CHAPTER V
THE CANTATA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Conflict of tradition and progress--Ludwig van Beethoven: ‘Ruins of Athens,’ ‘Glorious Moment’; Andreas Romberg--C. M. von Weber; Franz Schubert; Ludwig Spohr--Mendelssohn: ‘First Walpurgis Night,’ etc.; 95th Psalm; _Lauda Sion_, etc.--Hector Berlioz: ‘Damnation of Faust’--Robert Schumann: ‘Paradise and the Peri’; ‘Pilgrimage of the Rose’; Miscellany--Ferdinand Hiller; Niels W. Gade: ‘Crusaders,’ ‘Erl-King’s Daughter,’ ‘Christmas Eve,’ ‘Comala,’ etc.--Félicien David: ‘The Desert’; Minor cantata writers in Germany and England: Benedict, Costa, Macfarren, Smart, Bennett--Anglican ritual-music and the German evangelical motet in the nineteenth century; the part-song.
The student of history will observe that one of the most noticeable effects of the constantly accelerated pace that musical progress assumed after the art had once learned definite articulation, is that the successive periods in which characteristic styles and forms have been developed and perfected have been growing steadily shorter and shorter in duration. The Netherland period of vocal polyphony spanned two full centuries; the next century and a half was concerned with the first stage in the development of dramatic music and oratorio, and with the application of polyphonic principles to instrumental forms; the period of seventy-five years between 1750 and 1825 was memorable chiefly by the appearance and swift development of the sonata and symphony from Haydn to Beethoven, with occasional premonitions of impending revolutionary changes; the half-century from 1825 to 1875 witnessed the rise and full flowering of the remarkable movement of nineteenth-century romanticism; in the years since 1875 new ideas and tendencies, unfolded from the preceding period, have crowded upon the musical arena in such profusion and with such swiftness and persistence that intelligent orientation is beset with perplexing difficulties. The ‘youngest of the arts,’ so backward and slow of speech in its infancy, certainly displays unmistakable symptoms of precocity with advancing years.
From the above statement of the approximate duration of the general periods of musical progress it will be noted that the nineteenth century is divisible into three periods, the first of which merely carried to completion the classical methods of the preceding century. But, while instrumental music responded promptly and vigorously and with far-reaching results to the novel ideals of romanticism, choral music was far more conservative. It exhibited the utmost reserve toward the new influences, and for several decades after these had brought enrichment and expansion to instrumental forms, it admitted them only with a certain timidity, so that on the whole the effective invasion of choral music by romanticism was delayed a full half-century after it had taken possession of instrumental fields. This retardation of choral progress is due largely to the natural limitations of the human voice, which is confronted with obvious difficulties when attempting to adopt for its own peculiar purposes the instrumental standpoint of unrestrained liberty in the use of melodic intervals and harmonic progressions. Choral forms have generally proved to be far less elastic than instrumental forms, and have had to contend with the tendency toward inertia inherited from their early association with ecclesiastical traditions--traditions from which the development of instrumental music has been notably free. Hence, a much longer period was required in choral music than in instrumental music for readjustment to the new viewpoint which nineteenth-century romanticism injected into the whole fabric of art-methods, and the choral literature of the century falls into only two periods. The great majority of the choral works--particularly the smaller choral works--of the first two thirds of the century at least are characterized by general conformity with the classical methods of Handel, Haydn, and Mozart; where romantic influences are admitted they express themselves in terms of greater harmonic warmth and richness, freer melodic outlines, and a more marked avoidance of the older special contrapuntal devices in favor of more direct mood-painting and detailed characterization of the text, but the classical forms and methods are quite uniformly retained.
I
Beethoven’s (1770-1827) contribution to the literature of choral music was relatively small and the most significant part of it was made in the larger forms, as might be expected of a composer possessed of such mighty intellectual endowments. Of the smaller works, two only are selected for detailed comment. The others include ‘Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage’ (to Goethe’s poem) for mixed chorus and orchestra, written in 1815, and ‘King Stephen, Hungary’s First Benefactor,’ a prologue in one act with overture and choruses, the music for which was composed in 1811 to the text by Kotzebue for the same occasion as ‘The Ruins of Athens.’
