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ABSTRACT
PAUL HINDEMITH:

AUTHOR, CRAFTSMAN, FHILOSOPHER

By

Sister R. Christine Daehn

Paul Hindemith has'been described as an author, a craftsman
and a philosopher. He left scarely a field, from the theoretical to
the philosophical, untouched. Few books have been written concerning
Hindemith's importance to the musical world, though one can readily
find a synopsis of his life in most music history books. The Synopsis
is usually overshadowed by analyzation of his compositions.

Hindemith believed in the philosophy of the ancient and
medieval periods that music must stimulate the mindinto moral activity.
The purpose of this thesis will be to determine if this philosophy
permeated his work.

Hindemith was the author of A Composer's world: Horizons and
Limitations; Johann sebastian Bach: Heritage and Obligation; several
books on harmony and theory, and numerous librettos. If the philosophy
of an author is truly a guiding force, it will be evident in all his
works. The philosophy of an individual can also be viewed in the
manner in which his crafts are executed. Hindemith arrived at a series
of tonal relationships which were based on the laws of Nature.

The secondary source materials will include Hindemith by

Ian Kemp, and selected articles and book reviews. Since Hindemith

Sister R. Christine Daehn

believed in the philosophy of the ancients and the force of the music
of the spheres, various books on phi1050phy and aesthetics will be
consulted.

The study will show that Paul Hindemith can rightly be called
author, craftsman, and philosopher. Throughout his publications he
never overlooks an opportunity to adhere to his basic philosophy. The
difficulty lies in distinguishing between the thoughts of Hindemith
and those of other philosophers. He states in A Composer's World that
it contains few new ideas, because those ideas which he thought to be
unique had actually come from predecessors. Where the material
originated was secondary to Hindemith as long as the book focused on
one point: the composer's work. Whether it is Hindemith or others
Speaking, it is evident from all sources consulted that his philosophical

beliefs do permeate his publications.

PAUL HINDEMITH:

AUTHOR, CRAFTSMAN, PHILOSOPHER

By

Sister R. Christine Daehn

A THESIS

submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Music

l97h

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wishes to express her appreciation to Richard E.
Klausli, M.M., her thesis director, for his patient guidance,
encouragement, and constructive criticism throughout this study.

Appreciation must also be expressed to Ethel J. Armeling, M.M.
and Robert F. Unkerfer, M.M.E., members of the author's committee,

for their advice and direction.

ii

TABLE OF

IXCKIVI O 1W‘LI MIIIEI‘J I‘S . 0 g g o o o o o 0

CHAPTER

I. HORL'ZON 0 O O O O O O O O 0

Life
Critic

II. PHILOSOPHY . . . . . . . .
III. PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . .
Composer's world

Johann sebastian Bach
Treatises

 

 

IV.LIBRETTOS.....o...

Das Mari enl eb en
Mathis der Maler

 

 

V. LE'lITATIOI‘IS o o o c o o o o

B BLIOGRAPHY O 0 I O O O O O O O 0

(INT EN TS

iii

ii

29 --

62

66

CHAPTER I

HORIZON

Hindemith's Life

 

(Hindemith has been described as a composer, practical musician,
rebel, neo-classicist, teacher, 'ultra-modern' craftsman, theoriest,
philosopher, author, and experienced performer.3 From the practical to
the theoretical, scarcely a field has been left untouched by this com-
poser. Few books have been written about Hindemith's importance to the
musical world, though one can readily find a synopsis of his life in
most music history books. The synopsis is usually overshadowed by the
analyzation of Hindemith's compositions. The composer is strangely
detached from the compositions.

Hindemith has been a prime contributor to order, stability, and
continuity of the German tradition. His leanings towards mysticism
"show him to be not only a typically German composer who re-created
his heritage in the twentieth-century terms, but also one who added to

1 His desire to

his heritage with a synthesis of many aspects of it."
know, to comprehend, completely drenched every phase of his works.
As a composer and also as an individual, Hindemith traversed

many sections of the world. In some cases this was a necessity rather

 

1Ian Kemp, Hindemith, Oxford Studies of Composers (London:
Oxford University Press, 1970), p. 55.

than a movement of the will. (In the pro-Nazi era, he was considered one
of the outstanding young composers of Germany. During the early
period of his career he lived in Berlin and was appointed to the
Hochschule. He was founder and violist of the fannus Amar Quartet.
His compositions were appraised as being either too avant-garde or 'just
right for the times.‘ 9’ In relation to style, it is difficult to arrange
Hindemith's compositions according to Specific time periods of his
working career. After his initial youthful eJqoerimentations, Hindemith
developed his own neo-classical style. This style was to permeate his
music from that time forward.

Though Hindemith's music is in the typical German idiom, 1.4.9.9333
d_e_1; 15313, which was the most German of his works, was not accepted in
the new belief of the Nazi regime, and consequently he was forced into a
leave of absence. In 1935, Hindemith was commissioned by the Turkish
government to organize the musical activities of that country. In order
to establish musical standards he engaged European musicians, but in
establishing these standards he did not smother the native talent. The
boycott against Hindemith was declared in 1935, though it was not
endorsed until the autumn of 1937. Upon/leaving Gennany in 1938,
Hindemith lived for a time in Switzerland and then in 1940 he came to the
United States and settled at New Haven.2/ Here he joined the faculty of
Yale University as Professor of Music Theory.) Hindemith finfluenced
young composers with his teaching of theory\and also by imparting an

enthusiam for authentic instruments in the perfonnance of old music. In

1949 he was invited to deliver the Charles Eliot Norton lectures at

 

ZIbid., p. 28.

Harvard University. It was this series of lectures which later comprised

the subject matter of (A Composer's World: Horizons and Limitations.) Wile

 

 

residing in the United States Hindemith was active in the musical world
with his time being divided among (composing, conducting and teaching: In
[1951, Hindanith returned to Europawhere he pursued a career in "conducting
and composingF until his death on (’28 December 1963.3 ')

Hindemith was more than a professional musician, as he filled
the role of the Renaissance Man. He felt a moral reaponsibility in
being a composer, and believed a composition should bring about moral
improvement in the listener. This sense of responsibility led to

Sing -und Spielmusik. Early in his career he came to believe that music

 

had the power to unite people. "A German proverb says: Bad men don't
sing. It is not inpossible that out of a tremendous movement of
amateur community music a peace movement could spread over the world.
People who make music together cannot be enemies, at least not while
the music lasts."u'

Consequently, Hindemith wrote a considerable volume of music

within the ability of the amateur performer. Let's Build a Town was

 

a musical play for children. "This Play for Children is intended for
children to practice and learn from, rather than for the entertainment
of a grown-up audience. The form of the work can be adapted to meet

the needs of the youthful players. Songs may be omitted, other musical

 

.—.,

3Ibid., p. 29.

“Paul Hindemith, A Composer's Worlds Horizons and Limitations
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952), p. 218.

 

 

4

numbers, dances or scenes may be introduced."5 The play would help
develop in children a moral responsibility to community living.

Hindemith pointed out, "the danger of an esoteric isolationism
in music by using the term Gebrauchsmusik."6 Years later the term
caused him to comment that he "felt like the sorcerer's apprentice who
had become the victim of his own conjurations."7 Hindemith felt the
term debased his idealistic intentions by subtly suggesting and
emphasizing the practical aspect. It was not so much the utility aspect
of music but the sharing of music as a common experience which
motivated his writing.

Hindemith did not write a tremendous number of significant
scores just for the sake of writing. His mind demanded a rational
logic for his music and a moral purpose. Whether the music would be
a composition for a small ensemble of rarely used instruments, a
concerto for frequently used instruments, a full length opera or
sonata, his work possessed an underlying philosophy which was placed
before the public in his books, eSpecially A Composer's World.

During the early part of his career, Hindemith experienced a
meteoric ascent to fame and consequently exerted great influence on
composers. In Spite of his teaching and theory publications, there
has been no school of composers to follow and promulgate his theories.

Later, as he continued composing and writing, his compositions were

 

5Paul Hindemith, Let's Build a Town (New York: Associated
Music Publishers, Inc., 19315, p. 2.

 

6Paul Hindmith, A Composer's World, p. viii.

7Ibid.

not so enthusiastically received or accepted. This may be due in part
to the fact that the 'rebel' was no longer present and that he had been
replaced by'a 'philosopher.' "The philosopher must bear witness by
expressing his thought and telling the truth as he sees it."8 Regard-
less of the Opinions of others, Hindemith was to cleave to his ideal
that music must stimulate the mind into moral activity and be a moral

force.
Critics

There are some'books written in German concerning Hindemith,
but the most important book is published in English. It is entitled
Hindemith by Ian Kemp. This publication contains an excellent insight
into the man and his work. Periodicals and book reviews comprise
another dimension of’material, but again one finds either an emphatic
liking for the man and his works or an emphatic disliking.

A Composer's Wbrld, when it first appeared, was widely reviewed

 

in journals, magazines and newspapers. Many critics hailed the new
publication with unreserved praise, but Lawrence Morton in "Music
Library Association.Notes" was decidedly not in step with the majority
of those who initially reviewed the book. "There is no composer and

no music . . . _A_ _C_omposer's World is not the real world of Mathis der

 

Maler."9 ‘Was Hindemith trying to show the composer and his world or
Composer Hindemith and his world? 'Was the reviewer familiar with
what constituted the real world of Mathis or the real world of a.composer?

 

8
Jacques Maritain On Egg Egg gf Philosophy, (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1961), p.7l5.

9Lawrence Morton, "A Composer's world," Music Library Associa-
tion Notes, IX.(June, 1952), p. 409.

 

Hindemith's theories are comprehensive enough to include the
complete style of contemporary music. These theories are strongly
praised and strongly condemned, especially his theories on Nature and
its place in the musical spectrum. Norman Cazden has written vehe-
mently denouncing the use of Nature in Hindemith's tonal relationships.
{Hindemith believed that Nature had control over tonal relationships.

