If the widespread imitation of Debussy may be taken as an indication, no further proof of the vitality of his creative innovations is needed. Richard Strauss has not disdained to use the whole-tone scale inSalome(the entrance of Herod), Reger has followed suit in the 'Romantic Suite'; Puccini has drawn upon the same idiom in 'The Girl of the Golden West'; Cyril Scott in England and Charles Martin Loeffler in the United States have gone to the same source, despite their indisputably individual attainments. In Paris itself the followers of Debussy are rife, and his influence is as contagious as that of Wagner thirty years ago. A figure long misjudged as a mere echo of Debussy, who after an interval of fifteen years has shown that he steadily followed his own path in spite of some manifest obligations to the founder of impressionism in music is Maurice Ravel. Since he is easily second in importance among the members of the 'atmospheric' group, he deserves, therefore, to be considered immediately after Debussy.
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was born March 7, 1875, in the town of Ciboure, in the department of the Basses-Pyrénées in the extreme southwest of France, close to the Spanish border. From early childhood, however, he lived in Paris. At the age of twelve his predisposition toward music asserted itself by his delight in the major seventh chord, which he employed with such insight later.[66]He was accordingly given lessons in piano-playing and composition. His earliest works were some variations on a chorale by Schumann, andthe first movement of a sonata. In 1889 he entered the Paris Conservatory, where he studied the piano with de Bériot, harmony with Pessard, counterpoint and fugue with Gedalge, and composition with Fauré. Despite his application he did not meet with the success his efforts deserved. In 1901, however, he was awarded the secondprix de Romefor his cantataMyrrha, and it is said that some of the jury favored him as a choice for the first prize. In the two following years he was unsuccessful, and in 1904 he did not attempt to compete. In 1905 he offered himself as candidate, but was refused permission. This exclusion, when he had already attracted much attention as a composer, which may have been partly due to his audacity in 'writing down' ironically to the reactionary jury of 1901, aroused protests of so violent a nature as to start an inquiry into conditions at the Conservatory, with the result that Théodore Dubois was forced to resign as director and Gabriel Fauré was appointed in his place. Since then Ravel has devoted himself entirely to composition and the record of his life is to be found most persuasively in his work. Ravel has served several times on the committee of theSociété Nationale, and he is a charter member of theSociété Musicale Indépendante.
Before proceeding to a consideration of Ravel's music, it may be well to enumerate the various influences he has undergone. The first was Chabrier, whoseTrois Valses romantiquesfor two pianos aroused his admiration when scarcely more than a boy. Then, as in the case of Debussy, the fantastic personality and curious music of Erik Satie appealed to his imagination. Some of Fauré's harmonic procedures and some of his mannerisms, such as the abuse of sequence, have left their traces in the pupil. Some of Debussy's harmonic innovations have obviously affected Ravel, just as he has accepted his impressionism, but a careful study of thelatter's works will show a definite line of cleavage in both particulars, beginning at an early stage of his career. The exoticism of the Neo-Russians and their sense of orchestral timbre have undoubtedly exercised a powerful charm over Ravel.
After some unpublished songs, and aSérénade grotesquefor piano composed in 1894, Ravel published his first music in 1895, aMenuet antiquefor piano, which Roland Manuel describes as 'a curious work in which are voluntarily opposed, so it seems, scholastic contrapuntal artifices and the most charming radicalism (hardiesses).' Ravel's next work was two pieces for two pianos entitledLes Sites Auriculaires, one aHabañera(1895), showing an astonishing harmonic independence for so young a composer, which was utilized later in the 'Spanish Rhapsody' for orchestra, the otherEntre Cloches(1896), which is said to have been incorporated inLa Vallée des Cloches, included in the piano pieces entitledMiroirsin 1896 also. Ravel composed the first of his published songs,Sainte, on a poem by Mallarmé, for which the music is charmingly archaic, somewhat in Fauré's manner, but not devoid of independence. In 1898 followed the 'Two Epigrams' for voice and piano, on texts by Clément Marot (fifteenth century), in which Ravel again appropriately employed an archaic idiom curiously intermingled with ninth chords. In this same year Ravel composed his first orchestral work, the overtureShéhérazade(performed by the National Society in the following year), which has never been published. Two piano pieces, aPavane pour une infante défunte(1899), whose poignantly elegiac mood shows its composer in a new light as regards sensibility, and brillianttour de force,Jeux d'eau(1901), full of harmonic novelty and strikingly original pianistic style, are both significant advances. It was the bold personality of the latter piece that served to expose and accentuate the ironic caricatureof a sentimental style to be found inMyrrhawhich prejudiced a reactionary jury against him. A string quartet (1902-03) at once made a profound impression on account of the relative youth of its composer, for its command of a difficult medium, its polish and symmetry of form, its poetry and depth of sentiment. If the last two movements are inferior in substance and inspiration, the scherzo is piquant and novel, while the first movement, particularly in its poetic close, stands in the front rank of modern French chamber music literature. If the theme of the first movement by its harmonization in a sequence of seventh chords suggests Fauré, there is no denying the personality of the work as a whole. Three songs for voice and orchestra,Shéhérazade(1903), on poems by Tristan Klingsor (pseudonym for Tristan Leclère), are unequal, but the first,Asie, reflects the varied exoticism of its text with sympathetic charm.
Five pieces for piano entitledMiroirs(1905) present Ravel's individuality in a clear light as regards his impressionistic method. Without the maturity of a later collection of piano pieces, they reflect, as their title indicates, various aspects of nature with the illusion demanded by impressionistic method, and at the same time exhibit profundity of insight and delineative poetry. The foundation of Ravel's thematic treatment, unusual pianistic idiom, his personal harmonic flavor, and his personal sentiment are all to be found therein. In these pieces no trace is to be found of external influence; the composer speaks in his own voice.Oiseaux tristes, a melancholy landscape with some realistic touches;Une barque sur l'Océan, broadly impressionistic sketch of large dimensions;Alborada del Graciosa, exhibiting that Spanish exoticism which has often tempted Ravel; andLa Vallé des Cloches, of sombre yet highly poetic atmosphere, are the most striking. A sonatina for piano of the same year pleases by thepolish of its form, its successful correlation of detail and the individuality of its contents. A humorous song, 'The Toy's Christmas' (also 1905), later provided with orchestral accompaniment, is an ingenious and vivacious trifle.
