participation in something which he foresaw, as yet only in a
confused way, but whose advent he regarded as a certainty. For since
he could neither ordain a "music of the future," to use an expression
already more or less familiar, nor define its fundamental principles,
he was often obliged to deny himself any part in even the development
of his art, confined as he was to the limits of obsolete rules; did
he also conclude that his too fertile imagination would lead him into
extravagances, and did he voluntarily restrain this creative faculty,
confining it to the laborious construction of too subtle enigmas?
Certain of his compositions suggest such a condition of mind; above
all, the _Recercar con obligo di cantare la Quinta Parte senza
toccarla_ (_Fiori musicali_, p. 84).[16]
[Footnote 16: Ricercata, of which the fifth part must be sung,
without being played.]
At the head of this composition stands the following motive, like a
motto:
[Music]
upon which, moreover, is based the entire Ricercata.
But this piece is in duple time, and this fifth part is in 3/1, the
_tempus perfectum_ of mensurable music, indicated by a circle.[17]
Where could the entrances be effected? This the performer must decide
for himself, for Frescobaldi never did anything to assist him in
his decision; "_intenda mi chi può, che m'intend' io_" ("let him
comprehend me who can, I understand myself"), he tells us. We find
the same challenge at the beginning of one of his caprices, the tenth
in the first book[18] (pp. 77-86).
[Footnote 17: The circle, possessing neither beginning nor end,
conveys the impression of the infinite, of perfection. This
perfection is attributed to the number _three_; according to Franco
of Cologne, the chief number, because of the Trinity, "_vera et summa
perfectio_." (_Musica et cantus mensurabilis_, Chap. IV.)]
[Footnote 18: _Il primo libro di capricci, canzoni francese e
ricercari fatti sopra diversi soggetti et arie in partitura. Di
Girolamo Frescobaldi, organista in San Pietro di Roma. Novamente
ristampati. Con privilegio. In Venezia, appresso Alessandro Vicenti_,
1642. An earlier edition dates from 1626, and is only the collection
in a single volume of the works published in 1615 and 1624.]
This same volume contains a Ricercata upon the hexachord (pp. 1-14),
remarkably developed, and exhibiting a determination suggestive of
scholastic restraint; and a _recercar_ with four subjects (p. 137).
In the _Canzoni_, grace and interest of movement particularly are
revealed; in some pieces expressive themes of a chromatic character
lend a certain sentimental charm, while others, for instance those
of which mention has already been made, serve chiefly as examples of
ingenuity and cleverness. But the _Toccatas_ of Frescobaldi combine
all these characteristics, sometimes contrasted with or dominated
by, in addition, a stately dignity, an incomparable breadth. And,
moreover, they were conceived expressly for the organ, in their more
lofty character, and written upon the staff then in use for that
instrument.[19] They display all its resources, within a legitimate
compass, although limited by the ability of the executants and by
the deficiencies of the Italian organ manufacture of the period;
the performers being little accustomed to the use of the pedal, and
the Italian manufacture less advanced than that of the Germans. In
fact, little could be demanded of the organist beyond long-sustained
pedal-notes; and never do these works indicate that organs with
several manuals were at that time constructed in Italy.
[Footnote 19: The following is a facsimile of this tablature, taken
from the beginning of the sixth Toccata in the second book (pp.
16-20), _per l'organo sopra i pedali e senza_:
[Music]]
While in the Toccatas[20] the themes are developed noticeably in
what we may term sections or plans, these are strictly contrasts of
movement rather than of intensity of sound.
[Footnote 20: According to Michael Praetorius (_Syntagma musicum_,
1619) the Toccata was a prelude, a trial of the keyboard, as
it were; a fantasia wholly devoid of form, where the organist
improvised, alternating long-sustained chords with rapid passages.
It was something entirely spontaneous in nature, in which every
imperfection was pardoned, provided the performance was characterized
by sufficient dash. The Toccatas of Frescobaldi, by virtue of their
steadiness and of the balance of their parts, rise far above such a
definition, which is justly applicable to the Toccatas of Claudio
Merulo and of Gabrielli.]
Frescobaldi placed more confidence in the finger dexterity of his
pupils than in their facility with the pedals. To the more apt ones
among them were addressed these words: "_Chi questa Bergamasca
sonerà, non pocho imparerà_," written at the beginning of his
variations upon the popular melody of the "Bergamasca";[21] and,
again, at the end of the ninth Toccata in the second book: "_Non
senza fatiga si giunge al fine_."
