SCHUBERT AND RUBINSTEIN

CHARACTERIZATION OF SCHUBERT.

PROGRAM NOTES BY MR. JOHN S. VAN CLEVE.

If we were asked to choose, from all the men who in
all time and in all nations have created music, a little
band of twelve, to whom the proud distinction of the
very greatest should be accorded, surely, in that small
band of immortals would be found the name, Franz
Schubert.

Hans von Bulow chose three great names, Bach,
Beethoven and Brahms, fancifully entitling them the
trinity of music, but while no one would put Schubert
in the same rank with these unapproached masters, he
does certainly stand just next to them.

Like Keats, Shelley and Byron, like Bellini, Mendels-
sohn and Mozart, Schubert's life was a short one, and
like all those great men of artistic genius, the mere bulk
of his output, to borrow a metaphor from the miner, was
incredibly vast. The modern American editor of a met-
ropolitan journal scarce pours a stream of ink more
steady and copious upon the paper where his mind is
turned into material form than did this quiet, shy, ob-
scure, short-lived man, Franz Schubert. His analogue
in poetry is the English poet Keats. He lived almost

contemporaneously with him. Keats died in 1821, at
the age of twenty-five, Schubert in 1827, at the age of
thirty-two.

There is in Schubert, as in Keats, an intense and om-
nipresent sensuousness which never degenerates into
sensuality; there is a pervading melancholy, there is a
constant feeling of absolute spontaneity, even becoming
redundancy; there is also, at times, and especially to-
ward the last, a remarkable growth of manliness and
nervous terseness of utterance, which deepens our deep
regret that such a wondrous man could not have been
permitted to round out his full allotment of days in our
breathing world.

The life of Schubert was a singularly sad one. It
seemed that all the malign fairies had poured all their
thorny gifts into his cradle ; but, to compensate him for
their malice, the Spirit of Music had endowed him with
the power to dream lovely melodies and spontaneous
harmonies more than any other man that ever lived, with
but one exception, that of Mozart. Schubert was even
more an improviser than Chopin, and the fact that he
often wrote with such speed as to produce as high as
eight songs in one day, and further, that he never heard
in public any of his larger orchestral works, and that he
sometimes complained that he could not buy enough
music paper to get all his fluttering fancies snared in
visible form must awaken in us reverence, pity and af-
fection in equal measure.

Schubert gave out music as a tropic isle, in the center
of the Pacific, puts forth plants ; as the earth in spring
yields perfumes ; as the activities of Nature emit poetic
sounds.

He was the son of a poor schoolmaster, and for a
term of three years, from the age of sixteen to nineteen,
he tried to follow his father's occupation, but the love of
music was too strong, and so for the last twelve years,
though often lamentably poor, even to cold and hunger
verging upon starvation, he consumed his life, time,
energy, all upon the beloved art, which was his very
breath of being. His earliest compositions are dated
when he was but thirteen years old, in 1810, and thus the
period of his creative activity was eighteen years, from
1810 to 1828.

He met with many sickening disappointments ; for
example, in 1816, he was rejected as an applicant for a
post as teacher in a government music school, and
again, in 1826, when he hoped to be appointed director
of the royal opera house, he was rejected because his
sense of artistic dignity caused him to stand out against
the whimsical demands of the reigning prima donna. At
the last he was so wretchedly poor that a grave had to be
purchased for him by his affectionate brother Ferdi-
nand, and so he rests near the grave of his adored and
feared model, Beethoven. When he died he left of all
kinds of valuables an amount estimated at only a little
more than ten dollars. And yet this marvelous genius
spent all his life in the city of Vienna, which was the
very center of the musical life of the whole world at that
time, the city which had been the home of Haydn, of
Mozart, of Beethoven, and was to be a half century later
the home of Brahms. Such a record is a blot of lasting
disgrace upon the fair name of the pleasure-loving capi-
tol of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Schubert tried his hand in nearly all forms of musical
art, but in the song and in the lyric type of symphony
and string quartet he succeeded best. In his songs al-
most every conceivable theme is illustrated, but the most
famous of them deal with love, with parental affection,
with certain gentle aspects of Nature, and with awe of
the unknown. His love-songs are pervaded by a won-
derful refinement of sentiment, and by a soft, hazy sad-
ness that is like an American Indian summer atmos-
phere. There is a tradition, not very well authenticated,
which runs to the effect that when he was engaged in
1818 to be private music tutor to the two daughters of
the renowned Hungarian nobleman, the Prince Ester-
hazy, he became deeply and hopelessly attached to Miss
Caroline, the younger; and if this be correct it is easy
to guess why there is everywhere this tender dejection
in the music which his heart breathed forth.