In 1906 Ravel reasserted his gifts as a delicate realist with the songs entitled 'Natural Histories,' on texts by Jules Renard. With a musical imagery that is at once ironic and replete with sensitive observation, Ravel depicts the peacock, the cricket, the swan, and other birds. An Introduction and Allegro (1906) for harp with accompaniment of string quartet, flute and clarinet is chiefly remarkable for the grateful virtuosity with which the harp is treated. In 1907 Ravel showed at once technical mastery of the orchestra and a skillful reproduction of Spanish atmosphere with a 'Spanish Rhapsody,' which is both brilliant and poetic. This work must be considered with Chabrier'sEspañaand Debussy'sIbériaas one of the graphic pictures of exoticism in French musical literature. To this same year belongs 'The Spanish Hour,' text by Franc Nohain entitled a 'musical comedy' (but not in our sense), in which Ravel attempted to revive the manner of theopera buffa. The comedy contains inherent improbabilities and the text is often far from inspiring, but Ravel has written ingenious, humorous and poetic music which far exceeds the book in value. This opera presents a running commentary in the orchestra on a few motives, leaving the voices to declaim with freedom, while the brilliant and picturesque orchestration adds greatly to vivacity and charm of the music.
In 1908 Ravel composed a set of four-hand pieces, 'Mother Goose,' of ingenuity, humor, and poetic insight. These pieces have since been orchestrated with incomparable finesse and knowledge of instrumental resource, forming an orchestral suite, and, with the addition of a prelude and various interludes, they have alsobeen transformed into a ballet. In 1908, also, Ravel composed three poems for the piano,Gaspard de la Nuit, on prose fragments by Aloysius Bertrand, which in technical style and contents mark the acme of his achievement in literature for the piano.OndineandScarbo, the first and third of these pieces, illustrate their 'programs' with an illuminating poetry that is both brilliant and profound in insight. The second,Le Gibbet, with a persistent pedal note in the right hand over extraordinarily ingenious harmonies, possesses a genuinely sinister and tragic depth.
These poems contrast sharply with Debussy'sImagesof the same year. The latter are more obviously impressionistic, but Ravel has disposed his uncanny technical equipment with such expressive mastery and such interpretative vitality as to fear no comparison with the older composer. If by contrast theValse nobles et sentimentales(1910) for piano are agreeablejeux d'esprit, they none the less possess qualities that win our admiration. Frank boldness of style, fantastic irony, and sentimental poetry go hand in hand, united by a grateful piano idiom. The epilogue in particular, with its reminiscences of various waltzes, gives a formal continuity which relieves the set as a whole from any charge of disjointedness.
Ravel's masterpiece is his 'choreographic symphony'Daphnis et Chloé(1906-11), first performed by Diaghilev's Russian Ballet in 1912. In this work Ravel disproves emphatically the possible charge that he is a composer of miniatures, for from the formal aspects it shows continuity and coördination of development in the symphonic manipulation of its motives. Dramatically it is in remarkable accord with the atmosphere, the action and the development of the scenario by the famous ballet-master and author of plots Michel Fokine. The music not only possesses interpretative vitality on a far larger scale than Ravel has ever shownbefore, but, aside from its astonishing brilliancy and its coloristic poetry, it has a contrapuntal vigor of invention and treatment which are absolutely convincing. From the harmonic standpoint Ravel has attained a new freedom and an elastic suppleness of idiom that is bewildering. His treatment of a large orchestra, augmented by the use of a mixed chorus behind the scenes, is vitally brilliant and marvellously poetic even in the light of his previous achievements. All in all,Daphnis et Chloéis one of the most significant dramatic works of recent years, and can worthily be placed side by side with Debussy'sPelléas et Mélisandeand Dukas'Ariane et Barbe-bleuefor its intrinsic merits and historical attributes.
For some years Ravel has been engaged upon a setting of Hauptmann'sVersunkene Glocke. It is also announced that he is at work upon a trio, a concerto for piano on Basque themes, and an oratorio,Saint François d'Assise. With his recent successes in mind, these projected works engage a lively expectation.
In conclusion, it must be acknowledged that Ravel cannot, like Debussy, claim to be a pioneer. He was fortunate in being enabled to profit by the swift development of new idioms, to absorb the exuberance of Chabrier, the suave mysticism of Fauré, the illuminating impressionism of Debussy, and the scintillant exoticism of the Neo-Russians. But, while he owes no more to his predecessors than Debussy, he has had the advantage of having matured his style at an age which was relatively in advance of Debussy. It must be recognized that as a whole Ravel's music lies nearer the surface of the human heart than Debussy's. It is not usual to find that depth of poetry or of human sentiment which distinguishes so considerable a portion of Debussy's music. Ravel, on the other hand, is more expansive in his scope; he captivates us with his humor, his irony, his dappling brilliancy, and with analmost metallic grasp in execution of a pre-conceived plan. His harmonic transformations exert a literal fascination, though their technical facility obscures their purpose, but underneath there is seldom an inner deficiency of sentiment. If his impressionism is tinged with quasi-realistic effects, there is no lack of genuine homogeneity of style. In fact, his skillful blending of the two tendencies is one of the chief features of his originality. In such works as thePavane, the first movement of the String Quartet, inAsiefromShéhérazade, inLa Vallée des Cloches, inOndineandLe Gibbet, and in many episodes ofDaphnis et ChloéRavel offers a convincingly human sentiment which only emphasizes his essential versatility of expression. For in his characteristic vein of ironic brilliance and fantastic subtlety he carries all before him.
If the work of Bruneau and Charpentier does not follow in historic or chronological sequence that of Debussy and Ravel, their juxtaposition is defensible since the former in common with the latter have received their individual stimulus from sources extraneous to music. In the case of Bruneau the vitalizing motive is the literary realism of Émile Zola; in that of Charpentier the direct inspiration comes from socialism or at least a socialistic outlook.
Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-Alfred Bruneau was born in Paris, on March 1, 1857. His father played the violin, his mother was a painter, thus an æsthetic environment favored his artistic development. Alfred Bruneau entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of sixteen; three years later he was awarded the first prize for violoncello playing. He studied harmony for three years in Savard's class, became a pupil of Massenet and was the first to win the secondprix de Romein 1881with a cantataGeneviève. For some years previously Bruneau had been a member of Pasdeloup's orchestra, and in 1884 anOverture héroïque(1885) was played by this organization. Other orchestral works—La Belle au bois dormant(1884) andPenthesilée(a symphonic poem with chorus, 1888)—belong to this period.
Despite some fifty songs, choruses, a Requiem, and some pieces for various wind instruments and piano, Bruneau is essentially a dramatic composer, and it is chiefly as such that he deserves consideration. His first dramatic work,Kérim, the text by Millet and Lavedan (1886), is an unpretentious opera of eminently lyric vein, in which a facile orientalism plays a prominent part. It displays the technical fluidity which might be expected of a pupil of Massenet, and possesses a slight, though palpable, individuality. A ballet,Les Bacchantes(1887), not published until 1912 and recently performed, is in the old style of detached pieces without continuous music. Here Bruneau has been successful in dramatic characterization, but the music is again largely a reflection of Massenet.
It was not until 1891 that Bruneau gave evidence of his characteristic style and individual dramatic method which he has since pursued steadily. French musicians had awakened to the permanent significance of Wagner's dramatic principles, and it is not surprising, therefore, to find that Bruneau accepted these in slight degree. His Wagnerian obligations are virtually limited to an attempt to unite music and text as intimately as possible, to employ leading-motives as symbols of persons or ideas, and to avoid formal melody in the voice parts except at essentially lyric moments. His development of motives, while to a certain extent symphonic, is in fact markedly different from that of Wagner, and his recitatives depart from the traditional accompanied recitatives in that they employ as nearly aspossible the inflections of natural speech over single chords.
The kernel of Bruneau's dramatic method lies in his ardent championing of realism as a guiding principle in general, and his admiration for Émile Zola as a man and as a literary artist in particular. With the exception ofKérimall his operas have been on subjects taken from Zola's works, or on texts by Zola himself. With the ideals of realism in mind, Bruneau has avoided legendary subjects, although many of his works are symbolic, and he has preferred to treat dramas of everyday life, animated by the passions of ordinary mortals. As Debussy reflected the impressionism or symbolism of poets, painters, and dramatists in his music, so Bruneau's operas are a counterpart of the realistic movement. In place, therefore, of the stilted, unreal action which disfigures even the finest conceptions of Wagner, Bruneau has sought to replace it with a lifelike, tense, and rapid simulation of life itself. His realism has even led to the discarding in his later operas of verse for prose from obvious realistic considerations. In spite of some Teutonic sources, Bruneau is eminently Gallic in his musical and dramatic standpoint, and, while certain formulas of his teacher, Massenet, persist for a time, in the main he is rigorously independent. For a time Bruneau was considered revolutionary in his harmonic standpoint, but musically at least he cannot be called iconoclastic, or even progressive. The strength of his achievement lies entirely in his qualities as a dramatist pure and simple.
The first work which embodied Bruneau's realistic attitude wasLe Rêve(1891), text by Gallet after Zola's novel. The essence of the work dramatically lies in the mystical temperament of the heroine, Angélique, who loves the son of a priest (born before his father, a widower, entered the priesthood) despite the oppositionof his father. When she is apparently dying the priest restores her by a miracle and consents to the marriage, only to have the bride fall lifeless as she leaves the church. While Bruneau's musical treatment of Angélique's mystical hallucinations is in a sentimental manner that recalls Massenet, the opera as a whole shows dramatic power of an independent character. Bruneau's second opera in his new style,L'Attaque du Moulin(1893), the dramatization by Gallet of a story by Zola inLes Soirées de Médan, dealing with an episode of the Franco-Prussian war, is far more vital both in drama and music. The mill, the source of life to the miller, Merlier, and his daughter Françoise, is attacked by the enemy. Dominique, a foreigner, who is betrothed to Françoise, is found with powder marks on his hands and is condemned to be shot. The enemy retreat, leaving a sentinel at the mill. The sentinel is assassinated and Merlier is to be shot for the deed. Although Dominique confesses that he did the deed, Merlier dies in his stead so that his daughter may be happy. Bruneau has been equally happy in delineating the peace which reigns at the mill before the arrival of the enemy and the celebration of Françoise's betrothal, and in depicting the brutalities of war and the unselfish death of Merlier.L'Attaque du Moulinis a work of solid inspiration, clarity of style and vivid dramatic force. The Institute of France awarded the Monbinne prize to its composer.
Messidor(1897), text by Zola himself, deals with the struggle between capital and labor and the love of the poor Guillaume for the capitalist's daughter Hélène. The capitalist is ruined, saner economic conditions are brought about and the lovers are united. For a drama which is both sociological and symbolistic Bruneau has written music of broadly humanitarian character and a vitally descriptive vigor. His musicalstyle is firmer and his conceptions are realized with less crudeness than in previous works.L'Ouragan(1901), whose action turns upon a devastating hurricane in a fishing village, and also the tempestuous passions of its inhabitants, has a primitive quality characteristic of both author and composer. There is conscious symbolism in this work also in the distinction of types found in the three feminine characters. Of this opera Debussy wrote: 'He (Bruneau) has, among all musicians, a fine contempt for formulas, he walks across his harmonies without troubling himself as to their grammatical sonorous virtue; he perceives melodic associations that some would qualify too quickly as "monstrous" when they are simply unaccustomed.'[67]
L'Enfant roi(1905),Naïs Micoulin(1907), andLa Faute de l'Abbé Mouret(1907) display qualities similar to Bruneau's other operas, in which close adjustment to the drama and consistent musical treatment are the notable features.Naïs Micoulin, text by Bruneau himself after Zola's novel, is particularly admirable for its clarity of style, its absence of mannerism, and its vital depiction of two types of jealousy and the faithful devotion of the hunchback, Toine.
