Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Stanford.
Stanford, Charles Villiers, 1852-1924.
New York, The Macmillan company, 1911.
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015009599484
Music
MT
.579
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
THE MACMILLAN
COMPANY
FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN
LONDON
BOMBAY
THE MACMILLAN
CALCUTTA
MUSICAL
COMPOSITION
A SHORT TREATISE FOR
STUDENTS
BY
THE MACMILLAN
COMPANY
1911
Jtll
rigbtt
rturvtd
Copyright,
Bv
1911,
t up and electrotyped.
J.
Nortoooo $r
S. Gushing Co. Berwick & Smith Co.
>-r-
IN GRATEFUL MEMORY
OF
405382
li
PREFATORY NOTE
This little treatise
if
and
vii
PREFATORY
viii
NOTE
1911.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
II.
FASB
Introductory
Technique
III.
Rhythm
23
IV.
33
V.
of Melodies.
Variation
49
VI. Form
74
VII. Colour
95
VIII.
IX.
127
X.
155
Danger Signals
165
ix
CHAPTER
INTRODUCTORY
The composition of music is no more an exact
science
it
it,
is
if
is
it
is
is
an impossible absurdity.
music
The only province
to criticise
when written, or to make
of
teacher
suggestions as to its form or length, or as to the instru
should be designed.
ments or voices for which
He
can thus keep impatience within bounds when inven
tion
outpacing experience, and develop by sure,
sometimes necessarily slow, means the experience to
For the rest his functions must
equal the invention.
be what those of this treatise must be, mainly to give
hints as to what to avoid, leaving the constructive
element to the pupil's own initiative.
It not possible to discuss composition without to
some extent touching upon other branches of musical
study which form an integral part of its proper pre
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
is
it
if
is
it
is
is
is,
INTRODUCTORY
to
WfJ
But when it is
explained to him that this rule was made in the early
a melody written to
an instrument
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
EE
INTRODUCTORY
CHAPTER
II
TECHNIQUE
It would
step
is
is
is,
TECHNIQUE
No.
J 'J J_
r r r r
1.
-b
i.
"m:
1(1
com
No. 2.
m
which," although it has no rich chords, is far more
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
*=:
t=i
1
IE'""
_
,
-'-
'
&
rT
|H
.it
l
(
3=F
1
n
&
* f
TECHNIQUE
bh-c
-J
f
-
f-t
'
-m
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
10
necessary
it
it
is
it
is
is
master harmony.
It
not necessary to remind
student of musical
history that this was the process by which were trained
all the great masters from Palestrina down to Wagner
and Brahms.
The policy of putting harmony before counterpoint
of comparatively recent growth; the growth has
unfortunately overrun
great deal of low-lying land,
flourishes from
easy enough to note where
and
the results of its miasma. To the advanced modern
student
may be interesting to point out that such
works as the Meister singer, Parsifal, and the German
Requiem did not grow on this tainted soil; nor, to go
to the other extreme of style, did the waltzes of Johann
is
Strauss.
is
is
if
it
if
it
TECHNIQUE
11
is,
12
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
Jfii^tomedjo
TECHNIQUE
13
sary for him to begin all over again, and to school his
A musician who has begun
ear to the pure scale.
his career by learning a stringed instrument will
find no such difficulty; but to one who has absorbed
the compromise known as "equal temperament," it
will come as something of a shock to discover that
his idea of the scale is confined to keyed instruments,
and that in the orchestra and in voices it has no place.
For him Palestrina and all the early masters of
unaccompanied vocal music are a sealed book. He
may like the sounds they produce, but he does not
know why. He may wonder at the silken quality of
a string quartet, but he will not know the reason which
underlies it. He may be surprised that chords (e.g. in
Wagner), which sound crude on his piano, lose all their
roughness in the orchestra, but he cannot analyse the
cause.
For the composer, therefore, it is an absolute
necessity that he should study the pure scale and
write in it. The basis of the pure scale is that
diatonic semitones are a fixed interval, and tones
There is a greater tone and a lesser tone.
changeable.
scale of
C the interval
the interval
(a)
(6)
^t-
In the pure
If
semitone y)
XT
rj
would
be
too
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
14
If <=
Diatonio
semitone.
violin.)
The ratios of the intervals have been calculated out,
and are as follows
ii
Diatonic semitone
Lesser tone
Greater tone
Major third
Perfect fourth
Perfect fifth
Major sixth
Major seventh
Octave
if the G string =
the
bridge,
will be
the
note
the octave;
major third
from G;
a
TECHNIQUE
if
15
a perfect fourth
G;
from
will be
and so on throughout the scale.
When harmonies are added to the notes of the scale
of C, one note has to be liable to change and is termed
"
This note is D, the second degree, which
mutable."
must be the lesser tone from C (ft) in order to
combine with F and A (the supertonic triad), and the
greater tone from C ($) in order to combine with G.
This can be tested arithmetically by calculating the
interval from C to F (i), the perfect fifth from D
to A (i), and the major third from F to A (I), which
perfectly
r-y
it
I'D
rj o
fm
Jilt
Diatonio
Diatonio
semitone.
semitone.
