Of Wagner's work as a whole it is as yet too early to speak with
certainty. The beauty of his works, and the value of the system upon
which they are founded, must still be to a certain extent a matter of
individual taste. One thing, at any rate, may safely be said: he has
altered the whole course of modern opera. It is inconceivable that a
work should now be written without traces more or less important of the
musical system founded and developed by Richard Wagner.
CHAPTER XI
MODERN FRANCE
GOUNOD--THOMAS--BIZET--SAINT
SAENS--REYER--MASSENET--BRUNEAU--CHARPENTIER--DEBUSSY
If one were set upon paradox, it would not be far from the truth to say
that up to the middle of the nineteenth century the most famous French
composers had been either German or Italian. Certainly if Lulli, Gluck,
Rossini and Meyerbeer--to name only a few of the distinguished aliens
who settled in Paris--had never existed, French opera of the present day
would be a very different thing from what it actually is. Yet in spite
of the strangely diverse personalities of the men who had most influence
in shaping its destiny, modern French opera is an entity remarkable for
completeness and homogeneity, fully alive to tendencies the most
advanced, yet firmly founded upon the solid traditions of the past.
Gounod (1818-1893) was trained in the school of Meyerbeer, but his own
sympathies drew him rather towards the serene perfection of Mozart.
Pages:
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241