He arrived at a series of tones having an established relationship with
one another. These notes have an ordered relationship as do various
combinations of tones which make it possible to weigh the degree of
dissonance and tension. Both tension and release can be found in the
same measure of his music.9 Hindemith wished to free music from the
conventional tonal concept of the nineteenth century but he had no
interest in the twelve tone series, because to him this constituted
complete chaos. Since Hindemith did not sufficiently clarify his
statements and resorted to 'mediaevalism', Cazden denounced Hindemith's
theory.10

Whether Hindemith's theory, which embodied his philosophical
and musical thinking, is concrete and will stand the test of time,
remains for the future to determine. Be his critics right or wrong, or
for that matter be Hindemith right or wrong, the writings of Hindemith

show the need for a rational foundation of theory, one which has a

point of departure and return.

 

10Norman Cazden, "Hindemith and Nature," The Music Review,
November, 1954, pp. 305-306.

 

CHAPTER II
PHILOSOPHY'

Hindemith was a composer who, within the framework of twentieth
century musical concepts, tried to incorporate philosophical ideals of
Augustine and Boethius. Philosophy deals with a critical study of
fundamental beliefs and the basis for them; the sum of the ideas of
conviction of an individual or groups. Aesthetics is a branch of
philosophy dealing with beauty and the beautiful. To many philosophers
the terms aesthetics and philosophy are synonymous.

Hindemith believed in the ethos of music and certainly he
would be in agreement with many of today's writers. The aesthetical
outlook of music, during the course of the years, has left the view-
point of Augustine and Boethius only to return. A down-grading of
the ideas of aesthetics in music and art can be seen in.the philosophies
of Kant and Hanslick, though an appropriate level has been reached in the
works of Suzanne Langer, Bennett Reimer and Leonard Meyer.

The Harvard Dictionary g£_Music states that music may be

 

aesthetically satisfying but it does not necessarily have to be
'beautiful'. Jack Sacher in Th§_Art_g£_§gund_believes that an
aesthetic gratification is due to an experience with beauty. People
will view one object and react in various manners. Many people have
different feelings concerning the Picasso sculpture located in the
Chicago Civic Center. It has been proclaimed a bird, a woman, and

also an abstract piece of art. It may not be thought to be 'pretty'

7

by the viewer, but it is 'beautiful' because it gives an aesthetic
reward to other people.

Beauty according to many writers of philosophy and aesthetics
can have various meanings. That which is beautiful, to Jacques Maritain,
is not only a kind of truth but also a kind of good that is knowledge
and yet a delight. "Art and beauty also, are matters of the intellect,
quite as much as feeling."1 St. Thomas Aquinas states that "beauty
appeals primarily to our intelligence and only incidentally to our
practical nature or desires."2 If there is beauty then the mind will
rejoice in some way. If there is no rejoicing in the mind, or this
feeling of delight is absent, then there is no beauty. If one were
to ask why an object is beautiful, the reply would be that it is delight-
ful to see or to hear. Maritain places this idea of beauty, at least
of artistic beauty, at an opposite position from scientific truth or
knowledge. Scientific truth is factual while aesthetics possess a
vagueness, an abstraction that cannot be explained nor justified in
language and scientific truth.3

Beauty can be considered to constitute objectification of
pleasure. "Beauty is a pledge of the possible conformity between the

soul and nature, and consequently a ground of faith in the supremacy

 

1Jacques Maritain, An_Introduction tg_Philosgphy, trans. E. J.
Watkin (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1%2)? p. 195.

 

2E. F. Carritt, ed., Philosophies gf_Beauty From Socrates tg_
Robert Bridges Being the Sources g£_Aesthetic Theory_(London: Oxford
University Press, 193I): p. 50.

 

 

3Frank A. Tillman, ed., Philoso h 9: Art and Aesthetics
"Art and Beauty," by Jacques Maritain New Ybrk: Harper and Row,
1969) 0 Po “'76 o

 

9
of the good."4 Beauty can also mean structure or organization which is
seen from an aesthetic point of view.5 It possesses a variety of defini-
tions and ideas. In relation to these philosophies it could be stated
that beauty, no matter what the definition assumes, is something which
has an emotional, physical or intellectual value.

In order for the beauty to exist it needs to be perceived.

Two people can view an object, though they may not both perceive the
inherent beauty. Recall the tale of the two men in prison, both of whom
looked out after a rain storm. They had in their vision the same
landscape. One stared down and saw the mud which was left after the
rain: the other gazed up and beheld the stars which were shining brightly
since the clouds had been dispelled. Two people, two reactions, both
perceiving something, but aesthetically one was better than the other.
Does it matter if the individual sees the item of beauty objectively

or subjectively as long as it is aesthetically perceived?

Apel also mentions that musical aesthetics is the study of the
relationship of music to the human senses and intellect. It is interest-
ing to note how many people who are not musicians have delved into
the area of aesthetics. There are scores of books and anthologies,
extending from the time of Plato to modern times, published on the
philosophy of art and aesthetics. It is not unusual to find articles
and books written on aesthetics by Kant, Schopenhauer, Freud and

Nietzsche. Many writers have their own definition of aesthetics

 

“E. G. Carritt, ed., Philosophies 9_f_ Beauty "The Sense of
Beauty," by George Santayana, p. 204.

BIbid" "Outlines of a Philosophy of Art," by R. G. Calling-
wood, p. 295.

10

and in some manner these deal with perception. Santayana says that
aesthetics is concerned with the perception of values, while John Dewey
refers to an experience that is appreciated, perceived and enjoyed.
This is the exclusive realm of the consumer rather than of the producer.
Aesthetics belongs particularly with art since art has its own rational-
ity'and its own logic. "Fine arts, whose object, beauty, being itself
universal and immaterial, enables philosophy to perform effectively
though from a remote height her office of supreme arbiter."6

The area of aesthetics becomes one of mixed feelings, mixed
metaphors and an area of semantics with each aesthetic champion waving
a'banner for a particular stand. Many aesthetic champions do not work
alone but rather advocate a particular school of thought. The schools
can be classified into two basic ones, the School of Referentialism
and the School of Absolutism. The Absdlutist School can be subdiVided
into fermalism and expressionism.

The study of beauty and the appreciation of beauty is polar
to scientific fact. So too, these schools of aesthetics are at
opposite poles. The referentialist will obtain the meaning and the
value of the work outside of the work itself. "In order to find the
art work's meaning you must go to the ideas, emotions, attitudes,
events, which the work refers you to in the world outside the art work."7

If in music, you are referred to a great degree to a non-musical experience

then the work is successful. This is based more or less on what the

 

6Jacques Maritain, fl Introduction 1:3 PhilosOphy, p. 195.

 

7

Bennett Reimer, A.Philosophy'of'Music Education, Contemporary
Perspectives in Music Education Series (New Ybrk: Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
1970 , p. 15.

 

ll

referentialist will call emotional type. The meaning of emotional here
is not necessarily the actual feeling of the emotion but the extra
intrinsic types of activities. Art arouses non-artistic emotions and
therefore affects the listener. The champion of the Referentialism
School was Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy felt that the inner self of the author
or composer should be expressed or else the work did not constitute a
work of art. In music, the sounds are analyzed and dissected in order
to evaluate what these sounds do to create a work of art.

The Absolutist Formalist is at the opposite end from the
Referentialist. The Formalist appreciated the work for its own sake
but it was an intellectual appreciation. These ideas expressed are
primarily of a purely musical nature. One of the advocates of this
school who has'been an influence throughout the course of the years
is Eduard Hanslick. Music Speaks only by sounds and has no effect on
an individual's mind.. It has no subject beyond the combination of the
notes, therefore there cannot be an aesthetic, emotional, reaction.
Even though this was the thinking at the turn of the century it is
still a prevailing theory.

The other division of Absolutism is the Absolute Expressionist.
They "agree with the Absolute Formalist in that the meaning and value
of art are to be found in the aesthetic qualities of art work.”10

There is a sharing between the qualities of the art work and the qualities

 

8Ibid., pp. 16-17.

9Frank A. Tillman, Philosophy g£_Art and Aesthetics "The Beauti-
ful in music,"'by Eduard Hanslick, p. 319.

 

 

10
Bennett Reimer, A Philosophy gf_Music Education, p. 24.

 

 

12

of human experiences which is felt by the perceiver. Leonard Meyer
is an advocate of this school. One shares the insight of art by going
deeper into the aesthetical qualities which the art work contains: not
just into the fomal note by note, phrase by phrase dissection but into
the aesthetic qualities as well. Here the complete formalist idea is lost
and the view of the referentialist is approached. Leonard Meyer has
stated that the meaning of single notes or series of tones purely as a
physical existence means nothing.11 They become meaningful when they
are together and point to or imply something which is beyond the notes
on the paper.

Music has a particular language, though it is not a language
of words. It is not an easy task to explain music in words because
words can easily ruin the inner language. "This fact is the basis for
the enormous power music has to do what language can not do."12

The aesthetic feeling or what makes something aesthetically
pleasing is a vast area. It is not only the intellectual which will
make something aesthetically pleasing, but a combination of the intel-
lectual and the emotional. As a loftier level in art or music is
reached, the percentage of aesthetic participants grows smaller.
Though the loftier creation would appeal to fewer participants, it does
not mean that aesthetic delight must be limited to a select few.
Aesthetic participation must be nurtured, and not merely from the age
of legal maturity, but from the beginning of childhood.

Aesthetic feeling may be described as a spiritual urge, which all

 

11Frank A. Tillman, PhilOSOphy of Art and Aesthetics "The
Meaning of Music," by Leonard Meyer, p.757.

 

 

12Bennett Reimer, _A_ Philosophy _<_>_f_ Music Education, p. 32.

13

people are capable of experiencing to varying degrees. It is an OK!
perience during which the soul and the spirit become one. A.great deal
is being written regarding aesthetic behaviour in relation to its intel-
lectual, spiritual and emotional aspects. The blending of the spirit
and the soul needs time. More people are becoming aware of different
philosophies due to the increased interest in many Eastern religions

and the emulation of the Zen cultures; the Buddhist culture and the
method of Chinese physical protection, the Kung-FU. These envelop not
only physical areas of personal development, but they also require a
gradual increase in duration of mental and spiritual concentration, in
order for the intellect to achieve the aesthetic and contemplative level
which is a necessary part of the philosophies of these cults. This may
be one cause for the surge of interest in the ideas of aesthetics. In
any case this growth in the general public would be agreeable to
Hindemith.

