IN the study of the history of musical art, nothing can strike our mind more impressively than the observation of its coherency, of the connection between the different phases in the development of each particular field and between its most prominent representatives; but most striking is this impression when we become aware of an influence directly felt through generations. When about a generation ago the conservative Professor Bischoff sarcastically threw the term "music of the future" into the world with reference to Wagner's music dramas, the master accepted it as a watchword, and in his pamphlet "The art work of the future," laid down the hopes and ideals which he strove to realize. Numberless times since then has this phrase been used everywhere, and those who, standing in the midst of the movement, wanted to become clear as to its true meaning, had at least to admit that all great music has ever been "music of the future," whether its value has been recognized by contemporaries or not. But most eminently it has seemed to apply to the great master, Johann Sebastian Bach. Of him, who died more than fourteen decades ago, it could have been said, that only a very remote future would do his works justice, for even to-day they must still be regarded as "music of the future," and the influence which they were destined to exert upon the development of musical art in various fields, is still far from having reached its end. It is inspiring to see how the thorough understanding and appreciation of this genius, and of the wealth, depth and greatness of his style, are progressing in the different countries, and just as inspiring to examine his extraordinary influence upon the more recent epochs of musical history. While some composers tried to follow him in his own fields, as Mendelssohn in the oratorio or Rheinberger in compositions for the organ, others, as Schumann and Brahms in instrumental works, have adopted his wonderful polyphonic and contrapuntal art, showing his influence just in those productions, which otherwise exhibit most strongly their own individuality. Even the revolutionary Wagner held Bach's genius in veneration, and paid a noble tribute to it in his Mastersingers. Indeed, considering these facts, an overwhelming sense of admiration and gratitude must fill our hearts, particularly in thinking of the great master of modern German song to whom this article is devoted.

Not an imitator, but a worthy successor of Bach, in a field, the highest cultivation of which has been preserved to modern time as one of its noblest tasks, is Robert Franz, whose life and works may perhaps awaken a double interest, if viewed in the light of the above introductory remarks. In outward appearance this life was, perhaps, even more quiet and simple than that of Bach. Franz's soul and mind had always turned toward the inner world, just as in his songs he studiously avoided all ostentation and meaningless brilliancy. There is indeed a significant harmony between his life and songs, the latter being the outgrowth of the former, not occasionally written down from a vain ambition to compose, nor as a pastime or fashion, but as the fulfilment of his life's task, to which his genius had committed him.

Robert Franz was born June 28, 1815, in Halle, the old university town in the centre of Germany, the birthplace of Handel. Here Franz has remained all his life. He did not descend from a musical family, but from plain, honest, business people; nor were there any direct early proofs of his musical genius, as only in his fourteenth year he was given an opportunity, on an antique, spinet-like pantaleon (or large dulcimer) to make his first practical experiments, at the same time trying, unaided, with a touching perseverance, to find out the secrets of musical notation. However, he had received his first musical impressions when very young. At two years of age he had been amply impressed by Luther's choral, "A Mighty Fortress is Our Lord," played by trombones from the steeple of a church at the celebration of the third centenary of the Reformation. At home his father was accustomed to sing the old church and folk songs. The effect of these early impressions on his young musical soul was soon obvious, for he says that in school he had an irresistible desire to add a second voice to the melodies which were being practised. His unsolicited assistance was looked upon as a crime by the teacher, who punished him for it repeatedly. It was the mother who first lent a helping hand to the boy's outspoken talent and inclination, and who succeeded in persuading his father to buy the already mentioned pantaleon. Naturally the instruction which young Robert received, first from a relative and then by nearly all the different music teachers of Halle in succession, was not of much value. He achieved more by his own impulses, practising chorals with friends, eagerly studying the organ and using every opportunity to play accompaniments, as for instance, in the choral rehearsals of the famous Franke Asylum. There he became acquainted with the music of Mozart, Haydn, and his great fellow citizen, Handel, and there he was first fired with the spirit of composition. Unadvised and without the least theoretical preparation he yielded to his desire to compose, neglecting even his school duties in favor of this impulse, the results of which, however, he has declared utterly worthless. It was difficult for him, especially in his own home, to brave all depreciation of his talents and to overcome all opposition; only the firm belief in his artistic calling enabled him to fight the battle through victoriously.

