as much time as to a foreign language. In the creed of the
music-lover
the first and last article is familiarity. When we thoroughly
know a
composition so that its themes sing in our memory and we feel
at home
in the structure, the music will speak to us directly, and all
books
and analytical comments will be of secondary importance—
those of the
present writer not excepted. Special effort has been made to
select
illustrations of musical worth, and upon these the real emphasis
in
study should be laid.
The material of the book is based on lectures, often of an infor-
mal
nature, in the Appreciation Course at Harvard University and
lays no
claim to original research. The difficulty in establishing points
of
approach makes it far more baffling to speak or write about
music than
about the other arts. Music is sufficient unto itself. Endowed
with
the insight of a Ruskin or a Pater, one may say something worth
while
about painting. But in music the line between mere statistical
analysis and sentimental rhapsody must be drawn with exceed-
ing care.
If the subject matter be clearly presented and the analyses
true—allowance being made for honest difference of opinion—
every