Aesthetic is something which is not merely known as a word, but
rather as something to be felt, or perceived. The nature of feeling is
a part of aesthetics. A.person can view a segment of nature and become
completely immersed and involved in what is viewed. An individual stands
on a deserted beach and watches the glistening whitecaps breaking into
shore, then pulling out with the undertow. The constant change of the
sand and the variegation of shades of green into the darkest blue, where
the depth is not seen, but known, is viewed by the beholder. He is comp
pletely immersed in the magnitude, the power, the force, and the calm of
the water. The immersion would be wordless but strong: as strong as the
tides which ebb and flow. It is not the lightness or the colour which

enhances the experience but a combination of all things. This same

14

individual could be standing in the identical Spot and looking upon a
stormy, rainy night, with dark waters and a clouded sky overhead and yet
another aesthetic experience would occur. A.wordless but strong sense
of an inward stirring is perceived. There is no need to describe the
feeling to others, because it is personal. It cannot be predicted which
type of scene will produce a certain aesthetic reaction and it cannot
be predicted that a certain type of music will enhance or invoke a
particular aesthetic experience. The aesthetic experience will differ
with each individual. It is a unique experience just as each individual
is unique.

There are practical, scientific and artistic methods of obser-
vation. What is discovered and heard in music will depend on the method
which is chosen. The artistic or aesthetic form is not seen in actuality
'because it becomes an absorption. An aesthetic experience can be com-
pared to a period of contemplatation'by the saints. There are many
accounts of saints so completely absorbed in contemplation that they
were oblivious to everything. They were transported out of themselves
into an entirely new environment. They were changed for the better due
to the period of contemplation.

This habitation of the saints has been recently studied in the
field of psychical research. The field extends between the familiar
material world known through the senses and the so-called subjective
world of Mind. "Behind the levels of Mind are unplumbed depths of
being which take us nearer to the ultimately Real. But this is the

territory -- awesome, fascinating, rapturous, and infinitely more

important -- of the Mystics."13

 

13R. c. Johnson, Psychical Research (New York: Funk and Wagnalls,
1968), p0 171.

 

15

Music is the formulation of emotions and moods. Music, like all
art and religion, touches upon the unknown. Non-verbal communication
is experienced. Symbolic forms do appear but they resist a label. They
cannot, it would seem, be understood by anyone who has never achieved a
state of aesthetic experience.14 If one has reached this state then
words are not necessary to describe the experience to another who has
reached the same level. This is one of the difficulties with aesthetic
relationships.

Art and music, but eSpecially music, are essentially untrans-
latable. It might be said from the practical standpoint that music is
composed of so many notes; it has this or that type of rhythm; it has
a certain tempo; a certain form, but that does not reveal the vocabulary
or essentials of music. This essential idea will change with philosophers
and sometimes a philosopher will change his manner of thinking. In

Philosophy in_a_§gg Key, Susanne Langer had an excellent chapter on

 

music, but she felt that the area was not sufficiently covered. There
needed to be a clearer thought on the subject, so in Feeling and Form ‘
she revised and enlarged the area.

Man can say what has occurred in the past, or what will transpire
in the future, but music tells a different story. It communicates
something we might never before have known or experienced. That is the
idea of music: that it will reveal things to the soul in a manner that
language, in the effort to reveal, might instead only make obscure.

Even language in the normal sense can be enigmatic. An American would

have a difficult time living in a h-u—t in Germany, because it is not a

 

1“Gordon Epperson, The Musical Symbols A Stud of the Philosophic

Theory g£_Music (Amos: Iowa State University, 1567 , p.-§89.

 

16

shack to serve as a temporary dwelling but a covering for the head. Even
the vocabulary of language can be ambiguous. Either meaning of the word
will be correct depending on the user's word perception. The same
vocabulary is used to describe the content and the feelings of music.
Music must have its own vocabulary which can be expressed only through
and by music. There is a method of learning the vocabulary of music

and this is done through the acquisition of aesthetic experience.

This aesthetic experience is contemplation. If contemplation is
to belong to the participant there must be an inward quality in the
individual. The creative activity of the artist and the contemplative
activity of the beholder are required elements. The music must possess
a quality which is alive and was created by the composer for perception.
The composer as well needs to possess the particular ability to perceive.

Nowhere better than in music does there appear to the

philosopher the very mysterious nature of the creative idea,
that plays a central role in the theory of art. A pattern

. . . that which the creative spirit looks t within itself
in order to bring the work into existence}?

Anything which an artist envisions on paper or a composer sounds
in his mind is essentially an image of the creator. It is required to
be connected with his ways of feelings if it is to be his creation. If
there is integrity on the part of the composer or artist the way is
open to integrity on the part of the listener or viewer. The creator
and the perceiver will be working toward the work of art, each in his
own way, yet each being trained in his own relationship to aesthetics.

These emotions are comprehended intuitively; they are an intrinsic

part of the listener. This perception depends on either talent or genius.

 

15Jacques Maritain, Art and Poetry, trans. E. de P. Matthews
(Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press, Inc., 1968), p. 76.

 

17

Talent is the ability to achieve and talents may be inherited or
acquired skills. Talent expresses what can be conceived while genius
is the power of conceiving invisible realities.‘ Talent is the capability
of a step by step procedure through a problem. Genius is not encumbered
by this procedure, but sees the completed solution.

What would take place with the artist and the perceiver is
not communication but the sharing in the aesthetic principle and experi-

ence. Reimer in A Philosophy g£_Music Educatigh_treats the aesthetic

 

principle. "One important characteristic in aesthetic experience is
'intrinsicality.’ This indicates that the value of the experience comes
from its own, intrinsic, self-sufficient nature."16 In order for an
experience to be truly aesthetical it must have two parts, one of per-
ception and one of reaction; these are simultaneous and interdependent.
Perception and reaction exist in order to achieve an aesthetic experience.

This premise echoes the teachings of St. Augustine and Boethius,
both of whom in their own way stated that music exerts an effect on
people and for this effect to be good there must be a moral reaction.
People will react, and if not, there is no aesthetic experience, only
an ordinary happening, since the musical, aesthetical vocabulary was
not learned. ‘

Melody even apart from words has an ethical quality.
Though we may not be able entirely to comprehend the Greek
point of view as to the moral impact of music, we must bear
in mind that the dominant element in Greek music was the
rhythm . . . the external movements of rhythmical sound bear
a close resemblance to the movements of the soul.1

 

16Bennett Reimer, A Philosgphy of Music Education, p. 75.

 

 

17S. H. Butcher, trans. and with critical notes, Aristotle's
Theo g£_Poetr and Find Arts (New York: Dover Publication, Inc.,
1951;, p. 1 1. ‘

 

 

18

What is moral? According to the standard meanings, moral is
defined as 1) of or relating to the principle of right and wrong,

2) conforming to a standard of right behaviour, and 3) virtuous,
righteous, neble. How can the idea of a principle of right or wrong

be applied to music, as this would involve a judgment. Music is neither
right nor wrong, but pleasant or unpleasant, effective or lacking in
effectiveness. Another aspect of moral is conforming to standards of
right behaviour. Music is capable of directing people to this standard.
Behaviour merges into the third area causing an individual to be
virtuous, righteous, and noble. The term moral in this light comes
closer to the ideas of Hindemith-ideas which include the nobleness,

the right purpose of the composer while creating.

Does this cause a listener to become intrinsically good or
just the opposite? The enjoyment of music is primarily a unique
affair of the emotions and these emotions, which are the motion of the
human soul, will vary with the listener. It is unique because it is
one of a kind.

How is music born into a person? What constitutes the trigger
for the reaction of a moral force? Many times it is difficult to
release emotions which express the moral determination of an individual.
These emotions which cannot be released in the world of reality must
surface in a different manner. Hhsic can cause a colourful trans-
figuration and release of moods and feelings. Music will transcend the
reality of the immediate time and world. Music needs only to be
remembered in order to release the response. Upon hearing music we
discover an emotion which erupts from inside and is eXpressed in a
feeling of satisfaction, contentment, and pleasure, while at other

times the emotion seems to be coming into and permeating the listener.

19

"Music is the express image and reflexion of moral character. Not only
states of feeling but also strictly ethical qualities and dispositions
of mind are reproduced by musical imitation . . . Music in reflecting
character moulds and influences i ."18

In the writings of'Boethius the concept of corresponding
heavenly and human harmony with music is expressed. Boethius divided
music into three areas: musica instrumentals, musica mundana and
musica humana. The musica mundana governs the heaven, time and the
earth, so Boethius placed music into a quadrivium along with geometry,
astronomy and arithmetic. Qg.Institutione Musica, to this day, is

bound with 22_Institutione Arithmetic in the same volume. The musical

 

harmony was regarded as a simile for the harmony of the soul. The
harmony was to be transmitted from the heavens through music to the
human soul. Motion was thought of not only in relation to movement
but also in relation to the movement of the soul. A.list of correspond-
ing spheres and musical intervals were drawn up which were labeled
with the names of ruling dieties. Boethius mentioned that there was
music to be conveyed by the translator (the composer) to humans.19 If
music performs its function correctly then it is obliged to follow
this line.

It is the obligation of music to affect the aesthetic reactions
in order to make an individual morally better. But is there an

obligation on the part of the individual? What is moral obligation?

 

18Ibid., p, 129.

19Kathi Meyer-Baer, Music of the Spheres and the Dance of;
Death: Studies in Musical Iconology (Princeton: Princeton University

Press, 19705, p.73.

 

 

 

20

"A moral obligation is one which we understand to be intrinsic, which
we follow because we ought to, because it is right."20 It is followed
because of its inherent rightness. What constitutes a moral obligation
and why is it a logical consequence that is followed? As in the field
of aesthetics a vagueness is experienced, when words are not adequate.