'
f~
r~\
1
1
Lesser tone
Greater tone
ft
f
Minor third
Perfect fourth
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
16
i
I
Perfect fifth
Minor sixth
Minor seventh
Octave
On the other
by applying
=8-
This can be
tested
TECHNIQUE
17
(a major third).]
The ear will soon
he is able to
it
is
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
18
is,
it
it,
is
is
is
TECHNIQUE
r rr f
T
19
rrWf
f>
'p
toC).
it,
20
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
TECHNIQUE
21
22
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
CHAPTER
III
RHYTHM
If
w
hexameter line is in six feet of dactyls (
w) and
spondees
).
MUSICAL
24
COMPOSITION
(five feet of
the first line of Paradise Lost, will
iambics (
also illustrate this point
(6)
which when
is
it
(a)
)),
shown thus
~-
~~
I.
is
is
It
RHYTHM OF DETAIL.
it
is
is
is
is
RHYTHM
25
C2-
p* '
*=fcfs=
thus:
if
this:
tHs P
y'
*
~1
1
\1
H
_i
frff- =
P&1
m~
P"
(3)
p
P
-1
" 1
-j-^
'
>
Wj- ^?7tr i
r-f
iz=c=
-T
G>
4=4=
26
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
and so on ad infinitum.
Command over rhythm is as necessary in subsidiary
parts as in the melodic. One rhythmical figure can
give a character of its own to a whole movement (e.g.
the finale of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony), and even
to a whole symphony (Schumann in D minor), and will
itself breed other cognate rhythms to vary it and
check monotony.
Its importance in song writing will
be discussed when vocal music is considered. Rhythm
is the first attempt of barbarians to express themselves
musically, and its prime necessity as an integral part
of music is proved by the fact that all the most
advanced and complex works in modern music are
still dependent upon it for a livelihood, as witness the
Rattenfanger of Hugo Wolf, or the battle-section of
Strauss' Heldenleben.
All the leading motives in
the Nibelungen are either rhythmical melody, such as
the sword-theme (alias the common chord of C),
RHYTHM
27
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
28
4*
'
A
B
it
1 1
m .
is a four-bar sentence
U-4
C is a two-bar sentence
is
example
the nonsense
A;
C
A and B.
At
RHYTHM
29
At}
A
a
B
i
rr-f
a
Ir r
:J If
11
-i
i
B balances A ;
D balances C ;
E balances A and B.
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
30
g
1
but the ear will still wish for the relief of a simple
rhythm after the two complex rhythms, and both
sections will gain by their juxtaposition.
For an
example
of
this
interplay
of
usual
and
unusual
RHYTHM
31
32
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
CHAPTER IV
MELODIES AND THEIR SIMPLE TREATMENT
The first attempt of the tyro usually takes the form
of writing a song. This is probably because the lilt
of a poem suggests a musical phrase, stirs the lyrical
feeling, and perhaps appeals to the dramatic sense
which composers must possess in order to be composers
at all. But the tyro does not know, what in course of
time he will infallibly find out, that to write a good
song is one of the most difficult tasks which a
Song writing is miniature
composer can set himself.
The detail must be perfect from the first
painting.
note to the last, capable of being examined under the
and standing the test without showing
microscope,
a flaw. It demands a power, which is perhaps the
hardest of all to acquire, of suggesting large and com
prehensive ideas in a confined and economical space,
and expressing small and dainty ideas without over
loading them on the one hand or underestimating
them on the other.
It is also a dangerous rut in the composer's road.
It seems to him smooth enough to progress in, but is
likely enough to upset him when he tries to get
out of it. To write a good melody or theme in
absolute music by the suggestion of music itself will
p
33
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
34
This translation
is
it
it,
35
I begin ?
To make it plain.
To all men, that you to wed are fain.
Sachs.
see
be so.
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
(That
them.)
is,
36
on the same
of
it
is
it
is
thrown away.)
Walther then sings the Aftersong, or closing
Sachs says the melody
stanza of the first verse.
little free, but he does not object.
When Walther in the final scene sings the Preislied
most instructive to notice how he has
again,
absorbed Sachs' advice as to the second stanza and
made his free modulation clearer to the ear by extend
it
If
wherefore of it.
Do not waste your material, and gather up your
threads at the end.
Be careful to keep your tonality clear.
We will now endeavour to show the construction of
melody in absolute music, and the manner in which
MELODIES
it is helped by
bass.
37
The best
Symphony.
-1
C
.
r V
^g-
^UT-
rrr,?V
1 1 1 1
The number
IF-
'
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
38
expresses
related ideas in
lost," while
it
is
it
it,
first four notes and the wife (B) in the last two bars.
These are the children. The whole section after the
double-bar, which is (in miniature) Sachs' Aftersong,
sums up all the material before
so that "none of
new
has
written
bass
so
apart from
it
way.
it
is
it
So
is
MELODIES
39
-=d__J\
mi
W>
ri
h~f*
..J,
J *0jJ-
,i
h- 1 1
i
3
i 1
-~i
n^}-rffi?v-j
>
iJ
i~
( fM-H
if)
M....J
Mipp
-ft*Kin:
Fni-r
-I
M [-r-Ji
^
^iJ1
1
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
40
7LH*
r gr cr i 4 W^
mmm
FT
snJ
P
E
4b
i
E
4.
