Grand
Opera, where the ballet, viise-en-schte, and other
accessories rank on an equal footing with the
music. It was produced on a grand scale, the
ballet act, taking place in the Paradise of Indra,
forming one of the most gorgeous spectacles
possible.
This act is perhaps the best from a musical
point of view. In it Massenet has given full
rein to his fancy, and has composed dance
music of a really superior kind, which he has
enriched with a piquant and effective instru-
mentation. " Le Roi de Lahore " remains
perhaps the best work that Massenet has com-
posed for this theatre. It is more spontaneous
than either " Le Cid " or " Le Mage," and
183
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
contains many portions of great excellence.
Every one knows the suave cantiletia for
baritone that Mons. Lassalle used to interpret
in so incomparable a fashion. In his criticism
of this work Mons. A. JuUien formulates the
following opinion of Massenet and the present
school of French composers : " They all know
their work admirably, and treat the orchestra to
perfection. They have more or less natural
grace and tenderness, t>ut they often lack power
and originality. They make up for the first of
these by the employment of noisy effects, and
for the other by a search after novelty that
occasionally amounts to eccentricity. Neither
have they got sufficiently settled ideas : they try
to reconcile the elements of different schools ;
they do not write any more roulades or points
d'orgue, but they allow singers to spread out
their fine voices on final cadences ; they under-
stand the necessity of renovating and vivifying
the opera, but they only dare to make timid
attempts in this direction at long intervals, and
return immediately to used-up formulas, to
184
JULES MASSENET
ensembles^ to choruses, and to the most com-
monplace finales."
There is a great deal of truth in these words ;
at the same time it is difficult to foresee an
epoch when the " lyrical drama " will have
attained that state of perfection as to be no
more susceptible of improvement. The pro-
gress that has been effected in France during
these last thirty years in the direction of a
higher conception of the musical drama has
been enormous. The ball has been set rolling
by some of those composers who would perhaps
now be anxious to arrest its course, but the
impetus having been given, it has been kept
going by the younger aspirants to operatic fame,
and is not likely to stop.
" Le Roi de Lahore " obtained a distinct suc-
cess, which was repeated in a number of conti-
nental cities, including our own metropolis.
Massenet visited England in 18/8, and con-
ducted a concert devoted to his own music at
the Crystal Palace. The programme included
extracts from " Le Roi de Lahore " and " Les
185
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Erinnyes." He also appeared at a concert
given by Mme. Viard Louis at the St. James's
Hall, on which occasion he directed the
performance of his orchestral suite entitled
" Scenes from Shakespeare."
Massenet's reputation was now established
upon a solid basis. On the death of F. Bazin
he had succeeded him as one of the leading pro-
fessors of the Conservatoire. He had also been
elected a member of the Institute. His next
work, a religious cantata entitled " La Vierge,"
produced at the Opera in 1880, was, however,
coldly received. Massenet, who conducted the
orchestra in person, was grievously disappointed
at this, but set to work with renewed vigour
at an opera entitled " Herodiade," which was
brought out with great success at Brussels in
1 88 1. This work has since been given in Paris,
as well as in various continental towns, where
it has been well received. The nature of the
subject necessarily stands in the way of its being
produced in London. Certain extracts, how-
ever, have been heard in our concert-rooms.
186
JULES MASSENET
The score of " Herodiade " abounds in examples
of that sensuous melody so characteristic of the
composer. There is very little Biblical about
it, and it is to be regretted that another and
better subject was not hit upon than this
parody of Holy Writ. Massenet's strains would
probably have been equally appropriate, and
the susceptibilities of those who look upon
this sort of thing as a desecration of religion
would have been respected.
There is indeed a vast difference between
taking a subject like " Samson et Dalila,"
against which none but the most strict could
object, and turning St. John the Baptist into a
commonplace operatic hero. If it were not for
the libretto, " Herodiade " ought to be heard in
London, as it counts amongst its author's best
works, and, despite certain weaknesses, occupies
an honourable place in the ranks of modern
operas.
The following lines, written by Camille Saint-
Saens after the first performance of " Hero-
diade" at Brussels, will be read with interest.
187
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
I will not spoil the charm of the original words
by attempting to translate them ; " La qualite
maitresse de la musique du jeune maitre est la
fraicheur, qualite si rare que M. Massenet me
parait etre le seul a la posseder. On dirait
par moments qu'il n'en sent pas le prix, a le
voir poursuivre, en apparence du moins, un
ideal de force violente. N'est-ce done rien que
le parfum de la rose, la voix du rossignol et I'aile
du papillon? Bien des gens trouveront que la
rose, le rossignol et le papillon ne sont pas fort
a plaindre, et qu'ils n'ont que faire de lutter
avec le tigre et le mancenillier.''
We now arrive at the work through which
Massenet is best known in this country, one
which perhaps displays the peculiar nature of
his talent to the greatest advantage. " Manon,"
that very fascinating musical setting of the
Abbe Prevost's romance, was first played at the
Opera Comique in 1884. For twelve years no
new opera by Massenet had been produced at
this theatre, and he had since then conquered
celebrity as a dramatic composer and as an
188
JULES MASSENET
orchestral writer. The famous novel of the
Abbe Prevost had already previously been
utilised for operatic purposes by Auber, and
has since been used as an opera text by the
Italian composer Puccini. It furnished Mas-
senet with a subject particularly suited to his
muse.
Apropos of Auber's setting, the following
story is related :
Auber did not enjoy the reputation of being
a great reader. One day he received a visit
from a friend, who found him at his writing-
table. Upon inquiring what he was working at,
Auber replied : " I am busy with the first act of
my new opera." — " By whom is the book ? " —
"By Scribe." — "Might I ask its title and
subject ? " — " Manon Lescaut." — " Manon ! that
splendid masterpiece?" — "The romance; do
you mean a romance?" asked Auber. — "Yes,
certainly." — "Mon Dieu ! I have never read that,"
said Auber. — " What ! you write an opera on
the subject of Manon, and have not read the
story ? " — " True ; I have not got it in my library,
189
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
for I have just been looking for it." — "Well,
borrow it from Scribe." — " But I don't think
Scribe has read it either," said Auber, " he
may have glanced at it to get the situations,
but Scribe never wastes his time if he can
help it."
Massenet's opera contains an innovation which
has a certain importance and deserves to be
noted. It is well known that the old-fashioned
opera comique comprised spoken dialogue.
The tendency of late years has been to aban-
don this illogical custom, and the ideas of most
composers nowadays tend in this direction.
Certain ingrained habits are hard to get rid of,
and even now there are composers of eminence
who either have not the courage or inclination
to break with a custom so antagonistic to the
principles of the lyrical drama.
Massenet, a musician of compromise, ima-
gined a method which he doubtless thought
would give musical continuity to his work with-
out departing absolutely from the customs of
the theatre. This was to retain the spoken
190
JULES MASSENET
dialogue, but to accompany it with an orches-
tral commentary in keeping with the words. A
similar method has been employed with success
in dramas for which incidental music has been
written. It is not a course that can be
recommended for operatic purposes, although
the effect in " Manon " is not unpleasing. The
analogy existing between the stories of " Manon "
and " La Traviata," or rather " La Dame aux
Camelias," is sufficiently striking. Several situ-
ations are almost identical. In both cases we
have a heroine for whom it is difficult to feel
much sympathy, a weak young man, and a
heavy father given to singing long-winded
cantilenas. The subject is essentially French,
or rather Parisian, and the music of Massenet
fits it like a glove. The composer's manner-
isms seem less out of place in the mouth of
Manon than they do in that of Mary Magdalen.
Massenet is essentially a colourist, and even as
he had succeeded in imparting an Eastern
cachet to his "Roi de Lahore," and giving a
tinge of the antique to his music for " Les
191
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Erinnyes," so in " Manon " he has feHcitously
caught the spirit of the last century. This
delicately perfumed score is in many places
suggestive of the boudoir of a petite maitresse.
There are plenty of accents of genuine passion
noticeable in the course of the work, such as
those in the great duet between Manon and Des
Grieux ; also in the fine monologue of the latter.
It is in what might be termed operas de deini
caractere that Massenet excels, and he would
do well in future to confine himself to this
and eschew works of larger calibre, such as
"Le Cid" and " Le Mage," the two latest
operas that he has produced upon the stage of
the Grand Opera.
" Manon " has been successful on the Con-
tinent, but curiously enough, does not appear
to have taken much in London, despite the
superb interpretation of the hero by M. Van
Dyck. An English version was produced by
the Carl Rosa Company in 1885, and it has
remained in the repertoire.
The year after the production of " Manon "
192
JULES MASSENET
Massenet reappeared as the musical delineator
of another French classic. This time he
sought inspiration from Corneille, undeterred
by the failure of Gounod over ^' Polyeucte."
" Le Cid " is one of the great dramatic poet's
finest works, and one with which I will not do
my readers the injustice to suppose them un-
acquainted. The music of this opera contains
much that is excellent, but fails in many
respects to do justice to the heroic subject. In
his efforts to be powerful the composer is often
merely noisy. The best portions are certain
/iors d'ceiwre, such as the delightfully charac-
teristic ballet music. " Le Cid " has apparently
proved to the taste of the habitues of the Opera,
and has been successfully performed on the
Continent.
A work which I should from many points of
view be disposed to prefer is " Esclarmonde,"
produced at the Opera Comique in 1889, the
year of the International Exhibition. In this
opera Massenet has taken a step in advance as
regards the musical form he has adopted.
193 N
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
" Esclarmonde " is constructed more according
to the lines of the modern " lyrical drama," and
the composer has made use of " representative
themes " to a great extent. One of these indeed
bears a certain affinity to a motive in the " Meis-
tersinger." This apparent adherence to the
principles of the Bayreuth master caused some
waggishly disposed critic to allude to Massenet
as " Mile. Wagner." " Esclarmonde " is really
a remarkable opera, and should be given in
London. The story, which is taken from an
old romance of chivalry, is a species of fairy
tale and has this peculiarity about it that, re-
versing the ordinary order of things, it is the
heroine who falls in love with the hero, who, it
must be owned, does not seem inclined to repel
her advances. The lady in question being
gifted with magic powers, causes the object of
her flame to be transported to an enchanted
island, where she visits him every night without
his being allowed to contemplate her features.
The love duet between the two is one of the
most passionate and voluptuous examples of
194
JULES MASSENET
amorous music that has been heard on the
stage. A species of orchestral interlude, played
whilst the lovers are gradually surrounded by
the trees and boughs of the enchanted island, is
remarkably expressive, impregnated as it is with
a peculiar sensuousness of utterance and ex-
uberance of passionate feeling. This perhaps
is the finest page in an opera that must count
as one of its author's best works. Mons.
Adolphe JulHen, whom I have had occasion to
quote more than once in the course of this
volume, remarks that Massenet's great fault is
that he alternately attempts every style and per-
severes in none. Certain it is that " Le Cid "
was a distinct falling off after " Manon," and
that " Le Mage," produced at the Grand Opera
in 1 89 1, was absolutely inferior to " Esclar-
monde." It is of course impossible for any
musician to command inspiration. Certain
subjects have the power of appealing to a com-
poser more than others. With Massenet, as I
have previously remarked, these rather pertain
to the genre iiitiine,
195
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
" Le Mage " is a spectacular opera upon a
large scale, the action of which takes place in
the time of Zoroaster.
