Angels Making Music. Around 1510 Matthias Grünewald from the Isenheim Altar (Colmar, Alsace, France: Unterlinden Museum)

 

 

ALLGEMEINE

MUSIKALISCHE ZEITUNG

The 31st of August.             No.  35.                      1814

Old and new Church Music.

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The complaint of true connoisseurs of music, that our new times remained poor with respect to works for the church, is only too just.  As reason for this paucity, many have commented that present-day composers completely neglect the profound study of counterpoint, which is utterly necessary for composition in the church style, that their only concern is to shine, to impress the crowed, or even, for the mere sake of monetary gain, to cater to the present taste, and, instead of becoming a thorough, profound composer, to merely become a popular one; all these inferior motives, however, can only suffice for the theatre; hence, instead of a single church work, the hundred, mostly failed, attempts at opera, that came and went.  Indeed, it can not be denied that for the last twenty years or so, a carelessness beyond comparison has invaded every study of art.  The steadfast diligence of the old masters, that was at the basis of the solidity of their works, vanished, and, instead of the strong, lively forms, only glitter was produced, the glamour of which was to lend the appearance of life to a dead puppet.  The deeper reason for this carelessness lay in the general tendency of the times.  As if demonic principles were governing, everything was aiming at capturing and confining man to this limited, wretched life, the activities of which he considered to be the highest purpose of existence; thus he foreswore all that is higher, true and sacred; the divine light that is only nourished by faith and love, had to go out; and the cold, deceitful light that dimly shone in the hopeless void could never ignite the inner fire out of which is born the true work of art, with its eternal flame.  Nevertheless, even in this unfortunate time, the invisible church that reigns eternally, bestowed full grace upon its faithful servants so that they were able to express that which they felt in their innermost; however, how few withstood the rigor of the present!  Their earthly demise brought with it the spiritual transformation that allowed them to join the faithful in constant fellowship.--One only has to think of Mozart, who is not yet known for his true merits, of Vogel who, although a German, is not known in Germany at all (Johann Christoph Vogel, the composer of the truly tragic, sublime opera, Demophoon), of the wonderful, pious Fasch who is almost forgotten, now. 

        That this carelessness, this ruthless negation of the power that governs us, that alone gives life and strength to our striving, our work, the belittling and despising of redeeming piety, went out from that nation that, for such a long time, in an incredible manner, served as a sample in arts and sciences, to a blinded world, is clear.  In blind imitation of that nation's works, that, with brashness, it declared to be eternal guidelines, there arose that disgusting flattery in science, and in art that capriciousness, that contortion and insanity, in which intoxication is mistaken for enthusiasm.--The nameless wantonness of this nation finally brought about the violent revolutions that, like a disastrous storm, swept across the earth:  however, this storm has driven the dark clouds apart, and the dawn that already sent many a ray through the darkness, thus announcing its arrival, thus sending a comforting ray of hope to the believer, is gloriously breaking through in our troubled times.  Yes, these times in which, as with a thousand trumpets, the omniscience of the eternal force that governs us, is announcing itself to us, so that man, who has been brooding in darkness, shall be awakened from his desolation, shall hear the sound and understand the word, and shall, once again, believe in himself--these times, in which the powerlessness of all useless striving, all confinement to earthly endeavors, to earthly purposes is revealed so clearly, in which the spirit, as if enlightened by a heavenly ray, recognizes its home and gains strength and courage in this realization so that he can face and bear earthly troubles, yes, even withstand them,--these times that have now begun for us and will put a stop to any careless outgrowth in art and, through music, will open the hearts of men in its most profound, mysterious ways.--Now we can speak of music in the most profound meaning of its innermost essence, namely when it enters life in the form of religious ritual,--of church music, since lo longer do the words go unheeded as before, when even the better and higher-minded were dulled into indifference by their bitter contempt.  

