WEBER and HENSLET

VI. WEBER AND HENSELT.



The two composers and pianists from whose works
the present program is taken are indeed strongly un-
like each other and distant each from the other as a full
generation in chronology. They also were both re-
markable innovators upon the piano, they devised new
types of melody and brought to expression upon the
pianoforte many things previously hidden. Even in the
trifling point of unusual compass of hand they were
alike, Weber being gifted with a wide stretch and Hen-
selt cultivating all sorts of extensions as part of his
system of rendering the hand responsive and capable
for the novel things he had for it to say.

In temperament the two composers were unlike.
Weber was primarily of a sunny disposition disposed to
the well sounding; Henselt was of a more brooding dis-
position, preferring to meditate and to play deep songs
for himself alone. Yet he no less than Weber wrote
one of the most pleasing of concertos for the piano-
forte with orchestra, a work which held a long and hon-
orable distinction in the repertory of the concert artist.
In yet another respect they were alike in their fond-
ness for melody; but here Henselt betrays his disposi-
tion to brood, for many of his melodies are of a deep
and serious character. Yet Henselt upon occasion
could be as light and as fanciful as any. Think of his
"If I Were a Bird" a new leaf in piano playing, equally
charming as poem and as piano piece.

141



CARL MARIA VON WEBER.

Born, Eutin, Oldenburg:, Dec. 18, 1786.
Died. London, June 5, 1826.

For Historical Sketch of Weber, see Mathews" Pop-
ular History of Music, pp. 406 to 411.

CHARACTERIZATION OF WEBER.
BY EMIL LIEBLING.

Weber was a great piano virtuoso ; if we consider
Scarlatti, the founder of the most brilliant style of piano
playing, followed by Clementi, the more modern devel-
opments may be credited to Moscheles, Hummel and
Weber, who blazed the way for Henselt, Chopin and
Liszt. Weber's piano works are brilliant, distinctly
dramatic and almost orchestral in effect; the resources
of the piano are developed to a marked degree and
many compositions, like the immortal concertstueck,
opus 79, are as fresh today as when they were first pro-
duced. Weber was Wagner's forerunner by creating a
distinctively German opera style at a time when Ros-
sini and Bellini dominated everywhere ; his success en-
couraged masters like Spohr, Lortzing and Marschner
to follow in the same special sphere.

Some of the more important innovations of Weber's
treatment of the piano are the use of continuous octave
passages with added intervals, the single and octave
glissando, brilliant extended arpeggios, intricate double
passages, the use of double thirds for both hands ;
heavily massed chords and long stretches.

His melody is always elevated and noble, even pathetic,
his climaxes are grand and martial. The four sonatas

142




WEBER.



143-



141 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

are master works; the first contains the famous per-
petual motion Rondo, also an impressive adagio in F,
and the .second in A flat is often played by the great
pianists; very effective are the Polacca Brilliante in E
and the Polonaise in E flat. He cultivated the sym-
phony and string quartet but little; the overtures are
effective, but do not bear comparison with similar works
by Beethoven and Mozart in point of architectural struc-
ture; their excellence consists in melodic charm and
skillful instrumentation. Historically he occupies the
undisputed position of the creator of German opera,
as evidenced in the "Freischutz," dealing with German
life and romanticism. The fantastic element found
further .development in Mendelssohn's "Midsummer
Night's Dream" music.

CHARACTERIZATION OF WEBER BY PHILIP
HALE.

In the Schirmer edition of Weber's selected works
for piano, edited by Dr. William Mason, Mr. Philip
Hale gives the following estimate of the composer:

"The enduring fame of Weber rests upon three operas
and the enormous influence he exercised upon his con-
temporaries and the men that came after him, as Meyer-
beer, Mendelssohn, Marschner, Berlioz and Wagner.
It is impossible to put too high a value upon this in-
fluence ; and yet as pianist and composer for pianoforte
his is a famous name.

