There is no doubt but that Beethoven was affected by the prevailing social unrest of his time—by the revolutionary ideas that were then stirring. Although we cannot attempt to translate into words the significance of the fifth symphony, there is no mistaking its language as that of independence and freedom from conventional shackles. "Writing in a period of revolution," says Mr. Hadow,[44] "himself an ardent revolutionary, he broke in upon the politeness of the Austrian court with an eloquence as tempestuous as that of Mirabeau or Danton." So that, looking at his music as a whole, we are not only struck by its significance, but by the close relation in which it stands to the life of Beethoven's period. Never before had music been so untrammeled, so free. The medium itself—harmony, melody, rhythm—had become more plastic, and the old incubus of tradition had been thrown off. Not only that, but the various elements in composition were fused for the first time in Beethoven's music. Polyphony takes its place as a means and not an end; pure melody—even folk-melody—becomes a part of the larger scheme in which its beauty is set off against contrasting elements—and is thereby enhanced; rhythm becomes a means of expression in itself, and not merely a vehicle; harmony is made an important part of the general design, and its latent possibilities as a means of expression are realized.
All these threads were gathered together by Beethoven, and woven into the complex fabric of his music. Great men are usually born at just the right moment, and Beethoven was no exception to the rule; for he found the art at just the point where a master spirit was needed to take its various elements and fuse them. Under his hands all the inessential parts dropped away, and the essentials were placed in such relation to each other that a completely organic work of art resulted.
SUGGESTIONS FOR COLLATERAL READING.
"Oxford History" Vol. III: Chapters X and XI. Grove's "Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies." Grove's "Dictionary of Music and Musicians:" articles "Beethoven," "Symphony," and "Form." Mason's "Beethoven and His Forerunners," Chapters VII, VIII, and IX.
FOOTNOTES:
[39] An examination of any one of the best folk-songs quoted in Chapter II, or the melodies of Bach, Handel, Haydn or Mozart quoted in succeeding chapters, will show how important an element of melody is this curve or outline.
[40] The themes in the minuet and finale of Haydn's "Emperor" quartet have a slight similarity of contour.
[41] Published for piano, two or four hands, by Peters, Leipzig. For convenience of reference, number all measures and parts of measures consecutively.
[42] The presence of measure 389—which is silent—has been a subject of discussion among musicians: it is sometimes omitted in performance.
[43] "Evolution of the Art of Music," Chapter XII.