         No form of art arises as purely from the innermost spirituality of man, no form of art requires thus only purely spiritual, ethereal means, as music does.  The glimpse of the highest and most sacred, the spiritual power that ignites the spark of life in all of nature, expresses itself audibly in tone, and thus music, song, becomes the expression of the highest fullness of existence--praise of the creator!--By its innermost, most innate character, music is, as already just said, religious cult, and its origin lies solely in religion, in the church, and can only be searched and found in it,  Stepping into life ever richer and more powerfully, it poured out its inexhaustible treasures over man, and also the profane was, then, allowed to adorn itself in childish delight, in its glamour, with which it now spread its light over life itself in all its small and minute earthly relationships; however, also this profane matter now appeared in the adornment, as if it was longing for the higher, divine realm and striving to enter into its appearances.-- Due to this, its very innate, peculiar character, music could not be the property of the antiquity, where everything was aimed at sensual depiction, but, rather, it had to belong to modern times.  The two opposing poles of the ancient and the modern world, that of paganism and that of Christianity, in art, are plastic depiction and music.  Christianity destroyed the former and created the latter, as the art of painting, that is most closely related to it.  In painting, the ancient ones neither knew perspective nor coloring, in music neither melody, in the higher sense, that is, as expression of inner affect, without consideration of words and their rhythmic composition, nor harmony.  However, it is not this lack that only describes the lower level at which music and painting existed at that time, but rather, as if slumbering in a barren soil, the core of these art forms could not unfold that, in Christianity, unfolded themselves so wonderfully and bore fruits and blossoms in abundance.  Both art forms, music and painting, in antiquity, only apparently held their own; they were smothered by the force of plastic depiction, or rather, in the humungous masses of plastic depiction, they could not take shape; both art forms were, by no means, that what we call painting and music, today, just as plastic depiction vanished from physical life through the tendency of the modern, Christian world that was set against any physical depiction, as if fleeing towards the spiritual.      However, even the first, rough core of music, in which the holy secret that could only be unveiled by Christianity, was hidden, also in the ancient world, it could only serve according to its most innate destiny, that is, religious cult; after all, even in these earliest times, dramas were nothing but festive depictions of the joys and sufferings of a Deity.  The declamation was supported by instruments, and already this proves that its music was purely rhythmical, if one could not also prove otherwise that, as already mentioned, melody and harmony, these two cornerstones on which our music is based, were unknown to antiquity.  It may be that, due to this, Ambrosius and later Gregory, based their Christian hymns on ancient hymns,   and that we can find traces of this merely rhythmic chant in the so-called Canto fermo, in antiphony: that means nothing but that they used the core that had been handed down to them and it remains certain that more profound consideration of this ancient music must be reserved to the researcher, while, to the practical composer, the most sacred depth of his glorious, truly Christian art, only unfolded when, in Italy, Christianity was blossoming in its highest glory, and when the high masters, in divine inspiration, revealed the most sacred mystery of religion in glorious, never-before heard music.  

        It is peculiar that soon thereafter, when Guido of Arezzo ventured deeper into the mysteries of music, to some imbeciles, it became a subject of mathematical speculation, so that its innermost essence that had barely begun to unfold, was not recognized.  The wonderful sounds of the spiritual language had come alive and resounded across the earth; already, men were capable of writing them down:  the hieroglyphs of sound in its harmonic and melodic progression, the musical notes, had been found:  now, however,  the notes were taken for that which they symbolized:  the masters delved into harmonic artificialities, and, in this way, music, having been disfigured and turned into a speculative science, would have had to stop being music.  The cult or religious ritual was desecrated when these artificialities reached their peak by that what was forced upon it as music, and yet, to those who were filled with the sanctity of art, only music was true cult.  Thus, it could only be a brief fight that ended with the glorious victory of eternal truth over that which was untrue.  It was Pope Marcellus II who was reconciled with music, just when he was about to banish all music from the churches and who would thereby have robbed the cult of its highest glory, when the high master, Palestrina, opened up to him the sacred, innermost wonders of music; now, music became the actual cult of the Catholic church, and thus, the most profound realization of the innermost essence of music unfolded in the pious hearts and minds of the masters, and in true, sacred enthusiasm, there streamed out of them their immortal, inimitable songs.  The six-part mass that Palestrina composed at that time, has become very famous by its name:  Missa Papae Marcelli.--Undoubtedly, with Palestrina, the most glorious period of church music (and thus of music in general) began that held its strength or almost two-hundred years, with ever-increasing wealth of its pious dignity, although it can not be denied that already in the first century that high, inimitable simplicity was already changing into a certain elegance that masters were striving for.--