A and B.
A
41
falls in
It
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
42
First
The Sketch.
Movement.
1 Beethoveniana
Leipzig
J.
Reiter-Biedermann.
MELODIES
=F=#
W
'
The Finished
p0
ff jiW -0%
Me lody.
(i
-\
The Sketch.
43
Tl
11.: J.I
I.
'
44
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
Note how the end of the melody is revived so as to
45
he
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
46
When
Preislied,
progression in the
it produces a totally different impression,
he
uses
similar
47
48
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
CHAPTER V
THE COMPLEX TREATMENT OF MELODIES.
VARIATIONS
The next
step is to combine
j
j
m
49
fl
i1
i,1
P'/
jj
j:
i
i
i
i
it,
50
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
This kind of variation is mere child's play to any one
51
52
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
The greatest masters of it were, without question,
53
I.
THE THEME.
J?
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
54
Of the fourth
examples
Variations
In the former of
Four-hand
the
The last two
scheme of rhythm is 5,5, 11 4, 4, 4, 4, 3.
four-bar rhythms in the second part are really two
five-bar rhythms with the first bar of each succeeding
rhythm overlapping the last bar of the previous one.
(Op. 23).
these
ff-r
i ii
i
1
'2
||,
4,
5,
||
5,
(2+2)
G>
s>
Tfo
repeated
- -G>
-it
55
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
56
is
it,
II.
THE VARIATIONS.
is
the following
the gradations of this type
would be
few of
were to be varied,
-4-
jllllljPll
mm
im
It is scarcely too much to say that Purcell was the greatest master
of variation writing before the time of Bach witness his sonata in
variation form for two violins, bass and harpsichord, on ground bass.
MELODIES
AND VARIATIONS
57
(6)
(7)
of
*H
,1
it
is,
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
68
*-1
h*
'
'
II.
III.
rtfr
1.
I.
;
2.
59
7.
is
is
is
6.
(a
5.
4.
I.,
60
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
61
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
62
is
it,
63
the pace.
variations on the
waltz of Diabelli (Op. 121), a theme of almost greater
inanity than Righini's, but treated in a way that
almost deifies the tune. The variations go so far
afield that it is often necessary to compare them
separately with the theme in order to be able to
work out their genesis.
The following variations will
best illustrate
this: Vars. 3, 9, 13, 14, 18, 20
(a most amazing piece of modernity), 23, 24, 28
(the ancestor of some of Schumann's children), 30, 31,
This work, with the variations in the
32 and 33.
C sharp minor String-Quartet (Op. 131), and the
finale of the last Pianoforte Sonata (Op. Ill), almost
(but, as time has proved, not quite) says the last
word in the modern development of this fascinating
form of composition.
We will now apply the same analytical process
to the Haydn Variations of Brahms, which being
written originally for two pianofortes and after
wards for orchestra are naturally more complicated
in structure.
The rhythmical scheme of the theme has been
given above ; but the detail of the first bar
64
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
JJJJ
by itself.
The
Var. 2. (Pill vivace, in the tonic minor.)
phrase upon which this is built is the first three notes
only of the theme, thus
>
and of
Part I.
The intervening four-bar passage is itself a variation
on Var. 1. The first bar of it
MELODIE&lND VARIATIONS
65
JTJ
JT3
begins to cross
p
In
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
66
it,
is
6.
Var.
The key figure
the first
(Vivace f.)
bar of the theme reversed, diminished into semiquavers,
The
is
is
An arpeggio
figure
6.
is
7.
is
5,
f,
J.
67
EE
Var. 8. (Presto non troppo %, tonic minor.)
A
double variation, very contrapuntal and complicated
in detail. It begins with the first three notes of the
theme reversed, and in all other respects, except shape,
is very independent.
The theme appears in the tenth
bar in the bass, and clamps the whole together. The
ingenuity of the interchange and combinations of
the running figures, especially in Part II., will repay
the closest study.
is a series of variations
The Finale (Andante
constructed on a ground bass repeated no less than
seventeen times.
It is a fine example of the species
of variation mentioned on p. 55 of the type of Bach's
Passacaglia. The ground bass is a modification of the
first bars of the theme and is itself in five-bar rhythm,
1 3.
4. Rhythms of 6 against 4.
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
68
5. Chord pulses.
6.
imitation.
8.
suggestion
of 7.
9.
10.
to the movement,
and the
spirit of Var. 7 is reproduced both by the arpeggio
figure and the character of the melody.
syncopated modification of 9.
11.
12.
13.
12CO
SP
W
x/i
ft
14.
15.
18
11
16.
17.
69
B's again.
It
interesting
is
to note
the repeated
the dynamic
2.
4.
3.
13.
5.
14.
piu
6.
15.
7.
16.
p
8.
10.
9.
17.
piu p pp
11.
12.
ff
Coda.
70
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
m-bm-
71
Piano
(2)
forte
Varia
tions.
(1)
m
(3)
(4)
(8)
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
72
J-,
r
'
'
is
is
is
is
it
it
it,
73
CHAPTER VI
FORM
It
is not
FORM
means
75
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
76
is
it
if
is
is
is
it,
it
it
is
a
evitable.