It furnished grand opportunities for the
scenic artists to display their skill, but was
admittedly a disappointment from a musical
pomt of view. The composer was destined to
take his revanche with "Werther," performed
for the first time in Vienna on the i6th of
February 1892. The composition of this work
dates already some years back. It was in 1885,
the master relates himself, when he had just
terminated "Le Cid," that Mons. Hartmann,
his publisher, suggested to him the idea of set-
ting Goethe's story to music. Pleased with the
notion, Massenet entered into communication on
the subject with Messrs. Milliet and Blau, the
authors of the libretto. The book having been
supplied, Massenet set to work in the spring of
1885, and the opera was completed at the end
of the winter of 1886.
When he was asked for a new opera by the
director of the Opera Comique, to be played
196
JULES MASSENET
during the International Exhibition of 1889, the
composer preferred to let him have " Esclar-
monde," deeming this to be more fitted for the
occasion.
Having had to go to Vienna to superintend
the rehearsals of " Manon," a proposition was
made to produce his "Werther" at the Imperial
Opera House.
Massenet, in the course of a conversation
published in the Echo de Fan's, gives some
interesting details concerning the administration
of the two imperial theatres in Vienna.
'' Hierarchically, and in the first rank, Prince
Hohenlohe, the direct representative of His
Majesty, dominates. After him come first a
high official personage bearing the title of
General Intendant, and then in the third place
the director, Mons. Jahn. The artists, in-
cluding the ballet-dancers, are looked upon as
accomplishing a service of State. Each day
official carriages take them to the rehearsals.
These take place from ten o'clock to half-past
twelve, in the most absolute huts clos. In the
197
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
evening equally, during the performance, no
one is admitted either behind the scenes or in
the boxes, and this from the point of view of
the strictest morality. They play, sing, and
dance without any stranger being allowed to be
present. The archdukes themselves are not
admitted."
Massenet also gives an account of the trying
ordeal he underwent when playing through his
score for the first time before the director and
all the artists. He was admitted into an
immense and luxuriously furnished room,
capable of containing over 200 people. "All
the artists," he relates, "were seated there,
grouped in a charming but imposing e?iseml>k.
At my entrance they all got up and bowed.
The director approached me and said a few
amiable and too flattering words of welcome.
All this was assuming the intimidating aspect
of an official reception. I felt much moved.
With the exception of my two old interpreters,
Mdlle. Renard and Vandyck, I knew no one.
Meanwhile the director led me to the piano, on
198
JULES MASSENET
the desk of which my yet unpubHshed score was
placed, open at the first page. I sat down on
the stool and was about to strike the first
chord At this moment I must tell
you an intense feeling of emotion came over
me My heart was beating as if it would
burst In one second, with a really painful
intensity, I felt the vivid notion of the artistic
responsibility which I was incurring
What a terrible game I was about to play
This score of 'Werther' was six years old.
.... I scarcely had it in my memory
How many works by me had not been played
since I was finding myself, alone, far
from my country, representing by the force of
circumstances French musical art On
the other hand, I had full conscience of the
undeserved honour that was being conferred on
me Was I not in Vienna, the guest of
the Emperor, invited at the expense of the State,
and remembering that alone two masters before
me — both above criticism — Verdi and Wagner,
had been the objects of such a high and such a
199
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
precious distinction ? .... All these thoughts
suddenly came into my brain ; tears rose to my
eyes, and stupidly, like a weak woman, I began
to weep. Then what kindness and delicate
attention was shown all around me. ' Courage,
courage,' was said to me from all sides. I made
an immense effort, and still trembling with
emotion I played through the entire score.
This was in Vienna the first hearing of
'Werther.'"
In Goethe's sadly pathetic story, Massenet
has found a subject eminently suited to the
peculiar nature of his talent. The idyllic charm
of the sad tale has inspired him to write pages
full of poetry and refinement.
" Werther " was a distinct success in Vienna,
and this success was repeated when the opera
was produced in Paris at the Op^ra Comique.
Massenet has seemingly been desirous in this
work of writing a "lyrical drama" rather than
an ordinary opera. He has kept his music well
within the bounds of a subject so simple yet so
interesting and so human. We do not find set
200
JULES MASSENET
duets, choruses, or ensembles in this deHcate and
artistic score, and we need not regret their
absence.
Long before Massenet's time, "Werther" had
been set to music by Pugnani, musical director
to the King of Sardinia. It was played at the
Burg Theatre in Vienna in 1796. Pugnani's
work was described as a symphony, which the
composer sought to make as realistic as
possible. On one occasion it was performed at
Turin before a party of invited guests. Pugnani
conducted in his shirt sleeves. At the moment
when Wert her dies, Pugnani pulled a pistol out
of his pocket and fired it.
Blangini also wrote a cantata upon the same
subject, which he entitled " Werther's Swan Song,
half an hour before his death." At that time
Werther's Lotte (Frau von Kestner) was still
living in Hanover, and she journeyed to Cassel
on purpose to hear Blangini's work.
A curious thing happened when Massenet's
"Werther" was given at Weimar in 1892.
Giessen, the Weimar tenor, was deputed to sing
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
the title role. His real name happens to be
Buft', and he is a grand-nephew of Lotte, whose
name was also Buff. When the Weimar per-
formance took place it was therefore discovered
that Giessen had to make love to his own great-
aunt. In the German version of the opera
Goethe's text is faithfully followed. Both Lotte
and Werther are drawn from life.
A few days after the first performance of
" Werther " at Vienna a ballet, entitled " Le
Carillon," by the same composer, to a
scenario furnished by M. Van Dyck, was
successfully produced upon the same boards.
Massenet has another opera in readiness, which
has not yet been been presented to the public —
" Thais," a lyrical drama in three acts, words by
Louis Gallet.
The composer of "Werther" is an indefati-
gable worker, and being in the full force or his
maturity, may yet be counted upon to further
enrich the operatic repertoire. Concerning his
powers of work the following story is related :
The director of one of the French operas, in
202
JULES MASSENET
speaking with the composer, said, " My dear
Master, give me the secret of your abnormal
creative abiHty. Every day you listen to a
crowd of singers, you attend every rehearsal, and,
besides, you are professor at the Conservatoire.
When do you find time to work ? " " When
you are asleep," replied Massenet, quickly. It is
true that Massenet rises every day at five, and
works incessantly until midday.
In the Supplement to the " Biographic des
Musiciens" of Fetis, edited by M. Arthur
Pougin, published in 1880, mention is made of
two "lyrical dramas," entitled "Robert de
France " and " Les Girondins," upon which the
composer was supposed to be engaged at the
time. I am not aware whether these have been
finished or not. Recently he has terminated
the orchestration of Leo Delibes' " Kassya," left
unfinished.
Whatever the composer's defects may be (and
who is free from them ?), there can be no doubt
that Massenet has indisputably a style of
writing peculiar to himself, which is more than
203
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
can be said of all of his " confreres." His
individuality may not be so marked as that of
Gounod, whose influence, by the way, can be
traced in some of his compositions, but it is
none the less existent, and has been reflected in
the works of many of his pupils.
Few musicians can touch him in the art of
handling the orchestra. At the time when he
was studying at the Conservatoire he astonished
every one by the prodigious amount of work he
got through, and the ease with which he was
able to compose. This facility of production
does not seem to have deserted him, and the
danger lies, not in his composing too little, but
in producing too much.
Massenet's position is so well established that
he can now afford to concentrate his mind upon
his work without troubling himself as to whether
or not it pleases the superficial portion of the
public. What he now requires is a good subject
and a well-written libretto. I trust he may find
both.
Although necessarily absorbed by his multi-
204
JULES MASSENET
farious labours, Massenet finds time occasionally
to attend to his social duties. A story is told
of how one evening, when he was dining out,
the mistress of the house insisted upon making
him listen to her daughter's playing. At the
end of the performance, upon being asked his
opinion, Massenet gravely remarked that it was
quite evident that the young lady had received
a Christian education. " Why ? " ejaculated the
surprised parent. " Because she so scrupulously
observes the precept of the evangelist — her right
hand knoweth not what her left hand doeth."
205
ERNEST REYER
"Nowadays, more than ever, musicians have
the leisure to occupy themselves with other
things than music."
These bitter words, savouring of disappointed
expectations, occur in the preface to the volume
entitled Notes de Musique^ written by Ernest
Reyer and published in 1875.
Since that time the author of the above lines
has received a tardy compensation for a some-
what unaccountable neglect, and his operas
" Sigurd " and " Salammbo " have achieved what
promises to be a permanent success at the
Paris Opera.
Although the composer of these works is but
little known in this country, yet he none the less
occupies an honourable position in the front
207
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
rank of modern musicians. His " Sigurd," which
was given at Covent Garden some few years
since, did not meet with the success due to its
unquestionable merits.
A man of strong convictions, imbued with a
high ideal and averse to anything approaching
the spirit of compromise, Ernest Reyer had to
wait longer before receiving due recognition than
if he had been disposed to pander to the taste
of the public at the cost of his artistic principles.
This he has never done but he has been satisfied
to work quietly and wait patiently until his hour
should arrive, careless of popularity, and content
to devote his talents to the sole cause of art.
Born on Dec. i, 1823, at Marseilles, Ernest
Reyer at the age of sixteen w^ent to Algeria,
where he spent some time, living with his uncle,
who had an appointment in the province of
Constantine.
It may be that the early influences of the
milieu in which he was thrown may have
had something to do with developing a tefw^-
ency he exhibited later on of setting Oriental
208
ERNEST REYER
subjects to music. His first important work was
an eastern symphonic ode, entitled " Le Selam,"
the words of which were by Theophile Gautier,
produced in 1850. This composition had the
misfortune to come a little too late. Felicien
David, in his "Desert," had already musically
illustrated a subject in many ways similar, and
the success of his work provfed detrimental to
that of his younger colleague.
Many years later (in 1876), Ernest Reyer was
destined, curiously enough, to succeed Fehcien
David as a member of the Institute.
The debut of Reyer as a dramatic composer
dates from the year 1854, when " Maitre
Wolfram," a one-act opera, was produced at the
Opera Comique. This was followed in 1858
by "Sacuntala," a ballet, at the Opera; and
in 1 86 1 by " La Statue," at the Theatre Lyrique.
It was this last work which brought the com-
poser's name in a prominent manner before the
public. The distrust that existed at that period
against all musicians holding so-called "ad-
vanced " ideas naturally affected Ernest Reyer,
209 o
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
who was known to be an intimate friend of
Berlioz, and to hold unorthodox views with
regard to the nature of dramatic music. " Le
Selam " had come too late, " La Statue " arrived
too soon. At a time when the beauties of
" Tannhaiiser " were unrecognised and this work
had been hissed off the stage, when even
Gounod's " Faust " was looked upon with
suspicion, it is not surprising that a work ex-
hibiting qualities of so serious a nature as " La
Statue" should have met with only a partial
success. At the same time the qualities abound-
ing in this work were recognised by the press,
and its author was by common consent classed
among the most rising composers and looked
upon as one from whom much was to be expected.
" La Statue," in its original form, included
spoken dialogue. On the occasion of its revival
at the Opera Comique in 1878, the composer
set this to music, to the great advantage of his
work, thereby insuring that continuity which
nowadays is rightly regarded as essential in
operas of serious import.
