been an important school of music, so-called--in any given
place and period--which was not founded on the emotional traits, the
aspirations and the ideals of the people. Surely one of the distinct
by-products of the Great War is to be the emancipation of the art of
music, along with that of all the other arts. Such a realization of
its nature and powers will result that it shall no longer be a mere
exotic amusement of the leisure and wealthy classes, but shall be
brought into direct touch with the rank and file of the people; even,
if you will, with the so-called "lower classes"--that part of humanity
from which, indeed, it sprung and with which it really belongs--just
human beings, just people. So in music also we may assert that
"Sovereignty rests with the people." Although all art reflects popular
sentiment to a certain extent, in no one of the arts--as painting,
sculpture and architecture--is there such a vital record of the
emotions and artistic instincts of humanity as we find in the realm of
folk-song.[21] During the early period of Church music, while
theorists and scholars were struggling with the intricate problems of
polyphonic style, the people in their daily secular life were finding
an outlet for their emotions, for their joys and sorrows, in song and
in dance. This instinct for musical expression is universal, and just
because the products of such activity were unfettered by rules, they
exercised in process of time much influence upon the development of
modern style. Folk-songs are characterized by a freshness and
simplicity, a directness of utterance, which are seldom attained by
the conscious efforts of genius. "Listen carefully to all folk-songs,"
says Schumann. "They are a storehouse of beautiful melody, and unfold
to the mind the innate character of the different peoples." They are
like wild flowers blooming unheeded by the wayside, the product of the
race rather than the individual, and for centuries were only slightly
known to cultivated musicians. It should be understood that words and
music were inextricably bound together and that, with both, dancing
was naturally associated; the very essence of a people's life being
expressed by this tripartite activity. Tonal variety is a marked
feature in folk-songs, many of them being in the old Gregorian modes,
while others show a decided inclination to our modern major and minor
scales. Great is the historical importance of Folk-music, because in
it we see