ght (to be explained later)--may consist
of several motives of which the first is generally the most important.
Just here lies the difference between the Heaven-born themes of a
truly creative composer and the bundle of notes put forth by lesser
men. These living themes pierce our imaginations and sing in our
memories, sometimes for years, whereas the inept and flabby tunes of
certain so-called composers make no strong impression and are
forgotten almost as soon as heard. Motives obviously differ from each
other in regard to the intervals of the tones composing them, _i.e._,
the up and down relationship in pitch, the duration of the tones and
their grouping into metric schemes. But a real motive is always terse,
concise, characteristic and pregnant with unrevealed meaning. The
chief glory of such creative tone-poets as Beethoven, Wagner, Brahms
and Franck is that their imaginations could give birth to musical
offspring that live for ever and are loved like life itself. The first
step, then, in the progress of the appreciator of music is the
recognition of the chief motive or motives of a composition and the
development of power to follow them in their organic growth. This
ability is particularly necessary in modern music: for frequently all
four movements of a symphony or string-quartet are based upon a motive
which keeps appearing--often in altered form and in relationships
which imply a dramatic or suggestive meaning. A few of such motives
are cited herewith, taken from works with which, as we proceed, we
shall become familiar.

[Music: CESAR FRANCK: _Symphony in D minor_]

[Music: BRAHMS: _First Symphony in C minor_]

[Music: TCHAIKOWSKY: _5th Symphony_]

[Music: DVO[VR]AK: Symphony _From the New World_]

It is now necessary for the student to know something about the
constructive principles by which large works of music are fashioned;
not so much that he could compose these works himself, even if he had
the inspiration, but to know enough, so that the reception of the
music is not a haphazard activity but an intellectual achievement,
second only to that of the original creator. Every genuine work of art
in whatever medium, stone, color, word or tone, must exhibit _unity of
general effect with variety of detail_. That is, the material must
hold together, be coherent and convince the participant of the logical
design of the artist; not fall apart as might a bad building, or be
diffuse as a poorly written essay.