EVOLUTION OF THE MUSICDRAMA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13501, 27 July 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

EVOLUTION OF THE MUSICDRAMA.

.. No. -ii. ; BY IDRIS. - Lv the two works of Wagner reviewed last week we see him conscious that the form of opera in use for generations before his time was dramatically and artistically untrue. In it the action of the play and the attributes of the characters were dominated by the composer, and the libretto was little more than a framework on xvhich to hang music, often brilliant and charming, no doubt, but usually in its nature utterly foreign to the situation it ought to have interpreted and accentuated. Not infrequently the libretto was written to match the music already composed, and in these cases the result was even more flagitious. The absurd star" system in vogue was also a stumbling-block, for frequently much of the interest in the play as a play was destroyed in order that these petted sovereigns of the siagc might drag in an entirely unnecessary aria or duet. With the claims of absolute music to dominate the stage Wagner had no sympathy. Acknowledged king of the orchestra, and the greatest master of polyphony the world has known, ho yet felt the necessity , of relegating music to its proper place, that of aiding and elucidating the action of the drama. Still, so hard is it to break away from the customs that have grown upon us ] that he spent years of his life struggling to shun what his artistic sense told him to be false before he succeeded in completely freeing bis work from the baneful influences of his predecessors. In "The Dutchman" and •"Taunhauser" we see him endeavouring to carry out bis theory, and despite frequent relapses advancing steadily towards perfection. In his next work, "Lohengrin," he has so nearly succeeded (though "absolute success was only reached in "Tristan") that it may be taken as the best representative of Wagner's earlier works. It was in " Lohengrin," that he first systematically applied the " leading motive." Every leading idea of the drama or pronounced personal attribute or emotion of the characters has as its musical complement a short but striking harmonious or melodious movement, and whenever in the course of the play this, idea or emotion is presented we hear the phrase equivalent to it either from singer or orchestra. : Twentyfive centuries ago Homer applied to poetry in a modified form this system of repetition of epithet or phrase, and both epic and music-drama have gained in intensity from its application. Readers of Tennyson have been familiarised with the Holy Grail, v or San Grail, in which the blood of our Saviour (sang real) was preserved. It was supposed to be kept in the castle of Monsalvat, in the Pyrenees, guarded by a body of knights, of whom Percival, the father of Lohengrin, was king. They were true knights errant, acting as champions ' in the cause of distressed virtue at any distance, and were imbued by the Grail with supernatural powers, but only so long as they kept their identity unrevealed. Lohengrin" opens with the arraignment of Elsa, Princess of Brabant, on the charge of having murdered her younger brother, Godfrey, who has mysteriously disappeared, in order that she might reign alone. Her a.ccuser, Frederick, Count of Telramund, claims the realm for himself on the ground that he had been chosen by her father for Elsa's, husband, although she herself .had refused his suit. Frederick demands a trial by combat, which the king grants, but Elsa 4ias no champion to appear for her. In great distress she tells of a vision she has had of a knight in silver armour, and kneeling, prays fervently that he may be sent to her succour. As the trumpets "sound for the third and last .time' for the appearance of : her; champion Lohengrin is seen approaching in a boat ; drawn, by a.swan..; He lands -and ; -defeats Frederick, and becomes betrothed to Lisa-, exacting a. solemn pledge that she will not ask him who he is nor whence, he comes. She willingly promises, and at the time, no doubt, intends to keep her ; word, but Ortrud, the wifo of Frederick, a sorceress of considerable power, whose malign influence over her Husband has been the cause of all Elsa's woes, manages -to instil into her mind doubts of the boua-iides of" the unknown knight, who so mysteriously arrives from no one knows whence.' When Elsa and Lohengrin are left alone her curiosity overmasters her. After a fruitless endeavour to extract the information she wishes for by half-veiled hints, she finally asks • the fatal question outright, . and . as she does so Frederick and his retainers, urged thereto by Ortrud, rush in to.murder Lohengrin. Frederick himself is slain, and ; the vassals lay down . their arms. But Lohengrin has* to leave his bride and return to Monsalvat, leaving her. to bear alone the consequences of her fatal