The history of musical form, then,
history of
evolution, and in order to master it, the student must
for himself in miniature on the same lines
evolve
that
has been evolved through the
last three
centuries
beginning with short dance forms, and
gradually expanding his ideas into longer movements,
FORM
77
is
is
is
is
is
it
it
||,
78
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
FOKM
79
faced.
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
80
17 bars.
.
28 bars.
18 bars.
19 bars.
6 bars.
episode
48 bars.
Recapitulation
...
17 bars.
16 bars.
20 bars.
24 bars.
9 bars.
Coda
34 bars.
Excluding
.
.
45 bars
00
82.
43 bars J
48 bars.
bars
50 bars
33
34 bars.
FORM
81
II.
PROPORTIONS
OF THE DETAILS
A.
fyP
F"
exactly.
^*
r r f P
essential)
c-
CJ"
pause.
I
bars.
Bars,
10.
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
82
the second
section of the
episode.
33, 34.
35, 36.
37-38.
A in the minor.
B in the minor, but varied and intensified.
B in different positions three times, so providing
means for a modulation
nant.
42.
A with
J JJ
.
43, 44.
J J.
is taken up and
FORM
83
1-8.
Polyphony.
8, 9.
Single notes.
Polyphony.
10-25.
25-32.
33-44.
44, 45.
Single notes.
Polyphony.
if f
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
84
The difference
45-53.
D.
J3 J
is one
is repeated
E. J5*1
W
J3lJ9*1
is a throw-back
This
FORM
F.
Barg
54_5e!
67- 64.
64. 66.
68- 71.
jjJJj
tr
Bar
67
tr
75-7778-81.
82.
83, 84.
movement.
72-74.
by one bar of D) in a
(preceded
66. 67.
^)
85
repeated
(r-^
tr
tr
tr
and
tr
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
86
Bars.
85.
86.
87,88.
A variation of C
of
Development Section
The first four bars of the sonata repeated, A and B.
93, 94.
95, 96.
96-99.
101-108.
108.
109-113.
B repeated, modulating.
B repeated, modulating further.
A break, and a connecting link, founded on A, and
being a written out version of the pause
Bar 100 = bar 17.
= bars 18-25, but in the relative minor.
= bar 17.
A threefold repetition of the figure
in bar
6.
in A, reversed.
114, 115.
= bars 64,
65,
modulating
arpeggio as at 71.
116-121.
122, 123.
126! 127
128-130.
131-136.
FORM
87
The Recapitulation
Ban.
137-153.
153-iei.
161-169.
170-190.
190-213.
= 1-17.
88
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
Bars.
213-219.
= 82-88.
The first subject, A and B only, with chromatic modulations. The last two chords only of B, treated in
and continuing the chromatic modulation.
B twice repeated and completing the modulation
back to E flat.
C and the connecting scale of bars 8 and 9, but
chromatic throughout, and written in more rapid notes.
A and B as at the beginning.
The last two chords of B repeated twice.
A brilliant passage, preserving the chromatic char
acter of the coda, and finally clamping the modulation
and fixing its finish in the tonic.
The final passage; bars 246-249 are founded on
bars 25-28 of the first episode, but treated in imita
tion, and varied as well, the closing passage being the
broken arpeggio from the same source and related
in shape to that at bars 72-75.
If this analysis is carefully followed, it will be
especially noticeable that there is not one single bar
of "padding." All the figures and passages have a
When the
logical origin in some detail of the themes.
student writes a movement upon this or any other
model, he had better work in another key, and in
another tempo,
instead of , or
instead of
; and
if he adopts a minor mode for the copy of a model
in the major mode, he will, of course, vary his con
trasted keys accordingly.
His rough rules in choosing
this particular sonata (which he can afterwards modify
to suit to any other model which he takes) are :
ribattuta,
230-233.
234-236.
237-241.
242, 243.
244, 245.
246-253.
FORM
89
'
JJ J |?
:eto.
n
Subject.
Second
.ffl
4-
.
m
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
90
It
of the whole scheme.
have its climax and the subsidence after the
on a small scale, just as the whole movement
There should always be a point
a large scale.
which will give time to recover breath
in
should
climax
has on
of rest
it,
Never repeat
in exactly
it
notes,
the same
for wishing
to
FORM
91
92
MUSICAL COMPOSITION^
FORM
93
is
is
it,
it
is
if
is
care
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
94
"Wer
nie sein
I"
CHAPTER VII
COLOUR
Tone-colour, which for the
sake of abbreviation
we
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
96
Meistersinger,
or
of
Tristan will
is
it
is
it
it,
the
test
COLOUR
97
is
is
it
it
it
it
is
is,
tions
the almost exclusive possession of the human
voice instruments only possess
within limits. The
at all except by the
pianoforte does not possess
mechanical contrivance of the soft and damper pedals
the violin can only get
by the use of
mute, or by
pizzicato with the fingers
the harp only by harmonics.
Some wind instruments possess
to
greater or less
extent, such as the high, medium and low registers
of the flute, clarinet and bassoon.