[Footnote 21: This theme was again used by G.B. Fasolo (1645) and Fr.
A. Scherer. Fasolo's version reminds us of the fugue in _A_ major of
J.S. Bach; it runs:
[Music]]
As examples of another style must also be mentioned the _Pastorale_,
or rather the _Capriccio fatto sopra la Pastorale_, the themes of
which were borrowed later by Händel from the same popular source from
which Frescobaldi obtained them; this caprice has a pedal part, which
proves it to have been expressly designed for the organ.[22]
[Footnote 22: The Pastorale belongs to the "_Toccate d'intavolatura
di Cembalo et organo. Partite di diverse Arie e Correnti, Balletti,
Ciacone, Passacagli di Girolamo Frescobaldi. Libro Primo. Stampate
l'anno 1637 per Nicolo Borbone in Roma_." It is a reprint of works
already published in different volumes.]
The picturesque quality reappears in the imitative trumpet-calls in
the _Battaglia_, while in the numerous _partite_, or suites upon the
_Romanesca_, the _Frescobalda_, the _Aria di Monicha_,[23] the _Aria
di Ruggiero_, _Frà Jacopino_,[24] Frescobaldi acceded to the demands
of the times for transcriptions and variations upon popular tunes.[25]
[Footnote 23: Compare _Soeur Monique_, by F. Couperin.]
[Footnote 24: _Frère Jacques_, a popular French tune.]
[Footnote 25: This taste was prevalent at the time; Frescobaldi's
rival, S. Scheidt, organist at Halle, gives us numerous examples of
it: in the first part of the _Tabulatura nova_ (Hamburg, 1624), two
Belgian melodies with variations, and the French song, _Es ce Mars_;
in the second part, the English tune _de Fortuna_. The _Tabulatura
nova_ has been reprinted (_Denkmäler der Tonkunst_).]
In several cases Frescobaldi gives us hints as to the execution
of his works: "music in this style is not to be performed with
invariable strictness of tempo...." he says in the preface to the
second volume of toccatas, etc.[26] (1637). "It should be played
slowly at the beginning, and in an arpeggiated manner, the tempo then
being gradually accelerated. The end of a trill or phrase should be
marked by the prolongation of the last note, that one phrase may be
separated from the other. Cadences, even though written in short
notes, should be retarded more and more toward the end.... If it
be necessary to play a trill in one hand against a phrase in the
other, the trill should be performed not note against note with the
passage in the other hand, but independently; the phrase being played
with repose and expression. Passages in eighth- or sixteenth-notes
written for both hands must not be taken at a too rapid tempo; of
two sixteenth-notes the second should always be slightly dwelt upon.
In quick passages for two hands, hold back a little upon the next to
the last beat; then finish brilliantly, displaying the agility of
the hand. For the Partitas, which are characterized by expressive
subjects, it will be well to adopt a broad tempo, as well as for the
Toccatas; such of the latter as are not too exacting in their demands
upon technique maybe taken faster; here the choice of tempi is left
to the ready discernment and good taste of the performer...."
[Footnote 26: Previous editions are dated 1614 and 1616. Each of
these directions, addressed "al lettore," is preceded by its number,
according to order; there are no less than nine of them.]
We perceive that Frescobaldi demanded the same qualities of
imagination for the performance of his works that he exercised in
their composition. They are, in fact, an example of a continual
_rubato_. In the preface to the first book of caprices he gives us
similar directions; adding: "movements in 3/1 and 6/2 should be taken
_adagio_ (he wrote _adasio_); those in 3/2 a little faster, those
in 3/4 _allegro_." He also charges the performer to conform to the
style of his works; serious in the Ricercatas, more brilliant in the
Caprices.
"Frescobaldi marks one of the turning-points in the evolution of
Music, and is himself the personification of the successful and
unsuccessful endeavors, of the victories and defeats, of these
periods of transition. His works, upon which is imprinted the stamp
of genius, appear as classics in comparison with the inefficient
products of that reign of Monody.... That with one hand they point
backward to a great Art-epoch just terminated, while with the other
they point forward to the hopeful future of a new Musical Art, lends
to them an individual and wondrous charm."