ERNEST REYER
The music to this work is impregnated with
an indefinable Oriental colouring which imparts
to it an undoubted measure of charm.
To Felicien David must be accorded the credit
of being perhaps the first to employ distinctively
Eastern characteristics. It was doubtless this
that helped to ensure the prodigious success that
attended " Le Desert." Without in any way
laying himself open to the charge of plagiarism,
Reyer may be said to have followed in Kis
footsteps with conspicuous success. Since then
many composers have treated Oriental subjects,
and have endeavoured to invest their music with
the peculiar " cachet " associated with the East.
Amongst these may be mentioned Bizet, in his
" Pecheurs de Perles " and " Djamileh," Rubin-
stein in " Feramors," Goldmark in " The Queen
of Sheba," Saint-Saens in " Samson et Dalila,"
Massenet in " Le Roi de Lahore," Bruneau in
" Kerim," and Villiers Stanford in " The Veiled
Prophet."
Bizet considered " La Statue " as the most re-
markable opera that had been given in France
211
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
for twenty years. It is sad that this, in company
with many other works of value, should never
have been offered to the judgment of the
British public.
The composer's next operatic venture took
place on German soil. It was at Baden-Baden,
at that period in the prime of its glory and the
chosen playground of Europe, that "Erostrate,"
a two act opera, was brought out in the summer
of 1862.
Nothing at that moment seemed to presage
any strained relations between France and Ger-
many. French tourists came in crowds to the
gay watering-place and deposited their offerings
with a light heart in the temple of chance pre-
sided over by Mons. Benazet ; that very same
year a cantata, the words of which were by
Mery and the music by Reyer, given at Baden-
Baden, celebrated the praises of "The Rhine,
symbol of peace."
Quantum mutatus ab illis. The French ele-
ment disappeared with the war of 1870, and
the suppression of the tables has long since
ERNEST REYER
brought Baden-Baden down to the same level of
respectability as many another " Kurort."
Musical amateurs sojourning in the pic-
turesque valley of the Grand Duchy of Baden
at this epoch seem to have had a good time of it.
Berlioz was in the habit of directing every
year a grand festival at which were performed
extracts from his orchestral works. Reyer states
that each concert given by Berlioz used to cost
a matter of 20,000 francs to Mons. Benazet the
energetic head of the " Kurhaus." Certain it is
that this enterprising director must have had
strong musical proclivities, for it is to his initia-
tive that the production of Berlioz's " Beatrice
et Benedict " is due. This work served to in-
augurate the opening of the new theatre at Baden.
Two days later witnessed the first performance
of Reyer's " Erostrate," which was shortly after-
wards followed by another new work, " Nahel,"
by Henry Litolff. " Erostrate " seems to have
pleased the cosmopolitan public of Baden better
than it did Parisian amateurs when it was trans-
ferred to the Grand Opera ten years later, where
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
it was only accorded two representations. The
composer was reproached at this time for having
dedicated his score to the Queen of Prussia.
As if it were possible for any one, in 1862, to
foresee the course of events that were destined
to happen in 1870. Patriotism occasionally
seems to have the effect of deadening the
intelligence.
It certainly appears strange that after the
favourable reception accorded to " La Statue "
in 1 86 1, Reyer should have been ostracised from
the Paris theatres, if we except the two perform-
ances of " Erostrate " in 1872, and the revivals of
" Maitre Wolfram " in 1873, and of " La Statue "
in 1878, for a period of twenty-four years, when
he made a triumphal reappearance at the Opera
with " Sigurd." This last opera had been per-
formed the year before at Brussels.
The Belgian capital seems to be a sort of
refuge for those French composers who expe-
rience a difficulty in obtaining a hearing in their
own country.
It was at the Theatre de la Monnaie that the
214
ERNEST REYER
following operas were first produced : Reyer's
" Sigurd " and " Salammbo," Massenet's " Hero-
diade," the brothers Hillemacher's " St. Megrin,"
Godard's "Jocelyn," and Chabrier's "Gwendo-
line." It was also there that some of Wagner's
later music dramas were heard for the first time
in French.
" Sigurd " had been composed many years
previous to its production on the stage, and
fragments had frequently been introduced into
the concert-room. I recollect myself hearing
an important extract performed at one of the
far-famed Conservatoire concerts, and the over-
ture at one of Pasdeloup's concerts, in 1876.
The subject of this opera is taken from the same
source as Wagner's " Ring des Nibelungen."
Sigurd and Siegfried are one and the same
individual, and many of the incidents of the
French composer's opera are identical with
those that occur in the " Gotterdammeriing."
This is, of course, unfortunate, and although it
has been pointed out that Reyer composed his
work before the completion of the " Ring," yet
215
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
he must have been aware that the German master
was treating the same subject, considering that
Wagner had published the poem of his four
works as far back as 1853. Notwithstanding
the reputation he had already achieved, endless
difficulties had to be surmounted before Reyer
was able to get his work performed. The nature
of the subject frightened Mons. Halanzier, the
then director of the Paris Opera, who imagined
that the barbarous sounding names of the lead-
ing characters might prove objectionable to the
public. Who had ever heard of Sigurd, Hagen,
Gunther, or Hilda? The last name seemed
especially to act upon his nerves. "Why not
call her Bilda ? " he exclaimed. " Do I call
you Balanzier ? " answered Reyer. There was
nothing for the luckless composer to do but
wait for another opportunity, which happily oc-
curred some years later.
It is immensely to the French composer's credit
that, in spite of inevitable comparisons, he should
have been able to succeed as well as he has.
" Sigurd " is full of dramatic power, and
216
ERNEST REYER
bears evidence of the constant endeavour of
the composer to fit his music to the sense
of the words, avoiding as much as possible
any of those conventional effects so dear to
the uneducated section of the public. His
style has been described as proceeding from
Gluck and Weber, whilst his admiration for
Berlioz and Wagner reveals itself in the richness
and variety of his instrumentation. This appre-
ciation is perfectly correct, and although his
operas may be criticised in some respects, they
reveal a true artistic temperament both in their
method and execution. It may be said with
truth that Reyer's individuality is not of the
most marked, that his melodies sometimes lack
distinction, and that his inventive faculty is
scarcely equal to his skill in making the most
of his materials ; but none will contest the true
artistic feeling that presides over all his compo-
sitions, or deny him the possession of strongly
pronounced convictions impelling him to do his
utmost towards raising the standard of operatic
art.
217
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
After having been the first town to offer hos-
pitahty to " Sigurd," Brussels was destined to
have the primeur of " Salammbo," the last opera
that Reyer has composed, which was brought
out in 1890 with great eclat, and produced later
on in Paris, where it at once succeeded in estab-
lishing itself in the favour of the pubHc. Per-
haps of somewhat less sustained interest than
" Sigurd," the music of " Salammbo " shows the
same tendencies on the part of its composer to
adhere to a strict interpretation of the drama,
and contains many pages of great beauty.
Those who have read Flaubert's powerful and
imaginative work will probably consider it some-
what unsuited for the purposes of a " lyrical
drama." It must be admitted, however, that
the composer has found in it a subject well
adapted to his artistic temperament, and that it
has enabled him to produce a work which is an
honour both to himself and to his country.
The production of "Salammbo" in London
is an event much to be desired, and a revival
of "Sigurd" would also be of the greatest
218
ERNEST REYER
interest. Now that the British public are more
familiarised with Wagner's "Nibelungen Ring"
they would be able to draw interesting compari-
sons between the treatment of the same legend
by the German master and the French com-
poser.
If Reyer has acquired a well deserved
reputation in France as a composer, he is
equally well known as a writer on music, and
for many years has occupied the post of critic
to the Journal des Debuts^ formerly held by
Berlioz.
The opinions advanced by Reyer have
always been remarkable for sound common
sense. An intimate friend and ardent admirer
of Berlioz, he enjoys the credit of having been
one of the first in France to recognise the
genius of Wagner.
The perfect honesty of his convictions is
apparent to those who read his writings with
care, and it may in passing be noted to his
honour that when the course of time and
increased acquaintance with his subject have
219
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
caused him to modify any previously expressed
opinions, he has never hesitated to say so. No
one is infallible, but many pretend so to be.
When travelling in Germany in 1864 Reyer,
who was already a strong admirer of Wagner's
earlier works, had occasion to run through the
score of "Tristan," then still unperformed.
The first impressions produced upon him by
this most complicated of scores was not a
favourable one, and Reyer in stating this
avowed that his admiration for the German
master would stop at "Lohengrin," until the
beauties of the "Nibelungen Ring" should
have been revealed to him.
In 1884 when the first act of "Tristan" was
given at one of Mons. Lamoureux's concerts,
Reyer made amends for the appreciation some-
what hastily recorded by him twenty years
previously by expressing his intense admira-
tion for the wondrous beauties of this sublime
work. "What a metamorphosis," he wrote,
" had taken place in my musical faculties during
twenty years ! But also what a difference in
220
ERNEST REYER
the execution ! It was the first time that I
was hearing 'Tristan ' with the orchestra."
Reyer in his criticisms has always held up
the banner of high art, and his writings will
doubtless not have been without influence in
determining the nature of the musical move-
ment in France during these last few years.
His admiration for Berlioz has not diminished,
whilst his admiration for Wagner has increased.
Apropos of the " Proserpine " of Saint-Saens, he
wrote : " We are practically all affected with
Wagnerism, perhaps at different degrees ; but
we have drunk and we will drink at the same
source, and the sole precaution for us to take is
not to drown our own personahty."
This frank avowal may not be to the taste of
all French composers, but it is none the less
true.
Ernest Reyer has almost entirely confined
himself to operatic compositions. He is not a
quick worker, and his operas all bear evidence
of thought and an avoidance of claptrap effects.
He is still a bachelor and has the appearance
221
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
rather of a retired military officer than of the tradi-
tional musician. Reyer is bibliothecaire of the
Opera, and inhabits a quiet little apartment on a
fifth floor, where he is able to work undisturbed
and meditate upon the trials and uncertainties
of a composer's existence.
222
ALFRED BRUNEAU
In the month of November 1891, there was
brought out at Covent Garden Theatre a work
that had the effect of setting the musical world
of London into a state of ferment. This was
" Le Reve," a musical rendering of Emile Zola's
well-known romance, by the composer whose
name heads this chapter. The absolute uncon-
ventionality of the music, the boldness and the
novelty of the composer's method, took the
public by surprise and led to many a discussion,
at the end of which both antagonists and
supporters remained unconvinced and, as is
generally the case, retained their own opinions.
. It has always appeared to me to be idle to
attempt to impose one's ideas upon the relative
merits of a composition on those whose disposi-
223
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
tion is antagonistic to its due appreciation.
There are many to whom the later works of
Wagner appear as a senseless agglomeration of
notes, devoid of meaning and destitute of feel-
ing, a mere jumble of sound. These people are
doubtless absolutely sincere in their convic-
tions. Where is the argument that would
cause them to change their minds? If no
sympathetic current is generated between the
music and the listener, it may be taken for
granted that these are not meant one for
another, and all the arguments in the world will
not alter the fact. On the other hand there
can be no doubt that increased familiarity often
causes the reversal of a previously expressed
opinion, one sometimes formulated in undue
haste, and this is especially the case with a
work such as " Le Reve," the tendencies of
which are so novel and the methods so uncom-
promising in their thoroughness.