Franz was twenty years old, when at last his parents consented to his thorough professional education. The Leipsic Conservatory not having been founded, the music school of the famous theorist and composer, Friedrich Schneider, in Dessau, was at that time held in highest esteem, and there Franz was sent. The rather patriarchal, old fashioned, pedantic spirit which prevailed in this school, could certainly offer to the young aspiring student substantial knowledge, though it could do but little to develop his poetic nature. Yet he learned a great deal there, and laid a most excellent foundation to the eminent theoretical knowledge and mastery in the strict contrapuntal and polyphonic style by which he later won such a high distinction.

Besides this, the ever fresh impulses of his own nature and the inspiring intercourse with congenial fellow students helped to mature his own musical individuality. A peculiar influence is attributed to a certain Reupsch, whom Franz describes as quite extraordinary in improvisations on the organ and in the treatment of chorals. Nothing has ever been published of all the works (consisting of pianoforte sonatas, a mass, etc.) which were composed during these years. Franz felt that his nature would lead him upon an independent path of his own, but his instinct had not yet found this sphere. After two years of study he returned home, only to meet with new opposition and mistrust in his talent. No position was offered him, no compositions appeared in print; and it was then that the sympathy of his faithful mother remained his best comfort. In the circles of cultivated dilettanti he learned that the intrinsic value of a work of art is found in its inner significance, and that its formal value, if it be a really artistic production, should be a matter of course. This is the very idea for which Robert Schumann was then fighting, and which men like Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz have made the principle of their artistic creed. Yet all true art rests on the closest harmony between both elements, where the form is the necessary and most perfect expression of the ideal contents, the two forming a perfect union. What a blessing was it that Franz in this way found rich opportunities to become acquainted with old Italian music, and with the three great German masters, Bach, Schubert and Schumann, whose works have most essentially influenced the moulding of his own musical language.

He gave such close study to their works that his nervous system was overwrought, and becoming his own severest critic he destroyed all his former compositions. Courage and confidence seemed to leave him and for years his production ceased. This did not prevent him from striving to acquire a higher general education, however, and he applied himself especially to the study of philosophy and literature, availing himself of the rich opportunities afforded by the University of his city. At last a short dream of love brought forth the music of his soul, his first songs, which came forth from the depths of his heart. This was in 1843. Schumann, to whom he sent the songs, honored him with a most hearty recognition of his talent, and was helpful in finding a publisher. But Franz's nervous condition and ominous, early developing auricular sufferings obliged him to take an extended trip to Tyrol and Italy. The journey strengthened him so much that after his return he was finally able to devote with enthusiasm his rich talents untrammelled to the cultivation of his new field. Others followed Schumann in their sincere recognition of our composer's talent, among whom were Gade, Mendelssohn, and especially Liszt, who was so often the noble champion for new talents, and who wrote one of his finest pamphlets in praise of Franz's songs. Wagner, who certainly never could be accused of being too liberal in his praise of others, was not to be outdone. In a letter to Uhlig he says he will never forget that Franz was, after Liszt, the first German musician who had done him justice.