Morality involves responsibility and Obligation. In the
philosophy of Boethius and St. Augustine this moral obligation of
music rests in making the person better. Aristotle also professed
belief in this quality of music, for he believed that people were
affected by music. He admitted that music would fill the soul with
devotional feelings and so, therefore, considered music a passion which
could effect the disposition of the soul.21 Others feel that the value
of a work depends on the capability of the composer and because So
many are of equal technical ability in their craft there exists a quality
which sets them apart. The quality is an intellectual and moral superi-
ority in the creators of works of art. Some authorities profess that this
superiority is a tangible element while others do not believe this.

It is the responsibility of the individual to react to this
obligation. As in aesthetics there may exist an aesthetic perception
but not an aesthetic reaction to it. A.moral obligation, though perceived
by a person, may not prompt him to respond. Sometimes this is due to the

fault of the person or to his limitations. Most obligations which are

felt to be Obligations are intuitive. They are felt and accepted in

 

onarold Prichard, Moral Obligation (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1949). p. 71.

2IlE. F. Carritt, ed., Philosophies g£_Beauty "Politics," by

AriStO'tle, p. 330

 

21

the degree that we consciously understand them. Unless there is moral
decision all other knowledge is useless inasmuch as we do not know what
we ought to do. Many philosophers of moral obligation will debate 'ought
to' and 'is"but veer from the real meaning.

A.moral obligation applies to individuals for whom there is
morality; Because one is human does not make one moral or true to
morality or good at all times. Human morality requires someone who is
as capable of evil as of good; a being for whom the choice can be moral,
not just efficient. The person who is choosing to be good is choosing
to be moral.22 Like aesthetic reaction, it is an intuitive affair, the
same as with moral obligation. When moral obligation is perfect it does
not have the essence of a command but rather the persuasiveness of an
appeal to the good side of an individual. The choice can become a
conditioned response. Moral is derived from the Latin word mus which
means custom. Humans will react in a moral way due to a social or reli-
gious custom and training. Mbrality or the choosing of morality can be
acquired. It is intrinsic but a choice is made due to the exercise of
free will. If one chooses the moral good, then morality is obtained and
each succeeding choice will be easier and more pleasing. A.person who is
moral will continue to develop in this area. This person will also possess
integrity and the quality will be acknowledged by his contemporaries.

In the area of moral Obligation.Boethius, St. Augustine and
Hindemith place the performer at the bottom of the aesthetic ladder of
perception. The performer's occupation is to amuse and entertain the
audience. Something which amuses us or is meant fer our amusement is

executed in a light, playful manner: without substance but with an

 

22Harold Prichard, Moral Obligation, p. 196.

22

effervescent quality. The dictionary presents a somewhat negative view
of amusement by stating that it is a form of the word amuse, whose defi-
nition is 'to waste time.’ Other aspects of amuse are to divert the
attention in order to deceive and to bewilder. Entertainment comes

from the Old French entretenir, meaning 'to hold' and is defined as to
harbor or cherish, to keep something in mind with favor and to cause the
time to pass with pleasure. Time is spent in some manner with either
amusement or entertainment. Amusement is focused on a diversion, a waste
of time while that which furnishes entertainment is to be held and kept
in mind for fUrther reference, an aesthetic reference.

The audience in a concert hall is present in order to be
entertained. The concert program can be one which contains a variety
of music, some of which may be of a light quality. The reason the con-
cert will be entertaining and not amusing is that by going there to be
entertained members of the audience are looking for an artistic experi-
ence. The aesthetic perception of the performers can influence that of
the audience. Aristotle explains that "all action is not to be condemned
but only that of bad performers."2

There will be individuals in the audience who, due to their
aesthetical intuition and vocabulary, will seize the whole of the
perfbrmance. One cannot see the vast ocean with its thousands of miles
of expanse, yet it can be felt. The mind can seize the magnitude of it;
there is no need of smaller ideas. This is the aesthetic intuition

which seizes the whole and not the components.

 

23Frank A. Tillman, Philosophy 9.1: Art and Aesthetics "Poetics,"
by Aristotle, p. 80.

 

 

23

The basic elements of music in the twentieth century appear in
either an insufficient amount or as a surplus. One element will permit
intelligible perception, whether the music is aleatoric, atonal, elec-
tronic or computer. This is form. All music consists of parts; there-
fore there is form. "Significant form (which really has significance)
is the essence of every art; it is what is meant by calling anything
artistic."214 Reimer corroborates this idea. "If one is sensitive to the
formal relationship in a particular work one can perceive its significance
of 'significant form.’ This significance is a function of mutually
relevant artistic events, meaningful only within the context of the
work."25 This 'significant form' is the ability to cause the listener
to perceive aesthetically and react aesthetically or morally}

Emotion is an element in music which cannot be taken lightly.

One rarely sits and listens to music without any reaction, whether it

be the tapping of a foot or the reaction of complete boredom. Therefore,
since there is emotion, music is a true symbol not merely a sign showing
something outside itself. Some of the early philosophers took the idea
of emotions and cast it aside. The artistic symbol negotiates insight.
It does not give a reference to something that is outside.

How emotions are commtmicated has usually been studied in
association with the area of aesthetics, and the possibility of measure

ing emotions has never been taken seriously. Recently, however, the

 

2”Frank A. Tillman, Philosophy gf Art and Aesthetics "The Symbol
of Feeling," by Susanne Langer, p. 450.

 

 

2sBennett Reimer, A Philosgphy'gf_Music Education, p. 57.

 

 

24
field of emotions has been examined in the theory of sentics. Sentics
is the "science of the communication of emotion through natural, biologic
forms in time and space."26 The emotions are transmitted through the
sense of touch. The subject places one finger on a transducer which
measures the transient "pressure in two dimensions--up and down, and
away from.and toward the subject."27 These findings are in turn fed into
a computer.

According to this study music communicates through emotions in a
precise way. These emotions or inner pulses are transmitted from.the
composer to the performer and on to the listener. If these inner pulses
are not felt, or they are ignored, then there is something missing from
the music. Composers use sound structures made from.essentic form,
(natural, expressive movements). When these structures are perfectly re-
produced the music is authentic. "The inner pulse in a subtle way
represents the composer's point of view, and if the performer empathizes,
he can recreate that point of view and make the composer live."28 Several
conductors were asked to finger conduct various compositions of famous
composers and the findings of the inner pulse of the composers were
identical.

These theories are not too new as Pratt believed, that "music
sounds the way emotions feel."29 Might it not be that emotions feel

because music sounds? He goes on to mention that the aesthetic form

 

26
Manfred Clynes, "The Biological Basis for Sharing Emotions The
Pure Pulse of Musical Genius," PsychOIOgy Today, July, 197u, p. 51.

27Ibid.

281bid., p, 5#,

29Carroll Pratt, The Meaning o_f_ Music. A Stud i3 Psychological
Aesthetics (New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1968 , p. xxv.

 

 

 

25
is the way in which parts of any work of art combine. A. Beethoven
Concerto if performed will have the same components and they will appear
in the same manner each time they are played. The performance will be
aesthetical, but it will be aesthetical to each individual in a Specific
manner. Intuition, perception and reaction are spontaneous occurrences.
The listener exhibits perception of aesthetical ideas but so also does
the composer. The perceiver is the end, and it may be thought that
anything is acceptable if the perceiver reacts with an aesthetic
experience of any kind or degree. This is not the case, as there must
be something of quality.
Hindemith subscribed to the idea of music affecting people.
Many of the modern philosophers also believe in the probability of an
outside ferce. Some, over a period of time, have changed their ideas of
the moral value of music. George Santayana, who originally saw a
division between the moral and aesthetical values, revised his opinions.
I can draw no distinction--save for academic programs--
between moral and aesthetic values: beauty, being a good, is a
moral good: and the practice and enjoyment of art, like all
practice and all enjoyment, fall within the sphere of morals--
at least if by morals we mean moral economy'and not moral super-
stition. On the other hand, the good, when actually realized
and not merely pursued from afar, is a joy in the immediate;
it is possessed with wonder and is in that sense aesthetic.
Such pure joy When blind is called beauty, and when diffused
over the thought of ulterior propitious things is called
happiness, love, or religious rapture.
There is a moral force in people and there is a moral force in
music which aids in knowing better the inner life of the person. The
thought of the music can bring back the perception and the reaction.

This procedure takes time and a person must be open to such feelings.

 

30G. P. Adams, ed., Contemporary American Philosgphy, II "Brief
History of My Opinions," by George SantayanaTCNew Yerk: Russell and
Russell, 1930), p. 256.

 

26
In a Philosophy of Music Education the aesthetic reaction and
importance, along with the quality, are treated before the responsibilities
of the perceiver. This particular course of action is also seen inlé

Composer's world. The composer needs to be totally taken up in what

 

he is creating. He becomes part of the work and the work becomes part
of him. The line of aesthetics is from the composer dealing with the
work of art, to the work of art, and then to the perceiver. The composer
and listener are'both perceiving and are actively involved aesthetically.
It is as if the composer were writing his music for an ideal audience,
which he had in mind. This would be an audience with a particular

music vocabulary. The line of aesthetical accountability will extend
from composer to audience.

The ideal audience is not a product of this century alone, but
has existed in every period. Boethius had a purpose for his work. He
worked in order to educate the people of Rome and to provide than with
the Greek masterpieces. Boethius was a scientist, a statesman, a
literary individual, and an able administrator. In his early years he
was seized with a passion for Greek literature and this continued during
his life. His aim was to make the writings of Plato and Aristotle
available in Latin and at the same time to interpret their philosophical
views. In this respect he is a forerunner of St. Thomas Aquinas. Boethius
was the last of the important Roman thinkers and he prepared the way
for the philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages.

Boethius developed Latin as a philosophical language and he
preserved much of the classical past through his work. He also
belonged to a school of musical writers who based their science on the

methods of Pythagoras. They thought it was not sufficient to trust

27
to the ear alone and in order to determine the principle of music,
physical experience should be employed.

As an individual Boethius was noted for his high principles and
these were maintained throughout his life. This can be verified in
a study of his writings and writings of his contemporaries. Those
who lived and worked alongside of Boethius state that he had a bold
maintenance of justice and that he opposed every oppressive measure which
might be had. Due to this he did have enemies, but in Spite of this he
retained his moral principles.31

Hindemith also was a man of such principles who also wrote for
a particular audience. Strange as it may seem, the type of oppression
which Boethius was against, in his time, also was in evidence in
Hindemith's time.