This judgment of Ambros[27] sums up in a remarkable manner the _rôle_
which Frescobaldi fills in the history of music. In the history
of organ music, taken alone, he more than represents a period of
transition; he stands as a creator, who brought into view, although
framed in obsolete mannerisms, a whole hereafter; his inability to
partake of which is the cause of the melancholy regret which he
often unsuccessfully attempts to cloak under a certain amount of
affectation.
[Footnote 27: _Geschichte der Musik_, vol. iv, p. 438.]
II
Johann Jakob Froberger, the son of a cantor in Halle, was born in
that city; the exact date of his birth is uncertain, but may perhaps
be fixed at between 1610 and 1620.[28]
[Footnote 28: The records of the city of Halle, from the year
1620 on, do not contain the name Froberger. It is thus useless to
entertain the date 1635, given by some historians.]
A Swedish ambassador, temporarily in Halle, took Froberger with him
to Vienna, says Walther (_Lexicon_, Leipzig, 1732); he was charmed
with the fine voice of the youth--who was fifteen years of age--and
astonished at his rare musical talent. Soon Froberger became a member
of the imperial choir. In the treasury records of the _Hofburg_ we
find him designated as organist of the palace from January 1, 1637,
to September 30 of the same year.[29] After this he left Vienna for
Rome to study with Frescobaldi. This move had previously been decided
upon; the records above mentioned contain the following entry upon
the subject: "J.J. Froberger requests that he be sent to Rome, to
Frescobaldi, as he was promised. The sum of 200 florins is granted
him." After four years of study he resumed his service at court,
April 1, 1641. In 1645 he obtained leave of absence. Where did he
pass this time? Perhaps he remained in Vienna, where his ability as
a clavecinist was highly appreciated; at any rate he was there in
1649. William Swann, _chevalier lettré et grand amateur de musique_,
wrote from Vienna, September 15, 1649, to Constantin Huygens,[30] a
councillor to the Prince of Orange, that he was sending him "some
pieces given me by a Monsieur Froberger, who has great talent for the
spinet."[31]
[Footnote 29: At first he received twenty-five florins a month. Later
his salary was raised to sixty florins, in addition to gratuities and
money for clothing, beginning at twenty florins per year.
Two organists were usually in service.]
[Footnote 30: He was the father of the astronomer, Christian Huygens.
Himself a composer, he was much interested in music. Curious facts
concerning musicians of his time will be found in the work of W.
Jonckenbloet and Land: _Correspondance et oeuvres musicales de
Constantin Huygens_, Leyden, 1882.]
[Footnote 31: "des pieces que un nommé Mons. Froberger ma donnez, et
qui est un homme tres rare sur les Espinettes."]
Still further, the manuscript of the second volume of Froberger's
compositions is dated "Vienna, li 29 Settembre 1649."[32] This book
he dedicated to Emperor Ferdinand III.,[33] his patron; this act of
homage perhaps gave him an opportunity to beg for the extension of
his leave.[34]
[Footnote 32: This manuscript, carefully and finely written and
embellished with pen-designs, is divided into four volumes,
splendidly bound; they are preserved in the library of the _Hofburg_
(the palace of the Emperor of Austria) in Vienna. A large number of
the pieces are autographs; Froberger distinguishes these by the words
_Manu propria_.]
[Footnote 33: Ferdinand III. was a musician; still extant are an aria
of his composition with thirty-six variations, published by Ebner
(Gerber), and some litanies in Kircher's _Musurgia_.]
[Footnote 34: It is worthy of notice that, save for the few months
which preceded his journey to Rome, Froberger appears and departs,
alternately, every four years; with the exception of the leave he
obtained from 1645 to 1653--undoubtedly one of four years which he
had renewed in 1649. The fulfilment of the duties of the position
was assumed by rotation among several organists; like the custom
established at the court of Louis XIV., where the four titular
organists succeeded each other every three months, or every
"quarter."]
Froberger took this occasion to go to Brussels; witness to his
presence there is borne by the following record, found upon one of
the Toccatas: "_fatto a Bruxellis, anno 1650_." This toccata is
included in a manuscript collection preserved in Paris, together
with other pieces, one of which[35] indicates that he went to Paris
at about the same period. His stay there brought him into touch
with Galot and Gautier, whose style of playing the harpsichord he
acquired, Mattheson tells us. Thus he endowed the German school with
that profusion of ornaments which characterized the performance of
these _virtuosi_, renowned for their skill in playing the lute.[36]
[Footnote 35: "_Allemande de M. Froberger, fait à Paris._" It is No.
