The art of music, Vol. 05 (of 14) — Reading Notes

The Introduction’s Curative Frame

Bispham’s opening paragraph declares that arts are “curative, they do us good.” This is not a dry scholarly preface but a manifesto. He argues that no modern ban remains on any art, except by “an occasional religious sect.” The language is confident, even sweeping. For a first-time reader, this frame suggests the volume will treat music as more than technique—as a force for human betterment. Yet the excerpt does not reveal how this claim connects to the later chapters. The reader should watch whether subsequent sections echo this therapeutic theme or proceed independently.

Schubert as Turning Point

The middle excerpt focuses on Schubert’s transformation of song. The editors assert that before Schubert, song music “was appropriate only; with Schubert song became expressive.” They credit him with freeing form, noting that his songs like Aufenthalt or “Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel” have “no discoverable scheme yet a most cogent unity.” The analysis is comparative: Schubert is likened to Haydn in impact. The passage also categorizes his poets into three groups—Storm and Stress, Romantic, young-German—linking musical change to literary and political upheaval. This layered approach (music, poetry, history) is a hallmark of the volume’s editorial style.

Poetic and Political Context

The excerpt divides Schubert’s poets into three classes: Sturm und Drang, Romantic, and young-German. It explains that the Romantic movement was “double”—part extreme individualism, part national awakening against Napoleon. The young-German poets, writing after the Congress of Vienna, turned to “cynicism” and “bitter dream of vengeance.” This contextualization shows the editors treating vocal music as embedded in cultural history. A first reader should note that the volume does not isolate music; it constantly references broader currents. The mention of Goethe and Schiller as Sturm und Drang figures, with Goethe praised for “command over the music of the German language,” reinforces the interdisciplinary lens.

Editorial Structure and Reader Guidance

The volume is part of a fourteen-book set, with this one devoted to “The Voice and Vocal Music.” The title page lists five editors, including David C. Taylor, author of The Psychology of Singing, and Hiram Kelly Moderwell. The presence of multiple editors suggests a collaborative, possibly uneven, voice. The excerpts show a mix of assertive claims (“Enough can scarcely be said of the value of the literature of song”) and detailed historical analysis. Readers should expect each chapter to follow a similar pattern: a strong thesis, historical background, and specific musical examples. The musical examples are provided as audio files in the HTML version, a feature that enhances the reading experience.

This volume rewards readers who attend to its editorial choices: the therapeutic introduction, the comparative method, and the integration of poetry and politics. The excerpts suggest a work that is both a reference and an argument. As you read, note how the editors balance generalization with specificity—and whether the later chapters maintain the same energy as the Schubert analysis.

That rainy afternoon, Reading Notes made Schubert feel less like theory and more like weather—inevitable, moving through me. Its opening promise of music as cure lingered long after I closed it. Days later, I stumbled onto Orpheus; or, The music of the future — Text and Context, and something shifted quietly, as if the first book had left a door ajar.