Besides some compositions for the church, and a few part songs, Franz has confined himself to the cultivation of the German "Lied" with a wonderful concentration of all his faculties, reaching the highest perfection, richness, depth, and beauty in this one genre, as Chopin did in his field of pianoforte compositions. As regards his practical occupation in Halle, he held several positions, with which he had been entrusted soon after his first success as a composer, being organist at the St. Ulrici church and director of the singing Academy and the symphony concerts, as well as at the University. However, his increasing nervous and auricular maladies obliged him in 1868 to resign all these offices and to live from the limited earnings of his compositions. A generous gift in money started by the always noble minded Liszt, and supported by admirers in Germany, England and America, released him from all further anxieties. Thus the dear master, invalid in body but young in spirit, lived in retirement in his native city, with his wife, Maria Hinrichs, slowly winning the recognition of the musical world. Letters received from him in the summer of 1892 still showed an unusually bright and active mind, so that the announcement of his death, which occurred Oct. 24th in Halle, came as a sad surprise. Many an honor has been conferred upon him, the title of a royal music director, of an honorary doctor of the Halle University, and Bavarian and Prussian orders. Yet greater than all these is the honor of living forever through his works in the hearts of his people, and in the high esteem of all students of music and its history.

The collection of Robert Franz's songs may be well compared to a lovely garden, most carefully adorned with beautiful flowers of every variety, each of which attracts and deserves our special and close attention. Indeed, whoever takes pains, in an earnest and loving mind to review these songs one by one, and to penetrate into their peculiar nature, style and beauty, will be surprised to observe that the composer has allowed not one to be published without having perfected it in every detail. Even the simplest folk-song had to be a true work of art, worthy of his name and genius, before he would send it upon its wanderings through the world. Another significant fact, which also does him great credit, is that each song impresses us most forcibly as being born out of a deep, sympathetic comprehension of the peculiar genius of the poet, and the language, sentiment, and spirit of the poem. There is no conventionality, no mannerism, no following of certain patterns, which so often characterize ancient and modern manufacturers of songs. Every number presents, in closest harmony with the text of the poem, an individual musical organism, bearing the mark of Franz's artistic individuality, but forming with the poem such a perfect union that we do not wish to separate the music from the words, nor are we able to fully enjoy either independent of the other. The music of his songs is not of such a character as to detract from the beauty and interest of the poem. The musical setting is designed mainly to enhance the charm of the poetic gem, and display it to best advantage.

There are thousands of songs which please superficial singers and audiences without awakening the least question as to the worth of the poem and its author. This is not true of Franz's songs, however, and never has a song writer succeeded better than he in doing his chosen poets and poems full justice. He did not use them simply to serve his musical purpose, but adapted himself to them in a way which might be called self-abnegation of the highest form. It is this characteristic, together with his use of the old contrapuntal and polyphonic art, that gives Franz's compositions a classic aspect. His aim and task was to find a formally clear, distinct expression for every kind of poetical sentiment, and one hardly errs in saying that Franz has outgrown the romanticist in himself and donned the superior garb of classical art. The musical construction of his songs is firm and perfectly developed, and allows no room for misunderstanding or individual conceptions. His ideas are expressed fully and clearly, and although the general impression produced may continue to move us, it is brought to a complete, satisfactory conclusion by the last note. One feels that here a superior artistic spirit, an eminent musical genius reigns; a genius drawing inspiration from the purest musical source, guided by high literary and Æsthetic culture, scorning imitation and cheap, tawdry effects, but in each new song striving for strength, character and perfect harmony with the poet whose work his music honors.

It will readily be understood why the creator of such beautiful works of art should be unwilling to make the piano accompaniment play a subordinate part. However, he does not raise it to the principal position, as does Wagner, in his latest music dramas, but melodically, rhythmically, harmonically, interweaves it with the vocal strain in such a way that each part completes the other, both forming a wonderful unity. In fact, as regards this intimate and organic connection of song and accompaniment, Franz hardly has his equal among the great song composers, notwithstanding many splendid instances of this combining power found in the songs of Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms. Quite often Franz's song accompaniments are written in such a manner that each part forms a beautiful song by itself, so that one is almost tempted to sing one of the inner voices; while sometimes the accompaniment is even written strictly in four parts, making it seem like a choral composition. This leads us to the cardinal features of Franz's style, and shows his close relationship to Sebastian Bach and to the already mentioned old hymns and folk songs. August Saran has treated this subject most thoroughly in a very remarkable book culminating in the statement, "Robert Franz's song is in its whole nature and musical structure nothing else but the old German folk-song, enriched and idealized by the peculiar expressiveness of modern music." Those old folk-songs had once reached their highest development on sacred ground in the protestant Choral as it became so wonderfully perfected in Bach's polyphonic and contrapuntal art. We find that Franz has applied this same art and spirit to modern lyric songs, although at the same time he fully recognizes what all the later musical epochs have contributed in the way of greater delicacy or intensity of expression, richer, and freer use of the rhythms, new harmonic modulations, a closer regard for the intelligent phrasing of poetic words, and a richer and far more varied and effective technique of the pianoforte.