Schubert was modest even to bashfulness, unassum-
ing even to awkwardness, of a squat and insignificant
figure, poor to the verge of utter shabbiness ; yet in that
inner realm of ideal beauty which the world can neither
bestow, nor tear away, can neither brighten nor dim,
he was a royal spirit, and well might he endure all his
privations and griefs for that glorious compensation.
This is the divine prerogative of genius, that it can make
itself blessed, and can make blessed all other souls which
are of such temper and training as to ring responsive
to its motions. The heart of Schubert was one of those
crystal bells which hang, so the Mohammedans say,
upon the tree of life, fast by the throne of God. It
endowed every breeze with its own innate music.

J. S. V. C.

MORNING SERENADE. "HARK, HARK THE LARK."
(For Soprano.)

To say a morning serenade, is a kind of solecism, or
misnomer, for the word serenade is derived from sera,
the Italian for evening, and means a musical expression
of affection, either love or friendship, uttered in the open
air, with all the romantic environment of nature, at that
charming hour. However, morning is a period of the
diurnal circle which is not a whit less poetic in its sym-
bolism, and there are many beautiful songs in this spe-
cies. Of all that have been written, surely, none is so
sweet, cheerful, captivating, so redolent of dew and flow-
ers, as this inimitable morning-song of Shakespeare and
Schubert.

The junction of music and poetry must always, or
nearly always, be attended with a compromise and mu-
tual surrender, in so much that there is really no such
thing as an utter fusion of the two arts in their entirety,
but here the poem and the tone-poem are absolutely
fused, and each reaches its full expression, without any
cramping or denting of compromise. Let us say that
the words of Shakespeare and the tones of Schubert
unite and enhance each other as a sunbeam, and a dew-
drop, and (.he sparkling result is the acme of beauty.

With this magical little song there is connected an
anecdote, which, unlike many romantic anecdotes of
music and musicians, cannot be puffed away into thin
air as a wreath of smoke by the fierce breath of the crit-
ical cynic, for it rests upon a good authentic founda-
tion of testimony.

Schubert, in company with a friend, was out walking,
in the early 'morning, near Vienna. They went into a
garden, and, seating themselves at a table, ordered
breakfast. While waiting for the order to be filled,
Schubert began to turn over the leaves of a stray vol-
ume of Shakespeare, which chanced to be lying upon
the table. By the merest luck he happened upon the
exquisite lines of the hired musicians in "Cymbeline."
With a sudden exclamation he indicated his delighted
surprise, and soon said, "Oh, oh, if I only had some
music-paper, there is such a lovely melody in my mind.
His friend, realizing the preciousness of an inspiration
such as that of Schubert (although passing few were
those who in that day understood what a genius was
among them) hastily drew some lines in the form of a
staff upon the back of the menu-card, and in a little while
the sketch was 'made, and so this heavenly song-bird,
this ravishing melody which flew 'into the heart of Franz
Schubert, one morning near to the beginning of this cen-
tury, while he waited for his breakfast, was snared with
pencil and paper, and kept in the world to charm thou-
sands of human beings with its message of refined sen-
timent. Was there ever a straw-nest of commonplace
circumstance in which so wondrous an egg of Paradise
was deposited? Genius is always the unexplained, the
miraculous, and seems often to deride conditions, work-
ing its magic amidst the most untoward environment.