The composer has boldly flown in the face of
recognised traditions and flung all compromise
to the four winds. He has treated " Le Reve "
224
ALFRED BRUNEAU
according to his own ideas, careless as to
whether these should be agreeable to the
vocalist, who looks upon an opera solely as the
means of displaying his voice; to the average
amateur, whose fondness for a good square tune
of doubtful originality is as great as ever ; or to
the musical pedant who gauges the value of an
art-work according to the theoretical ideas of a
past generation.
Art and literature have during the last few
years been invaded by a strong current of
reahsm. The marked tendency exhibited by
the present generation of inquiring minutely
into all matters and subjecting them to a
searching process of analysis, has been pregnant
in its results. The physiology of the mind
appears to be the leading factor in the works of
many of the lights of contemporary literature.
This is discernible in the writings of poets like
Swinburne and George Barlow, in the novels of
Emile Zola and Alphonse Daudet, and in the
studies of Tolstoi, to mention only a few. In
music the same tendencies are apparent, and it
225 p
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
is rather the inner motives of the action than its
outward details that the serious operatic com-
poser is tempted to depict.
Bruneau exempHfies the latest phase of that
evolution that has been taking place during
recent years in the domain of dramatic music.
It may be taken for granted that the theory
enunciated by Gluck in his preface to " Alceste "
more than a hundred years ago has now come
to be universally adopted. This is, that " the
true aim and object of dramatic music is to
enhance the effect and situations of a poem,
without interrupting the dramatic action or
marring the effect by unnecessary ornamenta-
tion." It is this which forms the basis of
Wagner's theories. There are, however, many
other points of importance raised by the German
master which practically amount to innovations.
Of these none has perhaps a greater bearing on
the construction of the " lyrical drama " of the
future than the employment of kit-7?iotiven, or
representative themes.
It has been argued that Wagner can scarcely
226
ALFRED BRUNEAU
claim to be the actual inventor of this
device.
To this it may be replied that Wagner's
method differs essentially from that followed by
any of his predecessors. The bare repetition of
a phrase previously heard may be dramatically
significant, but it only represents the Wagnerian
idea in its most embryonic form, and has little
in common with a system subject to which an
entire opera is constructed upon a certain
number of themes susceptible of being modified
and transformed according to the sentiments
expressed by the words. Whatever objections
may be adduced against such a system if
pushed to its furthest limits and adopted as
rigorously as Wagner has in his later " music
dramas," it must be conceded that it opens a
large field to the composer and adds a powerful
element of interest to the musical exposition of
a plot.
So far, French composers who have profited
by Wagner's many innovations have shown
themselves shy in following the master in this
227
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
particular one. Some of them have, it is true,
adopted it to a certain extent, and endeavoured
to effect a compromise by trying at the same
time to retain set pieces of the kind associated
with the older forms of opera. Saint-Saens in
" Henri VIII." and " Ascanio," Massenet in
" Esclarmonde," to name only two, have
exhibited a marked tendency in this direction,
It has, however, been reserved for Alfred
Bruneau to employ the Wagnerian plan in a
more complete way than any French composer
has yet done. I am not here venturing to
express an opinion as to whether or not the
total absence of set form in an opera is advis-
able. It is evidently quite possible to compose
a "lyrical drama" on a different plan than one
entailing the strict employment of representative
themes. Art should comprise every method
that is likely to add to its scope, and the use of
leit-motiven opens a vista of illimitable possi-
bilities to the composer of the future. It is a
powerful agent of dramatic expression, and one
which requires musical ability of a very high
228
ALFRED BRUNEAU .
order if it is to be employed in any profitable
manner. When I mention Alfred Bruneau as
being perhaps the first French composer who
has applied the Wagnerian system so thoroughly
in his " lyrical dramas," it must not be implied
that he is in any way a servile imitator of the
German master, and he must not be confounded
with composers who, having no original ideas
of their own, trade upon those of other people.
As his friend and collaborator Mons. Louis
Gallet remarks in his Notes d'un Librettisfe,
"Son criterium est tout personel." There is
one point, for instance, in which he diverges
entirely from Wagner. This is in his choice of
subjects. Instead of searching for inspiration in
the legendary lore so dear to the composer of
" Tristan," Bruneau prefers to musically illustrate
a story of modern life. His ideas upon the
lyrical drama are best expressed in his own
words, and I do not scruple to reproduce the
following passage from a letter addressed to
myself : " Je suis pour I'union aussi intime que
possible de la musique et des paroles, et
229
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
voudrais faire du theatre vivant, humain et
bref. J'aurais aussi I'ambition de traiter une
suite de sujets essentiellement Fran^ais et
modernes d'action comme de sentiments.
C'est pourquoi, apres ' Le Reve,' d'un
mysticisme bien Franc^ais je crois, viendra
' L'Attaque du moulin,' drame pris au cueur
saignant de notre pays. Mais la suite n'est
qu'un projet que je n'aurai peut-etre jamais la
force de mettre a execution."
It is the human element that predominates in
Bruneau's compositions which constitutes so
powerful a fascination to those who are in
sympathy with his ideas. His music is not
theatrical in the ordinary acceptation of the
term but intensely dramatic, inasmuch as it
aims at depicting the innermost details of the
action, and describes in searching accents the
varied emotions of the leading characters.
He has been blamed for his disregard of the
so-called rules of harmony, and for apparently
revelling in the employment of discords, strange
progressions, and harsh modulations. Let it be
ALFRED BRUNEAU
remembered that there is scarcely a composer
of eminence who has not been subjected to the
same reproach. To take a few of the most notable
instances, it is only necessary to mention the
cases of Schumann, Wagner, Berlioz, and Bizet.
A name that may carry conviction even further
is that of Beethoven. Is it not a fact that within
the memory of some who are still amongst us, the
" Choral Symphony " was stigmatised as the work
of a genius whose powers were on the wane,
and this mighty work was pronounced dull and
incoherent ?
The question as to how far a composer may
go in his search after novel effects, and what
discords he may or may not employ, is one
that cannot easily be answered. Where is the
musician who will have the presumption to erect
himself as the supreme arbiter upon so complex
a question, and venture to say to the composer,
" Thus far shalt thou go and no further? "
Undoubtedly there must be rules of some
kind, but these are intended for the student and
are not meant to hamper the inspiration of the
231
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
master. In order to explain my meaning I
cannot do better than quote the following extract
from the preface of Mr. Ebenezer Prout's admir-
able work on " Harmony,"* which conclusively
disposes of the question :
" The principle must surely be wrong which
places the rules of an early stage of musical
development above the inspirations of genius !
Haydn, when asked according to what rules he
had introduced a certain harmony, replied that
'The rules were all his very obedient humble
servants ; ' and when we find that in our own
time Wagner, or Brahms, or Dvorak, breaks
some rule given in old text books, there is,
to say the least, a very strong presumption, not
that the composer is wrong, but that the rule
needs modifying. In other words practice must
precede theory. The inspired composer goes
first, and invents new effects ; it is the business
of the theorist not to cavil at every novelty,
but to follow modestly behind, and make his
rules conform to the practice of the master."
* Published by Messrs. Augener.
232
ALFRED BRUNEAU
These are golden words, involving a precept
that should be seriously taken to heart by those
who are inclined to pass a hasty verdict upon
works exhibiting tendencies of a novel nature.
At the same time it does not follow that com-
posers of inferior talent should be allowed a
liberty which with them often degenerates into
licence, and imagine that it is only necessary
for them to stud their scores with consecutive
fifths and octaves, and avoid any but the most
out-of-the-way modulations in order at once to
be ranked as men of genius. There is a vast
amount of difference between the crude har-
monies, obviously introduced for effect, that
occur in the scores of some composers, and
those employed with a due sense of dramatic
fitness by a musician like Bruneau.
The composer of " Le Reve " was born on
the I St of March 1857. He is, therefore, at
the present time in the full flush of his creative
ability, and his powers of production have
doubtless not yet reached their full maturity
of expression. There is no knowing how far
233
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
a musician of his calibre may not eventually go,
or what works he may be destined to produce.
Up to the present he has shown a wonderful
amount of independence of thought, and his
very exaggerations are the evident outcome of
I a consistent striving to attain an elevated ideal.
Alfred Bruneau's musical studies were begun
in a brilliant manner at the Paris Conservatoire,
where he obtained the first prize for violoncello
in 1876. He entered into the composition
class, presided over by Massenet, and finally, in
i88i, triumphantly carried off the "Prix de
Rome." This was already a great step towards
fame and fortune, although it has been proved
over and over again that it leads to neither.
Many an old winner of the " Prix de Rome "
has, after a fruitless struggle, been compelled to
give up the game and resign himself to a life of
comparative obscurity. For an artist to remain
true to his convictions and resist the temptations
thrown in his way of obtaining an ephemeral
popularity by pandering to the taste of the
public, is not always so easy an achievement
234
ALFRED BRUNEAU
as it may appear. It was through the means of
the concert-room that Alfred Bruneau's name
first became known to the musical public of
Paris. An " Ouverture Heroi'que," a symphonic
poem entitled " La Belle au bois dormant," and
" Leda," styled a " poeme antique ; " these
works were played at different times, and sufficed
to stamp their author as a musician of undeniable
capacity and distinct promise. " Penthesilee "
is the name of a symphonic poem of great
daring and originality for a solo voice and
orchestra, which was only recently produced
at one of Mons. Colonne's concerts. It is a
musical interpretation of some wild and striking
stanzas by the poet CatuUe Mendes. Thoroughly
independent in structure as it is in its workman-
ship, bold almost to excess, distinguished by a
most unconventional harmonic treatment, this
composition exhibits a masterly grip that irre-
sistibly commands attention. The interest
may be said to be mainly concentrated in the
orchestra, the voice part being strictly declama-
tory.
235
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
It is, however, through his conception of
the "lyrical drama" that Bruneau especially
asserts his individuality.
" Kerim," his first stage work, brought out in
1887 at the Theatre du Chateau d'Eau, pro-
visionally given up to operatic performances,
does not appear to have excited much attention,
possibly owing to the inadequacy of the inter-
pretation. In. this work, the tendencies which
are so accentuated in " Le Reve " are already
foreshadowed. There is but little in this
interesting score that denotes the beginner, and
'' Ke'rim" is distinguished by qualities for which
we may search in vain through the pages of
many works that have acquired a greater popu-
larity. For some reason hard to assign, operas
dealing with Eastern subjects do not seem to
appeal readily to the taste of the public, at any
rate in England. And yet what delightful
musical impressions are evoked by the recollec-
tion of works such as Goldmark's " Queen of
Sheba," Cornelius' " Barber of Bagdad," Bizet's
" Djamileh " and others ! It may be remarked
236
ALFRED BRUNEAU
enpassant that the fact of the first of these
works being practically unknown on this side
of the channel scarcely redounds to our
credit.
From the very first page of " Kerim," it
becomes evident that we are in the presence of
a composer who has something new to say and
who intends to say it whether or not it pleases
the musical faculty or those who measure the
value of a work according to a preconceived
standard.
In the matter of harmonic boldness Bruneau
goes to very great lengths, and from this point
of view alone the score of " Kerim " will prove
highly interesting to musicians. The plan upon
which he works is admirably logical. He
commences by exposing some of his most
important themes in their simplest guise, so
that they may in a way impose themselves upon
the attention of the listener. These are then
subjected to various transformations according
to the sense of the words they are intended to
interpret, and are heard in different forms, either
237
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
singly or jointly, being employed in combination
when the composer has m view the expression
of some complex sentiment. It is this system,
which in a more embryonic form is apparent in
" Kerim," that constitutes the constructive basis
of " Le Reve."
