_The Music Story Series_
EDITED BY
FREDERICK J. CROWEST.
THE STORY OF CHAMBER MUSIC
=The Music Story Series.=
_Already published in this Series._
THE STORY OF ORATORIO. By ANNIE PATTERSON, B.A.,
Mus. Doc. With Illustrations.
THE STORY OF NOTATION. By C.F. ABDY WILLIAMS,
M.A., Mus. Bac. With Illustrations.
THE STORY OF THE ORGAN. By C.F. ABDY WILLIAMS,
M.A., Mus. Bac. With Illustrations.
THE STORY OF CHAMBER MUSIC. By N. KILBURN, Mus.
Bac. (Cantab). With Illustrations.
_The next volume will be_
THE STORY OF THE VIOLIN. By PAUL STOEVING. With
Illustrations.
_This Series, in superior leather bindings, may be had on application
to the Publishers._
[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]
[Illustration:
_Sir E. Burne-Jones, pinx._
_F. Hollyer, photo._
_Chant d’Amour._]
The Story of Chamber Music
BY
N. KILBURN
MUS. BAC. (CANTAB.)
Conductor of the Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and Bishop Auckland Musical
Societies.
London
The Walter Scott Publishing Co., Ltd.
New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons
1904
Introduction.
Berlioz, who, by the way, wrote no chamber music save a serenade for
two flutes and harp (“L’Enfance du Christ”), in his imaginative fashion
somewhere speculates as to which of his own works he would preserve if
it were ordained that all except one should perish. In like manner, we
may ask ourselves which of the great forms of musical composition we
would plead for in case all the rest were doomed to destruction. Music
for the orchestra, with its vivid colours, its strength and delicacy;
the vast range of choral music; works for the organ, that huge modern
plexus of pipe and reed;—these and others no doubt have strong claims
on our musical affections. But, if forced to such a choice, it is
certain that many a musician would, without hesitation, pledge himself
to uphold the claims of Chamber music, for who can measure the almost
infinite variety and charm which it affords, and that, too, with the
slenderest means?
Probably no other form of music would wear so well as this, and
to hardly any other could we turn, day by day, with such abiding
satisfaction. Of course, in a matter of this kind unanimity is not to
be expected, and some will no doubt take exception to the view here
stated; but, all the same, it may be confidently asserted that the
more this kind of music is cultivated, and the more thoroughly its
literature is known and studied, the less divergent will opinion tend
to become.
The term chamber music, excluding piano solos, which, strictly
speaking, do not come under this head, embraces compositions in the
form of duets, trios, quartetts, and other larger combinations, for
strings (_i.e._ violins, violas, ’cellos, and double basses),
and for wind instruments (chiefly wood wind and horns), both with and
without the pianoforte.
Of all the musical forms, this of chamber music is the most adapted for
home consumption, and its cultivation by any community may safely be
taken as a strong proof of an advanced condition of musical taste.
As regards the present day tendency, no doubt many chamber works are
written too much in orchestral style; and, in addition to this, there
has arisen an inclination on the part of some composers to make this
form express more than it seems naturally fitted to do. We allude to
string quartetts such as Raff’s op. 192, “Die Schöne Müllerin,” and
Smetana’s “Aus meinem Leben,” which introduce the programme idea into
chamber music.
It should not, however, be overlooked that this tendency is by no means
absent in the compositions of earlier times. Among others, Bach and
Beethoven contributed towards it; and in a number of Haydn’s string
quartetts we find a proneness towards realism, although the usual
classical form is in no way violated; such, for example, as op. 33, No.
3, “The Bird”; op. 50, No. 6, “The Frog”; op. 64, No. 5, “The Lark”;
op. 74, No. 3, “The Rider.” It is not to be taken that Haydn gave these
names to the movements, but that the imitations, while artistically
good, are too obvious to be overlooked, and have led up to the fancy
titles which have grown round the compositions.