Here is the right place, nay, even necessary, to delve deeper into the essence of the composition of this old patriarch of music.--Without any adornment, without any melodic verve, perfect chords followed each other, the strength and boldness of which filled mind and heart with unspeakable force and lifted them up to the highest peaks.--The love, the harmony of all spirituality in nature, as it was promised to the Christians, speaks in this chord that, due to this, only came to life in Christianity; and thus the chord, harmony, becomes the image and expression of the spiritual community, of the union with the eternal, with the ideal that hovers above us, yet also includes us.  Therefore, music has to be the purest, holiest, most church-centered, which only unfolds as expression of that love that comes from within and that does not heed anything earthly but rather despises it.  Hence, Palestrina's simple, dignified works have been conceived and composed in the highest strength of piety and love, and they proclaim the divine powerfully and with splendor.  His music can actually be described in a manner in which the Italians describe many works of composers that are shallow compared to him:  it truly is music from another world (musica dell'altro mondo).  The flow of the different voices or parts is reminiscent of the canto fermo; they seldom surpass the range of a sixth, and never does there occur an interval that would be difficult to meet or, as one would say, "that would not lie in the throat."  It goes without saying that Palestrina, according to the custom of the time, only wrote for signing voices, without any musical accompaniment, for, directly out of the human breast, without any medium, without any foreign intermediary, the praise of the highest was to flow.--The sequence of perfect triads, preferably in the minor mode, has become so alien to us in our softened age that some of those whose minds are entirely closed off to the sacred, can only see the imperfections of the technical structure; however, even if one sets aside all higher intentions, and only pays attention that what, in common circles, is called effect, it is clear that in the church, in the large, resounding structure, precisely all melting of transitions, by means of small, interspersed notes, breaks the power of the music that is sung by the human voice, making it unclear.  In Palestrina's music, every chord hits the listener with full force, and the most artful modulations will never be able to affect the mind as those bold, powerful chords do that seem to break through like strong rays of light.--Palestrina is simple, true, childlike, pious, strong and powerful--truly Christian in his works, as Pietro di Cortona is in his paintings, and our old Dürer; his composing was practicing religion.  In the fifth issue of his Kunstmagazin, Reichhardt had a wonderful, four-part Gloria by Palestrina printed that confirms everything that is being said here.  At present, the writer has Palestrina's Responses in front of him that are sung by the choir during the last three days of Holy Week.  The responses of the choir interrupt the canto fermo of the priests, and, together with them, tell the story of the passion of Christ in the words of the Bible.  The same arrangement, only with other words, is found in the Miserere, and this is only mentioned as an aside for those who are not familiar with the Catholic rituals.  In order to show to our readers an example of the Canto fermo, which was referred to here, earlier, let us insert part of an ancient Gregorian Chant, as later, we shall find an opportunity to insert a Responsorium by Palestrina.

[Note Sample]

If the high, simple style of Palestrina is the true, dignified expression of the mind and heart that is enflamed by the most intense devotion, if the church is its true, only home, then it is no wonder that it had to stay alive as long as the church reigned in the full glory of her original supremacy and dignity.  The famous, two-part Miserere by Allegri, still having been completely written in the Palestrina style, although, with respect to boldness and strength, it does not reach his works, in spite of its fame that might also have arisen on account of the wonderful performance by the singers in the Sistine chapel and even has to make way for Leo's later Miserere.--

        The masters of those days stayed away from (the use of) all adornments and only strived to be true, in pious simplicity, until, gradually, the melodic flourish that the compsoitions gained, brought the first deviation from the (former) seriousness.  However, how dignified, how simple and strong the church style remained, nevertheless, show the works of Caldara, Bernabei, A. Scarlatti, Marcello, Lotti, Porpora, Leonardo Leo, Valotti and others.  It was still the rule to only write for voices, without the accompaniment of any instruments, with the exception of, perhaps, the organ, and that alone preserved the simplicity of the chorale-style chant that was not drowned out by colorful figures of accompaniment.  It would go too far within the context of these pages, and the necessary hints to be given here in order to aid the understanding of that which is to be said with respect to the relationship of the old and the new church music, would expand into a pragmatic history of church music, if we were to show the gradual progression to the later and latest style through the succession of masters and their works;  therefore, allow us to only speak of those old masters that shall remain our eternal ideal and whose wonderful creative period must have lasted up to the middle of the eighteenth century. -- 

(To be continued.)