The first of these works, which is termed an
opera, but has more of the characteristics of the
lyrical drama, treats of an Eastern legend.
An emir of Beyrouth (nothing in common
with Baireuth !), is in love with an unknown
maiden who appears to him in his sleep and
.tells him that she will belong to him if he finds
her some tears that are the outcome of a truly
suffering heart. These will then be turned into
pearls which he can offer her. The emir
pursues his quest far and wide without success,
and finally himself bursts into tears which are
suddenly transformed into pearls. The object
of his thoughts then appears and tells him that
he has found what she required, and that the
tears produced by genuine love have won her
as his own.
238
ALFRED BRUNEAU
It can scarcely be said that the above story
offers material of a particular interesting
order. It has, however, been sufficient to
furnish Bruneau with the opportunity of
exercising his skill and displaying his fancy
often to great advantage. Before taking leave
of " Kerim " I may point out, for the benefit of
those who might experience the curiosity of
perusing this score, the monologue for tenor in
the first act with its delightful accompaniment
in canon, the effective treatment of some
popular Oriental tunes, and specially the con-
sistent working out of the representative themes.
I must also mention the delicious "Adagietto,"
sung by the heroine in the last act, as an example
of simple and pure melody.
There are certain legends that require a long
time before they are dispelled, and the accusa-
tion that for a considerable while hung over the
heads of Wagner and Berlioz of being deficient
in melodic power, has been levelled against
many other composers. Bruneau has not
escaped it, but he may console himself with the
239
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
thought that he is m very good company. It is
I think Liszt who invented the excellent defini-
tion of a species of melody " a plusieurs etages,"
which it is not given to every one to grasp.
We now come to the work that has been
instrumental in bringing the name of Bruneau
to the front in a prominent manner. If " Le
Reve," which was first played at the Paris Opera
Comique in 1891, has given rise to much
controversy, it has at any rate not been passed
by in silence or damned with faint praise.
The mysticism and poetical charm of Zola's
book, so different to the majority of novels by
the apostle of realism, has caused it to be
widely appreciated even in circles where his
romances are not usually admitted. Bruneau's
desire originally had been to write a "lyrical
drama " upon " La Faute de I'abbe Mouret." It
was only when he found that Massenet had
chosen the same subject that he was forced to
give up the idea and turn his attention to " Le
Reve." I am not aware whether Massenet has
abandoned his intention of turning " La Faute
240
FACSIMILE OF AUTOGRAPH SCORE OF " LE REV
Act /.
ALFRED BRUNEAU
de I'abbe Mouret " into an opera or not. Now
that composers appear bent upon introducing
realism into their music, it is not impossible
that even " L'Assommoir " may eventually serve
as the groundwork of an operatic textbook. We
trust that this will not be so. However realistic
musicians may strive to be, they should not
associate their muse with themes that are not
susceptible of being idealised.
The desire nowadays of musically photo-
graphing, if I may employ a somewhat far-
fetched comparison, certain types of humanity
is excellent in its way. But it is as well in so
doing to choose a period remote from our,s,
where no sense of incongruity can be produced
through the appearance of operatic characters
clad in the prosaic garb of the present day.
The general characteristics of humanity have
always been the same, and Wagner, with his
marvellous poetical insight, knew well what he
was about when he drew the subjects of his
" music dramas " from mythical sources.
In " Le Reve " Bruneau has written a work
241 g
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
remarkable in point of originality and sustained
expression. His music must be either accepted
in its entirety or rejected altogether. Upon
those who appreciate its beauties it exercises an
irresistible fascination. Bruneau is a psycho-
logist, and he aims at musically describing the
innermost feelings of the soul. He has also in
" Le Reve " proved himself to be an idealist.
I will in a few words endeavour to sketch the
subject-matter of this admirable work.
Angelique is a young girl, the adopted child
of a respectable old couple, embroiderers by trade.
She is subject to hallucinations, and through
constantly reading a book entitled " The Golden
Legend," dealing with the lives of saints and
martyrs, fancies she hears voices in the air, and
dreams of the arrival of a prince who will come
and carry her off. As the first scene closes, she
imagines she sees the one she has been dreaming
of, who turns out to be the son of the Bishop
Jean d'Hautecoeur, still sorrowing for the wife
he lost many years ago. It stands to reason
that the two young people fall in love with one
242
ALFRED BRUNEAU
another, and that the course of their love,
according to the usual precedent, does not run
smooth. The bishop intends his son to become
a priest and refuses to consent to his marriage,
remaining deaf to his entreaties. Angelique
thereupon pines away and is on the point of
death, when her lover finally induces his father
to give in, and save her by performing a miracle
such as was accomplished by his ancestor, who
cured the sufferers of a plague by kissing them
on the forehead and using the words, " Si Dieu
veut, je veux," which have since become the
motto of his family. The Bishop yields and
performs the miracle. The lovers are about to
be united, but at the very porch of the church
where they are to be married, Angelique hears
voices in the air calling to her, she staggers, and
dies. This last scene was omitted at Covent
Garden.
As I have previously remarked, " Le Reve "
is constructed entirely upon a number of repre-
sentative themes. There is a practically com-
plete absence of set pieces, the work running its
243
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
course uninterruptedly without a break. Bruneau
has in fact treated his setting of Zola's book in a
form that might be best described as " speech in
song" accompanied by an orchestral commentary.
It is doubtful though whether the word " accom-
pany" can be used at all in connection with
his music, seeing that the most important part is
allotted to the orchestra. The themes employed
are most impressive, thoroughly characteristic,
and well adapted for polyphonic treatment. There
are certain scenes in which the melodic interest
lies mainly in the voice parts, although the
instrumental portion is invariably pregnant with
suggestion, fragments of motives being blended
together and worked in with consummate skill.
Angelique's appeal to the Bishop is one of these,
and is marked by genuine dramatic feeling.
One of the most strikingly original scenes is the
one comprising the Bishop's monologue. The
poignant accents are admirably fitted to describe
the emotions of one whose life has been blighted
'through the loss of the woman he loved, and
v;hose determination to force his son into the
244
ALFRED BRUNEAU
priesthood is shaken by the affection he bears
him.
Pages such as these are sufficient in them-
selves to stamp their author as an artist of the
first rank and a musician of genius.
The chorus occupies but a small place in
" Le Reve," and the choristers are never seen
upon the stage. A few bars for the sopranos,
supposed to represent the voices in the air
heard by Angelique, an "Ave verum," sung
in the cathedral, and an old French hymn
heard in the distance sung as a procession is
passing underneath the windows, represent the
choral numbers.
At the commencement of the second scene we
have a lively dance to an old French tune. In
this place I think the effect would have been
greatly enhanced by the adjunction of voices to
the orchestra. This would have been aesthetic-
ally correct, as there is a certain incongruity in
the fact of a number of young girls dancing and
apparently enjoying themselves in silence.
I would draw attention to the admirable
245
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
delineation of the dear old embroiderers, as
kindly a couple as could well be imagined, a
creation that Dickens might well envy, whose
characteristics have been musically transcribed
by Bruneau in accents so suave and so touch-
ing.
The composer of " Le Reve " possesses the
sense of contrast to a very high degree. Wit-
ness the manner in which he has set the
following words when the Bishop describes how
his motto, " Si Dieu veut, je veux ! " came to be
adopted by his family :
" Pendafit une peste cruelle,
II pria tant que Dieu le fit vainqueiir
Du terrible fleau. — Pour ramener la vie
Aiix corps deja glaces par I'agonie,
II se penchait vers eux,
Les baisait snr la boitche et n'avait Hen qu'a dire
Aux mourants : 'Si Dieu veut, je veux!'
On voyait les mourants sojtrire ;
Car, des qu'il les touchait des livres sextlement,
Les malades iiaient gucris soudainement."*
* A special word of praise must here be accorded to
Mons. Louis Gallet, the author of the book, whose
version of Zola's romance is eminently poetical.
246
ALFRED BRUNEAU
The part dealing with the description of the
plague is accompanied by a strange and grue-
some succession of chords, which gradually
leads to a lovely melody typical of the miracle
that is supposed to have been worked. Nothing
can be more appropriate than the strains that
accompany the above words to w^hich they
appear intimately allied.
When " Le Reve " was given at Covent
Garden it was accorded a w^ell-nigh perfect
rendering. Mdlle. Simonnet realised the cha-
racter of Angelique to the life, and imparted
an infinity of charm to the music. The part
of the Bishop furnished Mons. Bouvet with
the opportunity of presenting an admirable
character study. The remaining parts were
exceptionally well performed by Mdme. Des-
champs-Jehin, and Messrs. Engel and Lorrain.
A better ensemble it would be difficult to
imagine. The orchestra was conducted by
Mons. Jehin.
Like so many other composers, Alfred Bru-
neau is also a musical critic, and has succeeded
247
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
the late Victor Wilder in that capacity upon the
Gil Bias.
Victor Wilder was ever one of the strongest
advocates of Wagner on the Parisian press, and
it is to him that are due the excellent transla-
tions into French of the master's later music
dramas.
It may be interesting to my readers to peruse
a specimen of Bruneau's writing, and I will
therefore cite an extract from an article he
lately wrote concerning the first performance
of the "Walkiire" in Paris, in which he
lucidly defines the difference existing between
the old-fashioned opera and the "lyrical drama."
I must apologise if my translation fails to do
justice to the original.
" It is not only the independence of music
{Thidepeitdence des sons) that we owe to
Richard Wagner. Owing to his prodigious
genius, the musical drama has entered into a
new era, an era of true reason, of rigorous good
sense and of perfect logic. No one nowadays
is unaware of the profound dissimilarity existing
ALFRED BRUNEAU
between the 'lyrical drama' and the opera.
In the one, the music unites itself intimately to
the poetry in order to impart life, movement,
passionate interest to a human action, the
course of which must run uninterruptedly from
the rising of the curtain to the last scene.
"In the other, the music is divided into a
number of pieces which are occasionally
nothing but cumbersome hors d'a'uvres, the
traditional form of which hampers the action of
actors and choristers contrary to the most
elementary scenic necessities.
" In the one, the symphony comments upon
the inward thoughts of the different characters,
makes known the reasons that cause them to
act, and whilst depicting their natures, magic-
ally evokes before our eyes the subtle and
fabulous scenes dreamed of by our fancy.
" In the other, with a singular docility, the
orchestra submits itself to the slavery of the
voice. Its function, which is absolutely
secondary, consists in accompanying the voices,
in playing ritourneUes^ in striking a few chords
249
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
during which the recitatives ar^ being declaimed,
and in more or less harmoniously accompanying
■^ the entries an^^xits.
"Alone the overture is reserved ; and even this
often serves but as a pretext for the composition
of a piece of instrumental display rather than as
a description of sentiments and facts.
" In the one, the melody is infinite, as Richard
Wagner has rightly expressed it; it goes and
comes, moves from the voices to the orchestra,
ever renewing itself in the freedom of its flight.
" In the other, it appears only in certain
places : if the vocal portion is melodious, the
accompaniment is rudimentary and the tradi-
tional recitative endlessly intervening in the
middle of the music in order to divide it into
set forms, arbitrarily condemns melody to
submit to wretched formulas and snatches away
its wings."
