tral suites, in which the beauties of the music have been preserved, while the plays for which these settings were written have vanished from the stage, although written by wellknown authors.

"L'Arlisienne" is the title of a play by Alphonse Daudet, which the beautiful music by Bizet could not save. Ibsen's drama, "Peer Gynt," "Peer Gynt," was equally short-lived, and it was some years before Grieg revised his incidental music and brought it out in its present popular form. "Les Erynnyes, tragedie antique," by Lecont de Lisle, would be forgotten

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tinued throughout the drama so as to constitute what is known as opera. The third-melodrama-owing to its somewhat equivocal naturè, has frequently been the subject of discussion.

The second and third classes will now be treated of, in so far as they concern the melodrama, or the play with incidental music.

In setting a poem to music, there is often great difficulty in distributing the vocal notes so that accent, pronunciation of the vowels and thus the meaning of the words be preserved, while in strongly impassioned

passages the text is usually lost altogether. As a rule, in such cases, the intelligibility of the poem fades in direct ratio to the increase in the intensity of the music, and conversely.

Recognizing the fact that we never expect to understand half the text of an opera, we see that certain passages will gain in directness when spoken through music. Such speeches as are necessary to the comprehension of a plot should be thus treated, if music be employed.

Melodramatic music may be divided into three classes. First, where the music accompanies the action only. Secondly, where the speech is accompanied by music of a definite character composed expressly for a given passage intended to heighten the emotional effect. Thirdly, where the speech is followed in a vague and irrelevant manner by a series of

measures repeated over and over ad libitum.

As for the first class, little, if anything, can be said against it, pantomime being a recognized art-form. Against the third much might be said, and a protest should be entered were there any prospect of any good resulting.

This so-called "blue

light" music, which warns us of the confession of a dark secret, the approach of the villain, etc., does not enter into the composition of any of the works in consideration, so we will devote our attention to the second class-music written to accompany a given spoken text.

Who can have failed to notice that in the Prison Scene ("Fidelio")and in the Wolf's Glen ("Der Freischütz"), certain weird emotional effects are produced by means of spoken text with orchestral accompaniment. In each instance the composer had the complete grand opera apparatus at command, but chose this means of expression in preference to having the passages sung. In the melodramatic setting the meaning of every

No. 2. Brangäne.

word comes out more distinctly. The spoken text with a harmonic background is often far more intense than if the words were sung, when the character is likely to change from the dramatic to the lyric.

At the present day, the greatly increased variety of harmonic and orchestral effects makes it possible for a composer to express almost every emotion in tones. But the limited harmonic scale employed by Beethoven renders the passage quoted particularly effective. Richard Wagner, in one of his essays, speaks of the gifted opera-singer, Frau Schröder-Devrient, in this same Prison Scene in "Fidelio," substituting in place of a high note to be sung a scream, feeling that a lyric tone was too weak to express the feelings of a devoted wife about to be united to a long-lost husband, only to see an attempt made on his life. It was doubtless this instance which Wagner had in mind when, in the second act of "Tristan and Isolde," he wrote, "Brangäne utters a shrill scream." (Brangäne has been watch

Another important feature of incidental music is its power to suggest locality by means of idealized national airs or musical peculiarities. How powerful is Wagner's music in conjuring up the mists of ancient Cornwall which envelops the stage during a performance of "Tristan and Isolde!" The quaint theme and variations, the "Carillon," the farandoli, etc., in Bizet's music to "L'Arlesienne," take us to Provence, while Grieg's "Morgen-stimmung

is a mixture of arts, like waxworks, a combination of painting and statuary. Since it has been demonstrated that the Greeks painted their statues, I have heard little of this argument. Some say that in combining two good things one can listen to neither with satisfaction. This argument has long been employed against the opera, but the opera still exists.

Some people prefer a tune without harmony for the same reason. A serious fault, which is sometimes noticeable in recitations

with music, is that which occurs when the speaker permits his voice to dwell on a monotone, thus producing most undesirable discords. But this, like other difficulties in artistic work, can be remedied by conscientious rehearsal.

When we take poems like "Der Heideknabe" and "Schön Hedwig," with Schumann's music; Bürger's dramatic ballad "Leonore " with Liszt's thrilling accompaniment, and other works of this type, which, when well done are so wonderfully effective, no one can deny the right of melodrama to serious consideration. If one wishes an insight into the thought of the poet, Goethe's "Faust," with the simple music by Lindpaintner, is more to the point than Gounod'sopera; and Schiller's "William Tell," with Reinecke's unpretentious musical additions, is preferable to Rossini's version, much as the overture and odd numbers may please us.

I regard the setting of an entire