At the
same time, with every tone, every measure, mechanically correct, a
performance may fail to move the listener, because it lacks warmth and
glow. Only they can make others feel who feel themselves, but sentiment
is apt to be confounded with sentimentality unless it is guided by a
scholarly mind. The more feeling is spiritualized with thought the
nobler it will be. Heart and head need to operate in company with
well-controlled physical forces, in order that a fine interpretation of
music may be attained. Faultless technique, in the service of a lofty
ideal, indeed ceases to be mechanical and becomes artistic.
A musical work of art originates in the deep well of the fertile
imagination of genius, and can only be drawn forth when the composer is
in that highly exalted frame of mind we call inspiration. The theme, or
musical subject, is a vital spark of the divine fire, and has flashed
unbidden into his consciousness, demanding undivided attention for its
logical development. With infinite care he molds and groups the musical
factors which are his working forces, and of which he has both an
intuitive and a practical knowledge.
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