THOUGHTS ABOUT MUSIC

Evening Star, Issue 21620, 16 January 1934, Page 2

THOUGHTS ABOUT MUSIC

[By,',L.D.A.]

** Uutic give* tone to the universe, wing* to-the'miAd, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaietj and Ufa to everything.”—Plato.

A recent article by Lord Raglan in the London ‘ Daily Mail ’ has been so extensively quoted by the New Zealand Press that 1 am unable to pass it over without notice, albeit the original medium may render it suspect in the eyes of journalistic pursuits. The article, however, is undeniably provocative, and may prove endlessly controversial. According to Lord Raglan, the world has, so far, produced only ten really greati men, and there have been no musicians among them; even Shakespeare fails ,to find a place in his lordship’s catalogue. Here is the list in chronological sequence Aeschylus, Phidias, Augustus, William the Conqueror, Harvey, Montaigne, Gibbon, the Dbke of Wellington, Darwin, and Lord BadenPowell.

The last-named is, if we are to believe Lord Raglan, the only truly great man alive to-day. This reminds me irresistibly of a funny story. In relating it, however, 1 do not want to be misunderstood. 1 have the utmost, respect for the celebrated defender of Mafeking, and nothing but admiration for the Boy Scout movement founded by him; nevertheless, I contend that we must not- allow our enthusiasm to cloud our sense of proportion; and here’s where my story is , apropos. In a theatre bandroom one night somebody suggested the following ,as the ideal theatre orchestra Conductor, Tos- , eanini; pianist, Paderewski, first violin, Kreisler : second violin, Heifetz ; viola, Lionel Tertis; clarinet, Muhlfeld; flute, Amadio; cornet, Howard Reynolds; ’cello, Casals; bass, Bottesini; and drums, Tommy Macgregor. With all due deference I submit that this list is but 'slightly less congruous than Lord Raglan’s.

Of course, a generation has grown up which knoweth not Tommy Macgregor; so I had better explain, for the benefit of the unitiated, that this gentleman some twenty years since was renowned throughout New Zealand not so much for his drumming capabilities, as on account of an incurable propensity for “ putting his foot in it.’’ One .’of the best instances of this habit has been related before in this column, but will bear repetition. A once well-known actress, Miss Tittel Brune (whoso histrionic ability was said by some critics to have been as defective as her name was ineuphonious), was playing some very tragic part which ended in. a long-drawn-out death scene. The house was hushed to awed silence; there was not a sound but suppressed sobs as the heroine pathetically breathed her <■ last. Then, suddenly, like a thunderclap, the stillness was shattered—Tommy Macgregor, the drummer in the orchestra, had fallen asleep and taken a header ” into the midst of his cymbals. There was an almighty crash—-immediately after which the “ corpse ” on- the stage sat up, and in a loud, unmistakably Sydney accent, demanded: "Who the hell made that noise?”

However, let me get back to the famous ten sponsored by Lord Raglan. At the beginning of his article he asks: What is a great man ? _ Then proceeds to define the expression as connoting “ a man of outstanding personality whose achievements definitely led to an advance in civilisation, - ' and he divides the great ones' into three classed under the heads of science, art. and literature. It is not easy to follow his reasoning when he finds room amongst these divisions for Augustus. William the Conqueror, and BadenPowell; but what are we to expect from one who not only excludes Shakespeare from the* category of men whose achievements have definitely contributed to the advance of civilisation, but who also completely ignores the immense influence of music in the general reclamation of primitive man. and its acknowledged power to soothe the savage breast?

Later on, and in another place, 1 hope to champion the cause of Shakespeare—if, indeed, that colossal one require a champion; but, surely, no really thoughtful man can deny the universal claims of music to a share in the world’s progress ; and this, being conceded, who but the illustrious Johann Sebastian Bach is entitled to be music’s representative through the ages? A writer, of whose judgment I have a far higher opinion than of Lord Raglans, has this to say about the supreme composer: ‘‘Since Bach’s death his music has gradually risen in regard, until now the whole world reverences and esteems it; indeed, it is not too much to assert that : inability to understand and enoy Bach implies musical defectiveness. . . . During the last hundred years, especially, we have been studying Bach and his music with the same ardour and enthusiasm that have, characterised our. close study of Shakespeare; the subject is by no means exhausted, ahd we are entitled to regard- it as inexhaustible. . . . Bach is one of the foremost influencing forces of the world . . he remains one of those living energies that cannot be finally' discussed. The art of a man like Bach is the sum of all the art in the world around him,” and so on.

There is more than mere eulogy in this panagyric; it, is a plain, statement of truth, and, as such, admits of no. refutation. Bach is the musical Shakespeare, Like the latter’s, his achievements have 'materially contributed to humanity’s happiness, therefore he becomes automatically a “ great ” man, even , in the almost ineffable sense of the term demanded by Lord Baglan. But there is one point about Bach’s music concerning which J beg to differ from many musicians 1 do ‘not agree that this composer is heard-to best advantage upon the instruments for which he wrote. That Bach sounds better, for-instance, on a harpsichord than on a modern pianoforte; is, to my mind, an absurd contention..ln fact, 1 will go as far as to assert ray belief that could he have foreseen pur present day instruments he might have written still finer music—if that can be imagined—and I think it can, as regards some of his slow movements for the harpsichord,-at all events. .In this connection it must be remembered that the early-keyboard instruments were quite innocent' - of any sustaining pedal —an invention which revolutionised cantabile melody. Tet there, arc passages in the ‘ Wohlteinperirt.es Clavier ’ that appear to foreshadow the pedal development. Altogether, it would appear that the (■mission of Bach .from Lord Raglan’s eleven—sorry. I should say ten—is a solecism of the first water.