The universal genius of Beethoven, prompted by the depth of his nature and the nobility of his purpose, led him to combine the legacy of his predecessors with a more sensitive regard for inner details, thematic unity, emotional expression, and greater freedom and subordination of form, leading to expansion and programmatic music. Greatest of classic orchestral masters, he brought the symphonic orchestra to its highest development, discovered the utmost capabilities of each and every instrument, increased the efficiency of both strings and wood-wind, and incidentally discerned the genuine worth of the violoncellos, bassoons, and kettle-drums. The functions of the horns likewise acquired wider significance, and the trombones were reserved for the portrayal of noble dignity and ornamentation.
[Chapter VIII.]
During the development of Beethoven's mighty conquests, Paris continued to attract aspirants to fame in operatic lines, whereas modern church music found a worthy representative in Cherubini; his orchestration is sonorous, flexible, varied and vivid. Two native composers of opera in serious vein, Méhul and Lesueur, contributed essentially to the development of French instrumentation. That of Méhul was still somewhat heavy, but embodied sonority, novel combinations, and at times a certain melancholy coloring. Lesueur was one of the pioneers in the use of grand and majestic combinations. The most prominent followers of Grétry in the lyric genre were Boieldieu, whose instrumentation is conspicuous for its daintiness, variety and contrast; Auber, master of clear yet effervescent scoring; Hérold, whose orchestra is compact and well balanced; finally, Halévy, an exponent of both varied and massed effects. Italian instrumentation was advanced especially by Spontini and to a certain extent by Rossini; the former inaugurated the practice of doubling and redoubling the harmonies in massed combination. French opera was also greatly influenced by Meyerbeer, who imparted to the orchestra massed effects, novel and rich detail, characteristic individuality.
Credit for the development and perfection of symphonic form and orchestration is due to the great German classicists alone; but the evolution of the genuinely dramatic resources of the orchestra rests largely in the hands of the French composers preceding the ascendency of the Romantic Movement.
[PART III.—ROMANTICISM.]
[CHAPTER IX.]
THE ROMANTIC SCHOOL.
A convenient classification of the great German composers of the nineteenth century is to be found in "Famous Composers and their Works," a classification which will be followed in these chapters. It consists of three general groups: "The Romantic School," "The Classical Romanticists," and "The New Movement." As has been already stated, the basis of the Romantic School was simply a further development of Beethoven's descriptive writing, which created a powerful impression upon the so-called founders of the school, Spohr and Weber; they in turn were followed by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and their disciples. The Classical Romanticists accepted the substance of romanticism in music, but remained more or less true to classical form. Raff stands at the head of this classification, Brahms as its chief exponent. The New Movement dates from the tumultuous upheavals in the musical world caused by the innovations of Berlioz in France, Liszt and Wagner in Germany. The evolution of these three movements will now be reviewed in logical sequence; but it should be borne in mind that this evolution had already begun during the later development of French and Italian opera as discussed in the [previous chapter].