A third point is his fondness for short, interrupted phrases (often repeated at different levels) in place of the developed Schubertian melodies; a practice which has been extended by later composers, but often, as in the case of Franz, without Schumann's tact. On many grounds, then, Schumann may be regarded as having widely extended the conception of the Lied; his example has indeed encouraged later composers to regard no lyric poetry as too subtle for musical treatment.
A bold experimenter in song was Franz Liszt, whose wayward genius, with its irrepressible bent towards the theatrical and melodramatic, was not at home within the limits of a short lyric. It is true that there is sincerity of feeling, if not of the deepest kind, in "Es muss ein Wunderbares sein" and "Veber alien Gipfeln," but concentrated emotion, which involves for its ex pression highly organized form, was alien to Liszt's genius, which is more truly represented in songs like "Die Lorelei," "Kennst du das Land" or "Am Rhein," in which are presented a series of pictures loosely connected, giving the impression of clever ex temporizations. It is not sufficiently recognized that such work is far easier to produce than successful strophic song, even of the simplest kind.
The popularity, therefore, of "Die Lorelei," is not so much a tribute to Liszt's genius, as an example of the extent to which gifted singers and undiscerning critics can mislead the public. Mere scene painting, however vivid, however atmospheric—and these qualities may be conceded to Liszt, and to others who have followed his example—takes its place upon the lower planes of art.
The admiration expressed by Liszt and Wagner for the songs of Robert Franz, and the cordial welcome extended by Schumann to those which first made their appearance, have led to an undue estimate of their importance in many quarters. They are char acterized by great delicacy both of feeling and of workmanship, but the ingenuity of his counterpoint, which he owed to his inti mate knowledge of Bach and Handel, cannot conceal the frequent poverty of inspiration in his melodic phrases, nor the absence of genuine constructive power. To build a song upon one or two phrases repeated at different levels and coloured by changing har monies to suit the requirements of the poetic text (as in "Fur Musik" and "Du bist Elend") is a• dangerous substitute for the power to formulate large and expressive melodies. But it is the method which Franz frequently pursued. His songs are mostly short and in the strophic form, some alteration being reserved to give point to the last verse. His tricks of style and procedure so quickly become familiar as to exhaust the patience even of the most sympathetic student. But the sincerity of his aims, the ideal istic and supersensitive purity of his mind (which banished as far as possible even the dramatic element from his lyrics), its recep tiveness to the chaste, tender and refined elements in human character render his songs an important contribution to our knowl edge of the intimate side of German feeling, and provide some compensation for the lack of the larger qualities of style and imag ination. His best qualities are represented in the beautiful setting
to Lenau's "Stille Sicherheit." Peter Cornelius.—A higher value than is usually conceded, attaches to the songs of Peter Cornelius, a friend of Liszt and Wagner, but a follower of neither. Before he came under their influence, he underwent a severe course of contrapuntal training, so that his work, though essentially modern in spirit, has that stability of structure which makes for permanence. He was, more over, an accomplished linguist, a brilliant essayist and a poet. That intimate fusion between poetry and music, which since Schubert has been the ideal of German song, is realized in an exceptional manner, when, with Cornelius as with Wagner, librettist and musician are one person.
Finer declamation is rarely found than in his subtly imaginative "Auftrag," whilst for beauty of feeling, apart from technical ex cellencies of a high order, the "Weihnachtslieder," the "Braut lieder" and much of the sacred cycle "Vater Unser" are hardly surpassed even by Schumann at his best, and point to Cornelius as one of the most beautiful and original spirits of the i9th century.
In the song work of the i9th century, though Schubert is the rock upon which it has been built, 'Schumann represents the most directly inspiring influence, even when, as in the case of Adolph Jensen (whose spontaneously melodious and graceful songs deserve to be better known), there are importations from such widely divergent sources as the works of Mendelssohn and Wagner.
The application of the principles of Wagnerian music-drama to lyrical work was, sooner or later, bound to come and, for a time, to bring confusion. Song was rescued from it by the work of two men of genius who, though they approached the task from very different standpoints, may be considered to have placed the crown of final achievement upon the aspirations of i9th century song—Johannes Brahms and Hugo Wolf. The songs of Wolf are treated elsewhere. (See WOLF.) Here it is only necessary to say that he exhibits an entirely unconventional and original style. He is as untroubled by tradition as Schubert, whom he resembles, not often (as in "Fussreise" and "Der Gartner") in pure melodi ousness, but in the intensity of his power to penetrate to the heart of poetry. To him may also be fitly applied the epithet "clairvoyant." He was the first to publish songs "for voice and pianoforte," not "songs with pianoforte accompaniment," thus asserting the equality of singer and accompanist in interpretation.