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ALLGEMEINE

MUSIKALISCHE ZEITUNG

The 7th of September.             No.  36.                      1814

Old and new Church Music.

_________________________

(Continued from the 35th issue.)

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Among the older masters of that period, Alessandro Scarlatti shines prominently.  As is known, already at the end of the 17th century, he wrote several operas.  However, what little influence the theater had on the church at that time, or rather, how the masters would not even have thought of transposing worldly glitter into the sanctuary, can be seen in the church works of this composer that, in spite of their melodic flourish, still, with respect to the bold flow of their chords, and with respect to their inner strength, follow Palestrina's works.  The writer has in front of him a five- and seven part mass, alla capella, that has been written without any instrumental accompaniment that has been composed at the beginning of the 18th century (1703) and that is an example of the true, powerful church style.--Equally wonderful are Leo's works and who would not want, besides the great Handel, still count our profound Sebastian Bach to the sacred group of that period?  His mass for two orchestras, eight main and four Ripieno parts, belongs to the few classical church compositions that have become known to the broader public by having been printed.--In order to, once more, address the spirit of the compositions of all the named, great masters, with one word, one only has to say that the power of their faith and their love strengthened them from inside and gave them that enthusiasm with which they embraced the higher and by which they were inspired to the works that do not serve worldly purposes but only to praise religion, the highest being.  Therefore, these works bear the stamp of truth and do not show any signs of fearful striving for so-called effect; no artificial contortion and imitation desecrates that which has been received from heaven, with a pure heart; therefore, one will not find in them any of the so-called astonishing modulations, of the colorful figures, of the soft melodies, of the powerless, confusing noise of instruments that is supposed to entrance the listener so that he does not notice the emptiness, and due to this, the works of these masters and those of the few that, even in our times, remain true servants of the church that has vanished from the earth, will truly uplift the pious mind.  Let us, once again, mention the name of the wonderful Fasch who, in the full sense of the word, was a master of the old, pious time, and those profound works have been so little noticed by the careless many, so that the edition of his sixteen-voice mass could not be published!--The worst with respect to this has happened in recent times, although, as already mentioned above, the softening of the melody seeped in gradually.

Before the writer will discuss the root causes of the gradual decline of church music, he thinks that it might be interesting to the reader to oversee the gradual moving away from the old truth and strength to modern artificiality and mushiness, and therefore, he will provide two samples from different periods that do not even reach into the latest times and therefore still leave the worst tendencies untouched, that have developed.        

Palestrina lived and worked in the sixteenth century (born 1529), Valotti in the eighteenth century (born 1705); here follow two Responses by these masters, on the same words. 

[Note Samples by Palestrina]

[Note Sample by Valotti]

Who would not notice the distance and who would not, in Valotti's composition, still recognize the simple dignity that is appropriate to church music?   

Leonardo Leo was born around 1694, Sarti in the year 1750; both have composed a Miserere, and moreover, Satri's even became famouns.  Here the composition on the words,   Miserere mei, deus, secundum magnum misericordiam tuam:

[Note Sample by Leo]

[Note Sample by Sarti]

How strong, how sublime is Leonardo's composition . . . and how mushy, in comparison, Sarti's composition!-- 

So far, we have only discussed church music in its very essence, namely as part of church ritual:  however, already in the earliest times, the sacred drama developed, so that a church music was formed that, without being part of the mass ritual, was to fill the mind with sacred details and thereby evoke religious feelings, while later, it actually provided the first opportunity for the decline of the true church style.  From the church, music moved into the theater, and from there, it returned to it with all its vain glory that it had acquired there.  

To the oldest works of this kind that, with respect to melodic development, are at a high level, without a doubt, belong the oratorios by Caldara who lived and composed at the end of the seventeenth and at the beginning of the eighteenth century.  A high, admirable oratorio by Calgara is, for example, the sacred drama:   Morte e sepultara di Cristo.  The form of this oratorio in which recitatives, arias and choirs follow each other, is that of the opera of that time, with the exception that, in the sacred drama, the choirs were more developed.  Some parts of this oratorio are held quite in the dramatic style.  For example, it features a  Turba di Popolo that interrupts the recitative twice, which is expressed as follows: 

[Note Sample].