‘The Ruins of Athens.’--The music to an allegorical poem with this title by Kotzebue was written in 1811 for the opening of a new theatre at Pesth, Hungary, which took place February 9, 1812. The story of the poem is as follows: Minerva, having incurred the wrath of Jove, has been fettered by him with chains ever since the Golden Age within a rock through which neither the inquiry of man nor the wisdom of the goddess could penetrate. Finally Jove relents and releases the goddess. Minerva then hastens to her beloved Athens, only to find it in ruins and her art debased. She turns sadly away and proceeds to Pesth, where she establishes her temple in the new theatre and presides over a triumphal procession in honor of the emperor, its patron, who is to restore again the Golden Age. The work was presented a second time in Beethoven’s lifetime at the opening of a new theatre in Vienna in 1822. This time it was with a new text by Carl Meisl entitled _Die Weihe des Hauses_ (‘Dedication of the House’), and it was for this occasion that Beethoven composed the overture, which is still frequently performed. The music consists of eight numbers. The overture is very light and deemed even by his friends to be unworthy of the master. The weird, fervid chorus of the Dervishes for male voices in unison and the stirring Turkish March are strongly Oriental in color and treatment. They are strong and effective numbers, as is also the triumphal march and chorus ‘Twine ye a garland.’
‘The Glorious Moment.’--September, 1814, brought to Vienna many potentates and distinguished statesmen for the Vienna Congress, which met to adjust the claims of the European states after the allies had entered Paris. The occasion was a momentous one and was celebrated with great pomp by the Viennese authorities. Beethoven was requested to write for the greeting of the royal guests a cantata, the words of which had been written by Dr. Aloys Weissenbach of Salzburg. It was called _Der glorreiche Augenblick_ or _Der heilige Augenblick_ (‘The Glorious Moment’). The time for writing this work was short in itself and this was much curtailed by disputes between composer and poet, as Beethoven made every effort to have the atrocious text altered so as to lend itself better to a musical setting. The work was begun in September and performed at a concert given for Beethoven’s benefit on November 29th, before a remarkable audience of 6,000 persons. This concert, at which was performed also the recently-composed Seventh Symphony, was a most brilliant affair, and the audience was wildly enthusiastic, especially for ‘The Glorious Moment,’ which was hailed as symbolical of the moment when Europe was to be freed from Napoleonic domination. Incidentally, it may be recorded that the composer reaped much substantial advantage from this great occasion, in that, as a result, he was able to invest 20,000 marks in shares of the Bank of Austria. The cantata, which for obvious reasons is not one of his strongest, is in six numbers. In 1836 it appeared with a new title, _Preis der Tonkunst_ (‘The Praise of Music’), with a new poetical text by Friedrich Rochlitz.
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Among the composers of the first quarter of the nineteenth century Andreas Romberg (1767-1821) occupies a worthy place, though not one of large importance. He is the composer of five operas, ten symphonies, twenty violin concertos, etc., now forgotten, much church music, and several cantatas. The ‘Lay of the Bell’ (_Das Lied von der Glocke_) was the most widely known of all his works, and at present is nearly the only one of them to retain any public notice.
‘The Lay of the Bell.’--Schiller’s famous poem with this title forms the text to which Romberg composed the music of this cantata in 1808. During the last half of the nineteenth century it enjoyed great popularity with the smaller choruses in England, Germany, and America, and is still frequently heard. The work rehearses the various steps in the making of the bell, from lighting the furnace-fire and mixing the metals to the casting of the bell and the breaking of the mold by the master. Each step is used as the basis for the description of scenes which the bell will witness in its life among the people--scenes of youth, young manhood, and old age, of joy and love and sorrow--all the intimate experiences that make up human life. The music is written for mixed chorus, with soprano, tenor, and bass solos, and, while it lacks the harmonic warmth and variety of the cantatas written later under the glow of the romantic spirit, it is full of interest and animation, though light in style throughout.