The horn with
its round soft notes and its brassed (cuivri) quality.
The voice can be round, nasal, rough, smooth, declam
atory and whispering as the emotions indicated by
the words require, and this kind of colour, which
we will term "individual,"
only to be attained on
mechanically made instruments to
very modified
extent.
The only quality in the instrumental player
which can give an impression of its existence
what
is
is
is
is
"temperament."
The other kind of colour we shall term "collective."
It
produced by combinations of the timbre of
different instruments and their contrast to each other
and the only keyed instrument which possesses in
the organ,
itself the capacity of collective colour
by means of its various stops and wind-pressures.
Individual colour
the sole property of the executive
termed
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
98
I.
it
is
it
it,
In order to
ORCHESTRATION
a
COLOUR
99
100
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
is
it
is
it
if
it,
where he can
both close to it (and if possible above
distance, where he will get
dissect the sound), and at
the orchestra
the general effect. It does not matter
small in numbers; indeed, for his purpose,
better that
should be. Only in this way will the
is
a
it
COLOUR
101
first:
flutes,
oboes,
102
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
COLOUB
103
Wood.
j
t
The
instruments
he
will
or 2 Flutes.
2 Oboes.
2 Clarinets.
2 Bassoons.
2 Horns,
2 Trumpets.
Kettle Drums.
Percussion.
Strings.
it,
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
104
I. Violin \
II. Violin/
Viola
{Cello
Bass
treble part,
tenor part,
"I
bass part.
than thus:
I. Violin
II.
treble part,
alto part,
tenor part.
Violin
Viola
'Cello
Bass
1
>
bass part.
Violin.
IL
Violin.
than thus
Viola.
Oelli k
Bassi.
(It
to sustain
chords.
treatment
for
COLOUR
(c)
105
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
106
flat
but
COLOUR
107
108
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
and aria "In quali eccessi" and the sestet "Sola, Sola"
from Don Giovanni. The attempts to amplify the
very meagre pianoforte arrangements of these pieces
into orchestral form will be found easier after a good
grounding in the symphonies. From Mozart, he can
move on to Beethoven, and as he gets more at home
in the work, he can confine himself to fragments of
movements which seem the least easy or the most
suggestive of variant colours ; such as the slow move
ment of Symphony No. 4, the opening of the Finale of
No. 5 (for sonorous, as opposed to noisy, fortissimo),
the slow movement of No. 6, the Scherzo and Trio of
No. 7, and the Allegretto of No. 8. He can try some
experiments with Weber (Freischutz and Euryanthe
overtures), and finally with Wagner, whose SiegfriedIdyll is a unique specimen of the maximum of effect
attained by the simplest means, and any page or pages
in the Meister singer. This last score is supremely
valuable to the student of orchestration if only for its
proportionate use of that
dangerous rogue-elephant, the double bass.
A course of study of this plan will soon lead the
student not only to assign a phrase to the instrument
which suits it best, but even to get inspiration for his
phrases from the tone-quality of the instrument which
It will also teach him, in a way which
is in his mind.
no original experiments can, how to make his middle
parts not only interesting in themselves but sufficiently
economical and perfectly
COLOUR
109
110
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
it
is
a
;
is
is
is,
COLOUR
111
He knows, as
every sane and sound composer knows, that it is only
unless
he was qualifying
for Bedlam.
It
is the clothes
is
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
112
JT
Allegro.
(l)
.Viol.
I.
is
it,
VlOL.II.
-Sd-
4=I
^jwfc-
Violoncello.
IjrftP
_B
h^r
TV ~=t*
=Ef*
Viola.
& ^
-3-
V-^C-
COLOUR
113
m
(2)
--**
T-f
t*0
Lxr
rr
-fr r Fbm
LJ! .
r,g i* a.
i-
J-
=^33
(3)
_1
=^33=
*_J.
4:
~=*T
^4 [% rji
-a-:
--en*
LC^rf
114
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
COLOUR
(3)
115
hinted at above.
(4) The perfection of every note in a quartet, and
the necessity of putting it in its proper place even to
a fraction is one of the axioms of good workmanship.
It does not avail to excuse an ugly or unsuitable note
by pleading the rapidity with which it goes by. The
same ear which will instantly detect the clerical
omission of a sharp or a flat ought to train itself to
correct ruthlessly an incongruous note, or an ill-fitting
Purity of style depends upon this
rhythmical figure.
rigid self-criticism, and without purity of style it is
The
better that chamber music should not exist.
danger is that a composer's ear may accustom itself to
like what is really an ugliness because it has heard it
and is prejudiced in its favour by belonging
to the person who wrote it. That the human being
can accustom his palate even to enjoy cod-liver oil or
a superannuated egg is a well-known fact ; but he has
only degenerated his tasting power, and port for the
average man remains preferable as a drink to castor oil.
The best remedy for this not uncommon disease is the
advice of an experienced friend. In most cases a harsh
or unexpected note or figure will pass muster if the
writer has a definite logical reason for writing it which
If it cannot be defended by
he can clearly explain.
such means, it generally spells carelessness and bad
so often,
workmanship.
(5)
It
is needless perhaps to
116
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
An interesting
COLOUR
117
Allegro.
