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38 National Music of the World. |
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his ' Ruins of Athens.' The persistence in diatonic interval, which has been represented in divers forms by Mozart, Weber, Romberg, Gluck (as the airs from his 'Pilgrims of Mecca,' ' Unser clummer Pobel meinte/7 reminds us), and Sigr. Rossini, is by Beethoven thrown into the vocal part, while the delirious triplet accompaniment describes (if there be such a thing as description in music) the whirl of frantic feet swarming on the floor; fierce vigour and uncouth, not illicit, modulation being so wrought up as to produce the most unique, resistless specimen of mad climax which the library of music has to show. But Beethoven probably regarded the thing as a mere trifle.
I have spoken first about what may be called the ruder music of the East designedly, yet without reference to chronology. Fcr had dates guided me, it would have been needful to begin with the music of that strange and noble people who, nowr having a country of their own no more, are still the earliest of those owning an Oriental origin of whom distinct and consecutive record is made;—a people impossible to regard without as much fixed wonder and
7 Varied by Mozart (No, 455 of D. von Kochel's Thematic Catalogue). |
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