Beyond his activity as a dramatic composer, especial mention should be made of Bruneau's work as a critic. He has contributed to many magazines, and he has acted as musical critic for theGil Blas,Le Figaro, andLe Matin. He has collected three volumes of able criticism,Musiques d'hier et de demain(1900),La Musique Française(1901), containing much valuable historical material, andMusiques de Russie et Musiciens de France(1903). In these volumes he has shown himself a vigorous and broad critic of catholicity of taste and striking discrimination.
To sum up the dramatic work of Bruneau as a whole, he must be considered as representing a sincere phaseof French evolution at a critical time. While it is questionable whether realism can be a permanently successful basis for opera, a form in which æsthetic compromise and illusion are inherent, there is no denying the courageous independence of his position and the plausible defense of his methods which his operas constitute. It must be confessed, however, that Bruneau's dramatic instinct takes precedence over his concrete musical gifts and the former carries off many scenes and episodes in which the latter lags behind. In short, Bruneau's gift for the stage is unquestionable, and his dramatic innovations must remain identified with French progress in this medium. His most obvious defect lies in the inequality of his musical inspiration. If his melodic sense is frank and spontaneous as in the prelude to Act I ofL'Attaque du Moulin, the broad theme after the curtain rises in Act I ofMessidor, the introduction and 'Sowing Song' in Act II of the same opera, the 'Song of the Earth' inNaïs Micoulin, the contour of Bruneau's melodies is, on the other hand, too often awkward and devoid of distinction. Likewise his thematic manipulation is lacking in flexibility or striking development, especially in the too obvious employment of the devices of 'augmentation' and 'diminution' (seeL'Ouragan, prelude to Act I). Yet the allegorical Ballet of Gold in Act III ofMessidorand the Introduction to Act IV of the same work show that Bruneau has sensibility toward symphonic qualities. Bruneau's harmonic idiom is rather monotonous and devoid of that subtle recognition of style that we find in the impressionistic school. On the other side, its wholesome vigor has the sincerity which is the hall-mark of realism. As a harmonist Bruneau is not advanced.
Despite the flaws that one can find in Bruneau the musician, they are perhaps after all the defects of his virtues. At a time of wavering and uncertainty, Bruneau showed uncompromising sincerity, stuck to hisguns, defied opinion with a resolution and a reckless adherence to his æsthetic standpoint worthy of a friend of Zola. If his works have not the involuntary persuasion that we find in other ultra-modern French operas, one must acknowledge a preëminent dramatic gift, possessing in its presentation of sociological and humanistic problems vitality, high purpose and moments of indubitable inspiration. If Bruneau's musical defects hamper to a certain extent his wider recognition, his fearless independence, his utter contempt for imitation of others, and the remarkable dramatic affinity between his conceptions and those of Zola's are too striking not to be considered an interesting episode in French dramatic evolution.
While Bruneau's operas, apart from a few performances in London, Germany, and New York, have received attention chiefly in France, Gustave Charpentier, despite his relatively small productivity, has won a universal recognition.
Gustave Charpentier was born in the town of Dieuze in Lorraine, June 25, 1860. After the Franco-Prussian war his parents came to live in Tourcoing, not far from Lille. As a boy Charpentier showed natural aptitude for the violin, clarinet, and solfeggio, although he was obliged to work in a factory to support himself. His employer became so struck with his musical ability that he sent him to the Conservatory at Lille, where he obtained numerous prizes. As a result of this the municipality of Tourcoing granted him an annual pension of twelve hundred francs to study at the Paris Conservatory. In 1881 he began his work there as a pupil of Massart, the violinist. He was not successful in competition and, moreover, was obliged to leave to fulfill his military service. Returning to the Conservatory, he took up the study of harmony and later entered Massenet's class in composition. He was unsuccessful in a fugue competition, but in 1887 hereceived the firstprix de Romefor his cantataDido, which showed distinct dramatic gift and a concise and logical continuity of musical development.
From Rome he sent back as the required proofs of his industry an orchestral suite 'Impressions of Italy,' permeated with Italian atmosphere and folk-song, a symphony-drama, 'The Life of a Poet,' for solos, chorus and orchestra, which may be regarded as a precursor of his later dramatic work, and the first act of 'Louise.' This last was, however, not presented to the Institute, as that institution considered that 'The Life of a Poet' might count for two works.[68]
On returning to Paris Charpentier went to live in Montmartre, the Bohemian and artistic quarter, and entered passionately into the life about him. It presented the inspiration and material which he wished to embody in musical conceptions. He absorbed both the socialism of the quarter and its Bohemian disparagement of artistic and moral convention. Thus he witnessed the aspiration of artists, their enthusiasm for a life of freedom, together with its inevitable degradation. He studied its types avidly, and reproduced them with a verisimilitude that has made them well nigh immortal. During these years he composed many of thePoèmes chantés(published as a whole in 1894), the songs,Les Fleurs du mal(1895), on poems by Baudelaire; theImpressions fausses, on poems by Verlaine, includingLa Veillée rouge(1894); symbolic variations for baritone and male chorus with orchestra; andLa Ronde des Compagnons(1895), for the same combination. In 1896 hisSérénade à Watteau(the poem by Verlaine) for voices and orchestra was performed in the Luxembourg gardens. In 1898 a cantata,Le Couronnement de la muse, depicting an established Montmartre custom, later incorporated in 'Louise,' was given in the square of the Hôtel de Ville. As a whole,these vocal works, with the exception of the cantata, are of interest merely as showing the early style of the composer and for their premonitions of his later idiom. Charpentier is not a born song-writer and his settings of Baudelaire'sLe Jet d'eau,La Mort des amantesandL'Invitation au voyage, of Verlaine'sChevaux de boisandSérénade à Watteauhave been easily surpassed by Debussy and Duparc. The most attractive are a setting of Mauclair'sLa Chanson du cheminfor solo voice, women's chorus and orchestra, and theImpressions faussesby Verlaine, in which his dramatic and socialistic bent is more plausible.