"He had long flexible fingers, and as he worked out
piano problems chiefly by himself, we find a new tech-
nique shaped by his natural gifts, daring jumps, rapid
passages of thirds, sixths and octaves for both hands,



WEBER. 145

used, however, for the expression of new ideas. He
once defined the ideal style of pianoforte-playing as
powerful, expressive and full of character, and he laid
stress on 'the equal cultivation of the two hands.'
Nearly all his contemporaries speak of the fire, the bril-
liancy, the precision, the expression of his performance.
In spite of dissenting voices from Vienna the testimony
is strong that Weber was intellectually and mechanically
in the first rank of pianists."

WEBER, FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE
PRESENT.

Carl Maria von Weber appears in a different light
according to the standpoint from which his work is ex-
amined. If, for example, we consider his pianoforte
music from the standpoint of the modern concert room,
the first noticeable point is the infrequency of his rep-
resentation upon programs, and the very small num-
ber of pieces which make up the aggregate of his con-
tributions to our actual practical entertainment in this
line. His "Invitation to the Dance," for example, with
which Liszt used to do wonders along between 1827 and
1833 or 1834, is now relegated to the boarding school,
or if played appears in an arrangement, by Tausig, Hen-
selt, Godowsky, or some other pianist, in which the
original treatment of the themes has been augmented
by a multitude of difficulties. The Polonaise in E flat
and the Polacca in E major very rarely appear nowa-
days, except occasionally Liszt's arrangement of the
Polonaise in E flat. The Rondo in E flat, so much
played two generations ago, and so highly prized for
pedagogical purposes in European conservatories, has
now entirely vanished from the concert room. The



146 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

same is true of the "Capriccio" in B flat, which formerly
had considerable vogue. As for the sonatas, they ap-
pear, if at all, only in extracts, a single movement from
the sonata in A flat. Occasionally, indeed, the entire
sonata is played, but with how little effect !

Almost equally true is it that the Weber operas have
vanished from the stage. "Der Freyschuetz," indeed,
still maintains its position in the current repertory, par-
ticularly in Germany, but every year sees it fade away
in interest. Its entire disappearance can be a matter of
but few years. "Euryanthe" and "Preciosa" have com-
pletely vanished.

It is in the symphony concert that Weber still main-
tains the most of his influence upon the present genera-
tion. The overtures to "Der Freyschuez" and "Obe-
ron" still remain among the cherished gems of the or-
chestral repertory. The "Invitation to Dance" is es-
teemed here also, as one of the most popular and enter-
taining of selections, but always in the scoring of Ber-
lioz or Weingartner. Moreover the songs of Weber
cut but little figure nowadays. Even such charming
sweetnesses as his "Slumber Song". are very rarely
heard; and his great and universally sung aria, "Ocean,
Thou Mighty Monster," has effectually disappeared.

Such being the present facts concerning the vogue
of this master, in what sense it may be asked, can it be
said that he is a master of first rate importance in our
days?

To this question several answers can -be made. First
of all, speaking from the standpoint of the pianoforte,
Weber was a real musician and a creative tone-poet,
and in some of his smallest pieces, such as the four
hand sonatina in C, there are melodies worthy of large



WEBER. 147

setting. His "Invitation to Dance" was perhaps the
very first idealized waltz to be written by any one ; his
other piano music was romantic in character and, while
not explained by significant titles or other evidences of
poetic meaning, the music itself is eloquent of the fact
that something beyond mere musical symmetry had
been in the mind of the composer at the moment of
creation. That his brilliant polonaises have now been
superseded by the more vigorous and more highly pian-
istic works of Chopin a half a generation later, is not
to Weber's discredit. Very likely if he had not written
in this vein Chopin himself might have lacked courage
to create the splendid examples which so well illustrate
his distinguished genius.

In fact, it was probably upon the influence Weber
exercised in his life time, and the inspiration he gave
other young composers that we must base his claim
upon posterity. Nevertheless wher we remember that
it is now three-quarters of a century since the "Invita-
tion" was created, and that it still remains a remarkably
bright and timely piece for the drawing room, this
surely is much credit for von Weber.

So, also, of his orchestral works. His symphonies,
of which he composed two, have now gone to oblivion ;
but the operatic overtures have established themselves
as classics. More. They have in them the seeds of
much which meets us in the works of Wagner and the
later romanticists. In the "Freyschuetz" overture the
leading motive appears and the suspended movement
over the Wolf's glen pizzicato of the basses, is as signifi-
cant as the famous horn in the two "Leonore" overtures
of Beethoven. So, again, in the overture to "Oberon,"
the fairy music appears earlier than with Mendelssohn.