II
As the founder of the German romantic movement, Weber (1786-1826) was an intense nationalist, and his stirring music, folk-song in character and wholly German in feeling, had a profound political influence in fanning the flame of national and patriotic sentiment that sprang into existence during the period of Napoleonic oppression. His inspiring settings of the patriotic poems in Körner’s _Leyer und Schwert_, for male voices, made him the idol of the students and young nationalists, and _Der Freischütz_, the first German opera, created a perfect furor of patriotic feeling. His first cantata was _Der erste Ton_, written in 1808 for declamation, chorus, and orchestra. Other choral works were the cantata _Natur und Liebe_ (‘Nature and Love’) for two sopranos, two tenors, and two basses with pianoforte accompaniment, composed in 1818, and the hymn _In seiner Ordung schafft der Herr_ (‘In constant order works the Lord’) for solos, chorus, and orchestra, written in 1812.
‘Jubilee Cantata.’--Weber was commissioned by Count Vitzthum in 1818 to write a grand jubilee cantata for a court concert commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the reign of Friedrich August, king of Saxony, on the 20th of September. The text was written by the poet Friedrich Kind. Before it was completed, however, he was informed that the work would not be required and that other plans had been made. It has been intimated that this change came about through the intrigues of his Italian rivals (he was then Court Musical Director at Dresden). The cantata, however, was given in the Neustadt church for the benefit of the needy peasants in the Hartz Mountains, with Weber himself as conductor. While it is said that a _Jubel_ overture by Weber was performed at the court concert, it is believed by the best authorities that the famous _Jubel_ overture, now known the world over, was entirely independent of the cantata and of later composition. As the original text dealt with events in the life of the king, the work was unsuited for general performance, hence a second text was later supplied by Amadeus Wendt and the title changed to _Ernte-Cantate_ (‘Harvest Cantata’). This is the version in common use at the present time. Still another text was made by Hampdon Napier, and this was given in London under the title of ‘The Festival of Peace’ shortly before Weber’s death, the composer himself conducting. The cantata is written for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra. Joy at the fullness of the harvest alternates with solemn thanksgiving and praise to the Giver of all good for His bounty. A devotional spirit prevails throughout, except in the ‘storm’ chorus, where a dramatic style appears. The beautiful number for quartet and chorus, ‘Wreathe into garlands the gold of the harvest,’ is frequently detached from the cantata and performed separately.
_Kampf und Sieg_ (‘Battle and Victory’).--While Weber was in Munich in June, 1815, the victory of the allies at Waterloo was announced. The city was at once filled with rejoicing and a large crowd gathered at St. Michael’s Church to hear a _Te Deum_. Weber, who was present, conceived the idea of a grand cantata to commemorate the victory and he laid the matter before the poet Wohlbrück, whom he had met the same day. Wohlbrück at once shared the composer’s enthusiasm and by the first of August the text was ready. The cantata was brought to a first performance in Prague on December 22d and made a deep impression, not so much by its musical worth as by its appeal to patriotic ardor and by the stirring military character of its vivid battle-descriptions. Weber resorted to the same elements of rather vulgar realism which Beethoven invoked in his ‘Wellington’s Victory’--the noises and crash of battle and national melodies to designate the fighting hosts. Amid the roar of cannon, the cries of the wounded, and the shouts of the soldiers can be heard the revolutionary melody _Ça ira_ from the advancing French, ‘God save the King’ from the English, while the stirring strains of the Austrian and Prussian grenadier marches and the refrain from Weber’s own patriotic song, _Lützow’s wilde Jagd_, swell the volume of tumultuous sound from the victorious allies. The cantata is written for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra. Faith (bass), Love (soprano), and Hope (tenor) appear in the lyrical portions of the work; the middle section is given over entirely to the battle scene and the whole closes with a stately chorus, _Herr Gott, Dich loben wir_.
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While Franz Schubert (1797-1828) essayed nearly every musical form, it is as the creator and perfecter of the German art-song that he takes his place among the great and mighty ones of music. His supreme gift as a melodist and song-writer is at once apparent in all of his works. In choral fields he wrote considerable church music and several smaller works, of which the only one of large importance is _Miriam’s Siegesgesang_ (‘The Song of Miriam’). Among the others are the Ninety-second Psalm for baritone solo and mixed chorus (written in 1828 for the synagogue at Vienna); the Twenty-third Psalm for four voices (quartet, or male or female chorus) with pianoforte accompaniment, easy, grateful and song-like in character; two hymns, _Herr unser Gott_ and _An dem Heiligen Geist_, the latter for eight-part male chorus and orchestra; and _Glaube, Hoffnung und Liebe_ (‘Faith, Hope, and Charity’) for mixed chorus and wood-wind instruments, written in 1816.