curiosity. He discloses his name and lineage, and tells Elsa her brother is alive, and in the service of the Grail. The swan Returns, to bear him away, and he is about to depart when Ortrud, exulting in the success of her deviltries, triumphantly discloses the. fact that the swan is Godfrey, changed into that form by her magic arts. Lohengrin kneels in prayer: the swan dives, and emerges from the water in his human form; a dove descends from heaven to draw the boat, and as Lohengrin sails away into the distance Elsa expires in the arms of her brother. The music is to a great extent founded on two leading motives, one usually known as the "Grail Motive," a melody of exquisite beauty, on which the prelude —for there is no overture—-is based, and the other, known as the " Motive of Warning," to the impressive strains of which Lohengrin asks .for Elsa's implicit belief in him although unknown. In the fine scene in which Elsa gradually approaches the subject of his origin, we hear it- intoned by the orchestra alternating with the " Doubt Motive," and at the close of the act, when Lohengrin announces that he will disclose all, we hear it over-riding the sad echoes of the gladsome song with which they had confessed their mutual love. Other chief motives are the one appertaining to Elsa's dream, the "Lohengrin Motive,' the Doubt Motive, and the"one denoting the king. In the last act Lohengrin's account of the Grail, his greeting to the swan, and his farewell to Elsa are all finally illustrative of a character pertaining far more to heaven than to earth.' Though Wagner was soon destined to reach a far higher dramatic plane, and to carry to a hitherto undreamed of extent his power of rendering psychological traits into musical terms, there is an aesthetic purity and beauty, and a fervent religious feeling in the music of " Lohengrin" that have made a deep impression on many who frankly confess they are unable . to follow the higher flights of "Tristan and Isolde" and " Gotterdammerung." Many musicians are willing to admit that it was the Swan Knight who first brought them under the potent spell of Wagner, and it was certainly the advent of this work that drew upon him the eves of the music-loving public. We have - now followed Wagner through his three earlier works, and have seen how he triumphed gradually over the obstacles that hampered his inspiration, and evolved the music-drama from his artistic sense of the eternal fitness of things. Music is from this out with him not an end in itself, but an agent for clothing and surrounding each situation of the drama and emotion of the characters with a continuous flow of melody aiding and interpreting the action, which is no longer checked and hindered by the conventions of opera. At one sweep he throws overboard all that remains to him of the paraphernalia held sacred by the Italian school, and in "Tristan and Isolde" and the four dramas of the Nibelungenlied we hear the unfettered impulses of his own concentrated inspiration. "The Valkyrie," which is to be given shortly for the first time in New Zealand, is an excellent example of the work of Wagner's maturity, and perhaps the most exquisite specimen of - the sustained melodiousness of which we v find promise in portions of "Lohengrin." From the first bar of,the prelude to the last note of the brilliantly decorative music descriptive of the hedge of fire with which Loki surrounds the sleeping form of Brynhild, there is no padding, nothing that could be excised without detracting from the interest of the play. As " The Valkyrie" is but 'a;' portion of the Trilogy, no description of the - plot which

would be intelligible can be found room for here. But covering as it does the expression of the four strongest passions of which the human heart is capable—love, hatred, jealousy and parental affection—it gives the fullest scope to Wagner's power. The loneliness of Seigmund's life until he meets Seiglinde and the intensity of the love that at first sight overcomes them give occasion for two leading motives of extraordinary sweetness and tenderness, while the imminence of the danger to which bis weaponless state exposes him is exemplified by the orchestra in one of the most impressive passages ever written. The long duet between the two lovers, with which the first act ends. is. for passionate beauty and ardent affection, unrivalled even in '"Tristan," and the manner in which the character of Brynhild, goddess and woman in one, is worked out is a masterpiece of musical delineation. The tender pathos with which the misfortunes that overtake the unhappy lovers are told, the intense subjectivity of the slumber song, and the regret with which Wotan parts with his best loved child, are further . instances of the. wide range of Wagner's powers of expression, and will make the hearers realise the true inwardness of Roger's line— A tliouxund harmonies unheard before.