Later on another theme appears, which is worked along with those already mentioned, and the Quartett concludes with a condensed version of the introductory lento, or motto theme, merging into a rapid coda of some thirty bars, based on the opening theme of the allegro. It will hardly be gainsaid that we here have an interesting work, which, if not absolutely great, is worthy of attention both for its own sake and as an object lesson, showing as it does, what is being done by a nation whose music has already exerted a powerful influence on the art.
Our second example is a String Quartett in G major, op. 2, by Alexander Gretchaninoff.
Quartett by Gretchaninoff
According to some authorities the String Quartett as an art-form has not advanced since Beethoven, he, it is asserted, having said the last word in this style. While it may be admitted that there is a good deal of warrant for this assertion, and that an analysis of Beethoven’s Quartetts, from the op. 18 to say the C♯ minor op. 131, reveals a wealth of musicianship which is no doubt disconcerting to the modern aspirant, yet it is hardly a sufficient reason why this particular source of musical inspiration should be regarded as closed, and that the man of to-day should cease writing. There is still at any rate one way in which a composer may justify himself. He may, if he can, write genuine tunes.
Doubtless a sound knowledge of the multiform devices of harmony, counterpoint, and the rest, is an important part of his equipment. But such knowledge may be acquired; whereas, if devoid of true tune, his best efforts are doomed to failure, for this tune-faculty is born with the man, and cannot be learned from books.
Mozart on Melody
Mozart indeed settled the question, once and for all, when he said “melody is the essence of music.” If we open at random the pages of works so dissimilar, say, as Handel’s Messiah, Wagner’s Parsifal or Bach’s Forty-Eight,[34] what are we sure (among a host of other things) to find? Is it not melody? It may not be the conventional eight-bar tune, but in the true sense of the word it is sure to be melody. No doubt the words “tune” and “melody” have been used in a too restricted sense, and against this we must guard ourselves, for melody in reality represents the chief idea in music, and no art is worth much whose ideas are weak. Take, for example, Beethoven’s C minor Symphony. No one would call that musical battering-ram with which the work commences—