_Miriam’s Siegesgesang._--This noble cantata, known in English as ‘The Song of Miriam’ or ‘Miriam’s War Song,’ was composed by Schubert in March, 1828, the last year of his short life. It was written for soprano solo and chorus to Grillparzer’s lines paraphrasing the part of the sixteenth chapter of Exodus that sets forth Miriam’s thanksgiving for the escape of the Israelites and the people’s song of triumph as they rejoice over their own deliverance and the destruction of the pursuing Egyptians. Schubert left it with only a pianoforte accompaniment, though intending to score it for orchestra. What death prevented him from doing was supplied a year or two later by his friend Franz Lachner, who at the time was kapellmeister at the Kärnthnerthor Theatre in Vienna. The date of its first performance is in doubt. Nottebohm gives it as January 30, 1829, the occasion being a benefit concert to raise funds for a monument in memory of the composer. A spirited solo and chorus (‘Strike the cymbals’) opens the work. This is followed by a graceful song in which the Lord is described as a shepherd leading his people out of Egypt. In the next number the awe of the Israelites is depicted as they pass unharmed through the divided waters, while Pharaoh’s hosts are engulfed behind them. The sea becomes calm again and the first chorus is repeated, closing with a majestic fugue (‘Mighty is the Lord at all times’). Though the cantata is short, it is replete with passages of enduring charm.
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Ludwig Spohr (1784-1859), the celebrated violinist and composer of instrumental music and operas in a style intermediate between the old classical and the new romantic schools, left much choral music which, however, has quite largely lost its early vogue. In the shorter forms are three psalms for solos and double chorus; the Twenty-fourth Psalm for solos and chorus with pianoforte; the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Psalm for solos and chorus with organ or pianoforte; the Eighty-fourth Psalm (Milton) for solos, chorus, and orchestra; two hymns--‘St. Cecilia’ for soprano solo and chorus, and ‘God, thou art great’ (_Gott, du bist gross_) for solos, chorus, and orchestra; and a patriotic cantata, _Das befreite Deutschland_ (‘Free Germany’).
III
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) was the first composer since Handel to rival him in the mastery of choral forms. Gifted and genial as he is in other fields, it is here that he has left the most enduring evidence of his genius. His fine contrapuntal training and his splendid mastery over all the technical resources of polyphonic writing made choral forms especially agreeable to his natural and developed gifts. In general form his choral works follow Handelian models, but his melodies are far more glowing and his harmonies far richer and of warmer texture. Most of his smaller choral works fall under the head of church music. These comprise several anthems and other ritual-music for the Anglican service, the fruit of his long and intimate relations with English musical life, some fine motets (especially the three for female voices written in 1830 for the convent of _Trinità de’ Monti_ in Rome, namely, _Veni Domine_, _Laudate Pueri_, and _Surrexit Pastor_, and the great eight-part motet, ‘Judge me, O God’), several compositions for the Berlin Cathedral, hymns, and nine psalms. He is the first composer in the nineteenth century to give to the psalm the same breadth and seriousness of treatment accorded to the larger choral forms. They rise to the dignity of important works, though all are not equally beautiful. They are: Psalms 115 (‘Not unto us, O Lord’) and 95 (‘O come let us worship’) for solos, chorus, and orchestra; Psalm 114 (‘When Israel out of Egypt came’) for eight-part chorus and orchestra; Psalm 98 (‘Sing to the Lord’) for eight-part chorus and orchestra, written for the festival service in the Berlin Cathedral on New Year’s Day, 1844; Psalm 42 (‘As the hart pants’) for soprano solo, chorus, and organ; Psalms 2, 22, and 47 for eight-part _a cappella_ chorus, written for the Berlin Cathedral; and Psalm 13 (‘Lord, how long wilt Thou forget me’) for alto solo and chorus. The 42d and 95th are the finest of the psalms; the others are seldom performed now. The hymn, ‘Hear my prayer,’ for soprano solo, chorus, and organ, closing with the familiar ‘O for the wings of a dove,’ is one of the most beautiful of Mendelssohn’s devotional inspirations, and has enjoyed, and still enjoys, great popularity with both choirs and choral societies.