12 of the manuscript in the _Bibliothèque Nationale_, Vol. 7, 1862.
This volume is ornamented with the arms of Bassyn d'Angervilliers
and of N. Mothefelon. The title upon the binding reads: _Préludes
de M. Couperin_. Besides these preludes and the Froberger pieces
are contained works of Frescobaldi, Labarre, and Richard de
Saint-Jacques.]
[Footnote 36: From this vacation seems also to date a journey to
Dresden, where he was accorded a magnificent reception by the Elector
of Saxony, to whom the Emperor had sent him.]
April 1, 1653, Froberger again assumed his duties as organist,
retaining his position until June 30, 1657. It is said that he was
obliged to retire, having fallen into disgrace; the death of his
patron, Ferdinand III., which occurred the same year, may also have
led him to decide to leave the court, where he no longer enjoyed the
favor which he had been accustomed to receive from the Emperor.
Several years were devoted to travels; he visited Mayence and
England, being in the latter country at the time of the marriage of
Charles II. in 1662.
This journey to England has inspired a certain romance, very free in
its details. It may be admitted that Froberger was shipwrecked on
the way; but something which passes the bounds of probability and
becomes but an absurd fable is the representation that, having been
relieved of his money by pirates, he was forced to apply for the
position of organ-blower at Westminster--he, who had been organist
to the Imperial Court in Vienna! Moreover, Froberger did not fail
to establish certain relations in England, particularly through the
intermediation of Chevalier Swann, of whom we have already spoken.
His last years were spent with the Dowager Princess Sibylle de
Montbéliard,[37] born Duchess of Württemberg. An attack of apoplexy
ended his life May 7, 1667, at Héricourt; he was buried at Bavilliers
(Department of Belfort).
[Footnote 37: In two autograph letters, of June 25 and October 23,
1667, addressed to Christian Huygens, the Princesse de Montbéliard
gives details of Froberger's death, expressing her grief at the
decease of the "Chevalier," a true "Patron of noble music." These
letters, which were discovered in 1874 by Dr. E. Schebeck, have been
published by him, somewhat revised, and by Jonckenbloet and Land in
their original form.]
In his compositions Froberger was the lineal descendant of
Frescobaldi; but his conception of his art was not that of his
master. Despite his more elaborate style and his more fully developed
technique, especially in the fugue form, he never attained the
classic beauty, the impressive repose, which characterized the works
of the latter. Froberger was essentially a court musician; as such,
he strove to please. Furthermore, his musical character was wholly
superficial. What he feared above all things was that his music
should be tedious, a judgment which has since often been passed upon
it. Under his touch the rhythm would become more flexible; he would
delight the listener, holding his attention by cleverly combined
modulations; but his labors were devoted to the development only of
forms already established--at least, upon the organ. The literature
of the harpsichord is naturally more indebted to him, considering
his temperament. He was one of the first to give to this instrument
an individual style, by writing the Suites; an inheritance from the
Partitas of Frescobaldi, it is true, but more closely forerunners of
the sonata. In general, these suites[38] consist of an _Allemande_,
a _Courante_, a _Sarabande_, and a _Gigue_, sometimes all upon a
single theme, and often, as is noteworthy from the standpoint of
the development of this style of music, connected simply by their
tonality.
[Footnote 38: These suites are found in the Vienna manuscript and
in one of the Spitta collection. (See Franz Beier: _Ueber J.J.
Froberger's Leben und Bedeutung für die Klaviersuite_.)]
From a general point of view, Froberger's importance is due to
his having brought into South Germany the style of Frescobaldi,
as well as something of French music. And his works are worthy of
perpetuation less because of their intrinsic value than for the
influence they exercised.
This influence did not make itself felt until long after his death.
Save for a few manuscripts (among them those in Vienna and Paris,
which were little used, and a few pieces published separately; for
example, the caprice upon the hexachord[39] brought out in 1650 by
P. Athanasius Kircher in the _Musurgia universalis_), the "_Diverse
Ingegniosissime, Rarissime et non may più viste Couriose Partite, di
Toccate, Canzoni, Ricercate, Alemande, Correnti, Sarabande et Gigue
di Cembali, Organi et Instromenti_" were not published until 1693, by
Louis Burgeat, in Frankfort.