In the meantime Charpentier had been working steadily at his 'musical novel'Louise, both text and music by himself, which he had begun at Rome. This work, perhaps the most characteristic of his style, was performed for the first time at the Opéra-comique, February 3, 1900. It was an instant and prolonged success, and its composer was not only famous but prosperous financially. Since the recognition of 'Louise' Charpentier has suffered from irregular health. The production of 'Julien' (1896-1904) at Paris, June 4, 1913, announced as a sequel to 'Louise,' has added little to his reputation. It is founded largely on the music of 'The Life of a Poet,' with added episodes which contrast incongruously with the idiom of the earlier work. It has been announced that Charpentier has finished a 'popular epic' entitled a Triptych. This, it is said, will contain three two-act operas with the sub-titles,L'Amour au faubourg,Commédiante, andTragédiante.
In 1900 Charpentier founded theConservatoire populaire de Mimi Pinson(the generic slang title for the shop-girl) for encouraging the musical education of working girls. But, despite its worthy sociological purpose, this institution has failed. Charpentier has occasionally written critical articles, among them sympatheticreviews of Bruneau'sL'Attaque du MoulinandL'Ouragan.
In considering the music and personality of Charpentier it must be recognized at the outset that he is far removed in emotional and intellectual makeup from other prominent figures in modern French music. A child of the people, absorbing socialistic tendencies from his boyhood, he is a musician of the instinctive type, averse to analysis or pre-conceived theory. As Bruneau drew his inspiration from the creed of realism and the works of Zola, so Charpentier is dominated by his ardent socialistic bent. His music attempts to embody his impressions of life from a democratic standpoint, in which realism and symbolism are sometimes felicitously and sometimes jarringly mingled.
In his musical idiom Charpentier stands close to Massenet, with that involuntary absorption of his teacher's principles which actuates most of the pupils of that facile but marvellously grounded composer. Charpentier is far more sincere, however, in his relations to his art, in that he has not courted popularity or lowered his artistic standard for the sake of success. Despite his obligations to Massenet, Charpentier has a vigorously independent idiom in which Bohemianism and a poetic humanity are the chief ingredients. This asserts itself even if the ultimate source of his style is obvious. He is also indebted to his master for the transparent yet coloristic treatment of the orchestra, in which sonority is obtained without waste or effort. If at times it is evident that Charpentier has not listened to Wagner without profit, the main current of his orchestral procedures, like his basic musical qualities, is preëminently Gallic.
In the early suite, 'Impressions of Italy' (1890), Charpentier has depicted in a pleasing and picturesque style various aspects of nature, the serenades of young menon leaving the inns at midnight, with responses of mandolins and guitars; the balanced and stately walk of peasant maidens carrying water from the spring; the brisk trot of mules with jingling harnesses and their driver's songs; the wide stretches of country seen from the heights near the 'Desert of Sorrento,' the cries of birds and the distant sounds of convent bells; and for finale a realistic description of a fête night at Naples with the tarantella, folk-songs, bands drowning each other out and general and uproarious gayety. While the musical substance of this suite is undeniably light, Charpentier has mingled Italian melodies, descriptions of nature and a poetic undercurrent with an unusual atmospheric charm and glamour that outweigh concretely musical consideration. His instinctive and coloristic manipulation of orchestral timbres heightens greatly the programmistic illusion.
Though the 'Life of a Poet' (1889-91), scenario and text by Charpentier, is crude and immature, it possesses indubitable dramatic vitality notwithstanding. It tells the tragedy of a young and aspiring poet who would conquer the world of expression, confident in his ability. Gradually he is assailed by doubt, loses his faith and ultimately recognizes that he cannot coördinate the vast problems confronting him into unity. Seeking oblivion in drunkenness, he acknowledges his defeat and the drama of his life is over.
In this work Charpentier has placed symbolism and realism side by side in a way that is disconcerting. After an orchestral prelude entitled 'Enthusiasm,' at once rough, forceful and incoherent, a mysterious chorus with the title 'Preparation' has dramatic power and human sentiment. The second and third scenes, respectively described as 'Incantation' and 'In the Land of Dreams,' are still occupied with the symbolic appeal of the poet to inspiration. Throughout this act the music is effective dramatically, although often not farremoved from tawdry. In the second act, 'Doubt,' there is a luminous charm in the chorus sung by the 'voices of night,' an appropriate interpretation of the poet's harassing uncertainty in the second scene, and an extremely poetic orchestral passage descriptive of his meditations, which ends the act. In the first tableau of the third act, entitled 'Impotence,' an orchestral introduction of some length, again crudely dramatic, depicts graphically the losing struggle of the poet for his artistic soul. The chorus, 'voices of malediction,' curse a divinity which permits the ruin of the artist's dreams. To this, the poet, sombre and fantastic, adds his last plaint of despair and his curse. In the second 'picture' the poet is at a fête in Montmartre. The orchestra paints vividly the riot of cheap bands and the reckless jollity. The chorus echoes the curse of the preceding act and dies away in mysterious murmurs. A dance orchestra (in the wings) plays a vulgar polka, a noisy military band chimes in while passing. To these a melody is dexterously added in the orchestra. A reminiscence of a chorus in the first act is ingeniously contrived with the polka and orchestral melody as accompaniment. The poet, now drunk, apostrophizes a wretched girl of the streets, who replies with mocking laughter. The orchestra suggests the æsthetic disintegration of the poet, the chorus recalls the aspirations of his earlier life and finally the poet voices his defeat.
'The Life of a Poet' is interesting because it presents in a somewhat primitive state the essential characteristics of the mature Charpentier, namely, a palpable dramatic gift, the faculty of poetic and humanizing illumination and differentiation of scenes. In the scene at Montmartre he has not only furnished a precursor of the Bohemian realism in 'Louise,' but he has displayed considerable contrapuntal facility. If the 'Life of a Poet' has the clearly discernible defects of youth, ithas also its vitality and a spontaneous conviction which was prophetic of the future.