In the course of the same article, Bruneau
expresses himself thus :
" These are, how^ever, terms imagined rather
for the purpose of defending certain ideas
250
ALFRED BRUNEAU
than for designating certain works, as there
exist in the classical form of opera masterpieces
worthy of eternal and fervent admiration. One
does not necessarily run down works such as
' Don Juan,' ' Fidelio,' ' Iphigenie,' and so many
others in desiring the rejuvenescence of an art
that owes to these masterpieces its imperishable
glory.
"After Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner,
fresh innovators will come, who, respectful of
the traditions of the past and eager for the con-
quests of the future, will still further enlarge the
fi^ld of action of the musical drama."
The above words may be taken in a measure
as furnishing Bruneau's profession of faith as
regards matters operatic. He has finished the
score of a new " lyrical drama " entitled
" L'Attaque du Moulin," founded upon a tale of
Zola, which at the time I am writing has not
yet been performed. It is to be produced
shortly at the Paris Opera Comique Theatre.
I must not fail to allude to Bruneau's cha-
racteristic settings of Catulle Mendes' " Lieds
251
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
de France," which are distinguished by an
evidently studied simpUcity of expression.
Unless I am mistaken, it was the late Victor
Wilder, his predecessor oh the Gil Bias who
once alluded to the composer of " Le Reve " as
"the standard-bearer of the young French
school," a quahfication to which he is, in my
humble estimation, well entitled.
Note. — Since this volume has gone to press,
" L'Attaque du Mouhn " has been produced at the
Paris Opera Comique, with great success.
252
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
It may with truth be averred that France has
never been so well provided with composers of
talent as she is at the present time. Every year
the far-famed Conservatoire turns out a number
of young men whose musical knowledge is un-
deniable, and who are all of them filled with
buoyant hopes of achieving distinction in the
arena of fame. The musical progress that has
been effected in France during the last thirty
years is .immense. This may be largely
attributed to the initiative of Pasdeloup* the
organiser and conductor of the celebrated
concerts which were started at the Cirque
d'Hiver in 1861, and to the zeal and talent of
* Jules Pasdeloup, born 1819, died 1887.
253
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
his successors Messrs. Lamoureux and Colonne.
It is through the efforts of the above inde-
fatigable chefs d^orchestre that instrumental
music of a high class has come to be generally
appreciated in Paris. The famous Conservatoire
concerts, it must be remembered, were, and
are, only accessible to a few privileged indi-
viduals.
Pasdeloup began his work by familiarising
the Parisians with the symphonic works of
Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Mendelssohn
and Schumann followed, and the valiant chef
(Torchestre from time to time introduced the
names of Berlioz and Wagner. The appearance
of the latter on the programme generally fore-
shadowed a disturbance. Nowadays, when we
witness the spectacle of large crowds listening
in wrapt attention to some of the most compli-
cated works of the great master at the concerts
of Messrs. Lamoureux and Colonne, it seems
difficult to realise the possibility of such turbu-
lent scenes as I remember myself witnessing
only a few years since at the Pasdeloup con-
254
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
certs. On one occasion a performance of the
Prelude to "Lohengrin" produced a veritable
disturbance, one section of the audience
desiring to hear it over again in spite of the
manifest opposition displayed by the major
portion of the spectators. Pasdeloup adopted
the sensible course of making an impromptu
speech, in which he said that as many people
wished to hear the Prelude once more he
would repeat it at the end of the concert,
when those who objected to it would be at
liberty to retire. By thus severing the Gordian
knot the clever chef (f orcheslre effectually dis-
posed of the difficulty to the manifest disappoint-
ment of the anti-Wagnerites present.
The members of the younger generation of
French composers have had no cause to com-
plain of any want of hospitality at the hands of
either Pasdeloup or Messrs. Lamoureux* and
Colonne,t and many a now well-known musician
has won his spurs through their help.
It would almost appear as if a veil which for
* Lamoureux, b. 1834. t Colonne, b. 1838.
255
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
a long period had obscured the vision of the
musical section of the public had at length been
removed. The genius of Berlioz and that of
Wagner are now uncontested, unless it be by a
few retrograde individuals whose opinions are
not entitled to any weight, and the influence of
these masters upon the modern French school
has been both great and far-reaching. It is
highly regrettable that the spirit of free trade
is not acted upon to a greater extent in the
matter of musical affairs. If this were the
case we should be afforded more chances of
becoming acquainted with the works of those
members of the young, and if I may so
term it, militant French school, which are
not sufficiently known on this side of the
channel.
In like manner, our native composers might
be given the opportunity of proving to the
Parisians the fallacy of the notion, seemingly
entertained abroad, that England is destitute of
creative musical talent. Art has not, or ought
not to have, any boundaries. That which is
256
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
good deserves to be known and to survive ; as
for the rest, it matters not.
In music, time seems to march with dis-
concerting rapidity. Composers who but a
few years since were considered as hopelessly
advanced in their ideas are now in danger of
being left behind by their juniors.
One of the most ardent champions of the
new school of thought some years ago was
Victorin Joncieres, who enjoys a well-estab-
lished reputation in Paris as composer and
critic.
Born in 1839, this artist is the author of
several operas denoting aptitudes of no mean
order, although devoid of any distinctive origin-
ality. Passing by such early works as " Sardan-
apale "(1867), and " Le dernier jour de Pompei "
(1869), we come to " Dimitri," which contains
several good numbers, " La Reine Berthe "
(1878), and " Le Chevalier Jean " (1885). This
last work has been played in Germany with
success under the title of " Johann von Loth-
ringen." " Dimitri " and " Le Chevalier Jean "
257 R
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
may be looked upon as the composer's best
operas.
The influence of Wagner's earHer style is very
apparent in these works. Mons. Joncieres is
also the author of an interesting "Symphonic
Romantique." As a critic he has done much
to aid the cause of Wagner in France, although
not going to the length of some of the master's
thick and thin admirers.
A musician of a different type is Theodore
Dubois, born in 1837. This composer, like his
friend Camille Saint-Saens, whom he succeeded
as organist at the Madeleine, has written a great
deal and attempted a variety of genres.
Amongst his works it will be sufficient to men-
tion the opera " Aben Hamet," the ballet " La
Farandole," the concert overture "Frithjoff,"
" Paradise Lost," an oratorio which gained the
prize offered by the city of Paris in 1878, and
his setting of the " Seven Words of the Cross "
(1867).
Besides these, Theodore Dubois, who won
the " Prix de Rome " in 1861, is the author of
258
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
a number of orchestral works, piano music, and
religious compositions which denote talent of
an uncommon order and exhibit qualities that
entitle him to occupy an important place
amongst contemporary musicians.
Another composer whose name is better
known in England, and who has also achieved
distinction as an organist, is Charles Marie
Widor, born in 1845, several of whose composi-
tions have been heard at the Philharmonic and
Crystal Palace Concerts. This composer has
given proof of a considerable amount of versa-
tility in his different contributions to orchestral
and chamber music, also in his charming ballet
" La Korrigane." His opera " Maitre Ambros ''
did not meet with success. He has also written
a quantity of excellent piano music and many
songs. There is imagination and skill displayed
in Widor's compositions, and much may yet be
expected from him.
If the name of Widor is known in England,
the same may be said of Benjamin Godard,
born in 1849, i^^ whom we have one of
259
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
the most prolific of the younger genera-
tion of French composers. Godard exhibits
a decided individuaUty of his own. He is
endowed with an extraordinary faciHty of pro-
duction, and is, in fact, apt to err on the side
of over-productivity, and to spread his talents
over too large an area. His dramatic poem
" Le Tasse," which won the prize offered by
the city of Paris in 1879, is a work of con-
siderable importance, revealing an undoubted
personality.
With his operas " Pedro de Zalamea,"
" Jocelyn," " Dante," Godard has been less suc-
cessful. It is in works such as the " Concerto
Romantique " for violin, the " Symphonic Le-
gendaire," the piano trio, amongst others, that
his talent finds its true expression. The com-
poser of these works is in the full force of his
powers, and it is not too much to state the
belief that he has yet much to say. Godard is
perhaps greater in small things than he is in large.
There is an exquisite charm in some of his songs
such as " Ninon," and " Te souviens tu," whilst
260
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
many of his piano pieces have a savour all their
own.
Emile Paladhile, born in 1844, is the com-
poser of the famous " MandoHnata," which has
been warbled by every vocalist all the world
over. This single melody has probably done
more to render his name popular than all his
other works put together. His opera " Patrie "
has met with success in Paris. Amongst his
other dramatic works may be mentioned
" Le Passant," " L'Amour Africain," and
" Suzanne."
Some composers are doomed to wait a long
while before an opportunity is offered them of
obtaining a hearing. Such has not been the
case with Gervais Bernard Salvayre, born in
1847, ^^'ho has had several operas performed,
without, however, so far scoring any great
success.
His first opera, " Le Bravo " played in 1877,
was favourably received, but none of his later
works, "Egmont," "Richard HI.," or "La
Dame de Monsoreaux," have succeeded in
261
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
themselves in the repertoire.
The second of these, unless I am mistaken, was
first produced in St. Petersburg, and the last at
the Paris Opera, where it was a complete fiasco.
This composer is also the author of a ballet
entitled " La Fandango," a " Stabat Mater," and
several other works, including a graceful " Air
varie " for stringed instruments.
As the dimensions of this volume are re-
stricted, I am unable to do more than draw
attention to some composers whose works would
merit more than a cursory mention. Amongst
these I may name the erudite Bourgault-Ducou-
dray, Lenepveu, whose opera "Velleda" was
brought out in London some years ago with
Mme. Patti in the principal part, Henri Mare-
chal, the brothers Hillemacher, joint composers
of a remarkable opera founded on Dumas'
" Henri HL," Wormser, author of " L'Enfant
Prodigue," Diaz, Pierne, Pessard, Pfeiffer, Mdlle.
Chaminade, Lefebvre, Veronge de la Nux,
Cahen, and Messager. This last composer's
name is well known in London, where his
262
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
delightful opera " La Basoche " was successfully
performed at the English Opera House, now
given up to that form of art, the variety enter-
tainment, so dear to the British public.
The music he has lately composed to Loti's
" Madame Chrysantheme " will surely add much
to his reputation. It is full of refinement and
charm.
We now come to an interesting group of com-
posers who are understood to represent musical
ideas of a more " advanced " kind. Some of
these are pupils of the late C^sar Franck, and
have been humorously designated as forming
part of " La R^publique Franckaise."
It may here be said that the almost absolute
ignorance existing in England as regards
the compositions of so eminent a musician as
Cesar Franck does not redound to our credit.
Surely it would be worth the while of our choral
societies to produce a work so remarkable in
every way as " Les Beatitudes," and a place
might occasionally be found in our concert
programmes for some example of his chamber
263
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
music. His fine violin sonata was recently
played at the St. James's Hall by Mme.
Frickenhaus and Mons. Ortmans, and great
credit is thereby due to both these artists, who
have shown an example that might with ad-
vantage be followed.
There exists a certain " Prelude, Choral et
Fugue," for the piano, published by Messrs.
Enoch, that I can confidently recommend to
the notice of musicians, who will find therein
the expression of a strong, deep, and noble
talent.
