Franck and His Influence.—The new French school is almost wholly due to the work of one man, César Auguste Franck (Liége, Belgium, 1822—Paris, 1890). He settled in Paris, and studied at the Conservatoire. Modest and retiring by nature, “le bon père Franck,” as he was called, divided his time between teaching, composing, and playing the organ of the Ste. Clotilde Church. His simple faith and earnest work recall the spirit of the old mediæval artists, who devoted their lives and their music to the glory of the Lord. Franck’s works show a mastery and power that his pupils are scarcely able to equal, and his compositions have fairly won the esteem that was denied to them during the composer’s lifetime. Among them are the great D minor Symphony, the oratorios “Ruth,” “Rebecca,” and “The Redemption,” the opera “Hulda,” and the symphonic poems “Psyche” (with voices), “Les Djinns,” “Les Eolides,” and “Le Chasseur Maudit.” But Franck’s most notable work is “Les Beatitudes,” an eight-part oratorio treating the Sermon on the Mount. Franck’s style is radically different from that of Saint-Saëns or Massenet. It is harmonic rather than melodic, and extremely modulatory in effect. His progressions remind the hearer of Wagner; but they do not always possess the broad simplicity that underlies Wagner’s most intricate passages. Franck’s pupils have often fallen into the error of imitating his weakest points, and have brought about a style of harmonic vagueness that seems meaningless to many modern critics.

D’Indy.—Vincent d’Indy (Paris, France, 1852) is the greatest of Franck’s pupils, and the leader of the modern French school. As conductor, he has been an ardent champion of new and little-known works. His own compositions include many forms, and have all attracted attention. His first great work to reach the public was the “Piccolomini” overture, a part of his orchestral trilogy based on Schiller’s “Wallenstein.” Two important vocal compositions are “La Chevauchée du Cid,” for baritone, chorus, and orchestra, and “Le Chant de la Cloche,” a dramatic legend that won the prize given by the city of Paris. In the orchestral field, “Antony and Cleopatra” is an early work, as is also the “Jean Hunyadi” symphony. Of d’Indy’s two later symphonies, the first, based on a mountain air, contains many passages of sweetness and purity, while the second is more involved and modulatory in style. His earliest symphonic poem, “La Forêt Enchantée” is a delicate tone-picture based on a ballad of Uhland; “Saugefleurie” is founded on a story by de Bonnières; while “Istar” is inspired by parts of the old Assyrian epic “Idzubar.” D’Indy’s music is hardly popular in style, for its themes are not definitely melodic; but his skill in weaving them into an orchestral tissue is admired by all musicians. In opera, “Les Burgraves” and the lighter “Attendez-Moi Sous l’Orme” are youthful works, while “Fervaal” is a music-drama (action musicale) on a Druidic subject, and “L’Etranger” is symbolic in style. He has written some important works in musical literature and theory.

Charpentier.—Gustave Charpentier (Dieuze, France, 1860) was a Conservatoire pupil. The Prix de Rome took him to Italy, and his life there resulted in the pleasing orchestral suite “Impressions d’Italie.” This consists of five tone-pictures, entitled, “Serenade,” “At the Fountain,” “On Muleback,” “On the Summits,” and “Naples.” On his return he lived among the working-people of Montmartre, and their life is reflected in his later works. “La Vie du Poète” is a symphony-drama, giving episodes in the life of an unsuccessful genius. In the beginning, all is aspiration and enthusiasm. Then doubt follows. At first the poet is consoled by the serene beauty of the summer night, but his fears gain the upper hand. Then comes a picture of impotent raging and vain anger against fate, after which the poet tries to blot out his sorrows in the cheap gayety of the city. “La Couronnement de la Muse” is a pantomime, written with the idea that a working girl in each town or city should annually be chosen and crowned amid festivities. The composer’s greatest work, however, is the opera “Louise.” This tells the story of a poor working girl, whose parents forbid her to marry the somewhat wayward Julien. At the latter’s persuasion, she finally flies with him. Her parents try to reclaim her, but again she is drawn away, and her father is left shaking his fist at the terrible city that entices young girls from their homes. The music of “Louise” is full of power and realism, and even the street cries of Paris are echoed in its measures.

Bruneau.—Operatic realism has found a more prolific, if less successful, champion in Alfred Bruneau (Paris, France, 1857), another Conservatoire pupil. He has confined himself to librettos drawn from the novels of Zola. “Le Rêve,” an early work, is a psychological study of love, in the person of the dreamy Angelique, who dies from excess of happiness when her wedding is completed. “L’Attaque du Moulin” is a spirited story of the Franco-Prussian war, set in a more melodic and popular style. “Messidor” is again symbolic in style, the theme being a contrast between greed for gold and the simple pleasure of honest toil. “L’Ouragan” deals with the tempests of human passion and jealousy, as well as the hurricanes of nature. “L’Enfant Roi,” and the music to “La Faute de l’Abbé Mouret,” are more recent works. Bruneau is sincere and earnest in his efforts at realism, but his music is often heavy and uninspired. He has produced works in other fields, among them being a great “Requiem,” a “Heroic Overture,” and the symphonic poem “Penthesilée,” for voice and orchestra. His three books on French composers, and his many criticisms, have made him known in the domain of musical literature.

