HISTORY OF GERMAN MUSIC. The chief epochs in the of German music are these,— sacred, polyphonic music, and its culmination in the works of Bach and Handel; the birth and development of modern instrumental forms; the German romantic opera,— von Weber; the German Lied; the Romantic school, Schumann, Liszt; the music dramas of Wagner; modern tendencies as found in the works of Strauss and others.
The first promising epoch in the develop ment of German music was the Reformation. In that period of storm and stress, of burning questions and of intense longing for religious and social independence, sacred music, that ex pression of man's belief in the Eternal, was cultivated with the greatest fervor. The music which was the natural outcome of such con ditions was of far-reaching influence, especially upon the great vocal and instrumental compo sitions of Sebastian Bach (q.v.).
Martin Luther, the leader of the movement, was not a composer of chorals or hymn-tunes, as is often supposed, but a writer of the words of hymns to which he and others set traditional melodies taken from the rich stores of religious folk-songs then extant Luther's distinct con tribution to the musical life of the time was (1) his writing of about 30 hymns which, deeply imbued with patriotic and moral feeling, spoke directly to. the heart of the German people, and (2) his associating with him the the favorite form in the clavichord composi tions of Bach, Handel and contemporary com posers.
The real supremacy of German music dates from the 18th century, for at that time began the careers of Bach and Handel (qq.v.), both born in the year 1685.
Handel was undoubtedly a man of great force of character and of quick comprehensive intellect ; in whatever he undertook, as com poser, impresario or chapel-master, he suc ceeded through sheer force of will and personal magnetism. His purely musical gifts, great as they were, often seem the least of his powers. His varied career affords a striking contrast to the simple life of Sebastian Bach, who spent his days in a rather obscure part of Germany, was practically unknown and certainly unappre ciated outside his native land, and began to receive due recognition only about a century after his death.
Handel's early studies were made in Italy and in his 47 operas he stood forth as the finest representative up to that time of the flowing Italian vocal style. These operas, although now entirely obsolete on account of their weak, meaningless libretti and lack of dramatic unity, yet contain some of Handel's finest songs, and as a song-writer his power is undoubted.
Handel's fame to-day rests almost entirely upon his oratorios, among which may be mentioned 'Israel in Egypt,' `Sampson,'
great impressionist and for dramatic effect, for majesty and dignity of utterance in dealing with large masses of voices, has never been sur passed. Early in middle life Handel became a naturalized Englishman, wrote his most famous works to English words, with special reference to English religious feeling, and so his influence there has at times amounted almost to idolatry. Upon other nations, France, Italy and Germany, Handel's influence has been much less and is weakening year by year.
If human greatness is to be measured by a constantly growing consensus of approval, Bach was in some ways the greatest musician who ever lived. He is practically the founder of modern music, and his influence is supreme in such different composers as Beethoven, Schu mann, Chopin and Wagner (qq.v.). In wealth of harmonic resource Bach was at least a century ahead of his time, and only recently have the inexhaustible vitality and suggestive ness of his works been fully appreciated. Bach's power is shown in three important branches of composition — as a choral-writer, as an organ-composer and as the precursor of the important modern developments in piano forte style and pianoforte playing. Bach's great choral-works are the two settings of the