Besides this glorious, wonderful harmonic treatment of the choirs, the melodies of the arias that breathe a true piety that comes from the innermost, deserve the greatest attention.  Even the instrumentation that, to us, might appear meager, is full of high spirit and one can already recognize the core of the abundant wealth that has developed in the instrumental music of our times.  Already the first aria, to the words:  

                                                             deh sciorgiete o mesti lumi
                                                             Palma afflitta inonde amare
                                                             or ch'estiato il mio signor etc.

is only accompanied by two violas that play the chord, while the bassoons imitate a figure with the basses, that is only taken up by the violas in the last bars.

        In a certain sense, the famous psalms of Marcello hold the middle ground between the actual church ritual and the sacred drama; they are mainly written for two or three voices, more seldom for four or five voices and only have bass accompaniment.   This profound work certainly stands at the top of those sacred hymns that have later been composed in such variety, as, for example, the Litanies by  Durante, the Stabat mater by Pergolese, the so-called Miserere by Jomelli (Pietà, Pietà, Signor) etc.  It would go too far to discuss the great work of the famous Marcello in more detail: let us only note that it contains a treasure of melodic truth and strength that shines ever brighter the closer one looks at it.--- 

        After these masters (Palestrina, Caldara, Marcello etc.), with the melodic wealth, there also increased the splendor of the instruments and it is only too certain that theater music was the cause for this, to which the oratorio had opened the door of the church.   Very soon, a wind instrument the origin of which goes back into the darkest times of antiquity, was added to the string instruments:  the trumpet.   How the trumpet was used then (at the end of the 17th century) can be seen at a passage of Ziani's  Te deum:

[Note Sample]

The trumpet, as it is now put to use by the composers, has gained in strength, effect and nobility, can not be denied.   In addition to the trumpet, the bassoon mainly supported the basses, as the oboes supported the violin in unison accompaniment; in three-part passages, the viola substituted for the second violin, since the latter was playing in unison with the first violin. 

Much richer instrumentation than his predecessors used Handel:  however, in the works of this wonderful master, there dwelled the spirit of piety and truthfulness; and who would not think here of his Messiah, of the oratorio of all oratorios, with respect to the purely biblical text, with respect to the melodic expression, the harmonies, and the moving dignity and strength?   Who would be able to find the smallest them that, in spite of its melodic wealth and in spite of some musical imagery, considered in a higher sense, would remind one even remotely of the theatrical?---To this high master can be added the immortal Hasse who reached his goal by having taken a different path.--A little known work by Handel should be mentioned here that, however, can not match the strength and dignity of the Messiah since already the too dramatic form of the latter stands in the way, yet, it contains some wonderful, incomparable music.   This is his oratorio:  der für die Sünde der Welt gemarterte und sterbende Jesus (Jesus who has been tortured and has died for the sins of the world), the only one, that he had originally composed to a German text, and that would now only require some changes to the poor, common text in order to be performed with the greatest effect, again.*)--Very great and strong, particularly in his choirs, was the now almost forgotten Fux, and one understands that, in his compositional style, his opera seria, Virtù e constanza, that was performed outdoors by an incredibly large orchestra, had to be of great effect. 

(To be concluded.)

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*)   Note:  In Gerber's T o n k ü n s t l ee r - L e x i k o n, this oratorio by Handel is not listed, and it has never become known in Germany.    During his stay in London, Haydn received the original score as a present from the Queen of Endland, and this score, as all other material Haydn left behind, probably is in the possession of Prince Esterhazy.    From Haydn, the  Härtelsche Handlung in Leipzig received a copy of the original score, and therefore, Mr. Härtel owns this rare treasure, the printing of which--even if it was only the choir--must interest every admirer of true church music, particularly, however, those musicians who want to delve deeply into the sacred depth of music. Only the text might have to be changed since here and there, it is somewhat tasteless, as already mentioned. 

                                                                                                                                                                      The Author.

