| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Unseen World and Other Essays by John Fiske: introduced, as it is in the chorus, "He that overcometh," its
ordinary effect is covered and obscured by the movement of the
divided sopranos. We do not remember noticing anywhere such a
decided use of the 6/4 chord as is made, for example, by
Mendelssohn, in "Thanks be to God," or in the final chorus of
"St. Paul." Perhaps if we were to confess our lingering fondness
for the cadence prepared by the 6/4 chord, when not too
frequently introduced, it might only show that we retain a liking
for New England "psalm-tunes"; but it does seem to us that a
sense of final repose, of entire cessation of movement, is more
effectually secured by this cadence than by any other. Yet while
The Unseen World and Other Essays |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Gambara by Honore de Balzac: abrupt introduction with its solo for trombone, its flutes, oboes, and
clarionet, all suggesting the most fantastic effects of color. The
/andante/ in C minor is a foretaste of the subject of the evocation of
the ghosts in the abbey, and gives grandeur to the scene by
anticipating the spiritual struggle. I shivered."
Gambara pressed the keys with a firm hand and expanded Meyerbeer's
theme in a masterly /fantasia/, a sort of outpouring of his soul after
the manner of Liszt. It was no longer the piano, it was a whole
orchestra that they heard; the very genius of music rose before them.
"That was worthy of Mozart!" he exclaimed. "See how that German can
handle his chords, and through what masterly modulations he raises the
Gambara |
