Who composed the most popular Belgian opera? Tell about other works by this composer.
Name some leading composers of Holland.
LESSON LV.
National Schools: Bohemia and Scandinavia.
The Influence of Folk-Music.—Some races are endowed with a better musical taste than others. Among these favored peoples the Folk-song, the music that appeals directly to the popular heart, needs only the touch of a gifted composer to fashion it into a great national school. In the case of England and Belgium, we have seen that even the most thorough musical education cannot wholly atone for a lack of real public taste in music. Scotland, possessing a wealth of beautiful Folk-songs, has not yet given birth to a composer who can employ its style in larger forms. But in Bohemia and the countries of Northern Europe, the Folk-music has not only been worthy in itself, but has been properly developed and amplified by gifted composers.
Smetana.—František Škroup (1801-1862) composed many popular Bohemian Volkslieder, and wrote the first national opera, but the real founder of the Bohemian school was Bedřich, or Frederick, Smetana (Leito mischl, Bohemia, 1824—Prague, 1884). Parental opposition could not prevent his studying music, and we find him at Prague, under Proksh, and, later on, taking lessons of Schumann. That master recommended a course with Mendelssohn, but as the pupil was too poor, he changed his advice and suggested a study of Bach. Smetana became an ardent admirer of Liszt, at whose house his own career was decided. Hearing Herbeck remark, while there, that the Czechs were merely reproductive, he made a solemn resolution to devote his life to the building up of a national school of music in Bohemia.
His Works.—While conductor at Gothenburg, Sweden, he produced three worthy symphonic poems: “Richard III,” “Wallenstein’s Camp,” and “Hakon Jarl.” On his return, he wrote “The Brandenburgers in Bohemia,” the first of the eight operas that have made him so famous in his native land. This was Wagnerian in style, and at once the critics assailed him fiercely for trying to bring Bohemia under the musical domination of Germany. To show that he could write in a more popular vein, Smetana produced a second opera, “Prodaná Nevĕsta,” (The Bartered Bride), which proved a marvel of musical grace and delicacy, and was enough in itself to establish the reputation of any composer. “Dalibor” is a dramatic work in serious vein, while “Libuše” is based on a national subject. “The Two Widows” and “The Kiss” are light operas of marked success, the latter being often cited as a perfect model for this style. “The Secret” is in the same vein, while “The Devil’s Wall” is again on a national legend. Other notable works are the string quartet “Aus Meinem Leben,” and the “Carnival of Prague”; but Smetana’s greatest orchestral work is the set of six symphonic poems entitled “Ma Vlast” (My Fatherland). These depict “Vyšehrad,” a historic fortress; “Vltava,” the river Moldau; “Sarka,” a mythical Amazon; “Bohemia’s Groves and Meadows,” “Tabor,” the Hussite camp; and “Blanik,” the magic mountain where the warriors sleep. Smetana’s music shows an inspiration and depth of feeling that make him rank with the world’s great composers, and his struggles against poverty and disease form a story of the utmost pathos.
Dvořák.—The greatest of Smetana’s pupils was Antonin Dvořák (Mühlhausen, Bohemia, 1841—Prague, 1904). Son of a butcher, he persuaded the village schoolmaster to give him lessons. He began composition at Zlonitz, and soon sent home a polka to surprise his family; and as he had written it without considering the transposing instruments, thus causing three different keys to sound together, the resulting discords certainly accomplished that purpose. After further study at Prague, he was able to gain a Government pension, and to interest such men as Hanslick and Brahms. He spent his time in “hard study, occasional composition, much revision, a great deal of thinking, and little eating.” Being asked what teacher helped him most, he replied: “I studied with God, the birds, the trees, the rivers, myself.”
Antonin Dvořák. Christian Sinding.
Edvard Grieg. Friedrich Smetana.
His Works.—Dvořák’s many operas, including “Wanda,” “Dimitri,” “Armida,” and others, have been surpassed in importance by his orchestral works. His “Stabat Mater” and the cantata “The Spectre’s Bride” are important vocal compositions. His overtures include such well-known examples as the “Husitzká,” “Mein Heim,” “Othello,” “In der Natur,” and the “Carneval.” Other instrumental works are the famous “Slavic Dances,” the Slavonic Rhapsodies, the “Scherzo Capriccioso,” three Ballades, and a “Hero Song.” Before coming to New York, in 1892, he had written four great symphonies; but the fifth, “Aus der Neuen Welt,” is of the greatest interest to Americans, since Dvořák here adopted the plantation style in his themes, to show what could be done in building up an American school of music. He was eminently successful in handling his material, and he produced a greater and more truly national work than any resident composer has yet done. In general, Dvořák’s style is more cosmopolitan than that of Smetana, and his faculty of melodic invention makes his works attractive. He enriched the symphony by two Bohemian dance-movements—the Dumka, and the Furiant.