Plough-shares and dull clods, dripping rain-clouds
and frightened mice set the imagination of Robert
Burns to glowing, and so through all the biographies of
musicians we find sordid surroundings unable to quench
the sacred Promethean spark of genius. Schubert was
the only man in all the history of music who could rival
Mozart in spontaneity.

THE SERENADE IN D MINOR.

(For Tenor or Soprano.)

As a direct contrast to this Staendchen we may take
the far-famed and familiar serenade in D minor. Here
we have an example of a tender serenade as marvelous
in its kind as is the "Hark, Hark, the Lark" in its spe-
cies. The sentiment of the D minor serenade is gentle
and sad, an expression of sweet longing and dreamy
melancholy, a true love-sigh. Its form is that peculiar
to the type of German songs dealt with by Wagner in
"Die Meistersinger," viz., a rounded melody, with pre-
lude and interlude, which, after being repeated, give way
to a totally new melody of a different mood and in a
different key, while the coda bears a resemblance to the
first. This typical German pattern is carried out in the
serenade with that truth of expression which Schubert
never lacks. The rhythm of the accompaniment, an al-
ternation of swinging staccato chords in one quiet mo-
tion, suggests the guitar and lute, which are the instru-
ments associated from time immemorial with the lovers'
twilight avowals and musical protestations.

"DEATH AND THE MAIDEN."

(For Contralto.)

This powerful though brief effusion belongs to a vein
of Schubert's versatile genius, which he worked from
time to time, and always with results so astonishing in
their impressiveness as to merit the epithet supernat-
ural.. There was a touch of that superstitious horror in
him which is characteristic of the middle ages. In the
weird song, "The Doppergaenger" the mystery and
dread of death are voiced, and in this wonderful little
song, "Death and the Maiden," the first section in the
minor key expresses with deep sympathy the instinctive
recoil and terror of young human life at the thought of
death.

In the second half, where the music passes into the
parallel major key, there is in the melody with which
Death gives his invitation a wonderful solemnity soft-
ened by soothing tenderness. This melody is built upon
a motive of three notes, which is identical with that
which Beethoven uses in the allegretto of the seventh
symphony, and it here makes the same impression of
monotonous yet lulling grief. Schubert so felt the preg-
nant suggestiveness of this melody that he used it again
in a string quartet, where, treated with variations, it
forms one of the gems of the literature of chamber-
music.

THE TROUT.

(For Soprano.)

Over against the terror and solemnity of the song just
analyzed may be set another of equal, though widely
different, beauty, viz., "The Trout." In this song we
find that sympathy for sentient nature, which has been
a distinguishing characteristic of' great imaginative
minds of a strongly emotional bias. Cowper inveighing
against field-sports and brooding over a pet hare, Burns
apostrophizing the panic-stricken mouse, Wagner stop-
ping a market-woman to reprimand her for selling live
fish, and many similar cases may be instanced. Schu-
bert possessed to the full this extreme susceptibility.
The fibers of his heart were as impressible as the fila-
ments of an aeolian harp. The music of this song mir-
rors the mood of a poet contemplating one of the most
cheerful things in nature, viz., a young fish in a clear,
sparkling brook in the sunny morning. Then comes
the inevitable tragedy, and the angler ensnares the in-
nocent and ignorant little creature.

To give this picture tonal embodiment Schubert has
taken a figure consisting of two triplets of eighths, fol-
lowed by two quarters. This tone-figure, with its al-
ternation of jerk and rest, cleverly typifies both the
rippling stream and the sporting fish. Meanwhile the
flowing melody utters the feelings of the observer's
heart. Then when the trouble is suggested the music
passes into that changed third stanza which is charac-
teristic of the model German song ; see the analysis of
the Serenade, and the picture is overcast with that sad-
ness which is never for long absent from the music of
Franz Schubert. This melody, also like that in the sec-
ond division of "Death and the Maiden," so pleased
Schubert that he employed it in a string quartette.
This habit of re-using especially suggestive themes was
common with Beethoven, and Handel was a free and
frequent self-quoter.

"AVE MARIA."

(For Soprano.)