148 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

Weber, also, was an innovator in the use of the horns,
which he understood better than any operatic writer
before him. All his orchestral music has a tone of
its own, a color scheme peculiar to himself, a discreet
and well modulated scheme, not overdone, not too
meagre.

He is, therefore, to be counted one of those geniuses
who for the moment when they appear entirely fill the
stage and set in operation principles of composition and
ideals which otherwise would have had to wait for
their first voicing. Yet such is the attractiveness of
the new ideals that straightway many other gifted ones
enter into the new paths, explore farther, bring forth
still more brilliant and striking results, whereby the
originator of the school or tendency is put in the back-
ground, even while he is really the originator of the
entire dispensation. Something of this sort is true of
Weber.

Another point which works against Weber in this
latest day is the lack of any very deep and intense cry
of the soul in his works. His music is music as such ;
to be enjoyed, to be praised, to be played for satisfac-
tion. That a world would arise eager for the discord-
ant, the dissatisfied and the unbeautiful was something
which Weber did not foresee. And if he had been
given the foresight no doubt it would have poisoned
the naive beauty of the master works he turned out so
freely.

THE WEBER SELECTIONS IN DETAIL.

SONATINA IN C. OP. 3.
(2d Grade.)

This charming little sonatina in C is available in eith-
er of two forms for two hands or for four. The latter



WEBER. 149

was the original form. It is very easy, full of melody
and a delightfully fresh naivete. The second movement
is a lovely larghetto (about 66 for eighth notes) worthy
a larger field. The melody is deep and beautiful and
the harmonies expressive, at times dramatic. The third
movement is a very pleasing little Menuet. (Observe
all the repeats, otherwise the piece is too short to de-
velop a mood in the hearer.) The fourth movement is
an Andante air with three variations. The structure of
the variations is worth noting. The first variation has
mainly figuration for the upper voice. The second be-
gins with six measures for the second player. Here
the theme is developed in syncopation in a charming
manner and in minor tonality. Evidently just here he
had the idea that the teacher would play the bass of the
duet, leaving the easier upper part for the pupil. The
third variation is a light and rondo-like movement in
6-8 measure, and again in the major mode. The fifth
movement is a miniature march in C major; and finally
a sixth movement, a jolly happy rondo.

The so-called "sonatina" is more properly a "suite"
(or succession of pieces) than a sonatina, since, properly
speaking, the sonatina has only three movements. If
the first, second and sixth movements were played with-
out the others, the sonaflna form would have been per-
fect. There are few pieces so small as this which con-
tain so much music.

INVITATION TO DANCE. OP. 65.
(5th Grade..)

The Invitation to Dance marks an interesting epoch
in musical art ; the ancient dance forms had served their
purpose long and well and the old masters had used



150 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

them freely. Weber here idealizes a modern terpsi-
chorean form, indirectly weaves a story around it, and
produces a master work of singular charm and lucidity ;
the Chopin waltzes carry out the same scheme very
happily at a later period. The introduction is a dis-
tinct dialogue and requires much discrimination in vari-
ety of touch, tone production and interpretation. The
following allegro is fiery and dashing, the waltz part
may again be taken somewhat slower ; a fine example of
pianistic instinct is given later on where the scale of
C is played at the distance of two octaves, giving the
effect of the omitted middle octave in consonance with
those played; the same effect is used at the close of
the Polacca in E, and by Schumann at the finish of the
allegro, opus 26. I should consider all repeats as oblig-
atory, with the possible exception of the second portion
of the waltz part. The "Invitation to the Dance" lends
itself readily to orchestral treatment, as evidenced by
the Berlioz and Weingaertner arrangements. Tausig's
paraphrase usually proves an interesting reminiscence
to those who have attempted it. E. L.

AIR FROM "DER FREYSCHUETZ."
(For Soprano.)