[Footnote 39: _Unam exhibemus quam D. Io. Jac. Frobergerus
organoedus Caesarius celeberrimus olim organoedi Hieron. Frescobaldi
discipulus supra_ UT RE MI FA SOL LA _exhibuit._ (_Musurgia
universalis_, Vol. i, p. 466.)]
Of chief interest to us are the Toccatas in this volume, since they
were written more specifically for the organ. Froberger here recalls
his master only in certain details; it is more the work of a great
virtuoso who, when he writes, always keeps in view the display of his
own facility of execution.
His ingenious chatter, interesting combinations, and novelty of
rhythm and of cadences,[40] attracted even Bach, Adlung[41] tells
us: "Bach, of Leipzig, now deceased, always admired the compositions
of J.J. Froberger, although they are somewhat antiquated."[42]
[Footnote 40: He excelled in movements in triplets.]
[Footnote 41: _Anleitung zur musikalischen Gelahrtheit._]
[Footnote 42: J.S. Bach is already foreshadowed in Froberger's
compositions. Thus, in this _double_ of an _Allemande_:
[Music]]
III
We have remarked that Froberger's importance is derived especially
from his introduction of the traditions of Frescobaldi, although
he impressed upon them the stamp of his own individuality and less
exalted ambitions.
Johann Pachelbel was also destined to absorb some of the reflected
genius of the great organist, two generations later; but he availed
himself of it in a wholly individual manner, imbuing it with his own
keen sense of the religious. Caspar Kerl,[43] who had studied in Rome
at a time when the influence of Frescobaldi was still potent, gave
Pachelbel his first insight into the characteristics of the master's
work.
[Footnote 43: Kerl was sent to Rome by Emperor Ferdinand III. about
1649; he received some lessons from Carissimi.]
They became acquainted in Vienna; Kerl was organist at St. Stephen's,
and Pachelbel was sufficiently advanced in his art to warrant
his engagement as substitute for the former. Excepting his stay
in Vienna, Pachelbel led a somewhat restless life, although in a
smaller circle than that traversed by Froberger. Born at Nuremberg
(September 1, 1653), he learned the elements of composition from
Prentz, at Regensburg, after which he occupied several positions
as organist, the succession of which is not accurately known, as
regards dates; we know, however, that he was at Eisenach from 1675
to 1678. The other years were divided between Erfurt, Stuttgart, and
Gotha; finally, upon the death of the organist Wecker, he settled in
Nuremberg, in 1695. He died there March 3, 1706.
Despite this apparent restlessness, Pachelbel's life was quiet, full
of that peace of mind which is characteristic of a profoundly pious
nature.
His works betray the influence of such a sentiment, although he
did not force upon his compositions that religious tone which a
more studied method of procedure would have imparted to them. Their
inherent character is purely emotional. To his chorale-preludes he
lends a mystical significance, a devotional intimacy which was then
unparalleled. While following the example of Scheidt in announcing
or accompanying every melodic phrase by a counterpoint based upon
a fragment of the phrase itself, he greatly improved the whole by
making the movement more flowing; again, by a more intelligent choice
of themes he attained the unity of expression demanded by the true
sentiment of the chorale. These counterpoints are often symbolic in
nature, as is so often the case with Bach; and the harmony is most
expressive of that calm and plenitude which suggests the infinite,
the essence of all religious music.
Pachelbel rarely varied the melody of the chorale. Heralded by the
figuration of the accompanying parts, the _cantus_ establishes itself
over all, intensifying in its progression in even notes (for the most
part diatonic) the exalted seriousness of the sacred text.
The Chorale is charged with having accustomed the German people,
for the past three hundred years, to express their sorrows and
their rejoicings in the same tone;[44] especially is ascribed to it
that heavy rhythm, which has been likened to a "parade step." But
precisely from this contrast between a melody which moves, wholly
impersonally, ever onward upon its dignified course, while the
sentiments of joy, of sadness are expressed in the embellishing
counterpoint, is the inherent grandeur of such compositions derived.
[Footnote 44: See Ed. Hanslick: _Aus meinem Leben_. (_Deutsche
Rundschau_, July, 1894, p. 54.)]