Chapter 42

CHAPTER XVIII

THE MODERN FRENCH

SCHOOL—D’INDY AND DEBUSSY

Not only as the most distinguished of César Franck’s pupils, but
by reason of his undoubted musicianship and marked versatility—
his works being in well nigh every form—Vincent d’Indy (1851-
still living) is rightly considered to be the most representa-
tive composer of his branch of the modern French school.[284]
Whether history will accord to him the rank of an inspired ge-
nius it is as yet too early to decide; but for the sincerity and
nobility of his ideas, for his finished workmanship and the in-
fluence he has exerted, through his many-sided personality, in
elevating public taste and in the education of young musicians,
he is worthy of our gratitude. D’Indy is a patriotic Frenchman
believing profoundly that French music has an importantrôleto
bear; who has incarnated this belief in a series of works of such
distinction that, if not unqualifiedly loved, they at least compel
recognition. If he swings a bit too far in his insistence upon the
exclusive glories of French genius, let us remember that the mod-
ern Germans[285] have been just as one-sided from their point
of view—and with even less tangible proof of attainment. For it
seems incontestable that, since the era of Wagner and Brahms,
the modern French and Russian Schools have contributed to the
development of music more than all the other nations combined.
It is for us in America who, free from national prejudice, can