The universality of appeal to be found in 'Louise' (finished in 1900, although begun at Rome), a 'musical novel' in four acts, text by the composer, lies chiefly in its simple dramatic poignancy. The story is that of an innocent girl trusting the instincts of her heart in returning the affection of the irresponsible Bohemian poet who lives nearby; her elopement with the poet, her enthralling happiness and brief triumph as 'Muse of Montmartre' shattered by the false report of her father's serious illness; her return to the parental dwelling, her impatient chafing at restraint, her intolerable longing to return to her lover and the facile Bohemian life; her father's anger and her brutal dismissal into the night by him, followed by his curse on Paris. All is basically human and typical of life under all conditions and places. But 'Louise' contains other elements which make alike for retentive charm and for critical admiration. In the first place, it is pervaded by an insinuating glorification of Paris as a city of freedom and provocative attraction, a perpetual Bohemian paradise. Next, by the nature of the plot it affords an opportunity for the librettist to voice a socialistic assertion of the individual's right to personal liberty, somewhat sententiously uttered, and a condemnation of restraint symbolized by parental egotism. 'Louise' also contains a plausible and graphic portrayal of artist life in Montmartre, including the time-honored ceremony of crowning its 'Muse,' by which Charpentier has immortalized types doomed to disappear before the commercialization of the quarter for the foreign visitor. In addition Charpentier may claim distinction for his services as a folk-lorist by introducing the street cries of various vendors to increase 'local color,' recalling the ingenious choruses by Jannequin (of the sixteenth century), such asLes Cris de ParisandLeChant des Oiseaux. Thus in time it may be recognized that he has fulfilled an ethnographic purpose of some import.
As the dramatic attraction of 'Louise' resides in its simplicity, so also its musical value resides in its continuous spontaneity, its limpidity of style, devoid of all pretentious scholasticism, in which, however, there is plenty of technical skill and unostentatious mastery of material. Charpentier's dramatic and musical idiom follows the conception of Massenet, in which the constituent elements are balanced, without superfluous insistence upon either. He employs formal lyricism, except when the situation demands it, uses a flowing and melodic declamation which gives free play to the annunciation of the text. He employs motives freely, not in the Wagnerian fashion, however, but in their flexible manipulation succeeds in giving the needful touches of detailed characterization. If his orchestral sonority verges occasionally upon coarseness, as a whole it enhances and colors the dramatic emotions with remarkable skill and poetic fancy.
But, aside from the question of dramatic method, it is the freshness of invention, the skill in characterization, and the ebullient musical imaginativeness of 'Louise' which makes it so unusual among operas. It is more accurate and illusive in its picture of Bohemianism than Puccini'sLa Bohème, and possesses far more human depth and emotional sincerity throughout. In this respect also it is far above the generality of Massenet's operas, and may be compared, despite their essential difference in musical individuality, to the operas of Bruneau. Charpentier is more of a poet, and his musical invention is far readier. While it may be needless to particularize the domestic scenes in the first act; the prelude to the second act, 'The City Awakens,' with the scene before the dawn in which the rag-pickers, the coal-gleaners, and other charactersof the night-world discuss of life as they have found it; the second scene in the same act, the dressmaker's workshop, with an orchestral part for the sewing machine, in which the sewers converse idly and try to account for Louise's moodiness, the whole first tableau of the third act, in which Julien and Louise sing of the lure of Paris; Louise's scene with her father in the fourth act, all these are concrete examples of the interpretative power of Charpentier the dramatist and composer.
It is difficult to be enthusiastic over Julien. If the hero justifies the opposition of Louise's parents (for the story of 'The Life of a Poet' forms its dramatic basis), the introduction of many allegorical or symbolic episodes not only mars the continuity of the drama, but their musical style offends by its difference from that of the music of 'The Life of a Poet,' upon which Charpentier has drawn so freely for the later opera. While in many instances Charpentier has shown ingenuity in adapting his earlier music, the total result of his labors has not only been disappointing but disillusionizing in the extreme.
As a whole, Charpentier, the poet of 'Impressions of Italy,' the crude but forceful dramatist of the 'Poet's Life,' the mature artist of 'Louise,' has accomplished certain unique aspects of realism with a symbolic or sociological undercurrent. Limited as he is to 'the quarter,' he has been also universal, and his sincere and picturesque vision has something of permanence. As a pupil of Massenet he does not belong to the vanguard, but his plausible synthesis of seemingly contradictory elements has left a permanent impress in the annals of modern French music.
While categorical classification is not always essential in criticism, it is somewhat discommoding to acknowledge that a composer cannot conveniently be placed under one logical and comprehensive heading. While assimilation of qualities peculiar to two opposing groups can be unified to a considerable extent, the work of such an artist is inevitably lacking in complete homogeneity. Such a figure is Dukas, who, nevertheless, must be considered a force of considerable vitality in present-day French music.
Paul Dukas was born in Paris, October 1, 1865. Toward his fourteenth year his musical gifts asserted themselves. In 1881, after some preliminary study, he entered the Paris Conservatory, where he was a pupil of Mathias (piano), Dubois (harmony), and Guiraud (composition). In 1888 he was awarded the secondprix de Romefor his cantataValleda. Since he was passed over entirely in the competition of the following year, he left the Conservatory and fulfilled his military service. At this period he had composed three overtures, of which the last,Polyeucte, alone has been published and performed. In hisCours de Composition,[69]d'Indy discloses that Dukas was ill-satisfied with the instruction he received at the Conservatory, and that he subsequently made a profound study of the classics and evolved his own technical idiom. Dukas, however, shows the effect of two schools, that of Franck in much of his instrumental music, and a sympathy with that of Debussy in the dramatic field. To acknowledge this does not mean to tax him with lack of individuality, but merely to recognize the confluence of opposing viewpoints.
