Critical & Historical Essays - Lectures delivered at Columbia University by Edward MacDowell
page 23 of 285 (08%)
page 23 of 285 (08%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
medium that pre-historic man first knew; it produced the same
sensation of fear in him that it does in us at the present day. Rhythm denotes a thought; it is the expression of a purpose. There is will behind it; its vital part is intention, power; it is an act. Melody, on the other hand, is an almost unconscious expression of the senses; it translates feeling into sound. It is the natural outlet for sensation. In anger we raise the voice; in sadness we lower it. In talking we give expression to the emotions in sound. In a sentence in which fury alternates with sorrow, we have the limits of the melody of speech. Add to this rhythm, and the very height of expression is reached; for by it the intellect will dominate the sensuous. [01] The strength of the "Fate" motive in Beethoven's fifth symphony undoubtedly lies in the succession of the four notes at equal intervals of time. Beethoven himself marked it _So pocht das Schicksal an die Pforte_. II ORIGIN OF SONG vs. ORIGIN OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC Emerson characterized language as "fossil poetry," but "fossil |
|