The composer and audience share an aesthetic experience. What
is an aesthetic experience? It is feeling, but not with hands; it is
seeing, but not with eyes: it is an experience which the artist and
perceiver share. Aesthetic perception and aesthetic reaction are the
seeing with the mind's eye. It is a communion with an outside force.
It has been mentioned that the aesthetic experience cannot be properly
transformed into words. Can this be because the aesthetic experience
transports a person from the confines of humanity into something which
is external and greater? The saints could not express their aesthetic
contemplation because it was the contemplation of something outside of

nature's realm. The true aesthetical experience cannot be given in

 

31John K. Ryan, "Boethius," Encyclopaedia American International,
1973, IV, 134-135.

 

28

adequate terms no matter how many philosophers write about it. It can be
perceived but it cannot be conveyed to others. Once the mind "can be
disengaged from its close focusing on the material world, through the
brain, we can then become aware of the mind's more extended powers."32
The concert audience, although not philoSOphers, may be able to
experience this place of habitation. The Greeks had a name for this
perception--Ethos. Music possessed for them various characters and
qualities, which were set in motion by Eros (inspiration) and affected
the listener. The Greeks thought of this as the music of the spheres.
Each scale had a moral content of its own. Those who place themselves
in the proper disposition are affected. The modern audience which is
perceiving aesthetically places itself in the same disposition. During
the course of time the Greek idea of Ethos has been discredited by
many people as not being possible. Is it that Ethos is not possible
or that the air of the habitation is rarified and only the few may exist?
Various viewpoints of philosophy and aesthetics have been
examined but it remains for the individual to select the ones in accord-
ance with his standards. The standards are formed by the individual's
moral values, which have been developed during the course of his life.
The composer must have the aesthetic perception himself and also the
moral values. The listener may perceive this Ethos but the listener does
not create the vehicle fer the music. The composer is the intermediary

between the listener and the music of the spheres.

 

32R. C. Johnson, Psychical Research, p. 76.

 

CHAPTER III

PUBLICATIONS

‘A Composer:§_Wbrld

 

A Composer's Wbrldz Horizog§_and Limitations has various

 

 

modifications and elaborations in content and structure from the
original lectures. "Neither the lectures nor the book was intended to
be a musician's professional report to his fellow musicians." It was
to give insight into what Hindemith called, "the universe that is the
working place of a man who writes music."1 Its chapters deal with
technical prOblems for the composer, monentary concern, educational
needs, the philosophical attitude and moral approach of the composer.
On trying to give to the public insight of the creative universe which
a composer inhabits, Hindemith did not present just any composer, but
a special one: himself.

When Hindemith stated a requirement for a composer, he asserted
that this was his particular aim and that it should also be the aim of
anyone who wishes to be a composer in the true meaning of the word.
There was a consistent endeavor to reach the core of aesthetic experience.
The book in effect can be said to be a moral essay in which the author
aspired in his particular way toward the ideal unity of the Augustinian

and Boethian attitudes. "Extremes they really are! The Augustinian

 

1Paul Hindemith, A Composer's world, p. vi.

 

29

3O

precept, in which our mind absorbs music and transforms it into moral
strength; and the Boethian precept, in which the power of music, its
ethos, is brought into action upon our mind."2

Their values for a composer need to be applied properly and
correctly. They deal with the moral reliability and moral implication

of the composer. A Composer's World reveals Hindemith as a composer,

 

but a composer with certain ideas and ideals. In his first chapter
on the philosophical approach to music Hindemith campaigns for composers
who are more than mere arrangers of sound. He gives the Augustinian
idea that music should be more than entertaiment, that it must be
converted into moral power. It is thought that the betterment of our
souls should be our own achievement and that music is a help to and for
this purpose. "We receive its sounds and forms, but they remain meaning-
less unless we include them in our own mental activity."3 The work of
Augustine's I_)_e_ Mg possibly expressed the thoughts and feelings
of those dissatisfied with the music of the time, while Boethius was
not an independent author, as Ptolemy was his authority.“ In the
statement of Boethius we learn that music is to act on the mind of the
individual and influence it. "Music has become the active partner;
our mind is a passive receiver and is impressed and influenced by the
power music exerts."5

Augustine's musical philosophy, with its decided renunciation of
external effect, is never threatened by the danger of degeneration.

Boethius' musical philosophy, however, demanding a submission to the

 

2Ibid., p. 11. 3Ibid., p. 5.

“Ibidn p. 8. 51bid., p. 7.

31

ethic power of music, easily becomes the subject of degeneration.

In the writings of Boethius we have reference to the musica
humana, which is the relation of spiritual forces to music, and musica
mundana, which is cosmic music.6 This concept of knowing music, of
feeling an innate liking or disliking, of experiencing a movement of
the emotions, is incorporated into each person. There is an adage that
music can calm the savage beast. If there is truth to it, then there
must be something which is inherent in us that has been placed there
for spontaneous release upon hearing music. we have here the aesthetics
of music--the sensitivity to beauty which is innate in all. As Antoine

de Saint-Exupery states in his book, The Little Prince, "It is only with

 

the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to
the eye."7 Possibly it might be the tempo of the music, its chordal
quality, its thickness in texture or its polyphonic thinness which would
affect various listeners. Still there is something there which plays

on the innermost recesses and causes the listener to experience a cer-
tain prompting and desire to act. "Art is not a caricature of creation,
it continues creation . . . Morality is not a code of respectability,

it is the code of the tests of love."8 If the listener has been passive,
a certain type of music which is full, vibrant, alive and active would
tend to move that person. This has'been noted in the area of musical
therapy. The ancients knew the dynamics of music. It is one of the

few experiences from which the human body has no means of total exclusion.

 

6Ibid.

7Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince (New York: Harcourt,
Brace and world, 1943), p. 70.

 

8Jacques Maritain, Art and Poetry, p. 45.

 

32

It gives a bond of communication with outside forces.

In effect, music is an integral part of human life and
aspiration, and as such it is one of our most useful thera-
peutic tools-«at once delicate, versatile and powerful.
Like all instruments, it can be abused or prostituted by
the ignorant, the careless or the untalented; in the hands
of the trained, dedicated and skillful, it can mediate the
most fundamental of personal and soc1al experience.

Hindemith was a man who lived in the twentieth century, who ex-
perimented with twentieth century concepts, ascribed to the concepts
of music in the Middle Ages and to the type and quality of music of Bach.
Hindemith took seriously the idea of the music of the Spheres. If
there is a moral force in people and music, then music aids in knowing
better the inner life. It is by hearing music, or playing music, that
this inner life, these inner forces are released. The music of the
Spheres encompasses music which man is not prepared to hear until he
reaches the spheres, the heaven. The idea of correspondence of
heavenly and hman harmony through music was first formulated by
St. Augustine, later by Boethius and subsequently adopted by many poets
and philosophers.10

Certainly in heaven, there is music which cannot now be heard
by mortals, but which can be felt if the person is receptive. Possibly
this is why many times in the Bible there is the sounding of cymbals,
psaltery and harp. This is the area that Hindemith, as a composer,
would activate in the emotions of the individual listener. Much of the

music which the composers create today for the amateur would not

 

9Jules H. Masserman, M.D., The Practice of Dynamic Psychiatry
(Philadelphia: w. B. Saunders Com., 1955?, p. 65.0.

 

 

10Kathi Meyer-Baer, Music 91‘. th_e_ Spheres, p. 41.

33

produce this reaction. Even in composing for the amateur Hindemith
tried to bring the standard of music up to the level where a moral
reaction and action would be possible. At this point there would be
a melding of the listener and performer. As soon as the listener is
placed in the role of the performer we have another position in the
moral line of accountability,

Then he who sings or'who is learning to sing for no other

reason than to be praised by many or some other man, doesn't
he judge the praise to be better than the song?11

To some philosophers, reasoning has to be satisfied before an
aesthetic enjoyment can.be obtained. This placement in music is quite
different to Hindemith. An individual must more or less succumb to
whatever the emotion is which was enforced. The musical inspiration,
to Hindemith, is an important thing, but it is not just Something that
seems to happen. With the idea of musical inspiration there are certain
limitations of musical Space, musical time, the image of spacial feeling,
and a musical action. Hindemith uses the German word, einfallen, which
means to drop in, and this "describes the strange spontaneity that is
associated with musical creation in particular."12

Hindemith goes to considerable lengths in clarifying where this
musical action resides. Where is this particular falling in? Can an
ordinary person do this or is this an improbability? Here, once again,

is the idea of genius. We are fortunate to have some of the musical

 

11L. Schopp, ed., The Fathers 9:; the church, Vol. IV, Writings 93
St, Aggustine, Vol. II, "On Music," by St. Augustine, trans. R. C.
Taleaferro (New York: Cima Pub. Co. Inc., 1947), p. 186.

 

 

12Paul Hindemith, A Composer's World, p. 57.

 

34

Sketchbooks of composers, especially Beethoven. These Show where a theme
was no different at times, nor more inventive than any non-musician hum-
ming a particular series of notes, yet with the idea of vision, this
idea of genius, more is perceived. The small motive, by the aid and the
use of genius, evolved into the masterpeices of'Beethoven and Bach.13
What comprises this musical genius? Is it a set of musical
visions? If so, how many would possess it? A man of average musical
talent could have visions but they are not seen through the eyes of a
genius. The average composer envisions only a part and not the whole.
This is the place where the role of musical genius takes over, for to
produce, "in beauty the artist must be in love with beauty."1u It is
more than just a vision or a talent which has been learned. There is
something which is greater than the highest technical goal.
A tremendous effort is necessary in order to work towards
it, not merely a technical effort, but a.moral effort too, the
effort to subject all considerations of technique, style, and
purpose to this one idea, congruence . . . it is the aspiration
towards the ideal unity of the Augustinian and the Boethian
attitude towards music which must ennoble our endeavors and
which on the other hand pushes, as we know, the final goal
into an utter remoteness close to inaccessibility,
Some composers feel compelled by the moral force, others may
not wish to know and still others will seem to have no need for it,
because the technique is all important.
Hindemith in his Composer's world gives us a potpourri of many

elements. In the chapter on the means of production, Hindemith discusses

 

13Ibid., p. 60.