The overturePolyeucte(1891) shows surprising command for so young a man of the technique of compositionand orchestration, although unnecessarily elaborate in the former particular. It has the classic dignity of Corneille and at the same time is sincerely dramatic. The Symphony in C (1895-96) shows considerable progress in many respects: clearer part writing, unpretentious yet logical construction, no apparent ambition other than to write sincerely within the limits of normal symphonic style. There is also marked advance in clarity and brilliance in the orchestral style. In 1897 Dukas made a pronounced hit with his fantastic and imaginative Scherzo,L'Apprenti sorcier, after Goethe's ballad, first performed at a concert of the National Society. This work is one of the landmarks of modern French music for its elastic fluency of style, the descriptive imagery of its music, and, above all, its personal note, in which the orchestra was treated with dazzling mastery.
A Sonata for piano (1899-1900) forsakes the vein of programmistictour de forceentirely and exhibits a dignified, almost classic, style whose workmanship is admirable throughout. The theme of the first movement is distinguished, the second less interesting until it appears in the recapitulation with deft canonic imitation. The slow movement is somewhat cold and lacking in inner sentiment; the scherzo is individual, and the finale solid. Similarly the 'Variations, Interlude and Finale,' on a theme by Rameau, for piano (1902), is not only composed with similar preoccupation for thorough workmanship, but its spirit, save for some ever-present harmonic boldness, seems to have proceeded from the epoch of the theme. As a matter of fact, these variations show a post-Beethovenian ingenuity, and genuine skill in perceiving the gracious theme of Rameau in different and engaging lights that make this work conspicuous among piano literature in modern French music. But this music is strongly suggestive of d'Indy and the Schola. A Villanelle for horn and piano(1906) is a charming piece which achieves individuality despite the limitations of the horn.
But when Dukas' music for Maeterlinck'sAriane et Barbe Bleue(1907) was performed May 10, 1907, after he had begun and rejected 'Horn and Riemenhild' (1892) and 'The Tree of Science' (1899), a greater surprise was in store than upon the occasion whenL'Apprenti Sorcierwas played for the first time.
Instead of the shrinking figure of the fairy-tale, Ariane is a representative of the feminist movement, if not almost a militant suffragette, who flatly disobeys Bluebeard, opens all the forbidden doors to deck herself with jewels, releases her captive sisters, helps them to free Bluebeard when the infuriated peasants have attacked and bound him, and then returns to her home, leaving her infatuated sisters who have too little imagination to make a decision. Dukas has treated this story in a style that at once admits a coherent and almost symphonic development of motives, and employs a harmonic idiom that profits by all that Debussy has done to extend the whole-tone scale. Dukas does not employ this scale as Debussy has done, but it is obvious that he never would have gone so far if it had not been for his pioneer contemporary. Instead of the translucent orchestra ofPelléas, Dukas has employed one that is appropriately far more robust, but which he has nevertheless used with discretion and reserve. He has taken advantage of the discovery of the jewels in the first act to employ coloristic resources lavishly. Despite the complex obligations in the matter of style, Dukas has produced music of a spontaneously decorative and dramatic type, which makes this opera significant among the works of recent years. WhileArianeis unequal, the first scene, excellently worked-out ensemble, the close of the first act, the introduction and first scene of the second, and the close of the work cannot be effaced from the records of modern French opera.
In 1910, Dukas had another success with hispoëme dansant, La Péri, on a scenario of his own, which has been exquisitely interpreted by Mlle. Trouhanova, to whom it is dedicated. Here is a work of the ballet type, which unites felicitously a sense of structure with a gift for atmospheric interpretation. In this respect,La Périis one of the most satisfactory of Dukas' works, and one in which his encyclopedic knowledge and his imaginative gifts are best displayed.
In addition to his gifts as a composer, Dukas is an editor and critic of distinction. He has retouched some concertos for violin and clavecin by Couperin; he has revisedLes Indes galantes,La Princesse de NavarreandZephyreby Rameau for the complete edition of that master's works. He made a four-hand arrangement of Saint-Saëns'Samson et Dalila, and together with that distinguished composer finished and orchestratedFredegonde, an opera left incomplete by Guiraud at his death. In addition, Dukas' articles for theRevue Hebdomadaireand theGazette des Beaux Artsdisplay erudition and the clairvoyant judgment of the born critic.
Thus, although attaching himself to no one group exclusively, Dukas has, by his capacity for architectural treatment of instrumental forms and his atmospheric gift in dramatic characterization, attained a position of dignity and individual expression.
It is not within the province of this chapter to be all-inclusive, but merely to recognize the achievement of the more notable figures. In consequence a brief mention of some composers of lesser stature, and a slight enlargement upon two of the more distinguished, will suffice to account for present-day activity. There are, however, two precursors of modern French music, whofrom the circumstances of their lives and talent have not reached the fruition which they might have deserved. The first of these, Ernest Fanelli, for thirty years lived the life of an obscure and impoverished musician, playing the triangle in a small orchestra, accompanying at cafés, laboring as a copyist. By mere chance, Gabriel Pierné discovered in 1912 an orchestral work, the first partThebes, a symphonic poem founded on Théophile Gautier'sRoman de la Mome, composed 1883-87. The music was found to have anticipated many harmonic effects of a later idiom including a fairly developed whole-tone system. Other works like theImpressions Pastorales(1890), someHumoresquesand a quintet for strings entitledL'Aneshow their composer to have poetic and descriptive gifts, whose late revelation is not without pathos. Fanelli can exert no historical influence, but he remains an isolated and belated phenomenon whose temporary vogue is doubtless likely soon to suffer eclipse.
Erik Satie, whose name has been mentioned in connection with Maurice Ravel, and who doubtless was not unsympathetic to Debussy since he orchestrated two of hisGymnopédies, was born in 1866 and studied for a time at the Paris Conservatory. But an examination of his music would prognosticate his distaste for that academic institution. He was influenced by the pre-Raphaelites, and by theSalon de la Rose Croixand by the mystical movement in literature generally. His music, chiefly for piano, wavers between an elevated and symbolic mysticism and an ironic and over-strained impressionism. Regarded for years as an eccentricposeurwith some admixture of the charlatan, it must now be recognized that he had glimmerings of a modern harmonic idiom and subjective expression in some of its aspects before the generality of modern Parisian musicians. But these qualities were hampered in their development by the ultra-fantastic characterof his ideas, and an incapacity for a coherent development of them. He abhors the tyranny of the barline, and many of his pieces have no rhythmical indication from one end to the other, beyond the relative value of the notes. He is also loath to employ cadences, a prophetic glimpse of the future.
