Part 15 (2/2)

In distinction froed with Roh versatile, was soor, Schumann (1810-1856) stands forth as the definite, conscious spokesman of the Romantic movement in German art just as Berlioz was for art in France He was endoith literary gifts of a high order, had a keen critical and historical sense and wrote freely and convincingly in support of his own views and in generous recognition of the ideals of his conteeese, and it is debatable howBrahster a chimerical ideal impossible of attainment Schumann early came under the influence of Jean Paul Richter, that incarnation of Gerh plane as Shakespeare and Beethoven An intimate appreciation of much that is fantastic and whih acquaintance with the work of this Jean Paul Schumann's first coinal ambition[190] was to be a pianoforte virtuoso--and to-day his pernificance depends on the spontaneity in conception and the freedom of form s Here we have the ”ipsissimus Schumann,” as von Buloell remarks Schumann's pianoforte style is compounded of two factors: first, his intensely subjective and varied iination which, nourished by the love of Romantic literature, craved an individual mode of expression; second, a power of concentration and of organic structure which was largely derived from a study of Bach and of the later works of Beethoven Schuularity of abstract form, found in the purely classical writers, was not suited to the full expression of his h in ical amplification or modification of former practice In his pianoforte co freedoenerally indicated by so_, _Waldscenen_, _Nachtstucke_, _Fantasiestucke_, _Novelletten_, _Kreisleriana_, _Huer in this forenerates into senti spinelessness of structure This danger Schumann avoids by a style noticeable for terseness and structural solidity His effort was to give significance to every note; all verbiage, ios were swept ahile the iination was aroused by the bold use of dissonances and by the variety of tone-color A thoroughly novel feature was the flexibility of the rhyth”

metres and abounds in syncopations, in contrasted accents, and in subtle co made to avoid the tyranny of the bar-line

[Footnote 190: Because of an unfortunate accident to one of his fingers this aained a great coinning as a pianoforte composer, he tried successively every other for, chamber music, works for orchestra, and for orchestra with solo voices and chorus--and won distinction to a greater or less degree in every field save that of the opera Notwithstanding the beauty of poetic inspiration enshrined in the four syrave defect is the quality of orchestral tone which greets the ear, especially the ner, Tchaikowsky, Debussy and others These sye pieces for four hands” which were afterwards orchestrated, and the allegation is not without truth, as real orchestral glow and brilliancy is so often lacking Each one, however, has notable features, _eg_, the subli Romanza of the 4th, and each is worthy of study; for Schumann in certain aspects furnishes the best avenue of approach to the modern school In the Fourth Symphony he obliterates the pauses between theit a Sy the very sa Quartet which has had recent vogue Schumann's chief contribution to the develop lay in the pianoforte part, which with Schubert and Mendelssohn ht properly be called an accompaniment, however rich and varied But in Schumann the pianoforte attains to a real independence of style, intensifying in thein the text In fact, it is often used to reveal so beyond the expressive power of words

This is seen in the closing ht” where the voice ceases in suspense, and the instrureat achieve, in 1834, of the _Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik_, to which he hiestive essays, opposing with ht and main the Philistinism which so pervaded the inary club, called the Davidsbund, to story of Schunition that many of the tendencies in ranted, date from him: the exaltation of freedom and fancy over mere formal presentation, the union of broad culture with nition of music as the art closest in touch with the aspirations of humanity He was an idealist with such perseverance and clearness of aim that his more characteristic work can never die

DES ABENDS

The _Fantasiestucke_[191], op 12, of which this piece is the first, ahts, in fantastic, whis and in novel modes of utterance and structure Every nu perhaps the most poetic of Schuhly pianistic and evoke from the instrument all its possibilities of sonority and color In point of texture they illustrate that happy combination, which Schumann worked out, of lyric rammistic in so far as Schumann believed in music of that type

There is no attempt to tell a detailed story or to have the music correspond literally to definite incidents The titles eneral iard to the piece under consideration, the h to stiination, and the estive expression of Schumann's own intimate reveries The piece is in extended two-part form--each part repeated--and rounded out with an eloquent Coda The rhythnificance for it illustrates not only the co new coests most delicately the mood of the piece It would evidently be false art to write a piece, entitled Evening, in a vigorous, arousing rhythht be associated with a noon-day sun, e often see the heat-waves dancing over the fields On the other hand Schu of triple tiests that hazy indefiniteness appropriate to the ti and everything sinking to rest, _eg_

[Music]

In many measures of the second part (_ie_, 21-24) the accent is so disguised that it seeht revery, quite apart from matters of time and space

[Footnote 191: As the music is readily procurable the student should make himself familiar with the entire set]

WARUM?

This piece is a happy illustration of the intensity of ained by the application of polyphonic inifies It was characteristic of the Ro--especially ”Why am I not more happy in love?” Thewhy”

At any rate the co nize the haunting appeal in the the-drawn out final note after the upward leap It is a real _

[Music]

_Grillen_, the next piece in the set, deserves careful study It is too long to present as a whole, but we cite theexa of the accent on weak beats), and of elasticity in the metric scheme

_Novellette in E or and massiveness of Schuained by the use of widely spaced chords For the brilliant effect demanded, there should be a liberal use of the da with the third brace, soive to theportion it seems as if Schumann had taken a leaf out of Chopin's book--a beautiful, lyric io chords The theue form, first in the upper voice, next in an inner voice and finally in the bass (See Supplement No 53)

[Footnote 192: A beautiful contrastthe section in F hout]

SONG, _Mondnacht_

No estimate of Schumann would be fair or coether with his pianoforte compositions, his i the many poetic and dramatic touches in Schubert's accompaniht; for he had the advantage of Schubert in being, hihly versed in pianistic effects

His i in the text and he was inspired by the wonderful lyrics of Heine, Eichendorff and Chamisso who in Schubert's day had written very little Special features of Schus are the instru just the right setting for the i on the beautiful e which the voice has just delivered In _Mondnacht_, for example, (as previously mentioned), note how the voice stops in suspense and in what an eloquent revery the accompaniment completes the picture (See Supplement No 54)