Even in the earliest forms of vocal music such realism may occasionally
be found. Mr. Henderson, in his book, _How Music Developed_, tells
of certain composers, about the year 1550, who tried to imitate natural
sounds and movements. He names a work by one Jannequin, in which an
attempt is made to portray the street life of Paris; and that, too, in
a piece written for four voices, and entirely unaccompanied! As showing
how, with a difference, history repeats itself, one can hardly help
being reminded by this of an orchestral composition by a distinguished
musician of our time which has for its purpose the portrayal, in vivid
musical colours, of the street life of great London city. We allude, of
course, to Dr. Elgar’s Cockaigne overture, “In London Town.”
It is also now the custom to perform chamber music in large concert
halls. No doubt, so far as the public is concerned, this is convenient,
and maybe it is, financially, essential. None the less it cannot but
be regarded as a perversion, for such music is heard to the greatest
advantage under what may be called domestic conditions. Richard Wagner
said that he never knew what Beethoven’s sonatas really meant until he
heard them played by Liszt, under the most sympathetic conditions, at
Wahnfried, his (Wagner’s) residence in Bayreuth.
The String Quartett may be regarded as the prototype, on the
instrumental side, of chamber music, and along with it must be placed
the other like forms of Quintett, Sextett, etc.; also the Octett, and
Double Quartett, which differs in its antiphonal style from the Octett.
All these imply the opportunity for perfect intonation. The use of
the pianoforte, however, introduces another “atmosphere.” Perfect
intonation is no longer possible, and the purity which the “strings”
afford is of necessity somewhat marred.
It may no doubt be fairly urged that “all life is but a compromise,”
and that the utility of the pianoforte and the splendid array of
compositions which it has called forth condone its defects. This is
unquestionably true, but none the less it must be said, in spite of the
practical hindrances which exist, that the imperfect intonation of the
tempered scale falls short of the artistic ideal.
The late Sir G.A. Macfarren, although an advocate of the tempered
scale, acknowledges that “on the voice and on bowed instruments the
smallest gradations of pitch are produceable, and so all notes, in all
keys, can be justly tuned, which, among others, is one reason for the
exceptional delight given by music that is represented by either of
these means.”[1]
[Footnote 1: Article “Music,” in the _Encyclopædia Britannica_.]
Those who are interested will find the matter fully argued in Perronet
Thompson’s treatise on _Just Intonation_, in the preface of
which work the case against the tempered scale is thus stated with
characteristic fervour:—“Among the signs of progress in these times
(1850!) is the growing discontent with the thing called temperament.
Instead of being considered as the crowning exertion of musical skill,
it begins to be viewed as a lazy attempt to save trouble, like nailing
a telescope to one length for all eyes and distances, or making the
fingers of a statue of one medium size. The belief also gains ground
that all who are able, as for example singers and violinists, do
without it, or more properly, perform in tune in spite of it.”
On the other side a high authority[2] says:—“An ideally tuned scale
is as much a dream as the philosopher’s stone, and no one who clearly
understands the meaning of Art wants it.” And farther on he adds:—“It
will probably be a good many centuries before any new system is
justified by such a mass of great artistic works as the one which the
instincts of our ancestors have gradually evolved for our advantage.”
[Footnote 2: Sir Hubert Parry, _The Art of Music_, p. 50.]
Thus we find that one view is based on the ideal principle that if, on
instruments of the piano and organ type, one key can be put in perfect
tune, the whole matter becomes only a question how practically to get
over the mechanical difficulty of modulation into other keys. The other
view, of course, is that by the compromise of putting all keys a little
out of tune you solve the difficulty most easily; that our present
musical system, to which is due the wonders of our present-day music
and its magnificent literature, is based on the tempered scale; and,
above all, that it works well.
This question no doubt belongs, strictly speaking, to the science
of Acoustics; but of all the forms of the art, chamber music is the
one most affected by intonation, hence these few words on a deeply
interesting matter, which may some day become one of the practical
considerations in connection with music.
N.K.
_May, 1904._
Contents.
CHAPTER I.
THE BEGINNINGS OF CHAMBER MUSIC.
PAGE
How Chamber Music began—Early Chamber Music compositions—Musical
position of England—Purcell—J.S. Bach—Great
violin makers—Haydn and Mozart—Corelli and the compass
of the violin—William Shield and 5/4 time 1