Modern Musical Drift

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Henderson, W. J. (William James), 1855-1937.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Modern Musical Drift" by W. J. Henderson is a critical examination of contemporary music, particularly focusing on operas, written in the early 20th century. The book delves into the works of notable composers, especially Richard Wagner, while discussing the evolution of musical practices and philosophies in the modern era. Henderson critiques the artistic integrity and depth of these musical compositions and how they reflect on society's relationship with art. The opening of the work sets the stage for a discussion on the eagerly awaited American debut of Wagner's opera "Parsifal" at the Metropolitan Opera House during Christmas time. The author paints a vivid picture of the fanfare surrounding the event, highlighting the extravagant spending and societal expectations associated with it. As the performances commence, Henderson offers his critical perspective, suggesting that "Parsifal" reflects a decline in Wagner's artistic prowess compared to his earlier masterpieces. He critiques the characters and themes presented in the opera, associating them with a lack of human drama and emotional resonance while juxtaposing them with the more engaging sentiments found in Wagner's prior works. The analysis raises questions about the relevance of such modern expressions of music in the light of genuine human experiences. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

Parsifalia: A pure fool in the New World. Ethics and æsthetics. The national religious drama

Der Ring des Nibelungen: A futile god and a potent devil. The woman and the serpent. Back-world's gods and over-woman

Isolde's serving-woman

Richard Strauss: The historical survey. The æsthetic view. What does it all mean? Strauss and the song writers

Aux Italiens: Italian opera of to-day. The classic of the unprogressive

The oratorio of to-day.

Credits:

Produced by Andrés V. Galia, Book digitized by Google and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 59.8 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.

Release date is 2017-03-25