This aria occurs in the opera while Agatha is watch-
ing at night for the return of her lover. It is brilliant
moonlight, a calm, still night, full of mystery and deep
suggestiveness. The kernel of the song is the prayer,
the soft, slow melody which is now well known to
everybody and has been made into a church tune in
America. It is sung softly, with a very pure and sus-
tained tone, accompanied by the muted violins, violas
and cellos. This is one of the most exquisite gems in



WEBER. 151

all opera. Later on, after the prayer has twice been
gone through, with interludes of reflective comments,
the aria breaks off into a rapid and exultant presto as
Agatha hears the step of her lover and receives him
back again from whatever unknown danger had
weighed upon her soul.

"How could I fain have slumber'd?

Before his face I saw?
Ah! Love with grief is cumber'd;

"Tis fate's eternal law."



Recit. :



"Now walks the moon her path of light?
Oh, heav'nly night."



Then the prayer:

"Holy, holy, meek and lowly,

Rise, my soul, where stars swing slowly!

Echoes waking, taking pinions,

Waft my prayer to heav'ns dominions!"

"Oh, how bright the stars are sparkling!

How like gems they stud the skies!
Yet above yon mountains darkling,

Seems a thunder-storm to rise;
There, too, beyond the forest vast,
Black and heavy clouds fly past.

"Lo! before thee I adore thee!
Lord of mercy I implore thee!
Angels send us to defend us,
From the threat of ill tremendous;" etc.

POLACCA BRILLIANTS IN E MAJOR. OP. 72.
(5th Grade.)

A brilliant illustration of the polonaise spirit, con-
ceived in a mood of brightness and mirth. To be
played with spirit, but not too fast. (About 96 for
quarters.) The measure is properly one of six beats
but not of the usual six of two threes ; it is a six com-
posed of three twos. The polonaise keeps this movement



152 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

of eighth notes always clear, and there is an accent al-
most invariably upon the fifth beat, as plainly intended by
the change of harmony which generally occurs at that
point.

The middle piece of this polonaise is a very quiet mel-
ody in the original key instead of being in a related key
as is usual. Underneath the reposeful melody, how-
ever, the rhythm of the polonaise keeps up without ces-
sation.

On the whole, a very brilliant and effective piece, full
of spirit and verve.

SLUMBER SONG.
A soft, sweet melody, very simple.

"Sleep, darling baby, my idol art thou!

Close those dear pretty blue eyes of thine now,

All is so quiet, so peaceful and still,

Sleep, while I guard thee from harm and from ill.

"Life to thee now, love, is golden and bright,
Later, ah later, will fade its fair light;
Soon as dull care once thy pillow hangs o'er,
Dearest, thou'lt slumber so calmly no more."

RONDO BRILLIANTE IN E FLAT. OP. 62.
(6th Grade.)

This piece for many years formed one of the ad-
vanced posts of brilliant piano playing. It is conceived
in a bright and popular vein, and one can imagine that
given by its author, with his marvelously clear touch
and sprightly musical feeling, it must have made ai
effect. Liszt used to play it when it was new. The
name of the piece in many collections is given as
"Gaiety," a name which well suits the bright and pleas*
ant rhythm and the pleasing melodies.

From a modern point of view this piece is too long
for the substance it contains; but in its day it was a



WEBER, 153

most welcome addition to the stock of pleasing pieces
for concert or private playing. The movement not too
fast. (About 84 for quarters ; a little slower will an-
swer.)

OVERTURE TO "OBERON." FOUR HANDS.
(4th and 5th Grades.)

The overture to "Oberon" presents several of the
features of the musiciof the opera. The opera of "Obe-
ron deals with the adventures of a Knight who is pro-
vided with a magic horn, giving a long drawn tone of
singular sweetness and penetrating power. When .this
note is sounded, which must be only under the stress
of the greatest and apparently irreparable danger, the
fairies bring aid. This long-drawn note of the magic
horn is that which begins the overture. It occurs again
in the third measure. In the sixth we have the light
footfalls of the fairies in the high sixteenth notes. In
the m. 22 the allegro proper begins, brilliant, driving,
full of life. Adventure follows after adventure until in
m. 55 the magic horn is again heard, followed by the
fairy music, this time in eighths, the movement having
become so much quicker than at first that the eighths
now give the proper lightness to the fairy steps. In m.
65 comes the second subject, which here happens to be
the singularly lovely melody of the mermaid's song:
"Oh, it is pleasant to float on the sea."