Vincent d'Indy, one of Cesar Franck's best
pupils, is equally little known in England,
except by name. Born in 1852, this com-
poser has produced a number of works, the
value of which has caused him to be regarded
as one of the most earnest and promising
amongst the younger French musicians, as well
as one of those who consider their art as sacred,
and do not seek the suffrages of the masses,
but are content with gaining the approval of a
select few.
264
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
The entire modern French school is strongly
tinged with Wagnerism, but the essentially Teu-
tonic nature of Brahms would seem to render
his style absolutely uncongenial to a French
mind. According to Mons. Hugues Imbert,
the impression caused upon Vincent d'Indy by
the perusal of Brahms' "Requiem," in 1873,
was such that he forthwith started for Germany
in order to become acquainted with the master.
He first sought him in Vienna, then at Munich,
and finally came across him at the Starnberger
See, in Bavaria. The result of the long-desired
interview does not seem to have been so satis-
factory as it might have been, the German com-
poser receiving the young enthusiast with a
certain amount of reserve.
The first work by Vincent d'Indy which
was given in Paris was the overture to the
" Piccolomini," which forms the second part
of Schiller's trilogy of " Wallen stein." This
took place in 1875. It was not until five
years later that he terminated his symphony
bearing the title of " Wallenstein," a composi-
265
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
tion conceived upon a large scale, display-
ing a marked capacity in the handling of the
orchestra, and revealing symphonic aptitudes of
a high order.
Perhaps the most remarkable work that
Vincent d'Indy has as yet produced is his
dramatic legend " Le Chant de la Cloche,"
op. 1 8, the words of which are adapted from
Schiller's well-known poem. This composition
was awarded the prize offered by the city of
Paris in 1886. The predominating influence
in this work is that of Wagner. Perhaps some-
what unduly complicated in the matter of detail,
the score is remarkable as an example of con-
summate workmanship and as an evidence of
the lofty aspirations and elevated ideas held by
its author. I must not omit to mention the
Symphony in G for piano and orchestra,
op. 25, which has the merit of decided origi-
nality in the matter of structure. It is divided
into three parts, and is mainly constructed upon
a French popular melody, which is subjected
to a variety of transformations. So far, his
266
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
only contribution to the stage consists in a
one-act opera, entitled "Attendez moi sous
rOrme," played some ten or twelve years since
at the Opera Comique.
Vincent d'Indy is essentially a symphonist,
and the same may be said of Gabriel
Faure, whose talent and originality English
audiences have occasionally had an oppor-
tunity of appreciating. The habitues of the
Monday Popular Concerts will not have for-
gotten a certain quartet played at these ex-
clusive gatherings a year or two ago, and
amateurs may recollect the brilliant violin
sonata which Saint-Saens introduced on the
occasion of one of his last visits amongst us.
Every violinist plays, or ought to play, his
delicious " Berceuse."
Faure, who was born in 1845, ^^^ written
works of high musical value, such as the
quartet above mentioned, the violin concerto,
op. 14, and the symphony in D minor, op. 40.
Many admirable songs and a large number of
pianoforte works are also due to his pen.
267
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Mons. Hugues Imbert commences his in-
teresting notice of the composer, included in
his " Profils de Musiciens," with the following
words : "If there be a French musician who
by temperament and taste has left the French
school in order to approach the German
symphonic school ; if there be a composer who
has the profoundest respect for his art, who
loves it with his whole soul -, if there be a man
who despises self-advertisement, and is averse
to all concessions in favour of the doubtful
taste of the public, it is Gabriel Faure."
Whilst agreeing with the measure of praise
allotted to the composer in the above lines, and
recognising the influence of German music dis-
cernible in his works, I am of opinion that his
nationality is perhaps more marked than his
biographer would seem to imagine.
The nature of Faure's talent has been appre-
ciated by Mons. Camille Benoit in these terms :
" Faure^s talent has especially manifested itself
in ' La Musique Intime,' that which one hears
in an artist's salon or at a concert of chamber
268
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
music, that which wants neither scenery nor
orchestra. From all points of view, if I had to
liken him to a contemporary foreign composer,
it is to the Norwegian, Eduard Grieg, that I
should compare him. That is to say, that in
France, G. Faure is the first in the special line
he has chosen, and towards which his nature
has impelled him."
I now come to a composer who has only com-
paratively recently made a name. Emmanuel
Chabrier was born in 1842, and commenced
his musical career somewhat late in life.
Always a musical enthusiast, and having found
time to cultivate his favourite art as a pastime,
he threw up an administrative appointment in
1879, ^^^ resolved to devote himself entirely to
composition. Two years previously he had
written an " opera bouffe," entitled " L'Etoile,"
which was played at the Bouffes Parisiens. It
was not, however, in this style that he was
destined to shine. Very different is " Gwen-
doline," an opera performed for the first time in
1886 at Brussels with great success, and which
269
. FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
has since been given in Germany, notably at
Carlsruhe and Munich, and is, I believe, shortly
to be mounted in Paris. Highly imaginative
and poetical, this work must undoubtedly rank
amongst the best operas that have emanated
from the brain of a French composer for many
years. The intense admiration that Chabrier
entertains towards Wagner has not obscured
the individuality of his own musical ideas.
Ernest Reyer wrote an extremely eulogistic
article on this work, from which I will cite an
extract: — "Je me trouve en presence d'une
ceuvre extremement interessante, renfermant
des pages superbes et qui dans ses parties les
moins saillantes, porte quand meme la griffe
puissante d'un compositeur admirablement
doue."
For some reason, which I do not pretend to
fathom, Chabrier has introduced a popular Irish
melody into his score !
In " Le Roi Malgre Lui," played at the Opera
Comique in 1887, Chabrier has attempted a
different style. This pleasing work is especially
270
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
Striking through the ingenuity of the orchestral
treatment, which often redeems the occasional
banalite of its themes. It is altogether a
delightful example of a modernised form of
"opera comique," and had reached its third
representation when the luckless " Opera
Comique" Theatre was burnt to the ground.
The orchestral rhapsody " Espana," constructed
upon Spanish melodies, brimful of entrain and
scored with a wonderful lightness of touch,
has largely contributed to popularise the name
of Chabrier in the concert room. There is
both fancy and originality in the " Pieces
Pittoresques " for piano, published by Messrs.
Enoch in the Litolff edition. Chabrier is
said to be at work upon an opera entitled
" Briseis."
I must not pass over in silence composers
such as Arthur Coquard, Mdlle. Augusta
Holmes, a lady of extraordinary talent, some
say genius, Vidal, Chapuis, Hue, Camille Benoit,
Marty, Henri Duparc, and Gustave Charpentier,
one of the youngest and not the least gifted.
271
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
With these few lines concerning some of the
most remarkable amongst living French com-
posers, I must take leave of my readers. That
France will yet produce Avorks destined to keep
up and further enhance her prestige there can
be no doubt. The essentially dramatic tem-
perament of her composers will continue to
assert itself, and it is highly unlikely that they
will allow themselves to fall into the exaggera-
tions of any particular system.
If during the first half of the century the
influence of Rossini has been predominant,
that of Wagner has been at least equally so
during the latter portion. In either case,
French composers have taken as much from
each master as would amalgamate with their
individuality without abrogating that national
element which is so recognisable in their
productions.
Truth of expression and dramatic character-
isation are now universally sought for by operatic
composers. Whether these are attained through
the employment of one method or another
272
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
matters but little. A composer is no more
bound to construct an opera upon a number
of representative themes than he is to reject all
set forms. If his inspiration prompts him to
compose in one particular style, by all means
let him do so, provided he be sincere, and that
his music bears the stamp of conviction.
Musicians are apt to be too exclusive in their
tastes. It should be possible to entertain
preferences without necessarily condemning
everything that does not come within the
radius of one's ideas. The French school has,
during this century, left its mark in an un-
deniable manner upon operatic history, and the
versatility of its composers has over and over
again been proved.
Casting a cursory glance backwards, do we
not find, side by side with a work of such
severely classic proportions, noble aspirations,
yet simple construction as Mehul's "Joseph,"
bright specimens of the " opera comique," like
Boieldieu's "Dame Blanche," Herold's "Pre
aux Clercs," Auber's " Fra Diavolo," and
273 s
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
" Domino Noir " ? The Grand Opera stage
is enriched by works so full of natural spon-
taneity as Auber's " Muette de Portici," and of
dramatic power as Halevy's " La Juive." Later
on, Berlioz revolutionises orchestral methods
whilst raising the ideal previously aimed at,
Gounod adds an elegiac note and an intensity
of poetical feeling to the characteristics of his
nation, and Bizet gives evidence of a genius
unhappily too soon cut short, and prepares the
way for the realistic operatic style now so much
in vogue. "Faust," " Mignon," "Carmen,"
" Manon," " Samson et DaHla," and other
operas acquire a European fame, whilst the
younger French composers are impatiently
waiting for the opportunity to vie with their
elders.
In closing this little volume I must again
express the consciousness I entertain of the
inadequacy of my efforts to deal with a subject
that would require several volumes to do it
justice.
If, however, I have succeded, in addition to
274
SOME OTHER FRENCH COMPOSERS
furnishing particulars of the Hves of the most
popular French composers, in drawing attention
to the works of some who are less well-known
than they deserve to be, my object will have
been attained, and this little book will not have
been written in vain.
275
APPENDIX
LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS COM-
POSED BY AMBROISE THOMAS,
GOUNOD, SAINT-SAENS, MASSENET,
REYER, AND BRUNEAU
AMBROISE THOMAS
DRAMATIC WORKS
1. " Le Double Echelle," opera comique, i act.
1837-
2. " Le Perruquier de la Regence," op. com., 3 acts.
1838.
3. " La Gipsy," ballet, 2 acts. 1839.
(In collaboration with Benoist.)
4. " Le Panier fleuri," op. com., i act. 1839.
5. " Carline," op., 3 acts. 1840.
6. " Le Comte de Carmagnole," op., 2 acts. 1841.
7. " Le Guerillero," op., 2 acts. 1842.
8. " Angelique et Medor," op. com., i act. 1843.
9. " Mina," op. com., 3 acts. 1843.
10. "Betty," ballet, 2 acts. 1846.
279
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
11. " Le Caid," op. com., 3 acts. 1849.
12. "Le Songe d'une Nuit d'E^te," op. com., 3 acts.
1850.
13. " Raymond," op., 3 acts. 1851.
14. " La Tonelli," op., 2 acts. 1853.
15. " La Cour de Celimene," op. com., 2 acts. 1855.
16. " Psyche," op., 3 acts. 1857.
17. " Le Carnaval de Venise," op. com., 3 acts. 1857.
18. "Le Roman d'Elvire," op. com., 3 acts. i860.
19. " Mignon," op., 3 acts. 1866.
20. " Hamlet," op., 5 acts. 1868.
21. " Gille et Gillotin," op. com., i act. 1874.
22. " Fran9oise de Rimini," op., 5 acts. 1882.
23. "La Tempete," ballet. 1889.
SACRED WORKS
Requiem.
Messe Solennelle.
Marche Religieuse.
3 Motets.
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS
" Hommage a Boieldieu," cantata.
" Souvenirs d'ltalie," 6 romances, pour chant et piano.
Quintet for strings.
Quartet for strings, op. i.
Trio for piano, violin, or violoncello.
" Fantaisie," for piano or orchestra.
"Fantaisie sur un air ecossais," for piano.