No man had a more irrepressible fountain of melodic
invention than Schubert. So lovely and so self-sufficing
are his melodies that a kind of cant saying or unreason-
ing notion has gained currency that he was chiefly note-
worthy for his melodic gift, but this is an egegrious
error. Schubert's inventiveness in harmonic progres-
sion in no slight degree falls short of his melodic fresh-
ness. What he really lacked was knowledge of counter-
point and the dramatic sense of wholes whereby a total
effect is secured through repressing and correlating the
parts. In the Ave Maria, however, there is no need of
his learning and architectural calculation, and both as
a piece of melody and as a piece of harmony it is in-
comparably great. There is a long-drawn song-phrase
which rises and falls with heavenly aspiration and peace,
and one can not imagine a singer failing to catch this
wondrous swell. It is like the inhalation and exhalation
of heartfelt prayer. Then beneath it undulates a won-
derful series of rising and falling sextolets flowing up
and down a magical series of chords. There is need
that the interpreter be not misled by the fact that these
notes are triplets sixteenths into taking them rapidly, for
they are in reality about ordinary eighths. The text as
sung in English is not the customary prayer to the Vir-
gin Mary, but is a prayer addressed to the protecting
father by Ellen Dougles in the third canto of "The
Lady of the Lake" by Sir Walter Scott.

THE ERLKING.
(For Mezzo Soprano or Baritone.)

In all the ballad literature of the world there is not
one which condenses into so small a compass such an
amount of character, action, narration and suggestion as
the wondrous little poem of thirty-two lines by Gcethe,
entitled the Erlking. The dark night, the haunted for-
est, the galloping steed, the anxious father, the suffer-
ing child, the enticing king of elf-land, the fatal event,
all make a picture which appeals to the elementctl feel-
ings of humanity, .and never were verses more terse and
vibrant with the stress of intense emotion. All this
Schubert has translated into tones. Let us rather say,
transfused into tones, with that magical success which is
the every-day performance of genius, the despair of
talent, and the marvel of the connoisseur.

The accompaniment has an incessant clatter of oc-
taves in triplets, which, with a striking motive of nine
notes in the bass, graphically depicts the horse. This is
the most remarkable feature of the accompaniment.
The vocal part has four distinct characters, viz., the
voice of the narrator, which should be negative ; the
voice of the father, which should be made in a large,
noble, tender quality; the voice of the boy, who should
speak with uneasiness at first, then gain in fear till the
climax of terror is reached ; and lastly, that which is the
most difficult to present, the coaxing, then threatening,
voice of the elf-king himself.

"TO BE SUNG ON THE WATERS."
(For Soprano.)

There are a few elemental situations and objects
which lend themselves equally to the imagination of the
poet and the musician, and among all such there is none
better, none more obvious than a boat-ride at sunset.
In this charming song we have such a picture. The six
pairs of quivering sixteenths in each measure, with their
long continuance, vividly suggest the glimmering light
and the monotonous gentle motion of the boat, and the
melody in a minor key hints at the pensiveness suitable
to such a scene and hour.

There are two unimpeachable reasons why the above
seven songs have been chosen and analyzed, viz., first,
because none of the countless works of Schubert in all
forms had such success during his lifetime, or have con-
tinued to represent him so generally as his inimitable
songs ; and, second, because, thanks to Liszt, Heller and
many other pianists, these songs can all be obtained and
performed as piano solos. In this form of pure instru-
mental music they scarcely lose any of their charm, for
their beauty is intrinsic and spontaneous to a degree
never before or since obtained by any other master.
These divine melodies and appropriate harmonies reach
the heart as directly as the sweet odors.


THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

IMPROMPTU IN E FLAT MAJOR OP. 90, NO. 2.
(5tb Grade.)