Debussy.—The new school of French music finds its most radical expression in the compositions of Achille Claude Debussy (Paris, France, 1862). A musician of great gifts, he chooses to imbue his music with a studied vagueness of effect, and wanders through a maze of changing keys and harmonies. Many persons find the result wholly incomprehensible at first, but on repeated hearing his works show a weird, elusive beauty that is worshipped by his adherents as the acme of musical expression. He, too, was a Conservatoire student, and won the Prix de Rome with the cantata “L’Enfant Prodigue.” Two lyric scenes, “La Demoiselle Élue,” and “Chimène,” first drew attention to the young artist. Then came the orchestral prelude to Mallarmé’s “L’Après-Midi d’un Faune,” a delicately-woven rhapsody, with much beauty and much weirdness in its harmonies. The Nocturnes, entitled, “Nuages” and “Fêtes,” are described by De Bréville as possessing the ethereal charm of a perfume that pervades the air, but defies analysis. A string quartet is in stricter form, but the “Proses Lyriques,” on subjects of Beaudelaire, also the “Chansons de Bilitis” and “Les Estampes” for piano, again show the free style. Debussy’s most ambitious work is “Pelleas et Mélisande,” an opera based on Maeterlinck’s play of that name. The poet’s words offer the same shadowy suggestions that the composer gives in music, and the harmonic effects of vague mystery are entirely in place here.

Chausson.—Ernest Chausson (Paris, France, 1855—Limay, 1899) proved himself a composer of real greatness, and was still in the prime of life when he met with a fatal bicycle accident, in 1899. Trained for law, he turned to music from choice, as Schumann did before him. A pupil of Massenet and Franck, he combined the direct expression of the former with the harmonic style of the latter, and produced works of a most attractive orchestral coloring. Among his compositions are a worthy symphony, the beautiful symphonic poem “Viviane,” the orchestral pictures “Solitude dans les Bois” and “Soir de Fête,” a “Poëme” for violin and orchestra, some chamber-music, and many pleasing songs and choruses. His one great opera was “Le Roi Arthus.” His works are full of tenderness and charm, yet not lacking in vigor and breadth; they have the modern harmonic richness and orchestral color, and are growing steadily in favor.

Other Composers.—Alexis Emanuel Chabrier, wholly self-taught in music, produced the brilliant orchestral rhapsody “España,” an attractive “Suite Pastorale,” a lively “Marche Joyeuse,” and some effective cantatas. In opera, his “Le Roi Malgré Lui” is an excellent example in lighter vein, but his greatest work is “Gwendoline,” on a Viking subject. Of all the Frenchmen, he was the one best fitted to attempt the bold, virile style required by the libretto. The most prominent orchestral writer of the younger generation is Paul Dukas, whose “Apprenti Sorcier” treats a humorous subject with rare skill. Théodore Dubois, for many years head of the Conservatoire, is best known by his oratorios, such as “Paradise Lost,” and his “Frithjof” overture. Gabriel Fauré, the organist, who succeeded Dubois as director of the Conservatoire in 1905, has produced a symphony, two string quartets, and a number of songs whose intricacy cannot obscure their exquisite grace. Other organist-composers are Charles Marie Widor, who wrote the opera “Maître Ambros” and the ballet “La Korrigane,” and Alexandre Guilmant, known by his great organ symphony and sonatas. Bourgault-Ducoudray has written many cantatas, and made a valuable collection of Breton Folk-songs. Pierné, Coquard, Erlanger and Hue won their fame in opera, while Duparc gained notice with his symphonic poem “Lenore.” Ropartz and de Bréville rank with the best of Franck’s pupils, while among women-composers, Augusta Holmés won renown by her mastery of broad orchestral effects, and Cécile Chaminade is known by her dainty songs and piano pieces.

The New French School.—When Wagner showed the harmonic resources of the modern orchestra, he led the way for a host of imitators, who have often done more harm than good. Such operas as “Fervaal” and “Gwendoline,” in large measure the result of “Tristan,” are proper applications of this style. But the idea of finding new harmonic effects has exerted its influence on orchestral writers also, and some modern composers, especially in France, have devoted all their energy to this, and have apparently sacrificed all thoughts of musical beauty. The French have even invented the term “cérébral,” which describes a composer who puts no emotion or feeling into his music, but works it out wholly from the brain. Thus many of the modern compositions must be regarded as great orchestral experiments, and the composer who combines this instrumental technic with real feeling and directness of utterance is the one who will meet with the greatest success.

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