Chapter XII

(1) =France.= The French composers of the nineteenth century may for convenience be divided into several distinctive groups. After Berlioz, a number of representative writers devoted themselves with signal success to the development of orchestral concert music. Conspicuous among these are David, Franck, Lalo, Godard, d'Indy.

DAVID possessed, in addition to the characteristic feature of _clearness_, a highly developed talent for artistic disposition of his plans, for poetic picture-painting, and for rich and descriptive orchestral color, especially when portraying Oriental subjects. Like Berlioz, he introduced certain scenic qualities into his orchestration, which is ever buoyant, supple, and varied.

CÉSAR FRANCK differs from his French contemporaries by reason of what might be termed the masculine severity of his inspiration, together with monumental mastery of polyphonic design, exhaustless command of orchestral resources.

LALO. In antithesis to Franck's severe and somewhat solemn style of writing, that of Lalo betrays a fund of spontaneous invention, curious rhythmic effects, charming and sprightly instrumentation, and great aptitude for imbuing his works with the necessary local coloring.

GODARD. In France, Godard occupies a conspicuous position on the programs of orchestral concert music. His musical ideas and instrumentation are both graceful and charming.

D'INDY. In earnest endeavor and in faithful adherence to high ideals d'Indy has proved himself a worthy successor to his teacher, César Franck, whom he copies in exceedingly complicated development of subject-matter. Not content with incorporating in his works the most advanced tenets of Wagner, he further has explored the pathway opened up by Brahms. He is essentially a symphonist, evolves his conceptions on broad and dignified lines, and displays a masterful deployment of orchestral resources.

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A little coterie of Frenchmen--Adam, Maillart and Delibes--have distinguished themselves by almost exclusive devotion to the lightest of operatic forms. Conspicuous among these is Delibes by reason of his naïve descriptive powers and clever instrumentation.

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Thomas, Gounod, Saint-Saëns, Bizet, Chabrier, Massenet may be regarded as the foremost French composers of the nineteenth century and the greatest French orchestrator after Berlioz is Saint-Saëns.

THOMAS. The orchestration of Thomas is clear in _ensemble_, ingenious in detail, polished, refined and never overloaded. Characteristic tone-color and poetically conceived combinations reveal the skilful hand of a competent master.

GOUNOD stands as the most illustrious recent representative of lyric opera and exhibits the unusual attribute of attaining excellent results without apparent effort. His scoring follows the general path indicated by Auber and Meyerbeer, but it further shows that he possessed a considerable knowledge of the German science of instrumentation.

SAINT-SAËNS is the greatest living French composer and the mightiest of her orchestral exponents. The fundamentals of his artistic principles differ but slightly from those of Thomas and Gounod, and the outlines of Meyerbeer's operatic forms are also in evidence in his works. Nevertheless, Saint-Saëns discloses involuntary leanings toward Wagner. His symphonic poems, though not of the same magnitude and significance, are nevertheless clearer and more compact than those of either Berlioz or Liszt. Admirable clearness as well as simplicity of treatment characterizes his chamber music. His orchestration is elaborate, rich and varied,--intricate, at times, without being obtuse. It invariably reveals the soundest of judgment in the deployment of large or small orchestral forces. It is alternately scintillating, impassioned, melancholy, heroic. Among other details, his scoring frequently makes requisition for triplets of wood and brass instruments, and embodies the best traits of all contemporary orchestral writers both native and foreign.

BIZET followed the prevalent custom of building upon French traditions, enhanced by German truthfulness of expression and interpretation. He possessed a rare talent for discovering novel traits of instrumentation together with variety of rhythm and tone-color.

CHABRIER'S representative work "Gwendoline" may be rightfully looked upon as the most advanced exposition of existing Franco-German music dramas. Much of his orchestration suggests a progressive yet peculiar phase of Wagnerism enveloped by a tinge of melancholy and softened by the delicate touch peculiar to the French.

MASSENET appears at his best as a dramatic writer. His endowments embrace highly developed feeling for sensuous charm, a style distinctly poetic, and a manner of orchestration both rich and varied.

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French art during this era has been further assisted by the sterling achievements of many secondary composers such as Dubois and Paladhile; by the orchestral expounders: Gevaërt, Lavoix; by the literary champions: Vidal, Benoit, Joncières; by the organist-composers: Guilmant, Widor; by the representatives of the fair sex: Augusta Holmès, Cécile Chaminade; and by the most recent aspirants to fame: Charpentier and Debussy.

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The attitude of the French public toward orchestral concert music has undergone a radical change in the last fifty years. During the first half of the nineteenth century Habeneck reorganized and developed the "Concerts du Conservatoire." This was followed by the establishment of Pasdeloup's "Société des jeunes artistes" and its offspring, the "Concerts populaires." The persistent propagation of both indigenous and exotic works of art is largely due to Pasdeloup's initiative. In recent years, concert performances in France have been brought to a high state of proficiency through the untiring efforts of Lamoureux and Colonne.

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(2) =Italy.= For half a century Italy has now been represented by but one luminary of the first magnitude--VERDI. His earlier scoring is conventional and commonplace. The orchestration depends largely upon violent and frequently illogical contrasts. Gradually, however, Verdi acquired increased regard for judicious and more independent instrumentation, and that more particularly in the deployment of the wood-wind. An extreme advance is discovered in his Requiem and later operas. Here the functions of the orchestra become more important, and the tonal colors acquire a richer and warmer hue.

Verdi's followers have done practically nothing for the cause of orchestration other than to branch off into infrequented by-ways that have necessitated corresponding orchestral treatment.