massimilla doni-第19章
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arguments in which the French excel。
〃Madame;〃 said he; 〃in explaining this grand workwhich I shall come
to hear again to…morrow with a fuller comprehension; thanks to you; of
its structure and its effectyou have frequently spoken of the color
of the music; and of the ideas it depicts; now I; as an analyst; a
materialist; must confess that I have always rebelled against the
affectation of certain enthusiasts; who try to make us believe that
music paints with tones。 Would it not be the same thing if Raphael's
admirers spoke of his singing with colors?〃
〃In the language of musicians;〃 replied the Duchess; 〃/painting/ is
arousing certain associations in our souls; or certain images in our
brain; and these memories and images have a color of their own; they
are sad or cheerful。 You are battling for a word; that is all。
According to Capraja; each instrument has its task; its mission; and
appeals to certain feelings in our souls。 Does a pattern in gold on a
blue ground produce the same sensations in you as a red pattern on
black or green? In these; as in music; there are no figures; no
expression of feeling; they are purely artistic; and yet no one looks
at them with indifference。 Has not the oboe the peculiar tone that we
associate with the open country; in common with most wind instruments?
The brass suggests martial ideas; and rouses us to vehement or even
somewhat furious feelings。 The strings; for which the material is
derived from the organic world; seem to appeal to the subtlest fibres
of our nature; they go to the very depths of the heart。 When I spoke
of the gloomy hue; and the coldness of the tones in the introduction
to /Mose/; was I not fully as much justified as your critics are when
they speak of the 'color' in a writer's language? Do you not
acknowledge that there is a nervous style; a pallid style; a lively;
and a highly…colored style? Art can paint with words; sounds; colors;
lines; form; the means are many; the result is one。
〃An Italian architect might give us the same sensation that is
produced in us by the introduction to /Mose/; by constructing a walk
through dark; damp avenues of tall; thick trees; and bringing us out
suddenly in a valley full of streams; flowers; and mills; and basking
in the sunshine。 In their greatest moments the arts are but the
expression of the grand scenes of nature。
〃I am not learned enough to enlarge on the philosophy of music; go and
talk to Capraja; you will be amazed at what he can tell you。 He will
say that every instrument that depends on the touch or breath of man
for its expression and length of note; is superior as a vehicle of
expression to color; which remains fixed; or speech; which has its
limits。 The language of music is infinite; it includes everything; it
can express all things。
〃Now do you see wherein lies the pre…eminence of the work you have
just heard? I can explain it in a few words。 There are two kinds of
music: one; petty; poor; second…rate; always the same; based on a
hundred or so of phrases which every musician has at his command; a
more or less agreeable form of babble which most composers live in。 We
listen to their strains; their would…be melodies; with more or less
satisfaction; but absolutely nothing is left in our mind; by the end
of the century they are forgotten。 But the nations; from the beginning
of time till our own day; have cherished as a precious treasure
certain strains which epitomize their instincts and habits; I might
almost say their history。 Listen to one of these primitive tones;the
Gregorian chant; for instance; is; in sacred song; the inheritance of
the earliest peoples;and you will lose yourself in deep dreaming。
Strange and immense conceptions will unfold within you; in spite of
the extreme simplicity of these rudimentary relics。 And once or twice
in a centurynot oftener; there arises a Homer of music; to whom God
grants the gift of being ahead of his age; men who can compact
melodies full of accomplished facts; pregnant with mighty poetry。
Think of this; remember it。 The thought; repeated by you; will prove
fruitful; it is melody; not harmony; that can survive the shocks of
time。
〃The music of this oratorio contains a whole world of great and sacred
things。 A work which begins with that introduction and ends with that
prayer is immortalas immortal as the Easter hymn; /O filii et
filioe/; as the /Dies iroe/ of the dead; as all the songs which in
every land have outlived its splendor; its happiness; and its ruined
prosperity。〃
The tears the Duchess wiped away as she quitted her box showed plainly
that she was thinking of the Venice that is no more; and Vendramin
kissed her hand。
The performance ended with the most extraordinary chaos of noises:
abuse and hisses hurled at Genovese and a fit of frenzy in praise of
la Tinti。 It was a long time since the Venetians had had so lively an
evening。 They were warmed and revived by that antagonism which is
never lacking in Italy; where the smallest towns always throve on the
antagonistic interests of two factions: the Geulphs and Ghibellines
everywhere; the Capulets and the Montagues at Verona; the Geremei and
the Lomelli at Bologna; the Fieschi and the Doria at Genoa; the
patricians and the populace; the Senate and tribunes of the Roman
republic; the Pazzi and the Medici at Florence; the Sforza and the
Visconti at Milan; the Orsini and the Colonna at Rome;in short;
everywhere and on every occasion there has been the same impulse
Out in the streets there were already /Genovists/ and /Tintists/。
The Prince escorted the Duchess; more depressed than ever by the loves
of Osiride; she feared some similar disaster to her own; and could
only cling to Emilio; as if to keep him next her heart。
〃Remember your promise;〃 said Vendramin。 〃I will wait for you in the
square。〃
Vendramin took the Frenchman's arm; proposing that they should walk
together on the Piazza San Marco while awaiting the Prince。
〃I shall be only too glad if he should not come;〃 he added。
This was the text for a conversation between the two; Vendramin
regarding it as a favorable opportunity for consulting the physician;
and telling him the singular position Emilio had placed himself in。
The Frenchman did as every Frenchman does on all occasions: he
laughed。 Vendramin; who took the matter very seriously; was angry; but
he was mollified when the disciple of Majendie; of Cuvier; of
Dupuytren; and of Brossais assured him that he believed he could cure
the Prince of his high…flown raptures; and dispel the heavenly poetry
in which he shrouded Massimilla as in a cloud。
〃A happy form of misfortune!〃 said he。 〃The ancients; who were not
such fools as might be inferred from their crystal heaven and their
ideas on physics; symbolized in the fable of Ixion the power which
nullifies the body and makes the spirit lord of all。〃
Vendramin and the doctor presently met Genovese; and with him the
fantastic Capraja。 The melomaniac was anxious to learn the real cause
of the tenor's /fiasco/。 Genovese; the question being put to him;
talked fast; like all men who can intoxicate themselves by the
ebullition of ideas suggested to them by a passion。
〃Yes; signori; I love her; I worship her with a frenzy of which I
never believed myself capable; now that I am tired of women。 Women
play the mischief with art。 Pleasure and work cannot be carried on
together。 Clara fancies that I was jealous of her success; that I
wanted to hinder her triumph at Venice; but I was clapping in the
side…scenes; and shouted /Diva/ louder than any one in the house。〃
〃But even that;〃 said Cataneo; joining them; 〃does not explain why;
from being a divine singer; you should have become one of the most
execrable performers who ever piped air through his larynx; giving
none of the charm even which enchants and bewitches us。〃
〃I!〃 said the singer。 〃I a bad singer! I who am the equal of the
greatest performers!〃
By this time; the doctor and Vendramin; Capraja; Cataneo; and Genovese
had made their way to the piazzetta。 It was midnight。 The glittering
bay; outlined by the churches of San Giorgio and San Paulo at the end
of the Giudecca; a