Old and new Church Music

(Continued from issue 36 and Conclusion)

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In the last half of the eighteenth century, the softening and disgusting mawkishness finally took hold in art, keeping in pace with so-called enlightenment that put asunder any deeper religious feelings and that, in increasing intensity, banished all seriousness and all dignity from church music.   Even the music that accompanied the Catholic church ritual, namely the music to the masses, vespers, passion hymns, etc., took on a character that, otherwise, would even have been too light for opera seria.    Let us even say it here quite honestly that even the in his way so great, immortal  J. Haydn, even the powerful Mozart, did not keep their music entirely pure from this contagious affliction of glamorous, secular carelessness.  Mozart's masses that he, however, as is known, wrote according to the prescribed norm, are almost his weakest works.   Nevertheless, in one single church work, he has revealed his innermost to us: and who will not be moved by the devotion and most sacred rapture that emanates from it?   His Requiem surely is the highest that the latest church music can offer.  As sincerely, as profound as Haydn has often set to music the words of High Mass, as excellent as his harmonic execution is:  yet almost none of his works are free from some capriciousness, nay, even from some melodies that are unworthy of the dignity of the church style, and even the fact that sometimes, the master treats the human voice too much like an instrument, which one complains about with justification, can be seen in the jumping course of the melodies.  That the Creation is, indeed, not an oratorio that has been composed in the pure church style, has long been recognized by those who carry this style in their innermost:  however, one would do great injustice to the master if one judges the Creation and, even more, the Four Seasons by the standards of pure church music.   The pedantic listing and classifying of art seldom does any good.   That music by the master, in no way, refers to church ritual and those so-called oratorios are nothing but a wonderful expression of how, to the master, life--the world--unfolded.   Only from a narrow point of view did the Four Seasons appear to some in a strange light.    There is no more wonderful, colorful image of the entire human life as the master has musically depicted it in the Four Seasons; and even some genial playfulness only colors more vividly the abundant variety of images of the world that encircle us.   The same eternal occurrence of the serious, horrible, scary, humorous, exuberant, as earthly existence brings with it, is reflected in this wonderful music that only refers to church insofar as also pious contemplation are included in the circle of daily life.   It can not be denied that also here, the individuality of the master, as predominantly in his instrumental music, is expressed in a certain humoristic, frolicking spirit:  however, even in his most serious works for the church, some music sounds as if dogs that dwell under the Lord's table are biting each other.  

Coming back to pure church music, while also Haydn's masses and church hymns, particularly in comparison to that old, truly sacred music that has vanished from the earth, can certainly not be considered ideal samples of church style, it is understood that they, of course, shine among the newest .... productions of this kind, although they, of course, kept their doors wide open to all kinds of theatrical glamour.    How often was the great Haydn imitated or, rather, aped:  however, those so-called composers of church music only scratched the surface of those compositions without understanding their essence, and the profound spirit of harmony that is contained in his works was not conveyed to them.  Due to this, the tasteless, shallow, weak church compositions, as the writer heard them lately in the churches of Catholic Southern Germany and also in those of Bohemia and Silesia.-- Many an otherwise good composer denied himself as soon as he ventured into composing a church work, and with respect to this it is peculiar that even a new, profound master who delved deeply into harmony, did not accomplish more with respect to church music.   Cherubini's three-part mass, as much esprit and art he dedicated to it, does, however, not fulfill the requirements of true  church music, to any degree, since several movements are quite theatrical.--A church composer who is not respected for his accomplishments is the solid  Michael Haydn, who, in this area, entirely matches his famous brother, nay, with respect to seriousness, even far surpasses him.---