1“Jules Masserman, Practice g£_Dynamic ngchiatry, p. 58.

15Paul Hindemith, A Composer's World, P. 63.

35

tonal progressional relationships of the fifth and even tempered tuning.
In this area, he dwells on the music of the spheres and the moral con-
tent of music. In the means of production it is the skill of the crafts-
men in their particular areas, not the producers of these Skills, which
is important. Hindemith believed that the musical rules had been badly
abused in recent times, though he was convinced that the time of music,
in the true sense of the word and not just a group of noise sounds,
would be drawn up again. He believed music would return to the basic ‘
idea of a universe regulated by musical laws. "Harmonic, melodic,
and rhythmic laws, as worked out in a most beautiful and exalted compo-
sition, would transform the world's woes and falsehood into the ideal
habitat for human beings . . ."16
Many areas contribute to the aesthetics of music. How
aesthetically pleasing it is will depend to a great degree on the tech-
nique and style, on the performance, and the instruments used. Instead
of singing Gregorian Chant in the manner in which it is meant to be
performed, sing it as a solo or play it as a string quartet. The tech-
nique will alter the purity of it, the aesthetic quality.17 Where there
has been a particular objectivity in the mind of the composer, and cer-
tainly this includes ideas of a moral obligation to make it aesthetically
pleasing, yet the objectivity can be altered. This aesthetical quality

can be destroyed by the technique used in performance. A.harpsichord

 

16Ibid., p. 102.

l71bid., p. 10a.

36

selection by Bach is impressive, but arranged for a clarinet ensemble the
quality is vastly altered. Think of the stateliness of the chant as
sung by a.male chorus and yet think of the same composition sung by'a
female chorus. It is entirely different; it is lacking in magnitude
and sustaining quality. Again the performance has altered the aesthe-
tical content which was forseen'by the composer.

Hindemith was emphatic about the location of musical performances.
The production of music in the twentieth century, to him, was completely
out of proportion to where it was produced. As yet no composer has been
able to compose well for out-of-door performances. The aesthetical
properties of the music are distorted and weakened. Music which was
meant to be played in a chamber recital and subsequently produced in
a larger room or hall needs to be supplemented with additional instru-
ments. The larger the audience the less must be the complexity involved
in the musical subtleties present in the composition.18 These Subtle-
ties are lost to the person in the rear seats by the time the music has
reached him. "The fuller and deeper descriptions a hearer can supply,
the better he follows the music, and, we may suppose, if he follows it

19

without effort, the more he enjoys it." Yet how can the music be
enjoyed moments after flle instruments have sounded?
Both texture and audience must be considered in planning a

musical composition. Each audience has a different type of ability and

 

18Ibid., p. 107.

19William Charlton, Aesthetics: An Introduction (London:
Hutchinson University Library, 1970), p.‘EB.

 

37

will participate accordingly. Aristotle in his works distinguishes
between the lower and the higher kinds of audience.

The free and educated listener at a musical performance is
opposed to one of the vulgar sort. Each class of audience enjoys
a different kind of music and derives from the performance such
pleasure as it is capable of. The inferior kind of enjoyment is
not to be denied to those who can appreciate only the inferior
type of music better that they Should like this music than none
at all, but the lower p£8asure is not to be taken as the true

end of the musical art.

The persuasion by the audience can readily be seen. For several
years in the Dade Auditorium.in Miami, concert series of high quality
have been scheduled. During the last few years the types of programs
have gradually changed. Due to an increase in the Spanish population,
the concert series have not diminished in caliber but they deal more
with music of a Spanish texture.

There can be a discrepancy between the styles of performance and
audience. Hindemith proposed an accumulation of single enjoyments such

as Liebestod and waterfalls and ice cream.21

. . . three factors of enjoyment, which each by itself would
provide one hundred per cent enjoyment, do not add up to three
hundred percent: they are, rather, compressed into the one
hundred per cent, so that each of them if participation is

equal, 535 but thirty-three and a third per cent of its original
effect.

Regarding chance music Hindemith is quite vocal. If the
advocates of this 'modern music' would have recourse to music history
books they would discover that this type is not new, but dates back to

the eleventh and twelfth centuries. In 1751, a book was published which

 

203. H. Butcher, Aristotles Theory (ml) 1, p. 211.

21Paul Hindemith, A Composer's world, p. 111.

22Ibid.

 

 

38

satirized chance music. "Other equations were devised with the sport of
dice, a pastime very popular in Mozart's time--in fact, some of the
methods of composing with this recipe are published under Mozart's or
Haydn's name . . ."23 Chance music is a technique or style but it is
debatable that it is aesthetically pleasing. "Technical skill and
stylistic versatility'have only one purpose: to bring into existence
what is called the vision of the genuine composer, or what comes closest
to it in the imagination of his minor colleagues."2u
There existed in history a time when the composer was also the
performer. If the composer did not communicate his inner feeling of the
music to the audience then it was due to the limitations of the composer.
During the course of time we have the advent of the performer. At times
the performer has been maligned justly or unjustly and at other times
he has been accepted. Even in the Middle Ages the performer was seen
differently than now, Boethius had a "classification of musicians,
in which the performer, the player, the singer occupied the lowest
place, since he was, owing to his emphatic devotion to the means of
performance, unable to participate in any profound knowledge of music."25
The skillful performer would perform with a higher technical quality.
Another performer has reached a high peak of respectability in
the twentieth century and that is the conductor. There are many reasons
for this. A conductor is an important part of the performance, and this
should not be minimized, but sometimes he is over estimated. With the

advent of electronic music both the conductor and performer can be

 

23Ibid., p. 123.
2“Ibid., p. 127.

25Ibid., p. 130.

39

replaced by'a computer, a synthesizer or tape recorder that will
perform the composition the exact way the composer desires.

What do musicians do for a hobby? Many performers will arrange
the masters' works and think nothing of it. Many times they will hide
behind Bach, Since he arranged the compositions of others. According to
Hindemith, "an arrangement is artistically justified only when the
arranger's artistic effort is greater than the original composer's."26
To this day there does not seem to be an arranger who can do better than
the composer, at least not if the composer is a creative genius.
Hindemith tells us, "You are not permitted to sell unsanitary macaroni
or mustard, but nobody objects to your undermining the public's mental
health by feeding it musical forgeries.".27 By altering the compositions,
the aesthetical and moral content have been altered.

The performer is important in so far as an attentive listener
aligns himself with the performer. The artist "exerts on a lower and
temporary basis the same attraction that moral or philOSOphical ideals
exert on a higher and more permanent one: the model example guides you;
you seek to attain, yet it will forever remain unrealized.”28

The performer is of greatest importance when that which he
communicates activates the moral goal of the listener. The gospel states
that unless the grain of wheat falling to the ground dies, it cannot
live, and in short this is the position of the performer. He needs to

be continually rejuvenated. When the artist succeeds in bringing the

 

%Ibid., p. 141.

2'71bid., p. 1u2.

28mm. p. 1144.

no

listener to the moral goal the performer loses importance. At this
point, the performer becomes an artist, and one of whom Augustine
would approve. When the performer works as an interpreter, he brings
to the listener the moral responsibility, the aesthetic quality which
was meant by the composer. When the performer can transmit that per-
ception to the instrument of reception and perception--the listener-~the
artist has properly accomplished his work. He has lost nothing, because
in the performance of this, he is aesthetically enriched as well. It is
not :ul easy thing to do, because the performer is giving something which
he, the performer, has accomplished. How does the performer or musician
reach the rank of interpreter?
He would take his horse and ride to a.mountain far away
from houses and men. There he would play his instrument and
sing for his own enlightenment.
Instead of escaping one's own self by participating in
another summer school, another refresher course, another
series of informing lectures and concerts, would it not be
advisable to do as this musician did: to go away from the
pell-mell of public music and regenerate one's musical soul
by communicating with the true spirit of music, with nature,
with the universe.
One might think that this is getting away from things relevant
to music, but in reality it is not. The performer, the conductor, the
composer, anyone who is dealing with conveying any aesthetical experi-
ence to the listener must do this. It is not getting away from the
sound of music but rather going back and renewing the ability to listen
and communicate with the music of the Spheres. It is important and the
performer must do it if he is to be aesthetically well, envigorated or
refreshed, and his listener aesthetically enriched. These principles

apply also to the composer.

 

29Ibid., p. 147.

41

Since the Composer's World deals with that which comprises the

 

world of a composer, it is not unusual that Hindemith wrote about
instruments. He made his own decisions about what their positions of
importance were and kept in mind that the human voice can also own a
place. The impression is given that modern instruments in the not too
far distant future will be looked upon as instruments of noise rather
than of music, since they have been strained to their capacity.' There
are times and places now where people are trying to get back to the
original instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; to those

methods of performance.

Therefore their music, even if restored with utter technical
perfection can never have for us precisely the same meaning it
had to them . . . as in every other moral effort, it is not
what we actually achieve that is accounted valuable, but th
lofty endeavors which marked our progress towards the goal.
So much is related to the moral endeavor that Hindemith does
not fail to mention it at every opportunity. It permeates his writings.
Further in his book Hindemith deals with the mundane things
surrounding music, but yet things which are necessary, such as education.
Various kinds of education play an important part to Hindemith, though
much of what he writes on education is done in the 'tongue-in-cheek'
manner. He feels that music teachers beget not necessarily performers,
but more music teachers. Everyone is taught as if he will be a profes-
sional and to Hindemith this is a gross error. AriStotle as well had

his view of the professional.

 

3°lbid., p. 171.

#2

'we re'ect the professional instruments and also the pro-
fessional mode of education in music--and by the professional we
mean that which is adopted in contest, for in this the performer
practices the art, not for the sake of his own improvement, but
in orderBEo give pleasure, and that of a vulgar sort, to his
hearers.

