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• ■ Henry Purcell, 1658—1695T is difficult for those musicians who have notmade a profound study of their art to understand allthis enthusiasm for the music of Purcell. They try to persuade themselves that it must be good if the great musiciansfind something to admire in it, but wherein the cause of thisadmiration lies they cannot see. To modern ears Purcell’smusic sounds thin. His harmonies are nothing out of the1 .common, his counterpoint is by no neans complicated, andf • . - - . Jhis instrumentation lacks the variety of tone and colour towhich we are accustomed. Yet, in spite of all this, Henry* ' * • * * ^ ' .Purcell was the greatest musi an Englant has produced,• • 4 , ■and one of the most remarkable geniuses the musical world1 ' i rhas known. When we hear Purcell’s music we must not• . » 'judge of it by the mere external beauty of the sound that appeals to the senses. In fact, no work of art is genuine or lasting which appeals to the senses only. That whichmakes a poem, picture, statue, or sonata great, is a quality which we cannot describe, but which we know couldhave been infused into the work only by a man of greatimagination, feeling, and strength of character. Thisquality is to be found in a marked degree in the musicof Purcell. But although this quality of spontaneity and vitality constitutes the principal part—the soul of an artproduction—yet the external part wh ;h is intended purely for the eye and ear is always carefully burnished by all trueartists. We are always struck with the strong character inthe face of a great man, even if the hair be unkempt and the beaid untrimmed. It is the dapper draper’s clerk andthe sleek barber who are faultlessly dressed but lacking instrength of facial character. So it is with music. Thecompositions of great musicians have an inner soul. Theproductions of the popular composers of the hour have nocharacter, but are dressed in all the exterior trappings thathappen to be in vogue at the time. Fashions in music, likefashions in dress, are constantly changing. But strength of character, depth of thought, genuineness of sentiment; nevergo out of fashion. These are the qualities that make Purcellalways highly esteemed among musicians. Purcell wouldprobably be considered a greater composer by the mass ofthe public if his works were never to be given. For themass of the public judge by the external style of a composer, and Purcell’s style is to-day antiquated. It was this tendency on the part of most men to judge by appearances only that prompted Voltaire to say that Dante would be-considered a great poet by the ,iub c as long as the public ■abstained from reading his works.*..■*. ,lt; IIf we study Purcell from the standpoint of history he seems more wonderful still. His opera Dido and YEneas,”instance, would cut soi y figure beside such a work as
Newspaper Details
Musical Courier
London, Middlesex, GB
Thu, Nov 21, 1895
Page 18
Full Page
Clipped by
Jv F.
MA, USA 07 Nov 2019
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