Among his earlier works, theSarabandes(1887),Gymnopédies(1888), incidental music for a drama by Sar Peladan,Le Fils des Étoiles(1891),Sonneries de la Rose Croix(1892),Uspud, a 'Christian ballet' with one character (1892),Pièces froides(1897) andMorceaux en forme de poire(1903), by their titles alone indicate the character of their musical substance. TheGymnopédiesand theSonneries de la Rose Croixare interesting for their absence of the commonplace and for suggestions of a poetic vein. The later works dating from 1912 and 1913 have fantastic titles which awake the curiosity only to disappoint it by the contents of the music.Aperçus désagréable,Descriptions automatiques,Chapitres tournés en tous sensseem deliberately contrived to affront the unwary, and cannot lay claim to any influence beyond their perverse humor, and occassional ironic caricature as inCelle qui parle trop,Danse maigreandEspañana.
Among the many contributors toward the upbuilding of modern French music one must recall the names of Gabriel Pierné for his piano concerto, a symphonic poem for chorus and orchestra,L'An mil, the operasVendée,La Fille de Tabarin(1900), the choral worksLa Croisade des Enfants(1903) andLes Enfants de Bethlehem(1907); Deodat de Sévérac for his piano suitesLe Chant de la Terre(1900) andEn Languedoc(1904), the operasCœur du Moulin(1909) andHeliogabale(1910); Gustave Samazeuilh for his string quartet, a sonata for violin and piano, the orchestral piecesÉtude Symphonique d'après 'la Nef'andLe Sommeil de Canope; Isaac Albéniz, although of Spanishbirth associated with French composers;[70]Roger-Ducasse for orchestral works, a 'mimodrame' Orphée, Louis Aubert for a Fantasie for piano and orchestra, songs, aSuite brêvefor orchestra and the operaLa Forêt bleue. In addition the names of Chevillard, Busser, Ladmirault, Henri Rabaud, André Messager,[71]Labey, Casella, and others might be added. A figure of some solitary distinction is Alberic Magnard (died 1914), whose operasYolande,GuercœurandBérénice, three symphonies and other orchestral works, chamber music, piano pieces and songs, show him to be a serious musician who disdained popularity. Associated with the Schola he partook of d'Indy's artistic stimulus without losing his own individuality.
Two composers whose achievements are the strongest of the younger generation are Albert Roussel and Florent Schmitt. The former, born in 1869, entered the navy, and even visited Cochin-China. In 1898 he entered the Schola, where he studied with d'Indy for nine years. Since 1902 he has taught counterpoint at the Schola. His principal works are the piano piecesRustiques(1904-6), aSuite(1909), a Trio (1902), aDivertissementfor wind instruments (1906), a Sonata for piano and violin (1907-08), the orchestral works 'A Prelude,' after Tolstoy's novel 'Resurrection' (1903),Le poëme de la Forêt, a symphony (1904-6) and three symphonic sketches, 'Evolutions' (1910-11), the last with chorus, a ballet-pantomine,Le Festin de l'Araignée(1913). Of these the best known are the orchestral works and the ballet. If the symphony suggests many traits of d'Indy, there is in it no lack of individual ideasand treatment. The 'Evolutions' seem far more personal, and in both style and contents convince that Roussel is a genuine creative force. The ballet, 'The Festival of the Spider,' is an ingenious dramatic conception in which the characters are the spider, flies, beetles and worms. The music in its delicate subtlety is ingeniously adapted to the action, and in addition is picturesquely orchestrated with a minimum of resource. Roussel has undergone a long and severe apprenticeship and his later achievements have proved its efficacy.
Florent Schmitt, born 1870, is of Lorraine origin. After some preliminary study, he entered the Paris Conservatory in 1889. Dubois and Lavignac were his first teachers; subsequently he joined the classes of Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. Leaving the Conservatory to undergo his military service, he obtained a secondprix de Romein 1897. In 1900 he was awarded the first prize with the cantataSemiramis. After his prescribed stay at the Villa Medicis in Rome, Schmitt travelled to Germany, Austria and Hungary and even Turkey.
Schmitt has been a prolific composer and space will not permit a consideration of all his works. Those upon which his rising reputation rests are aQuintettefor piano and strings (1905-08), the 47th Psalm for solo, chorus, orchestra and organ (1904) and two symphonic poems,Le Palais hantéafter Poe, andLa Tragédie de Salomé(1907), in its original form danced as adrame muetby Loie Fuller. In addition are many piano pieces for two and four hands, and for two pianos, songs and choruses.
In Florent Schmitt's music is to be found alike the solid contrapuntal workmanship of the Conservatory and the atmospheric procedures of Debussy. These are combined with a striking homogeneity and a dominating force that make Schmitt perhaps the most promising figure among French younger musicians of to-day.If this praise must be qualified, it must be acknowledged that he is overfluent, and that the triviality of many of his ideas is only saved by his extraordinary skill in treating them. In this respect his resourcefulness is surprising and well-nigh infallible. The massive architectural quality of the quintet, the barbaric splendor of the 47th Psalm,[72]and the passionate and sinister mood ofLa Tragédie de Salomémake these works significant of the future even in the face of previous achievements by his older contemporaries.
If this survey of modern French composers seem oversanguine in its assertions, even the most conservative critic must admit that their work within the last thirty years has possessed a singularly unified continuity. Striving deliberately to attain racial independence, the various composers have attained their end with a unity of achievement which is not surpassed in modern times. Whether following the counsel of the naturalized Franck, or heeding the iconoclastic tendencies of Chabrier, Fauré and Debussy, and the realistic aspirations of Bruneau and Charpentier, the impressions of Ravel with its added graphic touches of realism, French music has had a distinctive style, a personal explanation of mood and a racial individuality such as it has not shown since the days of Rameau. The question as to its durability may be raised, as has been done in many epochs and countries, but its position in the immediate past, and in certain aspects of the present, leaves no doubt as to its conviction and its import.
E. B. H.