Beginning with m. 103, there is a short elaboration of
the principal idea, the movement becoming more and
more energetic and excited until in m. 154, the begin-
ning of the mermaid's song is heard again, but now in
the key of F sharp major, given by the violins, while it
is supported upon a brilliant accompaniment of the



154 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

brass. Just after this the recapitulation begins and so
the work is brought to an end in m. 257.

This overture is justly admired and often given in
orchestral concerts. It is one of the most attractive
pieces in the entire orchestral repertory.




ADOLPH HENSELT.

Born Schwabach, Bavaria, May 12, 1814.
Died Warmbrunn, Silesia, Oct. 10, i88g.

Adolph Henselt was a remarkable pianoforte virtuoso
of the same generation as that of Liszt and Wagner.
Beginning his early musical studies at Munich, he gave
such evidences of talent that an allowance was made him
from the privy purse of King Ludwig I., which enabled
him to continue his studies with Hummel at Weimar ;
later, he went to Vienna, where he devoted himself
mainly to theory under the celebrated teacher, Simon
Sechter, meanwhile working out his pianoforte ideas by
himself. In this way he finally arrived at great virtuos-
ity and a characteristic style of his own, differing from
that of Liszt in being less brilliant and showy but more
expressive and, above all, distinguished for deep and
full melody, perfect legato, and the trick of supporting
his melodies by a wide range of harmony covering at
times nearly three octaves. By assiduous practice he
impaired his health, but in 1837 he made his first con-
cert tour and was received with the greatest possible
enthusiasm. His playing is said to have been of the
most poetically inspired character and highly individual-
ized. His peculiarities of expression found expression
in three books of studies, opus 2, 5 and 13 ; and in a very
beautiful pianoforte concerto and other works. Riemann
credits him with having been the first to enlarge the
scope of fantasias upon operatic themes, then as long
after a very popular form of piano music, by including

155



156 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

several themes in one piece. In the year 1838 Henselt
reached Russia upon a concert tour and was greeted
with such warmth that he always after remained there,
excepting in late years when his active duties had come
to an end.

With all his astonishing mastery of the pianoforte,
Henselt was dreadfully nervous and sensitive to obser-
vation. Accordingly when he had received the honorable
appointment of teacher of music to the royal princesses
in the family of the Czar, with suitable emoluments, he
resolutely refused to give any more concerts, and in
thirty years was heard in public only three times in St.
Petersburg. An anecdote illustrating this trait of Hen-
selt is told, that while he was living one summer at
Dresden a traveling musician of distinction wished to call
upon him to pay his respects. Accordingly he went to
the house and as he climbed the stairs to the elevated
domicile of the artist he heard him playing most beau-
tifully. As this was exactly what the visitor had most
desired (the fame of Henselt being world-wide, yet very
few had actually heard him) he seated himself upon
the stairs and listened for nearly an hour to a most beau-
tiful composition or series of compositions, in which the
piano was illustrated in a most poetic and novel man-
ner. At length the playing ceased and after waiting a
few minutes in the hope it would recommence, the vis-
itor announced himself and was received with the cor-
diality due to a brother artist. After some conversation
he inquired of the pieces he had heard and requested
Hanselt to play one of them again. After a little de-
mur Henselt complied. But with what a difference !
The visitor said that it seemed like another player.
Where before there had been freedom, lovely tone and
ADOLPH HENSELT. 157

most delightful expressiveness, the touch had become
dry, the execution strained, and the whole piece sound-
ed like a different work. Such was the repression of
the artist's freedom by the presence of even a single
stranger.

Henselt's compositions are characterized by pleas-
ing and well-sounding melody, which generally sounds
a little better than it is ; i. e., the melody pleases very
much but soon becomes familiar, owing to its being
supported upon harmonies which are often common-
place and rarely of dramatic intensity. The appearance
of depth and strong feeling are often illusory, and lie
in the effect of his wide arpeggios in the bass. Never-
theless they illustrate peculiar features of piano playing
and are worthy of further study. From a technical point
of view almost everything of Henselt is rather difficult,
and most things are impossible for any but very good
pianists. The most played of his works are his fa-
mous pianoforte concerto, and the delightful study in F
sharp major, with the motto : "If I Were a Bird, I
Would Fly to Thee." This has been played every-
where this fifty years and more and its lease of life bids
fair to continue for a long while.