Viol. L.
Viol.
f-p-
IL
f-k
Viola.
'PL
'Cello.
IS
yr
f-P-
-<s:
sf,
a
118
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
into brilliancy.
A slight ritenuto or accelerando may
make a phrase lilt, when without them it hangs fire.
A violin passage carelessly bowed may destroy a
rhythm.
He must be careful also to describe the
pace of his movements in the right terms, and if pos
sible to verify them by hearing them played before he
fixes it finally; for a work, when it comes to be
performed, often demands a different tempo from what
the composer has imagined in his head, and this
experience is still more necessary to a beginner, who
not infrequently changes the pace in his mind, uncon
sciously, as he writes. There is an abundance of terms
whereby he can indicate pace without tying it down
irretrievably with a metronome mark, but he must be
accurate in his choice of them. Mistakes most fre
quently arise in slow movements, where he will often
write lento when he means andante, or andante when
he means adagio.
The metronome is only of use as
indicating the mean average to which the pace should
conform without being inelastic ; and even that aver
age is liable to change when the exigencies of a large
or small room demand it.
The composer is strongly recommended to adhere to
Italian as the universal language of music signs. It
has in recent times become a sort of mock-patriotic
fad of his to write directions in the language of his
own country, which would be all very well if his music
were only performed there; but his patriotism stops
short of any desire to confine it to his native land.
Every player and singer in every country understands
Italian terms. The difficulties which Englishmen
experience when they are faced with such German
terms as "nicht schleppend," "noch rascher," "innig"
COLOUR
119
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
120
a whole phrase.
Difficulties in reason
being made purposely difficult.
there must be, but only where it is certain that the
passage cannot, by a few alterations, be made to sound
as well in a more practicable shape.
All these considerations apply with equal force to
other forms of chamber music. In string trios the
standard must be three parts, and not a mongrel four
secured by perpetual double-stopping in the various
This type of composition, if imagined
instruments.
and carried out upon a genuine three-part basis, will be
of great value as a training for the orchestral writing
of strings. A study of such a work as the C Minor
Trio of Beethoven (Op. 9, No. 3) will be invaluable.
The first four bars of it
^#
Viola.
VlOLONOELLC
cres.
).
cres.
COLOUR
121
K.
-JmA
*/
-s-.
h\9
ft1'
if
'
if
^
>/
if
of the
W m
PI
v-
a-
such as
unless
you
122
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
COLOUR
123
I. Violin,
II.
III.
or
II.
III.
Violin,
Piano, left hand,
II.
III.
Violin.
I. Violin,
II.
III.
'Cello,
Pianoforte, both hands,
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
124
COLOUR
125
the trios of
for all these combinations are in plenty
Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms; the quartets
and quintets of the same composers, and of Schumann
and for the combination of pianoforte
and Dvorak;
and wind instruments (which follow exactly the same
lines) the works of Mozart (clarinet trio and quintet
for pianoforte and wind), Beethoven (trio for pianoforte,
clarinet and 'cello, quintet for pianoforte and wind,
sonata for pianoforte and horn, etc.), Schumann (pieces
for pianoforte and oboe, and pianoforte and clarinet),
Brahms (trio for pianoforte, violin and horn, sonatas
for pianoforte and clarinet), Saint Saens (caprice for
pianoforte, flute, oboe and clarinet, a most interesting
study even from the purely technical point of view
apart from its musical charm), and a host of other
works great and small.
The bearing of colour upon the treatment of voices,
alone and in combination with instruments, requires a
chapter to itself.
The secret of obtaining mastery of tints and of
mixing colours well is only gained by a wide know
ledge of musical works, and by using every opportunity
126
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
individuality.
VIII
CHAPTER
with the
The B will
always
128
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
will flatten.
129
\J
KJ
Vy
\J
w
Of his bones are coral made
\j
w
\J
Those are pearls that were his eyes
.
\J
ii
\J
V>
lies
this
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
130
J^J^
j^J
J^J
ANAN J
JJ
Those
are pearls
JUJU
J*
* i
a
sea
- change
be held out on
is
it
is,
An intelligible
131
Full fa-thom
bones
eyes
co - ral
are
made
lies
sea
Of his
suf-fer
thy fa - ther
five
But doth
fade,
change
his
strange.
;:
Of his bones
]
are
wirw
CO
ral made
eyes
No
fade,
Butdothsuf -
change
In-to
fer, doth
some
thing of
V
suf
fer
thing rich
him
his
that doth
sea
and strange.
132
In
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
133
No sun, no moon
it
No sun, no moon
(IH>)
No sun, no moon
runs thus
To - tal
dark
eclipse
No sun,
no moon
of noon
All
prime
'.'
de-cree?
134
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
(high
/
by
are
dark
to me.
Any composer,
135
in use.
alto,
mezzo-soprano,
gj|
baritone,
soprano,
tenor,
is,
as the compass
136
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
137
is
it
it,
"atmosphere"
also
is
picture.