Schubert covered manv and many a page with music
designed for the pianoforte. b t oth to \** played M rth two
and with four hands. In all. it is rich in the most charm-
ing effects, but is seldom especially grateful to the
player, because, like Beethoven, Schubert thought al-
ways of the poetic idea, and never of the technical adapt-
ability. Often his pages are awkward and only half
playable, yet they are never musically barren or lacking
in interest. Like some wonderful vocalist, Schubert
cannot open his mouth even to ask the most common-
place question without making music. His more ex-
tended works in the sonata form, of which there are
twenty-four, are not his best, since it was in utilizing
initial thoughts and filling out elaborate designs that
Schubert was at a disadvantage by reason of his lim-
ited mastery over counter-point.

ROMANCE IN G MAJOR. OP. 90, NO. 4.
(5th Grade.)

When, however, the limits of the composition are nar-
row, and do not require more than the flowings of a
single inspiration, or a short series of single inspira-
tions, nothing in the whole world of music is sweeter,
truer, lovelier than the piano pieces of Schubert. Take
as a fine example of his manner the seldom-played ro-
mance in G flat major, Op. 90, No. 2, and you will be
delighted in the extreme, and will get a deep view into
the mind of this great and gentle-hearted man. There
is here a theme, or song, of a plain outline allotted to
the soprano voice that is, to the upper half of the right
hand. This is associated in the same hand with a steady
stream of triplet notes that step upon the intervals of
the chord and keep the harmony alive and quivering.
The left hand is chiefly concerned with laying the broad
harmonic foundations of the structure. Two things are
to be understood, of course, in delivering this wondrous
work ; first, the melody must always be two or three
times louder than the accompaniment, and must rock
upon its undulating surface at once detached and sub-
servient ; second, the pedal must keep it all in a mur-
mur of liquid sound, sonorous yet mild, continuous yet
clear, fluent yet flawless. The time is very peculiar, the
measures being composed each of twice the length of a
whole note and the connecting counterpoint being of
triplet eighths. This must not mislead, for the rate is
rapid, and the triplets sound like very agile triplet six-
teenths. Its mood is a glowing, brooding mixture of
sweet and sad longings.

IMPROMPTU IN F MINOR. OP. 142, NO. 4.
(4th Grade.)

Out of the eight impromptus this may be taken, since
it shows us another important feature of Schubert's
work, viz., the use of Hungarian or Gipsy style. The
bold trixy rhythm, the harsh chords, the wild, fitful
moods of capricious feeling, which are the traits of the
Gipsy music, are all here. Schubert was the first great
master to exploit the folk-music of the strange barbaric
oriental race known to us as Gipsies, and after him
Liszt and Brahms carried it on to a much wider and
more brilliant genre of tone-art. These examples of
the genius of Schubert will serve by way of specimens,
but the study of a lifetime will not make the treasure-
house of this wondrous Schubert trite or even familiar.
No wonder that Schumann, when a young enthusiast,
used to walk through the streets of Leipsic swinging his
arms and singing snatches of the divine melodies of
Schubert at the top of his voice. A wonder among won-
ders, a treasure among treasures, a demigod among
demigods, was our ever-dear Franz Schubert.

BEETHOVEN AND SCHUBERT COMPARED.

Since Beethoven and Schubert wrote at the same
time, both living in Vienna, there is not much superficial
difference in their style, but as soon as we listen for
the inner voice, which every modern piece of music con-
tains, this becomes very .different. Beethoven, a man of
great earnestness, with a brusque, almost abrupt, man-
ner and great positiveness, like qualities are found in
his music, especially in all his more important works.
At the same time, as often happens with men of this
temperament, great tenderness also lies deep within his
bosom, and very sweet and sympathetic melodies are
to be found in most of his works.