According to Hindemith's train of thought and his mathematical
calculations, with the number of people trained to be teachers, this
present period in history should find everyone in the United States
employed as music teachers. Yet as Aristotle states, "it is difficult,
if not impossible, for those who do not perform to be good judges of
the performance of others."32 Of course the quality of performance
is of utmost importance.

Rather than the idea of attaining professional status, there
is a need for general musical knowledge. Musicianship, not composition,
should be taught. A person was not a composer in previous periods until
he 1) knew all the instruments, 2) could play them, knew their ranges
and 3) knew the styles and forms of music; from this emerged the composer.
Composing "is the privilege of a very restricted number of people."33

Hindemith is skeptical of theory teachers. Theory teachers, to
him,are people who are not qualified in composing and therefore can
only teach theory. There are some teachers of composition who try to
up-grade teaching, but they are in the minority, Hindemith would change

the grading for composers.

 

31Frank A. Tillman, Philosgphy:g£_§rt "Politics," by Aristotle,

 

p. 86.
32Ibid., p. 35.

33Paul Hindemith, g Composer's World, p. 182.

 

43

It is not necessary for the musician of today to become involved
with problems of business. These matters are handled by business
associates, who know what will and will not sell. In America the use
of 'American' attached to a composition is an instant sell. When the
composers are writing only for the public then the artistic, moral view
is lost and only the dollar Sign is valued. The issuing of grants to
composers is basically good. A grant will insure a composer of needed
financial support, but it need not insure artistic productivity.

The environment in which we live and think affects the moral
aspects of music. It is the question of an intentive listener versus
a cultured listener, which is a matter of music education. Is there,
on the part of the listener, a primary general knowledge of music or
a specialist's knowledge?

What role the listener plays has changed in recent times along
with the role of the amateur performer.

If we assume that the former distribution of listeners,

amateurs, and professionals was, expressed in per cents,
about 5, 90, and 5, respectively, we can for our modern times
take 95, 1, and h as a fair estimate. We cannot think of a
musician who would not see in thiguremarkable change of
powers a turn toward shallowness.

It might be possible that his percentages are different in the
seventies. When looking at the present state of music, one cannot
debate vehemently with him. It would be better to take the percentages
and separate them according to age groups. Certainly the greatest per-
centage of amateurs and amateur performances are in the schools. How

many who are at amateur levels progress to the rank of the professional

due to the aesthetic training which they received? Whether they do or

3“Ibid., p. 215.

L44

not, are they also listeners? Through their education have they experi-
enced moral betterment?

Choral, orchestra and band festivals involve performance of
music of high quality, but what provisions are made for the development
of audiences? Have the performers just listened or have they been told
how to perform? Of course this reverts to the conductor and his responsi-
bility to nurture the moral and aesthetical quality in the students.

There is an idea of entertainment which is only to gratify the
listener with continual sound. St. Augustine's idea of performance is
the idea of an obligation on the part of the performer. The idea of
entertainment is seen in the type of music which permeates the environ-
ment. Today, as never before, we are bombarded with music and with
sound. Television, radio, phonographs, and advertising give an almost
round—the-clock confrontation with some kind of music. It is so much in
our environment that the effects of music are lost. It is just sound in
order not to have silence. Muzak has developed into an enterprise attuned
to this need. Music is heard in department stores, banks, theatres,
doctors' offices and any place where people are gathered, and it is
played for its psychological effect. The psychological quality of the
music is mentioned in the Muzak advertisement. Depending upon the time
of day, the music will change in tempo and character. How effective the
speed of music is can'be seen in a first year typing class. The students
are unaware of the musical sounds but work with the musical Speed. This
should not be a mechanical art, as "music whose rhythmical and ordered
movements have a Special affinity with the nature of the soul, . . . re-

produce with most directness the moral life, which is itself an

45

.. 35

activity, a movement.
To be a creative musician in the true sense of the word can be
compared to faith. It is a gift to be accepted or to be rejected. It
is something not to be passed on to others, but rather to be shared with
others. The musician with this gift will be a person with humility.
The ultimate reason for this humility will be the musician's
conviction that beyond all the rational knowledge he has
amassed and his dexterity as a craftsman there is a region of
visionary irrationality in which the veiled secrets of art
swell, sensed but not understood, implored but not commanded,
imparting but not yielding. He cannot enter this region, he
can only pray to be elected one of its messengers. If his
prayers are granted and he, armed with wisdom and gifted with
reverence for the unknowable, is the man whom heaven has blessed
with the genius of creation, we ma see in him the donor of
. . . the great music of our time. '
This is how Hindemith concludes his Composer's werld and looking
at this quote the identity of the person he is discussing is vague.
Is Hindemith talking of himself as he feels himself to be or is he
talking about what the perfect, ideal specimen of a composer, who is
blessed with this genius, this visionary purpose, should be? He goes
back to the ideas of the ancients, to the ideas of the Middle Ages that
creativity is not something which is acquired, but something which is
given. Perhaps it could be said that it is reminiscent of the idea of
the divine rights of kings. It was believed that a person was a king,
not necessarily, because he was born into a family, but by the Divine
Right. The coronation of kings was as important as the coronation of
popes, because those who held these positions held them by the will of

God. Can it not be said that the music of the spheres is preudetermined?

 

35S. H. Butcher, Aristotle's Theory, p. 133.

36Paul Hindemith, g Composer's World, p. 220-221.

1:6

Music is given to the one who has the genius, the action, the vision,
and the humility to be accepted by music.

The Composer's world reflects the thought of the philosopher,

 

Hindemith. The far reaching horizons, which a composer can achieve,

are seen in this publication. Along with these horizons Hindemith has
shown the limitations which are present. "Even when they are in the
wrong, philosophers are a kind of mirror, on the heights of intelligence,
of the deepest trends which are obscurely at play in the human mind at

each epoch of History."37

 

37Jacques Maritain, On thg_g§g.g£_PhilOSOphy (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1971), p.71.

 

47

Johann_§ebastian Bach

 

One need only to peruse the publications of Hindemith to note the
esteem in which Each was held. With the idea of genius and vision it
was only natural that Paul Hindemith would write a book on the man Bach.
This is a book whose conception and birth are parallel to A ngposer's
32319! as both were converted from lectures into books.

Hindemith tried to paint a human picture of Bach, not a picture
of a statue or as generations have seen Bach. Bach was a great composer
and yet he has not been treated as a human being. writers have been
more concerned with Hindemith's music than with the man.

In Johann sebastian Bach: Heritage and Obligation, the ideas

 

of Hindemith and Bach will be studied. Hindemith, throughout his writings,
parallels his life with that of Bach; both men were craftsmen and philos-
ophers. In the work of Bach is there the hint of moral obligation? Is
there a journey through aesthetics avenues to moral betterment?

The works of Bach are now heard and even in the time of Hindemith,
not as they were written, but as we like to have them sound. Huge
choruses and large instrumental sections are expected while in reality
that is not the sound of Bach. Hindemith questions if Each was satisfied
with the sound of his times or was the sound of 50, 100, or 200 years in
the future envisioned. According to Hindemith, Bach was contented with

the voices he had as that was all with which there was to work.38

 

 

38Paul Hindemith, Johann sebastian Bach: Heritage and Obligation
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1952), p. 16.

 

To listen to his instrumental selection the minute details of
sound are noticed. These subtleties as seen in A Composer's World are
lost to a large performing group. It is thought that Bach wrote for the
sound and size available. He did not wish the large sound as he had
devotion to the question of practical music. Here there is a comparison
and parallel to Hindemith, who when he began to teach saw two areas
which needed attention and worked from what was at hand. Both these
men proceeded with craftsmen's ability as can be seen in Bach's
"Preludes and Fugues' and Hindemith's "Ludas Tonalis."

Bach was a teacher and "although Mr. Each was a great musician,
he was not a school man."39 Hindemith, on the other hand, was a
teacher. Hindemith justified his turning to the neo-classical ideas
when he justified Bach's turning to the music of the past.

If in style of composition he was the representative of a

past era to his contemporaries, his almost exclusive devotion
to questions of practical music makes him seem to us one of
the first masters who in modern fashion broke away from the
medieval type of a musician, from those who tried to combine
the well trained man of sgsolarly'discipline and the free-
rOV1ng mu31cal visionary.

When Bach wrote there were technical difficulties that needed
to be overcome. Hindemith stated that the technical, aesthetical
and historical considerations are really of no interest to the layman,
but no better service could be given to the creator than to have the
music performed in the Spirit in which it was meant. Can one take

from this, agpecially'when speaking about the aesthetical consideration,

 

39Ibid., p. 20.

”0mm.

49

that this is the dwelling of the composer and that only he needs to be
concerned? The joy of the layman is simply to listen. In the eyes of
Hindemith, the heritage which Bach has left to the musical world is a
super musical type. The idea is brought forth that the creative
vocation is a gift from heaven and that Bach acquiesced to this gift.“1

Bach was a God fearing man whose work was dedicated to the church.
His cantatas and passions are examples of religious music written
during his career. Bach wrote in the style and the techniques of the
past, though the Lutheran atmosphere in which Bach wrote and lived was
looking forward. Here is a man who was a rebel and who after a certain
period did not progress in the manner which his contemporaries thought
possible. Might not such a situation have caused conflict to both Bach
and Hindemith?

Each was an extraordinary genius. He had the musical vision that
is associated with a.man of his abilities. In this particular light he
‘was a hero who had no place in the outside world. The only satisfaction
the hero would realize would be his own personal satisfaction.“2

In another view of the parallel between the two composers, the
Ilast ten years of Bach's life were summed up as years of melancholy. They
‘were not years of unproductiveness as much of his greatest work was
composed during this time. Hindemith believed that the last ten years
of Bach's life were of importance. In dealing with the particular ele-

Inents of Bach, Ian Kemp dwells on Bach's melancholy. He shows how Hinde-

lflith compares this time to his own last years.

 

“11bid., p. 26.

“21bid., p. 36.

5o

. . . by interpreting the prevailing 'melancholy' of the
music Bach wrote in the last ten years of his life as the price
the composer must pay for having reached the ultimate in tech-
nical pergection . . . he clearly drew parallels with his own
position. 3

Hindemith's years of 'melancholy' resulted in a sense of rejec-
tion and isolation. It is true there was rejection of Hindemith by
the musical world of his time, but it must be remembered that he was a
rebel, who became a conservative or a medievalist.