There
is
it,
song
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
138
It
is well to avoid
writing several
to one
syllable except when the melody demands them, or
when they are made a special feature of rhythmical
detail. Archbishop Cranmer's maxim not to put two
notes to a syllable when one will do is a safe one to
follow. In the days of coloratura singing the custom
was different, but a glance at the operas of Rossini will
show that such gymnastics were confined to the settings
of words which were of little or no importance to the
dramatic action, and that where incisiveness of decla
mation was necessary, recitative only was employed.
notes
139
1.
1.
2.
Is no longer spring.
Verse 2.
140
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
is
if
it,
141
is
is
A it,
is,
it
is
is
it
is a
it
is
is
it
is made intelligible
142
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
143
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
144
plain.
(3) Recitative and Arioso.
recitative is most valuable
it,
145
The greatest
My Father, if it
not as
I will,
be possible,
but
as
Thou wilt.
146
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
"Ah perfido"
"In
questa,
Tomba"
147
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
148
I.
far r r
/
Sop.
II.
Ten.
I. s^
Tu
Tu
Ten. n.
so - lus
so
- Iub
ft
- tis - si - mus,
al
al -
Tu
h
tis - si-mu*.
m
Bass.
To
2-
-/H
Tu
2-
so - lus
al
tis - si - mus,
so - lus al -
tis-si-mus,
tis-ai-mus,
17,
Je
Je
Pl
tis-si-mus,
VP
Je -
su
su
Chris
Chris-te, Chris
su
149
te.
te.
-o-.
i
Chris
te.
1i Gt 11
Je
su
Chris
te.
150
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
it.
The famous shout of "Barabbas"
cede
in the Matthew
it
151
tlJ>
t
fn v
lLlJ
alto can be
thus
in the
the
treated
-H
~d W
. 1
-d
IT.
Jt^
r>
V*
=n
If
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
152
Matthew
and
B.
T.
B.
In this last
example
153
is
is
it
it
it,
it
is,
is
if
is
it
B,
if
especially in
quick movement. The quaver rest will
be there in any case
the singer breathes, and to
write
at A, instead of trusting to chance as at
the safer policy
to be preserved.
good phrasing
What the composer too frequently forgets in many
that performers do not imme
branches of his craft
diately and intuitively know things which seem selfevident to him, and that he has to legislate very clearly
and definitely for the most ignorant and the least
experienced.
When he means legato or staccato, he
must say so. When he wants
hurrying or slackening
of pace, he must put
down. When he writes for
voices, he must indicate the phrasing as he would bow
154
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
CHAPTER
IX
Music may
be divided
155
156
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
157
it
is
is
is
it
it
is
it,
158
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
...
159
160
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
161
is
it
is
is
it
it
it
is
is,
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
162
paper,
can
its effect
realise
with
his eye.
it,
it
is
is
is
is
it ; either it is
163
a single
it
is
it
it
is
it
if
is
is,
164
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
All
such experi
however,
are worth
CHAPTER X
DANGER SIGNALS
In
is
it
is it,
it
it
is
it
is
is
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
166
it
it,
is
it
is
DANGER SIGNALS
167
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
168
is equally so.
as this
Allegro.
It
tempo
rtt.
a tempo.
can be applied
7N
excel.
a tempo.
or
4L
rit.
- a tempo.
DANGER SIGNALS
169
is
it
cr
is
is
it
is
is
(if
3=
9:
(1)
-J(2)
-J(3)
-at-
170
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
it wrong.
( 4) The danger of using an insufficient number
rests and silences.
of
DANGER SIGNALS
171
it successfully requires
a dramatic
172
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
DANGER SIGNALS
173
6)
is
it
is
a
if
if,
174
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
DANGER SIGNALS
175
it
is
if
it
:
it
if
is
is
is
it
it
it
it
is
it,
he uses them,
176
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
is
is
(
8)
it
it,
DANGER SIGNALS
177
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
178
multitude
A
a
is
it
it
it
is
is,
DANGER SIGNALS
179
get
180
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
suggestions
from
experimenting
with passages
on
the violin.
Nine-tenths of the ideas, no matter how beautiful
they may be, which a composer may invent in impro
visation, are forgotten as soon as they are played.
They are waste of substance, valuable products of the
brain, which throws them away as fast as it creates
them.
To improvise with method has a certain value
of its own. It needs sense of balance, in order to keep
the movement clear in design, and a long and accurate
But
memory to insure the exact repetitions of themes.
it is only a rare genius who can fulfil these conditions
without a long previous experience in writing at the
table, using his eyes as his ears. No composer of the
first rank ever wrote at the pianoforte, or hammered
out melodies with his fingers.
One who did (not of
the first rank) showed the mark it left upon him at
It so affected his belief in his own
every turn.
certainty of touch, that he used to orchestrate passages
in different coloured inks in order to be able to choose
in rehearsal the form which he preferred. It obliged
him to take three flats in his town house, of which he
inhabited the middle one, so that no one above or below
should hear his music in process of being cooked upon
the pianoforte. It so far affected his sense of the effect
his dramatic climaxes would produce upon audiences,
that he used to sit next the "chef-de-claque" at the
Grand Opera at rehearsals, and even take hints from
him as to emendations in the passages which suggested
Man of genius though he was, as any man
applause.
who wrote the fourth act of the Huguenots must have
been, Meyerbeer is a sign-post of this danger of trusting
The
to the pianoforte as a medium for inspiration.