Schubert was not so abrupt, nor was he personally so
aggressive. Beethoven was director of an opera orches-
tra before he was fifteen years of age. Think what an
authority the boy must have had. At the age of twenty-
two we find him settled in a strange city, holding his
own against all comers, making business contracts with
publishers in distant lands. He was in the habit of
meeting princes and personages of the highest aris-
tocracy upon equal terms ; he had therefore the confi-
dence in himself of a man sure of his position. This
element also comes into his music ; and with it the dis-
tinct and commanding personality which made him a
valued acquaintance to these well-bred and easy men of
the polite world. Schubert had little or none of this
sort of experience. But instead of it he worked mainly
alone, and with very little encouragement or appreciation
from persons of social or artistic rank. Modestly, unas-
sumingly, he composed. And so it happens that in the
music of Schubert we find a contented disposition, easily
satisfied with a simple idea, and it is only when he is
deeply stirred that his music takes a more confident
flight and strikes out with the boldness habitual to
Beethoven. The main difference lies in the disposition
of Beethoven to say something weighty, and to say it
as soon as possible. Schubert, on the contrary, rarely
undertook to say weighty things, but mainly pleasant or
quiet things ; and, there being no one to be pleased or
displeased, he wrote them out as long as he liked.
Hence often great length, especially in instrumental
pieces meant to be quiet or pleasing; and only in his
songs, and in a few short pieces, does he come to the
point in the most direct way possible.

We shall learn the peculiarities of these men better
by taking up examples of their work in immediate com-
parison. And for our present purpose it will be instruc-
tive to classify the pieces according to the mood and
style. Comparing corresponding moods with those of
Beethoven in the fifth program.

IMPROMPTU. "THE FAIR ROSAMONDE." OP. 142,

NO. 3.
(4th Grade.)

This impromptu, in the form of an air and five varia-
tions, is cited as one of the very best illustrations of
Schubert's style and his pleasure in moods lying very

near the contented type with which we are dealing. Ob-
viously it would be unwise to carry the very same mood
through an entire work; on the contrary, the mood
changes a little in every few measures. But the fluc-
tuations are small, and the principal type everyw^re
prevails, like a keynote, to which we come back c/ter
every digression.

The melody itself was a favorite with Schubert. He
wrote it first in his opera of "Rosamonde," or a mel-
ody very much like it. The form here given is an im-
provement, but it is almost the same. The first strain
remains throughout in the contented mood. The begin-
ning of the second strain, where the key changes, is a
slight digression, but four measures later the original
form returns. The variations, each one treat the melody
with slight modifications. The first variation is shad-
owy, fairylike, very delicate and ethereal ; the second
shows a bit of tenderness in the first phrase, which, in
the second period, where the bass has the sixteenth note
motion, becomes more excited. Later the first phrase
returns. The third variation introduces a triplet mo-
tion in the left hand, a sort of obligato figure, against
which the right hand has some strong dissonances in
octaves (see the third beat in every measure). This
variation is in a mood fundamentally unlike that of the
melody itself or the variation preceding. It has a sug-
gestion of greater and deeper meaning. The fourth
variation is different again. The mood is more restless
and excited; the strong accents in the left hand part
and the modulations imply trouble. With the fifth va-
riation sunlight has returned, and the quiet and tender
mood of the air here gives place to a sort of transfigura-
tion of it, as when sunlight follows lowering weather or
storm. At the close of the variation the original melody
comes back in a lower range of pitch, producing a se-
rious effect and restoring the mood with which we

began.

WALTZ IN A FLAT. OP. ga, NO. 2
(3d Grade.)

The first of these little waltzes is most delightfully
melodious and charming, and in its mood it quite be-
longs to the serene class. Observe the symmetry; see
how many times the same phrase or motive is repeated.
Notice how it is relieved by the two repetitions in for-
eign keys in the beginning of the second period (meas-
ures 9 and 10, in F minor; and n and 12, in E flat).
We might compare this waltz to a little poem in two
stanzas, about some pleasing subject, such as a pleasant
holiday, an agreeable experience, etc.

In the second of these two waltzes, No. 2, the com-
poser's intention is indicated by the name "Grief" or
"Home-Sickness" waltz. In place of the contented and
happy stepping three times upon one chord in each
measure, as in the first waltz, we have here three differ-
ent chords in each alternate measure ; and in the other
measures, 2, 4, etc., there is always a dissonance in the
melody upon the accent. (Let the teacher show this
peculiarity until the class can determine by ear which
measures have three chords and which have a disso-
nance upon the accent.) In the second period the ex-
pression is still more appealing through the modula-
tions, first into the key of A flat minor (measures 9 and
10), and then into E major (measures n and 12), and
then by a beautiful enharmonic change of E to F flat
(measure 13), back again to the original key.
The lower emotional tone of this waltz turns first
upon the slower movement (compare the rate of speed
by playing four measures of No. I and then four meas-
ures of No. 2), and then upon the fuller detail, since
there are always eighth notes, six in a measure, and
often three different chords in a measure. It is by
means like this that expression enters into music.