As regards his style Franz is thus an absolutely modern composer, else his songs would be mere scholarly experiments, having no inner life. But his melodies are evidently designed for a polyphonic treatment. They need to be supplemented by other parts, not merely by a simple chord accompaniment, although this is also used occasionally. Yet with all these finesses, and the difficulties of such a complicated style, most of the songs have quite a popular character in the noblest meaning of the word. Only a small number are what the Germans term "durchcomponirt," (composed through), a large majority are in the strophe form. Yet the composer understands just how in the most wonderful, scarcely perceptible, and often extremely delicate manner, to do justice to the changing moods of the different strophes. Quite a number of the compositions are true folk-songs, the poems being old German, Suabian, Swiss, Bohemian and Scotch.

Franz's favorites among prominent poets, are Heine, Lenau, Eichendorff, Burns and Osterwald, while secondary are Goethe, RÜckert, Geibel, MÖricke and Roquette. The subjects treated by him are many and varied; there are many beautiful songs of nature in various deeply affecting, concentrated moods, songs of night and stars, of water and waves, weather and storm, autumn and spring, forest and heath; also songs of love in all the phases which a heart may experience, from the first sweet, chaste dawn, to the exultation of final happiness; the woe of a broken heart, and of parting and death; nor are merry, dancing or humorous songs missing. Yet there are no ballads.

How many remarkable, strong, or delicate features could be singled out of this wealth of lyric music, but how much easier and more directly could this be done with the songs themselves before one! The sharp eye or ear would then be delightfully surprised by many strange and new details. They would meet with unusual keys and modulations, intentional indefinite fluctuations between major and minor keys, rhythmical finesses and curious combinations such as a 7/4 time or the periodical change of the time, impressive declamatory effects, an effective use of syncopations, sequences, inversions, cadences, characteristic figures and ornaments. And this never for purely musical purposes, but for the sake of a better expression of the poetic meaning. Would that these lines might help to induce many readers to study closely the songs of Robert Franz! They would then experience delightful surprises with nearly every song, and their hearts would be filled more and more with music of a new and independent style, each tone of which has life and meaning, and helps to arouse one's sympathy for a new, though limited, world of beauty and ideal contents. But never will the student's surprise and pleasure be greater than when meeting with songs such as are already familiar and dear to him in other famous settings. For none of these need to step aside and shun comparison with their more celebrated rivals. For illustration, his "Restless Love," by Goethe, certainly has not a less passionate melody than Schubert's setting of the same subject, while the brilliant accompaniment of the former is decidedly superior to Schubert's. "When Midnight Dreams" ("AllnÄchtlich im Traume") is a worthy rival of Schumann's fine song, and much better than Mendelssohn's conventional setting of Heine's poem. It is difficult to decide which deserves the preference, Franz's or Brahms' setting of the beautiful slumber-song "Ruhe SÜssliebchen" from Tieck's "SchÖne Magelone;" though quite dis-similar, both hold high places among the songs of these two masters. Especially interesting is the comparison of those, the poems of which, mostly written by Heine, have also inspired Schumann to some of his very finest productions. These are the songs which are recommended to all who desire to study the strong individuality and significance of Robert Franz as a composer of songs. In such a rich collection it is impossible to specify the merits of each song; for all appeal equally to our sympathy and attention.