DANGER SIGNALS
181
j.
JC-r-1
M-^
IT
AAA
T
which can be avoided thus
J5
J-
M\
T~
f
^HmH r F
it
J
kil * hJ-= 4hJ
pS hrl
y&
Pf?
bJ * :
* ten
f=-r
182
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
DANGER SIGNALS
183
iii
4=1
i"
N
j p-
cres.
4Ls
In the following
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
184
'
t-'
i
Mi-p
k-
tm
-fci 1
-fcp-
DANGER SIGNALS
185
3
j
=*=b.
tp:
The modulations at a to
-4-tjf
lfJ-
1 1
* rJ
iIJ
,|
--r4
. .
lA
j-
-|P
is
is
to
major, at
minor,
back to
at
minor to
through
major, and
D minor are made quite clear by the "lie" of melody
and by the leading notes.
16) The danger of writing rosalias, especially in
melody.
rosalia
a sequence repeated more than twice.
It
the cheapest and easiest way to modulate, or
to concoct
melody, but the expedient cannot be
often tried without exposure of the poverty-stricken
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
186
it
it
it
is
is
it,
evidences.
17)
is
it
is
it
is
is
it
is
DANGER SIGNALS
187
is
is
is
it
is
it
it,
it
is
is
it
of public
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
188
( 18)
is
is
is,
in the
is
it
is
is
DANGER SIGNALS
189
190
MUSICAL COMPOSITION
INDEX
Accent and quantity, 23, 24, 129- Counterpoint, strict, 3, 6-12, 50,
115, 127; modal, 12-20, 147;
so-called free, 10, 11.
Arioso,
Bach,
146.
J.
Cranmer, Archbishop,
138.
108,
110,
112,
116,
120,
122,
124,
125,
146,
156,
158,
161,
Dussek,
169,
171,
173,
177,
183,
186,
188.
Buxtehude,
188.
vocal,
instrumental, 106.
157.
125, 188.
Economy of material,
101, 108,
172, 174.
111,
9,
138,
20,
141,
33,
163,
Fantasies, or Fancies,
Folk-songs, 141, 142.
Form, 74-94.
Franck, Cesar, 123.
162, 163.
12,
150.
143, 177.
136.
134, 135,
111,
122, 142.
183.
181,
INDEX
192
Haydn,
Josef,
63, 77,
12,
126,
156, 188.
3, 20,
; rhythmical, 25-27,
29-31 ; construction of, 3448 ; treatment of, 49 et seq.,
131-133, 183-186.
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, F., 77,
91, 157, 161, 170.
Metronome, use of, 118, 166, 167.
123,
81 et
Mozart, W. A.,
110,
Melody, 6-9
108,
179.
Liszt, Franz, 4,
Programme-music, 155-160,
Purcell, Henry, 56, 131, 132.
125,
103146,
13-17,
22, 114,
122,
142, 147.
Shakespeare,
analogy of music
Sonata-form,
to,
Palestrina,
12,
13,
19,
20,
147-150, 158.
161,
162.
Poetry,
28,
139,
140,
145,
146, 178.
Technique,
52
Tennyson,
Alfred,
155, 156.
Lord,
134,
INDEX
Violoncello,
160,
182, 185.
Tones,
greater
and
lesser,
13-
17.
Trios,
string,
120,
121 ;
193
piano
treatment
of
the,
16,
'J>HE
following
few of
the
pages
contain
Macmillan
books
advertisements
on
kindred
of
subjects
STANDARD
WORKS
MUSIC
ON
AND
MUSICIANS
of
the
poetic
of Richard
Strauss.
Two
four portraits,
of musical
fine volumes
II.
criticism.
Schumann,
Richard Wagner.
BEETHOVEN
Bv
Brahms.
DANIEL GREGORY
Cloth, tame, illustrated
MASON
with portraits and plates,
by mail, $1.63
fx.fo net;
DANIEL GREGORY
MASON
Cloth, i2tno, $1.25 net
PUBLISHED BY
by mail, $3.16
C WILLIAMSON
Limp
C ELSON
A BOOK OF OPERAS
By
to Listen to
DANIEL GREGORY
MASON
Cloth, i2mo, $1.75 net
PUBLISHED BY
By
Decorated cloth,
"In
this
attractive
volume
amo, gilt
the veteran
HOW TO SING
By
(Meine Gesangskunst)
LILLI LEHMANN.
Aldrich
DAVID
C.
TAYLOR
Cloth, i2tno, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.62
A rational
A guide
of music.
a preface by
and a
Eighth edition
portrait.
PUBLISHED BY
Indispensable
in
Musk
AND MUSICIANS
" Unquestionably the most valuable work of the kind in English,
and at present superior to any other in any language, considering
its encyclopaedic character and the substantial quality of its most
important articles." The New York Times.
and greatly enlarged.
Edited by J. A. FULLER MAITcompleted in five 8vo volumes, each illustrated
with a photogravure and twenty-four full-page half-tone plates, besides many
illustrations in the text, bound handsomely in stamped cloth and elegantly
printed. Sold only on orders for the full set.
Revised
$40.00
PUBLISHED
BY