These brief comments--since the author wishes everything that is mentioned here to be considered as such--should suffice to show the results of that what can happen with respect to church music in the times that have dawned, recently.--However, it is certainly impossible that today, a composer can write in the same manner as Palestrina did, or Leo, and also as Handel and others did, later.---The times in which Christianity flourished in all its splendor appears to have vanished from the earth, forever, and with it the pious devotion of the artists.   A Miserere such as that by Allegri or Leo no musician would compose, today, just as no painter would paint a Madonna the way Raphael, Dürer or Holbein did.  Meanwhile, both art forms, painting and music, with respect to their progress in time, each present a different picture.  Who would doubt that the great Italian painters of old have reached the peak of their art form?  The highest strength and grace lay in their works, and even with respect to their technique, they surpassed the new masters who, in all respects, strive in vain to reach them.  With respect to drawing and coloration---in short, in all parts that have to form a perfect whole, the old masters are superior to the new masters, and those with an open mind will find this confirmed in every gallery that shows old and new paintings at the same time.   However, with respect to music, it is different.  Man's carelessness could not stop the prevailing spirit that ventured on in the dark, and only those who delved deeper and who took their eyes off the confusing images which those men presented to them who had cut themselves loose from everything sacred and truthful, they noticed the light that broke through the darkness and thereby confirmed to them that the sacred spirit lived on, and they believed in it and recognized the wonderful workings of the revitalizing spirit of nature, our existence in it, our supernatural home, that is unveiled by science, and that was hinted at by the sounds of their music that, ever more abundantly, spoke of the miracles of that faraway realm.   It is certainly true that of late, instrumental music has risen to heights that the old masters could not foresee, as much as the new masters obviously far surpass them with respect to technique.  

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, developed a new art, whose first seed began to sprout around the middle of the eighteenth century.  That carelessness, lack of judgment,  treated this new wealth badly, that, finally, counterfeiters wanted to give their glitter the appearance of solidity, was not the fault of those musters in whom this spirit unfolded so wonderfully.  It is true that almost to the same extent to which instrumental music gained ground, vocal music was neglected, and that, with this neglect, that went out from the composers, there went along the complete decline of good choirs, due to the closing of monasteries, etc. so that nowadays, it is impossible to return to Palestrina's simplicity and greatness, as has already been said; to what extent, however, the new-found wealth can be transferred into church without unholy ostentation, is still questionable.-- 

That young composer who would want to know how he should go about composing true, dignified church music, one could only say that he should search his innermost to see if the spirit of truth and piety dwells in him, and if this spirit is motivating him to praise God and to speak of the wonders of his heavenly realm in the wonderful language of music, whether his composing would only be the writing down of those holy chants that flow out of him from within, from his innermost.   Only if this is so, will his church music be pious and true.  Every outward motivation, every small-minded striving for earthly purposes, every vain attempt at gaining admiration and applause, every careless showing-off of acquired knowledge, leads to the untrue, to the unworthy.   Only in the truly pious mind that is ignited by religion dwell the holy songs that irresistibly lead the community to devotion.--If the young composer is not spoiled by worldly carelessness, the works of the old masters will lift him up in a wonderful way; nay, he will feel how that the confusion and haze of his mind under which his own ideas had been buried will be lifted and replaced by clarity.    The study of counterpoint is nothing but the most precise knowledge of the inner structure that everyone who wants to erect a building has to acquire;  however, the thorough, ongoing study of the works of the great masters is nothing but (the study of) that out of which the artist has to gain the strength to create or, rather, bring his works to life.    Therefore, every artist who is endowed with a child-like, pious mind, can not study the the works of the old masters enough in order to make them his own in such a way that he carries them with him in his mind, everywhere:  then, every foreign, unholy glamour will appear empty and hollow to him, and he will never be tempted to adorn his work with it.--The invention of the true church melodies is that at which every untrue composer fails--it is the testing ground of his innermost.    All harmonic development in the church style can not hide the profane theme:  thus a fugue that, in a theoretical sense, has been written in a clean manner, might not be church-like; therefore, often, artful imitations can shed a clear light on the true identity of a contorted movement that has been borrowed from the concert hall or from the theater.    Of course, also the melody has to flow from a pious mind; here, nothing can be created artificially, here, only true enthusiasm counts.--However, it is certain that to the modern composer, music will hardly unfold in a different manner than with the adornments that the wealth of its present style brings with it.   The glamour of the many instruments, of which some sound so wonderfully in the high vault, shines everywhere:  and why should one even close one's eyes in sigh of it, since it is the advancing world spirit, itself, that has brought this glamour into the mysterious art of this new age that is directed at inner sublimation?  It is only the wrong use of this wealth that makes it harmful: by itself, it is a well-acquired possession, which the true composer will only use for the glorification of the high and sublime that his hymns praise.  Those garish, contorted figures, particularly in the string instruments, that disturb the overall calm and serenity like colorful, buzzing insects, and primarily in the high vault only create a confusing noise, are alien to all church music, and only lack of good judgment can make use of them:  just as much as all soft concert melodies, if played by wind instruments, sound weak and undignified in church.   However, it is correct that, in strong movements for violins, the fast notes are of manifold effect:  then, however, the mere breaking of longer chordal notes in faster, for example, of fourth into sixteenth, is obviously better for the church as any other, contorted figure.  For example:    