‘The First Walpurgis Night.’--While Mendelssohn was travelling in Italy in 1831 he composed music to Goethe’s poem ‘The First Walpurgis Night,’ the dramatic intensity of which made a deep impression on the young composer; but it was not until February 2, 1843, that it was publicly performed at Leipzig, and then much altered from the original draft. St. Walpurgis, to whom May-day eve was dedicated, was an early missionary who had brought Christianity to the Druids of Saxony. The scene of the cantata is the summit of the Brocken and the time May-day eve, when the Druids, taking advantage of the old Northern myth that on this eve the witches hold high revels here, gather to celebrate their rites, while their sentinels, disguised as demons, scare away the Christians with wild gesticulations, clashes of arms, and hideous noises. The music belongs to Mendelssohn’s most important and significant work. The overture, graphically depicting the passage from winter to spring, is followed by a tenor solo and a chorus of Druids, breathing the atmosphere of spring. Next comes a dramatic alto solo, uttering a warning, and after it a stately exhortation by the Druid priest. There ensues a whispering chorus, portraying the sentinels as they quietly take their places. A guard then discloses the plan for frightening away intruders. This leads to a chorus in which the composer uses most grotesque musical effects, both vocal and instrumental, to picture the infernal scene. This weird chaos gives way to an impressive hymn for bass solo and chorus. Following this comes the terrified cry of the Christians, who are driven away, while the Druids and their priest chant a closing hymn of praise.
‘As the Hart Pants.’--Mendelssohn’s setting of the Forty-second Psalm was first presented at a Gewandhaus concert in Leipzig in 1838. It is smaller in form than the ‘Walpurgis Night,’ but is symmetrical and artistic. A sustained introduction leads to a chorus, tender and full of passionate longing, ‘As the hart pants after the water brooks, so panteth my soul for Thee, O God,’ in which the highest point among the choral portions of the work is reached. A beautiful adagio melody is given out by the oboe and repeated as a soprano solo, ‘For my soul thirsteth for God.’ The third number, ‘My tears have been my meat,’ given as a soprano recitative, leads to a march-like chorus for women’s voices, ‘For I had gone with the multitude.’ The male voices then sing in unison ‘Why, my soul, art thou cast down?’ and the female voices answer, ‘Trust thou in God.’ A pathetic soprano recitative follows, beginning ‘O my God! My soul is cast down within me.’ The eighth number is sung by a male quartet with string accompaniment, ‘The Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime,’ a beautiful response full of hope and consolation; while through it is heard the saddening strain of the soprano. The closing full chorus repeats the fourth number, ‘Trust thou in God,’ more elaborately developed, and ending in a pæan of praise to God. This Psalm-cantata is one of the finest as well as most frequently performed of Mendelssohn’s shorter choral works and breathes throughout a deeply religious feeling couched in terms of refined romantic sentiment.
‘Come Let Us Sing’ (95th Psalm).--The first performance of this psalm, which is written for tenor solo, chorus, and orchestra, took place at Leipzig on February 21, 1839. It opens with a solo, ‘O come, let us worship,’ the theme of which is immediately taken up and developed by the chorus in jubilant tone, but which sinks at the end to a quiet mood. A solo soprano voice then enunciates the words, ‘Come, let us sing to the Lord,’ and this theme is treated fugally by the chorus in a joyous allegro movement, closing with a strong two-part canon in the octave for the male and female voices. The third number is a graceful duet, ‘In His hands,’ for two sopranos, which is followed by a stately fugal chorus, ‘For His is the sea,’ at the end of which the opening section of the first chorus appears with antiphonal phrases for the tenor solo. The original setting closes with the fifth number, ‘Henceforth, when ye hear His voice,’ for solo and chorus, a movement of fine contrapuntal workmanship, closing with softest tones to the pleading words, ‘Turn not deaf ears and hard hearts.’ An additional number was left by Mendelssohn, written a few weeks after the first performance, with the evident purpose of bringing the psalm to a more complete finish. It consists of another choral setting of the words, ‘For His is the sea,’ in which the theme from the first number again plays an important part and an atmosphere of joy and majestic power is maintained throughout.