It is a curious circumstance, which the advanced stu-
dent of the piano will appreciate, that Henselt's ten-
dency to absolute legato instead of the staccato of Liszt,
comes back again in some very advanced works lately
composed by Mr. Leopold Godowsky, his metamor-
phoses of Chopin studies. In these he not only gives
the left hand the same thing to do which Chopin orig-
inally planned for the right (most players find them
quite difficult enough in the original) but he adds a
variety of other particulars, such as a flowing cantilena



158 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

in the soprano, and various subordinate voices coming
in at all sorts of illusive and evasive intervals. The
whole is like a fairy story, and it is based upon abso-
lute legato throughout, excepting in the fundamentals,
where naturally the pedal is called upon for its aid.

HENSELT'S PLAYING CHARACTERIZED BY
VON LENZ.

Von Lenz, in his "Piano Virtuosos of Our Time,"
gives the following lively account of the first appearance
of Henselt in St. Petersburg.

"Henselt first appeared in St. Petersburg in the con-
cert season of 1838, and since then has left us only
occasionally. I happened to be at the Count Wielhor-
ski's when Henselt first called there. I shall never for-
get the extraordinary impression he made by the inter-
pretation of his F sharp Major Etude. It was like an
Aeolian harp hidden beneath garlands of sweetest flow-
ers ! An intoxicating perfume was crushed from the
blossoms under his hands soft, lie falling rose leaves,
the alternating sixths, which, in one and the same oc-
tave, pursued, teased, embraced, and enraptured! Such
a charm of rich fullness of tone in pianissimo had never
been before heard on the piano ! After the delicate
whisper in the principal theme, the Minore entered ener-
getically, mounting from one degree of power to an-
other, taking the instrument by storm, to lose itself
again in a magic dialogue of sixths ! Thirty-two years
have passed since then, but the enchanting picture still
lives before the inner eye.

Henselt must have perceived how enraptured we were
with his performance for as soon as he had finished the



ADOLPH HENSELT. 159

piece, he commenced again at the most touching part
of his poem, and played it through once again, with
modified gradations of expression. It was like gleaning
after a harvest of joy ! He must have been satisfied with
it himself, and have rejoiced to read his instant triumph
in the eyes of connoisseurs of such high standing as
the Counts Wielhorski.

In quite a different style flowing more quietly, broadly
and deeply, followed his Poeme d'Amour in B flat Maj-
or, which, passing over from an unquestionably new
nocturne-style, changes to a not less deeply felt allegro
or variation-style, and closes with the highest degree
of bravura in arpeggios, which covered the whole ex-
tent of the instrument and which he hurled like heavy,
well-aimed spears without exceeding the limits of
euphony, without once overstepping the measure of
power allowed to the piano. Such playing had never
been heard ! Such tenderness allied to so much force ;
a depth of meaning so sufficient to itself, with all its
euphemistic concessions to the audience, was an artistic
feat, a phenomenon, wholly unique."

A SONG OF LOVE. OP. 5, NO. 11.
(5th Grade.)

A charming baritone melody, a song of love, a poem
in tones. To be played smoothly, with great affection
and well chosen expression. The melody consists of a
strain of eight measures, which is repeated. In m. 17
begins the second strain in minor, returning again (m.
24) to the original melody. This part also is repeated.
In m. 48 begins the short coda, which leads to repose.

THE REPOSE OF LOVE. OP. 2, NO. 4.
This poem is quite in similar vein to that of the opus



160 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

5 just mentioned, but in this one the soprano voice
comes in the nineteenth measure, and thenceforth both
voices sing together. It is naturally an excellent study
in playing melody. The moods of these two love songs
are very similar, and but for the opus number of the
preceding, one would think that one must have been
a fortunate original and this one an attempt to carry
out the same idea in a little more pretentious manner.
However, it seems certain that this one was written
first, so the supposition falls to the ground.

SPRING SONG. OP. 15.
(5th Grade.)