[Notbe Sample by Mozart]

The same passage, arranged in the following manner:

[Note Sample]

with the passing-through, dissonant notes, already reaches the theatrical and therefore sounds confusing in church.  In any event, in church, those figures are the most appropriate that run through the basic chord, without dissonant notes, since they harm the strength and clarity of the voices the least but rather often greatly increase their effect.--That wind instruments often wonderfully accompany the human voice and that, in their use, the new masters have discovered things that the old masters could not dream of, nobody can deny.   Here, one can surely, once again, mention the masterwork that combines the strength and the sacred dignity of the old music with the rich adornment of the new, and that particularly in this respect, with its wisely arranged instrumentation, that can serve as an example to new church composers:  the profound, wonderful  Requiem by Mozart.  The Tuba mirum--might, perhaps, be the only movement that tends to be oratorio-like; everywhere else, the music remains pure religious ritual, and as such, the wonderful chords resonate and speak of the hereafter, nay, they are the hereafter, itself in their peculiar dignity and strength.--The Requiem, performed in the concert hall, is not the same work; the appearance of the sacred at a ball!---Of course, the great decline of church music in Catholic parts of Germany, and even in Italy is at fault that the works of the old, high masters are not heard, anymore, or, it at all, only in an undignified manner, and only in the concert hall one can hope that one can hear one or the other old classical work in a somewhat dignified manner!   Aside from the fact that music that has been composer for the religious ritual remains meaningless without it--since this music is the ritual, itself, and therefore, a Missa in the concert hall, a sermon in the theater:  therefore, it is impossible that, even in good concert performances, the mind, distracted by a thousand things, can be led to religious devotion in the same manner as in church, through the solemn religious rituals.  The performance of the old works in the concert hall, therefore, does in no way replace their vanishing from the churches.---The complete decline of vocal music appears to have been halted by the praiseworthy institution of singing academies;  however, if these academies are to have a real influence on church music, they should not remain private institutions, but rather, they should be founded and supported by the state in a religious form.  In Catholic centers, these academies could perform the musical ritual, and in Protestant centers, they could often perform church music during the ritual.  Concerts in church that one would attend for a price, where there would even, as in the theater, be more and less expensive seats, would, as something quite undignified and against all Christian piousness, no longer take place, so that this sacred place would no longer be desecrated as a venue for arrogance and ostentation.    Even the rehearsals of these academies could be held at these sacred places, so that conservatories would develop out of them as they had existed in Italy and out of which the great masters of that time emerged.   It is true that the Protestant religious ritual is actually opposed to the truly musical; however, with the re-emergence of true church music, the spirit of the time would, also here, form the wonderful, desirable, and sacred music would also re-enter the ritual of the Protestant churches. 

        To the extent that, in this manner, the spirit of true music could be fostered and re-awakened among the people, to the same extent, the wrong, the undignified that carelessness has brought into art, could vanish, is clear.   To the musician and composer, nay, to every true admirer of true church music, nothing would be more delightful than if the works of the old masters that, like hidden treasures, one can only encounter here and there, would be emanated to the public by means of publication, as for example, through Reichhardt's Kunstmagazin.   After all, even this suggestion would not remain without positive results.  Many a young composer knows a Palestrina, Leonardo Leo, Scarlatti, etc., only by his name, and his particular situation prevents him from acquiring copies of their rare works; and yet, these works would provide him with knowledge of true church music.---The ease with which works could be acquired in such a manner would also lead to some performances that would otherwise not take place.---

The spirit of the world and the time moves onward; those who vanished will never return in the flesh: however, the true is eternal, and a wonderful community of spirits weaves its mysterious web around past, present and future.   In spirit, the high, old masters are still alive; they were merely not heard in the midst of the bustling, wild noise that broke out among us.   May the time of the fulfillment of our hopes not be far, may a pious life in peace and joy begin, may music spread  her wings freely and set out on its new flight towards the hereafter that is its home from which comfort and salvation will shine into the restless human heart!---