" Six caprices pour piano."
" Deux nocturnes."
280
APPENDIX
" Rondeaux pour piano a quatre mains.
Choruses for male voices.
&c. &c.
CHARLES GOUNOD
DRAMATIC WORKS
1. "Sapho," op., 3 acts. 1851.
2. " La Nonne sanglante," op., 5 acts. 1854.
3. "Le Medecin Malgre Lui," op. com., 3 acts.
1858.
4. " Faust," op., 5 acts. 1859.
5. "Philemon et Baucis," op. com., 2 acts. i860.
(Later enlarged to 3 acts.)
6. " La Colombe," op. com., 2 acts. i860.
7. " La Reine de Saba," op., 5 acts. 1862.
8. " Mireille," op., 5 acts. 1864.
9. " Romeo et Juliette," op., 5 acts. 1867.
10. "Cinq Mars," op., 4 acts. 1877.
11. " Polyeucte," op., 5 acts. 1878.
12. " Le Tribut de Zamora," op., 4 acts. 1881.
" Georges Dandin," op. com. (unperformed).
SACRED WORKS
Several Masses, of which the best known is the
" Messe de Ste. Cecile," 1855. Amongst the others
may be mentioned the "Messe aux Orpheonistes,"
1852; "Messe du Sacre Coeur," 1876; " Messe de
281
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
" Paques,"i885, and " Messe a la Memoire de Jeanne
d'Arc," 1887.
" Tobie," oratorio. 1854.
"The Redemption." 1882.
" Mors et vita." 1885.
•• Hymne a St. Augustin." 1885.
" De Profundis."
"Te Deum."
Also a quantity of motets, choruses, and other
religious compositions.
VOCAL WORKS
" lei-- Recueil de 20 Melodies." (Includes the " Ave
Maria" on the first prelude of Bach; " Venise,"
"Serenade," " Le Vallon," "Chanson du Prin-
temps," "Jesus de Nazareth," "Le Soir," etc.).
.igeme. Recueil de 20 Melodies." (Includes "Mar-
guerite," " Medje," "Envoi de Fleurs," " Au
Printemps," " Ce que je suis sans toi," etc.).
"^eme. Recucil de 20 Melodies." (Includes "La
Paquerette," " Ou voulez-vous aller?" " Le Ciel
a visite la Terre," several extracts from operas,
etc.).
••^cme. Recueil de 20 Melodies." (Includes " Le Banc
de Pierre," " Le Nom de Marie," several extracts
from operas, etc.).
A volume of 15 duets.
The above are published by Messrs. Choudens.
During his sojourn in England Gounod composed a
large number of songs, the best known of which
are: "Maid of Athens," "The Fountain mingles
282
APPENDIX
with the River," " Oh, that we two were Maying!"
"The Wcrker," " There is a green Hill far away,"
and "Biondina," a collection of 20 songs to Italian
words.
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS
Music to the tragedy " Ulysse." 1852.
Music to " Les deux Reines." 1872.
Music to " Jeanne d'Arc." 1873.
Symphony No. i, in D. 1854.
Symphony No. 2, in E flat. 1855.
Funeral March of a Marionette.
Saltarello.
Pianoforte music, Marches, etc.
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
DRAMATIC WORKS
"La Princesse Jaune," op. com., i act. 1872.
" Le Timbre d' Argent," op., 3 acts. 1877.
" Samson et Dalila," Biblical op., 3 acts. 1877.
" Etienne Marcel," op., 4 acts. 1879.
" Henri VIII," op., 4 acts. 1881.
"Proserpine," op., 3 acts. 1887.
" Ascanio," op., 5 acts. 1890.
" Phryne," op. com., 2 acts. 1893.
283
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
SACRED WORKS
Messe Solennelle, op. 4.
'• Tantum ergo," chorus, op. 5.
" Oratorio de Noel," op. 12.
Psalm xviii., " Coeli enarrant," op. 42.
" Le Deluge," poeme biblique, op. 45.
" Les Soldats de Gedeon," double chorus, op. 46.
Messe de Requiem, op. 54.
ORCHESTRAL WORKS
Symphony in E flat, No. i, op. 2.
Symphony in A minor, No. 2, op. 55.
Symphony in C minor. No. 3, op. 78.
Overture, " Spartacus."
" Le Rouet d'Omphale," symphonic poem, op. 31.
" Phaeton," symphonic poem, op. 39.
" Danse Macabre," symphonic poem, op. 40.
"La jeunesse d'Hercule," symphonic poem, op.
50-
" Orient et Occident," march for military band,
op. 25.
"Marche heroique," op. 34.
Suite (Prelude, Sarabande, Gavotte, Romance, Final),
op. 49,
" Suite Algerienne," op. 60.
" Une Nuit a Lisbonne," barcarolle, op. 63.
" La Jota Aragonese," op. 64.
" Sarabande et Rigaudon," op. 93.
284
APPENDIX
CONCERTOS AND WORKS FOR A SOLO
INSTRUMENT WITH ORCHESTRA.
Concerto for the piano in D, No. i, op. 17.
Concerto for the piano in G minor, No. 2, op. 22.
Concerto for the piano in E flat, No. 3, op. 29.
Concerto for the piano in C minor, No. 4, op. 44.
Rhapsodic d'Auvergne, piano & orchestra, op. 73.
"Africa," fantasia, piano & orchestra, op. 89.
Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso, vioHn & orchestra,
op. 28.
Concerto for viohn, No. i.
Concerto for viohn in C, No. 2, op. 58.
Concerto for viohn in B minor, No. 3, op. 61.
Romance in D flat for viohn or flute, op. 37.
Romance in C for viohn, op. 48.
" Morceau de Concert," for viohn, op. 62.
♦' Havanaise," for viohn, op. 83.
" Tarantehe," for flute & clarionet, op. 6.
Concerto for violonceho, op. 33.
" Ahegro appassionato," for violonceho, op. 43.
CHAMBER MUSIC
Trio in F, piano, viohn & violoncello. No. i, op. 18,
Trio in E minor, piano, violin & violoncello. No. 2,
op. 92.
Quartet in B flat, piano, violin, viola & violoncello,
op. 41.
Septet for trumpet, two violins, viola, basso & piano,
op. 65.
285
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
Suite for violoncello & piano, op. i6.
Sonata for violoncello & piano, op. 32.
Sonata in D minor, for violin & piano, op. 75.
PIANO MUSIC
Six Bagatelles, op. 3.
le^fe Mazourka, G minor, op. 21.
Gavotte, C minor, op. 23.
2eme Mazourka, G minor, op. 24.
Six Etudes, op. 52.
Menuet et valse, op. 56.
3^me Mazourka, B minor, op. 66.
Album of six pieces, op. 72.
" Souvenir d'ltalie," op. 80.
" Les Cloches du Soir," op. 85.
Valse Canariote, op. 88.
Suite, op. go.
Variations on a theme of Beethoven, for two pianos,
op. 35-
"Wedding-cake," " caprice- valse " for piano and
strings, op. 76.
Polonaise for two pianos, op. 77.
" Feuillet d'Album," for piano duet, op. 81.
"Pas redouble," piano duet, op. 86.
Scherzo for two pianos, op. 87.
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS
" La Lyre et la Harpe," ode, op. 57.
"Hymme a Victor Hugo," op. 69.
"La Fiancee du Timbalier," ballade, op. 82.
" Scene d' Horace," op. 10.
286
APPENDIX
" 3 Rhapsodies sur des Cantiques Bretons," for organ,
op. 7.
" Benediction nuptiale," for organ, op. 9.
" Elevation ou Communion," for organ, op. 13.
" Romance," for horn & piano, op. 36.
"Berceuse," for piano & violin, op. 38.
Romance for violoncello & piano, op. 51.
2 Choruses, words by Victor Hugo, op. 53.
2 Choruses, op. 68.
2 Choruses for men's voices, op. 71.
Saltarelle, chorus, op. 74.
" Caprice " on Danish melodies, for flute.
Oboe, clarionet, and piano, op. 79.
" Les Guerriers," chorus for men's voices, op. 84.
" Chant Saphique," for violoncello & piano, op. 91.
Music to " Antigone."
Also a number of piano transcriptions of Bach,
Beethoven, &c. &c.
The large majority of the compositions of Saint-
Saens are published by Messrs A. Durand & Fils.
JULES MASSENET
DRAMATIC WORKS
La Grand'tante," op. com., i act. 1867.
Don Cesar de Bazan," op. com., 3 acts. 1872.
Le Roi de Lahore," op., 5 acts. 1877.
'■ Herodiade," op. 1881.
Manon," op., 4 acts. 1884.
287
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
6. " Le Cid," op., 4
acts.
1885.
7. " Esclarmonde,"
op. I
889.
8. " Le Mage," op.
5 acts
1891.
9. " Werther," op.
1892.
10. " Le Carillon," ballet.
1892.
II. " Thais," op. (as
yet un
performed)
SACRED
WORKS
Requiem.
" Marie Magdeleine,
' drame sacre.
" Eve," mystere.
" La Vierge."
VOCAL WORKS
" Poeme d'Avril."
•' Poeme d'Octobre."
" Poeme pastoral."
" Poeme du Souvenir."
" Poeme d'Hiver."
" Chants intimes."
" Vingt Melodies."
(These include " Elegie," "A Colombine," " Nuit
d'Espagne," " Serenade du Passant," &c.)
&c. &c.
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS
" Mile, de Montpensier," cantata]
" David Rizzio." cantata / ^^^^^ ^^'°^^'-
" Paix et Libert^," cantate officielle. 1867.
"Narcisse," idylle antique.
Music to Leconte de Lisle' s tragedy, " Les Erinnyes."
Music to Victorian Sardou's piece, "Le Crocodile. '
288
APPENDIX
" Pompeia," four symphonic pieces for orchestra.
Concert Overture.
Overture to Racine's " Phedre."
First Orchestral Suite.
Second ,, ,, " Scenes Hongroises."
Third
Fourth ,, ,, " Scenes Pittoresques."
Fifth ,, ,, " Scenes Dramatiques "
(after Shakespeare).
Sixth ,, ,, " Scenes Alsaciennes. "
Sarabande Espagnole, for small orchestra.
" Lamento " to the memory of Georges Bizet.
Introduction and variations for strings, flute, oboe,
clarionet, horn and bassoon.
" Scenes de Bal," for piano.
Improvisations, for piano.
" Le Roman d'Arlequin," pantomime enfantine.
&c. &c. &c.
ERNEST REYER
PRINCIPAL WORKS
' Le Selam," ode symphonique. 1850.
' Maitre Wolfram," op., i act. 1854.
' Sacountala," ballet. 1858.
' La Statue," op. com., 3 acts. 1S61.
' Erostrate," op., 2 acts. 1862.
' Sigurd," op., 4 acts. 1884
' Salammbo," op., 5 acts. 1890.
289
FRENCH MUSICAL COMPOSERS
ALFRED BRUNEAU
DRAMATIC WORKS
" Kerim," opera, 3 acts. 1887.
" Le Reve," lyrical drama, 4 acts. 1891.
" L'Attaque du Moulin," lyrical drama, 4 acts.
1893.
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS
Ouverture heroique.
*' Leda," poeme antique.
" Penthesilee," poeme symphonique.
" La Belle au Bois dormant," poeme symphonique.
" Lieds de France," album of songs.
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