A bright and song-like melody in a rather spirited
movement (about 72 to 84 for dotted quarters). The
song lasts for twenty-two measures, after which the
melody is repeated with a more elaborate figuration in
the bass. This piece is nothing more than a song with-
out words in the Mendelssohn vein, except that through
its richer figuration and more elaborate setting for the
piano its difficulty is increased and the effect some-
what enriched. It is to be conceived as a sweet poem
about spring.

A LITTLE WALTZ. OP. 28.

A leisurely little waltz, more meditative than dance-
like. Not too fast. (About 72 for dotted halves.)

STUDY: "IF I WERE A BIRD." OP. 2, NO. 6.
(6th Grade.)

This famous little tone-poem, "If I Were a Bird I
Would Fly to Thee," of which Von Lenz speaks with
such ardor in the extract already quoted, has been a fa-
vorite with the entire piano playing world this fifty



ADOLPH HENSELT. 161

*

years. It is simple, thoroughly congenial to the nature
of the piano, and illustrates many fine qualities in play-
ing. The alternation of the sixths with the two hands is
not easy except the player happen to have an uncom-
monly good left hand ; for this reason Dr. Mason has
proposed several methods of making one hand help
out the other, while playing precisely the same notes.
The present writer prefers the original form, believing
that when perfectly done the alternation of hand touches
upon the beats gives a more sharply defined rhythmic
effect and makes the study more musical.

Despite the apparent difficulty of this study it will be
discovered upon examination that the harmonies are
of the most simple and obvious kind. The second pe-
riod in minor makes but an ordinary transition. Every-
thing lies in the novelty with which the hands are treat-
ed upon the piano.

The great virtuoso, Mr. Leopold Godowsky, has made
another arrangement of this piece, in which the right
hand plays all the sixteenth notes of Henselt's original ;
the left hand has a precisely similar figure in contrary
motion, each hand having six sixteenths in a measure,
double notes, and the left hand with many evasive dis-
sonances, which greatly add to the difficulty. When
properly done this arrangement is even more beautiful
than the original ; but it is for virtuoso pianists only. It
is impossible for ordinary hands.

CRADLE SONG. OP. 13.
(6th Grade.)

A lovely melody in high soprano range, below which
there is an accompaniment in quiet arpeggio figures,
the rhythm being broken between the two hands. When



162 THE GREAT IN MUSIC: FIRST YEAR.

well done very pleasing. To be played with the utmost
delicacy. This piece illustrates Henselt's manner of
covering a wide compass with his accompaniments. In
this instance the accompaniment often covers three oc-
taves, and the notes follow one another so rapidly that
the whole range is kept busy. When this is accom-
plished in a delicate manner, yet with tone enough to
satisfy the ear, the effect is delightful.

(NOTE. All the Henselt selections up to this point
are found in the Henselt Album, No. 8166, Augener
Edition.)

SCHERZO IN B MINOR. A LA RUSSIE. OP. 9.

C7th Grade.)

This piece is apparently founded upon a Russian pop-
ular song. The smart rhythm is carried out in a clever
and effective manner by Henselt and there is a pleas-
ing middle piece in B major illustrating the Russian
tendency to luxury and comfort. Later the original
theme returns. (See Litolff Collection, No. 490.)



Program VII

^ NS

Dvidley Buck:

Spring's Awakening. Song.

Sunset. Song.

Stabat Mater Dolorosa. Duet.

J. K. Paine:

"The Lord is Faithful." From Oratorio St.

Peter.
Nocturne for Pianoforte.

Arthur Foote:

An Irish Folk Song.

"Love Me If I Live."

"I'm Wearin' Awa' to the Land o' the Leal."

"On the Way to the Kew."

"O' My Luv's Like a Red, Red Rose."

"Go Lovely Rose."

F. G. Gleason:

Allegro. Op. 8, No. 4.
Gavotte from "Otho Visconti."
*'O Sanctissima."
"Seek Ye the Lord."

Mrs. Gaynor:

Songs to Little Folks.
Slumber Boat.
L'Enfant.

Emil Liebling:

Romance Dramatique. Op. 2J.
Madeleine Valse. Op. 27.
Spring Song. Op. 33.