He claimed it to be the divine
right of the dramatic composer to have his works sung precisely as he
had written them, and protested against the innovations that had been
permitted to suit the caprices and gratify the vanity of singers. It was
his idea that the Sinfonia, in other words the Overture or Prelude,
should indicate the subject and prepare the spectators for the
characters of the pieces, and that the instrumental coloring should be
adapted to the mood of the situation, thus anticipating modern
procedure. He prepared the way for the work of Cherubini, Auber, Gounod,
Thomas, Massenet, Saint-Saens and others.
In Germany, Italian opera, early introduced, long remained fashionable.
Native dramatic tastes, once fostered by minnesingers and strolling
players, were kept alive by the "singspiel," or song-play, composed of
spoken dialogue and popular song, which furnished the actual beginnings
of German national music drama. The threshold of this was reached, the
sanctuary of its treasures unlocked, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who,
without thought of being a reformer, unconsciously infused German spirit
into Italian forms.
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