Critical Historical Essays

Critical & Historical Essays

Project Gutenberg's Critical & Historical Essays, by Edward MacDowell This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Critical & Historical Essays Lectures delivered at Columbia University
Author: Edward MacDowell
Editor: W. J. Baltzell
Release Date: July 24, 2005 [EBook #16351]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRITICAL & HISTORICAL ESSAYS ***

Produced by David Newman, Daniel Emerson Griffith and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Italic text is represented by underscores around the text.
Footnotes in the original text were all marked with asterisks: I have renumbered these and represented them as [01] through [15].
All other text enclosed between square brackets represents or describes the illustrations (for which see the HTML edition):
Pitches: [c, ... c ... a b c' (middle-C) d' e' ... c'' ... c''']
Round brackets: when around a single note these represent a note in the extract which was bracketed or otherwise highlighted. When around two or more notes, they represent a slur or beam.
Braces: surround simultaneous notes in a chord {a c' e'}
Accidentals:
[f++] = F double-sharp [a+] = A sharp [c=] = C natural [e-] = E flat [d--] = D double-flat
In the main text, accidentals are written out in full, as [natural], A[flat], G[sharp]. One table uses [#] for [sharp].
Accents and marcato: denoted by > and ^ before a note.
Time signatures: [4/4], [6/8], etc.
[C] or [C/4] = C-shaped [4/4] time. [C|] or [C/2] = C-shaped [2/2] time. [O] = A circle [O.] = A circle with a dot in the center [C.] = A broken circle (C-shaped) with a dot in the center
[G:] = Treble clef ([G8:] = Treble clef 8va bassa) [F:] = Bass clef ([F8:] = Bass clef 8va bassa)
Rhythms (A trailing . represents a dotted note):
[L] = Longa [B] = Brevis [S] = Semibrevis [1] = Whole-note (Semibreve) [2] = Half-note (Minim) [4] = Quarter-note (Crotchet) [8] = Eighth-note (Quaver) [16] = Sixteenth-note (Semiquaver)
Lyrics and Labels: words aligned with the notes begin [W: ...]
Breves and macrons, used to denote short and long stresses in poetry are denoted ['] and [-] respectively.
[|] = Bar (Bar line) [<] = Crescendo hairpin [x] = small cross [\] = 45 degree downstroke [/] = 45 degree upstroke [/\] = large circumflex shape [O|] = a circle bisected by a vertical line protruding both ways [Gamma] = The Greek capital gamma [mid-dot] = a dot at the height of a hyphen [over-dot] = a single dot over the following letter [Over-slur] = a frown-shaped curved line [Under-slur] = a smile-shaped curved line (breve) [reverse-apostrophe] = the mirror image of a closing quote [Upper Mordent] = an upper mordent: /\/\/ with thick downstrokes [Crenellation] = horizontals, low, high, low, connected by verticals [Podium] = [Crenellation] with the third horizontal at half-height [Step] = horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical, ascending [Turn] = a turn (~)
[Figure 01] = extract available as a MIDI file (figure01.mid). [Illustration] = all other illustrations.
For example, here's a D minor scale set to words:
[G: d' e' (f' g') a' b-' (c+'' d'')] [W: One, two, three, four, five, six. ]
And a simple rhythmic example:
[3/4: 4 4 8 8 | 8. 16 2] = [- - ' ' - ' -]

CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL ESSAYS
Lectures delivered at Columbia University
BY EDWARD MACDOWELL
EDITED BY W.J. BALTZELL
LONDON
ELKIN & CO., LTD., 8 & 10 BEAK STREET, REGENT STREET, W.
CONSTABLE & CO., LTD., 10 ORANGE STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE, W.C.
BOSTON, U.S.A., ARTHUR P. SCHMIDT
COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY ARTHUR P. SCHMIDT
A.P.S. 9384
Stanhope Press
F.H. GILSON COMPANY BOSTON, U.S.A.

PREFACE
The present work places before the public a phase of the professional activity of Edward MacDowell quite different from that through which his name became a household word in musical circles, that is, his work as a composer. In the chapters that follow we become acquainted with him in the capacity of a writer on phases of the history and aesthetics of music.
It was in 1896 that the authorities of Columbia University offered to him the newly created Chair of Music, for which he had been strongly recommended as one of the leading composers of America. After much thought he accepted the position, and entered upon his duties with the hope of accomplishing much for his art in the favorable environment which he fully expected to find. The aim of the instruction, as he planned it, was: "First, to teach music scientifically and technically, with a view to training musicians who shall be competent to teach and compose. Second, to treat music historically and aesthetically as an element of liberal culture." In carrying out his plans he conducted a course, which, while "outlining the purely technical side of music," was intended to