The adequate rendering of Franz's songs lies both with the singer and the accompanist. Most of them demand a well trained voice of a fine musical quality, and often of a wide compass, an unusual degree of general musical education, a clear poetical comprehension of text and music, and a most distinct enunciation and intelligent phrasing. The accompaniment calls for a very clever player, well schooled in Bach's polyphonic style, who has a singing tone and who, in the whole conception and delivery, is in full harmony with the singer. Nearly all of these songs can be well rendered and enjoyed in an English translation, if only the translator be guided in his work by the utmost regard for the melos and rhythm of the poem and its music. Franz's songs are still far too little known, although in the old world, and we are proud to say in the new also, some enthusiastic admirers, singers, musicians and writers have done a great deal for their introduction. They are everywhere respected, but unduly neglected in vocal concerts as well as in our homes, where their influence would be felt still more. May these lines help to win them many true and lasting friends.

There remains still another highly important musical achievement of Robert Franz to be noted,—a series of works through which he has deserved the lasting thanks of all earnest friends of musical art, and which will for all time connect his name with those of our greatest masters of the oratorio, Bach and Handel. Before him Mozart had made a similar attempt with the music of Handel, and Mendelssohn with that of Bach, but neither achieved a complete success. These old masters did not fully write out the accompaniments to their great works in the form which has become the rule with their successors, but rather left them as outlines, a mere figured bass indicating the accompaniment, which the composer either played or personally supervised. The old art of playing from a figured bass has in our time become almost obsolete; besides our ears have through the wonderful development of instrumental music become accustomed to new sounds and orchestral effects, which are now absolutely essential to us. Also, some instruments have since been discarded and others modified. It was an extremely difficult task to complete this accompaniment, which was merely suggested, and arrange it for our modern orchestral instruments, at the same time retaining the spirit and style of the old great masters. It required a thorough historical and theoretical knowledge, a fine sense of the peculiar character of the different instruments and a complete mastery of polyphonic and contrapuntal art, qualities found only in a true musician, who was himself highly gifted as a composer. Scholarly professors might perhaps have performed this feat in a merely correct and antiquarian manner, but only a true musician could inspire these accompaniments with the same life as the old masters would have done had they lived at the present stage of musical art. It will be easily understood that such an undertaking excited the most animated criticism, which several times led Franz to defend his standpoint in very interesting publications. Against such attacks by more or less famous and learned musical writers he was warmly assisted by enthusiastic friends and admirers in Germany, England and America, where Franz had early found many marks of a high appreciation of his genius. However the most gratifying reward for his labors is the fact that his arrangements of the old masterworks are steadily coming into general use. Modern as is his sentiment as a productive musician, he stands nearer to Bach and Handel in style and spirit than any other modern composer. We know of none who could have performed this great task more conscientiously, with a deeper comprehension of the old art and with a more loving devotion than Robert Franz. What he has achieved in this line secures him immortality not less than his songs.

The most important of these arrangements are: Handel's "Messiah," "Jubilate," "l'Allegro il Pensieroso ed il Moderato," and many arias and duets; Bach's "St. Matthew Passion," "Magnificat," "Christmas Oratorio," "Tragic Ode," and many cantatas and arias; Astorga's "Stabat Mater," Durante's "Magnificat," and quite a collection of old German chorals and songs.

Considering, then, all that Franz has done for us, we bow in admiration and thankfulness before a genius, who is one of the noblest representatives of the latest musical epoch, and whose name is one of the few worthy to continue the list of those masters whom we honor as the corner stones of musical art. For it is not the size, but the ideal significance and degree of perfection, which determines the greatness and lasting value of a work of art. Whoever produces works of absolute beauty and perfection, even in a minor field, deserves a place of honor amongst the masters of all times.