THE TENDER AND APPEALING.

"BELIEF IN SPRING."
(For Soprano.)

Of similar but somewhat less deep mood is Schubert's
beautiful song, "Belief in Spring," or belief that spring
is now returning. The story for this piece was already
furnished by the German poet. The words are:

"Again the balmy breezes play.
They gently murmur, night and day,

And .Heaven's rich fragrance borrow.
New sounds arise, and odors sweet,
Oh, seek, poor heart, the change to greet,
. And cast away thy sorrow.

"The earth seems brighter, every morn,
While blossoms gay her robe adorn,

And fairest flowers are blooming 1 .
They bloom around in every vale,
And thou, poor- heart, the change must hail,

Each day fresh hope resuming."

In case this piece is not available as a song, for want
of a singer (though it is not difficult), it can well be
played from the Liszt arrangement (6th grade).

THE DEEP AND SERIOUS TYPE.
IMPROMFfU IN C MINOR. OP. 90, NO. i.

(5th Grade.)

A very interesting illustration of Schubert's melody
and his tendency to spin out a nice piece to an uninvit-
ing length is found in his Impromptu, No. I, of the opus
90. This melody has been named "Elegy," but there is
no authority for so doing. After a single prolongation
of the dominant, by way of keynote, the melody begins
and for four measures is entirely unaccompanied ; it is
like a solo voice singing alone. At the middle of the
period all the parts join in. In the second period the
same thing happens, the soprano voice has the melody
with no accompaniment, to be finished by all the voices.
It will be noticed that the first period of eight measures
is in the key of C minor ; the second has precisely the
same melody in E flat major; it ends, however, in C
minor, measure 17. The melody now begins again,
and note the interesting changes of harmony in meas-
ures 18 to 21. So also in measures 26 to 28 the melody
is harmonized in E flat. The main subject ends in meas-
ure 33, but there is a coda, modulating into A flat, meas-
ures 34 to 41. Here comes in a second subject in A
flat, and in a curious rhythmic caprice, each phrase hav-
ing five measures instead of the usual four. The
changes of harmony are charming (47 to 55, etc.). In
measure 60 the melody of the second subject is assigned
to the base. In measure 74 some interesting modula-
tion begins, and a very impressive and semi-dramatic
modulation occurs with a double-octave effect (measures
82 to 87), and the right hand has triplet octaves like
those of the Erl King. Here the original melody comes
in the bass (measure 91). New treatments occur (meas-
ures 124 to 138, etc.), and in measure 152 the piece
changes into the major tonality and so goes through
and ends. The impression which this piece makes will
depend very much upon its being played seriously, slow
enough not to sound trivial, yet not so slow as to drag.
The "molto moderate" of the composer should be taken,
probably, at about 126 metronome for quarter notes.
Great care should also be taken to observe the 'con-
trast of forte and piano.

"HEDGE ROSES."

Of lighter, more arch vein is the Schubert song enti-
tled "Hedge Roses." It follows the words:

"On his way a boy espied

Pretty blushing roses,
Fresh and sweet, the hedge-rows' pride,
To admire he turns aside,
And to pluck proposes,
Roses, roses, roses red,
Pretty blushing roses."

MENUETTO IN B MINOR. OP. 78.
(4th Grade.)

An admirable example of a certain exultant vigor is
the minuetto in B minor, from the Schubert Fantasia,
opus 78. The trio is of a softer and more sentimental
character. This mood (the exultant) occurs more fre-
quently in the works of later writers than in those of the
classical period. The classical rondo rarely arose to this
spirit. Schumann is the writer who most completely
illustrates it.