_Lauda Sion_ (‘Praise Jehovah’), one of Mendelssohn’s most beautiful cantatas, for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, was written for the celebration of the Festival of Corpus Christi by the Church of St. Martin at Liège, where it was performed June 11, 1846, the composer himself being present. The _Lauda Sion_ is a sequence (see page 15) written by Thomas Aquinas about 1264 and is regularly sung at High Mass on this Feast. There is a short introduction and the announcement of the theme _Lauda Sion_ leads to a chorus _Laudis thema_, of devotional character. In the _Sit laus plena_, phrases sung by the soprano are repeated by the chorus. Then follows a beautiful quartet, _In hac mensa_. A solemn chorale in unison leads to a charming soprano arioso, _Caro cibus_. The seventh and last number is an intensely dramatic solo and chorus, set to the closing lines of the well-known hymn. This is Mendelssohn’s only excursion into the Catholic liturgy.
‘The Gutenberg Festival Cantata.’--Mendelssohn wrote this short festival cantata for the fourth centennial celebration of the invention of printing, observed at Leipzig, June 24, 1840, by the unveiling of Gutenberg’s statue in the public square. The text was written by Adolphus Prölsz, a teacher in the Gymnasium at Freiberg. A stately chorale leads to ‘Fatherland! within thy confines,’ a song[68] written in memory of Gutenberg. Next comes a spirited melody for tenors, ‘And God said, "Let there be Light,"’ followed by a closing chorale, ‘Now, thank God all.’
‘Antigone.’--The incidental music to Sophocles’ _Antigone_ was composed in 1841 in the short space of eleven days, and was privately presented at Potsdam before William IV of Prussia and his court, October 28. Its first public performance was at Leipzig, March 5, 1842. It was written for male chorus and orchestra and consists of seven numbers. Although built along modern lines, Mendelssohn’s felicitous music faithfully represents the spirit of the ancient Greek tragedy.
‘Œdipus at Colonos.’--At the command of the king of Prussia, from whom Mendelssohn had received the commission of chapel-master in 1841, the music to this tragedy by Sophocles was composed in 1843 and its first presentation took place at Potsdam November 1, 1845. The music, sung by two male choruses antiphonally, embraces nine choral numbers, preceded by a short introduction. The third number, closing with an invocation to Neptune by the united choruses, is the gem of the work and has few equals in effective choral writing. It is frequently heard in detached form on the concert stage.
IV
The early romantic movement attracted to itself no more enthusiastic disciple and energetic exponent than Hector Berlioz (1803-1869). Indeed, he was one of the earliest and at the same time one of the most extreme of the romanticists. Eccentric, impatient of formalism of any kind, but gifted with an intensely vivid imagination and a prodigious sense of color, he possessed a creative force of great originality and spontaneity, whose effectiveness, however, was frequently marred by its extravagance of expression. Endowed with an insatiable desire to interline all music with some kind of a descriptive or narrative purpose, he gave a tremendous impetus to ‘program music.’ In attempting to find an effective medium for descriptive effort in striving after the fantastic, he mightily developed the resources of the orchestra and became the real founder of the modern science of orchestration; moreover, he used his orchestra as eloquently in his choral masterpiece, ‘The Damnation of Faust,’ as in his symphonic works. His choral-writing came under the same romantic spell of liberation from formalism as did his instrumental inspirations. His ‘Faust’ is not only the first choral work, but almost the only one until near the end of the nineteenth century, in which the romantic ideal wholly dominates both choral and instrumental forces. If some of the choral numbers suffer in comparison with present-day choral treatment, this is not because of any difference of viewpoint, but because of the inadequacy, which one sometimes feels, of the purely musical vocabulary at his command to express fully what he felt. He frequently used the chorus, as did Beethoven in the ‘Ninth Symphony,’ as an adjunct to his symphonic works, but in distinctly choral forms, he left, in addition to the ‘Faust’ and the works mentioned in