One reason for Gounod's eminence lay in his great reverence for his art.
He believed in the cultivation of reverence for one's art, as the
religious devotee has reverence for his cult. To Gounod his art was a
religion. To use a very expressive colloquialism, "He never felt himself
above his job." Time and again we meet men and women who make it a habit
to look down upon their work as though they were superior to it. They
are continually apologizing to their friends and depreciating their
occupation. Such people seem foreordained for failure. If one can not
regard the work one is engaged upon with the greatest earnestness and
respect--if one can not feel that the work is worthy of one's deepest
_reverence_, one can accomplish little. I have seen so much of this with
students and aspiring musicians that I feel that I would be missing a
big opportunity if I did not emphasize this fine trait in Gounod's
character. I know of one man in particular who has been going down and
down every year largely because he has never considered anything he has
had to do as worthy of his best efforts. He has always been "above his
job." If you are dissatisfied with your work, seek out something that
you think is really deserving of your labor, something commensurate with
your idea of a serious dignified occupation in which you feel that you
may do your best work. In most cases, however, it is not a matter of
occupation but an attitude of mind--the difference between an earnest
dignified worker and one who finds it more comfortable to evade work.
This is true in music as in everything else. If you can make your
musical work a cult as Gounod did, if you have talent--vision--ah! how
few have vision, how few can really and truly see--if you have the
understanding which comes through vision, there is no artistic height
which you may not climb.
One can not hope to give a portrait of Gounod in so short an interview.
One can only point out a few of his most distinguishing features. One
who enjoyed his magnificent friendship can only look upon it as a
hallowed memory. After all, Gounod has written himself into his own
music and it is to that we must go if we would know his real nature.