vocabulary of music and has expressed in poetic and convinc-
ing fashion moods which never before had been attempted. In
his work are new revelations of the power of the imagination.
As Lawrence Gilman keenly remarks, “He has known how to
find music (inPelléas et Mélisande) for the sublime reflection of
Arkel, ’If I were God, I should pity the hearts of men.”’ Debussy
was also gifted with rare critical ability and many of his obser-
vations are worthy of deep consideration. For example—“Music
should be cleared of all scientific apparatus. Music should seek
humbly to give pleasure; great beauty is possible between these
limits. Extreme complexity is the opposite of art. Beauty should
be perceptible; it should impose itself on us, or insinuate itself,
without any effort on our part to grasp it. Look at Leonardo da
Vinci, Mozart! These are great artists.”
No account of modern French music would be satisfactory which
omitted to mention several composers who, though of somewhat
lesser importance than d’Indy and Debussy, have nevertheless
achieved works of distinction and charm. These are Chabrier,
Fauré, Duparc, Chausson and Ravel. Chabrier (1841-1894) is
noted for a bold exuberance and vividness of expression, for a
sense of humor and for a power of orchestral color and brilliance
which have not been duplicated. His style is entirely his own and
he is a veritable incarnation of “vis Gallica.” Born in the South
of France, the hot blood of that magic land seems to throb in
his music. We have from him several pianoforte compositions of
marked originality, in particular theBourrée Fantasque, some
inimitable songs,e.g.,Les CigalesandLa Villanelle des petits
Canardsand, most famous of all, his Rhapsody for orchestra
entitledEspaña, based on Spanish themes. This work has proved
to be a landmark in descriptive power and shares with Rimsky-
Korsakoff’sScheherazadethe claim of being the most brilliant
piece of orchestral writing in modern times. Some of Chabrier’s
best work is in his opera ofGwendoline, especially the Prelude
to the second act which is often played by itself.
Although Fauré (1845-still living) is more versatile and prolific
than Chabrier, his fame rests upon his achievements in two
fields—the song and pianoforte composition. Some of his pi-
anoforte pieces are, to be sure, of a light,salon type; yet in
many we find a true, poetic sentiment and they are all writ-
ten in a thoroughly pianistic idiom. In fact, prior to Debussy
Fauré was the only Frenchman worthy to compare in mastery of