According to webster, melancholy is a depression of spirits: a
dejection; pensive meditation or seriously thoughtful. The last ten
years of Bach were a time of fulfillment and meditation. This is the
exalted stage of the performer and the composer when only the music of
the spheres is important; they are simply on-lookers.

Bach had reached this fulfillment; he could go no further.

Once this state was achieved it remained. It is like the conquest of a
gphenomenon of nature. A.man who has climbed to the summit of Mt.

liverest may remain there only a few hours. Physically he leaves the
height, but mentally, anotionally and aesthetically he remains. There is
a part of himself which will never be taken from the mountain: there is a
part of the mountain which will never be removed from his inner soul.

According to Hindemith the only path open to Each was to turn
his creative work "into sublime creativity, his craftsman's proficiency
into philosophic visions."uh’ Each was not only a craftsman but an

artisan as well.

 

nBIan Kemp, Hindemith, p. 29.

MPaul Hindemith, Bach, p. ’42.

51

An obligation is placed on the public to recognize the genius
of the masters. "The rest of us too, the nonmusicians, will have no

#5 A

difficulty in seeing the obligation that arises from this heritage."
strange terminology from a musician. Hindemith speaks about the summit
of musical greatness, which once beheld must not be lost from sight.

If a person aspires to the highest possible level and falls slightly
below, he has no reason to be chagrined because in trying to attain the
heights that person has lifted himself from the average to the select
few. The important thing is that he had tried.

Hindemith devotes one of his last paragraphs to the betterment of
music and the betterment of the individual who is hearing or composing.
"If music has the power to direct our entire existence toward nobleness,
this music is great."46 One of the definitions of moral dealt with
nobleness, and that idea can sum up the works of Bach and Hindemith.

The music of Bach has the power to lead others toward greatness
and nobleness. It has a religious element which is rarely seen in the
compositions of today; Bach, according to Hindemith, reached a summit
of perfection. Today people who know nothing of Bach and his life
experience the vibrance of his music. He was a craftsman who was also
an artist. In his unspoken musical vocabulary Bach philosophizes. He
was true to himself and to others; because of this he fulfilled the moral

obligations of'music which were so valued and cherished by Hindemith.

 

“51mm, p. 43.

uélbid. , p. 141+.

52

Treatises

The teacher must not base his instruction simply on the
rules of textbooks. He must continually refresh and complete
his knowledge from the practice of singing and playing. What
he teaches must have been developed out of his own exercises
in wigting.

Hindemith not only taught what he had developed, but he also
propagated his theories through the publication of five theory books.
His examples are vivid and he seemed to wish for and encourage experi-
mentation from the students. Throughout these books pains have been
taken to make them didactic works. By planned remarks, Hindemith dis-
played the atmosphere for an apt learning situation. The users of the
theory books are asked to "trust my experience of many years and to
believe that nothing has been written in this book without trial and
verification in actual instructionsflfl'8

Hindemith questioned the absence of composers from the rank of
teachers. "A considerable portion of the responsibility for the fail-
ure of instruction belongs to the instructors themselves. Is it not
strange that since Bach hardly any of the great composers have been
outstanding teachers?"L+9 Hindemith expected the composers to teach what
they had developed, and he was true to this belief. All composers are
not gifted teachers, but Hindemith felt that all composers simply

because they are composers have the need to give what they have

 

LWPaul Hindemith, 1mg Craft 93 Musical Composition, Book I:
Theoretical Part, trans. Arthur Mendal (New York: Schott Music Corp.,
1§45), p.n.

u8Paul Hindemith, The Craft gf_Musical Composition, Book II:
Exercises in Two-Part writing, trans, Otto Ortmann (New Yerk: Schott
. v 1.

Music Corp::'I9EI5,

ugPaul Hindemith, The_Craft 9f Musical Composition, I, 3.

 

 

53

experienced. Some teachers allow the students complete freedom and

then both are lost. Some teachers are too severe and stifle creativeness.
At the beginning there must be some type of a basic program so that the
student will have needed compositional supportsO

In The Craft of Musical Composition, Hindemith tried to organize

a musical language which would embrace twentieth century harmonic
development and also the vocabulary of traditional harmony. In Part
One, he established and developed his new theory. The new theory will
take time to assimilate but the student is assured of a wider outlook.

Techniques are important but they must sink to the level of the

subconscious. There are other aspects of technique with which the compos-
er must be involved, one of which is the view of the composer of the
Middle Ages.

Intervals spoke to them of the first days of the creation of
the world: mysterious as Number, of the same stuff as the basic
concepts of time and Space, the very dimension of the audible as
of the visible world, building stones of the universe, which,
in their minds, was constructed in the same proportions as the
overtones sergfs, so that measure, music and the cosmic insepa-
rable merged.

The composer must have sensitive ears and be sensitive to the

work at hand. The ears must take in the pleasure of music as the
eyes take in the quiet beauty of a painting, but in Hindemith's mind

the ears have an unerring sense of'measurement. The ear is capable

of hearing the raw material of Nature.

 

50Ibid.. p. 7.
511bid., pp. 12-13.

54

The forces of the music of the Spheres is present throughout

the material contained in the theory books.

A single tone conceived as the root of a scale: the
chromatically arranged twelve-tone series born of the tensions
set up by the juxtaposition of vibrating units in the propo-
sitions of simple numbers from 1 to 6; does not all this
seem like a distant echo of the musica mundana of the ancients.
of those harmonies of the Spheres that reigned above both
earthly types of music . . .

We shall observe in the tiniest building unit of music
the play of the same gorces, that rule the movements of
the distant nebulae.5

The Craft gf Musical Composition, Book II deals with exercises

 

in two-part writing. Each chapter is developed in a logical manner;
A) work-material, B) work-procedure, and C) rules and examples.
Hindemith cautions that though the book is organized in this manner,
there must be a teacher who will adapt the material to the individual
needs of the students.

Traditional harmony is explored by Hindemith in two publications.

A Concentrated Course in_Traditional Harmony5 Book II is written in

 

 

the same style as A Composer's world. In both of the harmony books

 

his basic philosophy is clearly noticed. In Elementary Training for
Musicians Hindemith states that no student would "be admitted to a
harmony class unless he is able to do the exercises in at least the
first two thirds of the book."53 This book, as well as the others,

serves as a vehicle for learning and mastering skills.

 

521bid., p. 53.

53Paul Hindemith, A Concentrated Course in_Traditiona1 Harmony,
Book I, rev. ed. (New York: Schott Music Corp., 1968;:fip. 13.

 

55

In the various works it is carefully noted that the exercises
should lead the students from the first steps of harmonic writing to
the most advanced stages. An intelligent musician can solve the problems
of composing but not all will have the inspiration to give the composi-
tions life.
Inspiration is not a mere mythological accessory. There
exists a real inspiration, coming not from the Muses, but from
the living God, a special movement of the natural order, by
which the first Intelligence, when It pleases, gives the artist
a creative movement superior to the yardstick of reason . . .
man is free to follow or to vitiage . . . This inspiration
descending from God the author of ngfiure, is, as it were, a
symbol of supernatural inspiration.
Throughout the books Hindemith continually refers to the creative
ability of the composer, for without that one is not a composer. It
is the responsibility of both the teacher and the student to recognize
and foster the gift. The moral Obligation motif is realized in the
numberless ways in which the composer is exhorted to bring forth the
creative talent and to share the fruits of this talent with others.
This obligation along with craftsmanship is seen not only in the
theoretical works of Hindemith but also in the Ludas Tonalis. The
work consists of twelve contrasted three-part fugues, linked by inter-
ludes. The whole is framed by a Praeludium and Postludium which are
mirror inversions.55 In this composition is noticed not only the work of
a craftsman, but an exceptional craftsman; one who not only knew his craft

well but who also executed it in a clever manner. All making of expres-

sive form is a craft and by this criterion Hindemith is a craftsman.

 

5”Jacques Maritain, Art and Scholasticism, trans. J. W. Evans
(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1962), p. 66.

 

55Ian Kemp, Hindemith, p. ’49.

CHAPTER IV

LIBRETTOS

Das Marienleben

 

The librettos of Hindemith comprise a continuation and rein-

forcement of his philosophy. This philosophy is seen in the revised

version of Das Marienleben.

 

'I began to glimpse the ideal of a noble music, as near
perfect as possible, that I should one day be able to realize.'

In striving to deepen the spiritual qualities of an art
which, as he saw it, could debase as well as uplift, he was
conscious of the moral responsibility demanded of him. This
in turn demanded the utmost in technical control, a rejection
of music as an outlet for personal fxpression and its affir-
mation as a source of social value.

His song cycle has overtones of serenity and strength. Mary as
presented in the translation by Lister Sinclair of the Rainer Maria Rilke
work, shows an expectation of a seemingly natural order of events. When
the Annunciation occurred it was an event which was anticipated by all
Jewish maidens. Upon Mary's reply rested the advent of the Messiah.
There are times when the expectation is difficult for Mary to accept.

In the passion song, nature is overturned and this causes a friction

within her. This fighting against the natural order will also be seen

in Mathis der Maler.

 

 

11am Kemp, Hindemith, p. #0.

57

There dwells an inherent tranquility in Mary, who can best be
described as a womanly woman. Her destiny was pre-ordained in the
heavens. Her acceptance of her vocation is strikingly different than
that of Mathis der Maler. The words of the Angel to Joseph are echoed
by the words of St. Paul to Anthony.

Mary received a certain amount of prestige due to her son but
along with this came mental suffering. Her sorrow is shown at the
event of the passion but later Christ came and healed the wounds of
the passion. This may seem strange until it is noticed that to heal
is to amend any grief. Certainly this is what a son would do for his
mother. No words were needed for the communication. It was as normal
as the events which pass to and fro.

By the stature of Mary, the moral betterment is noticed in this

song cycle. Each event was an opportunity for growth.

58

Mathis der Maler

 

The various aspects of Hindemith's personality can be viewed
in his characters: Cardillac, artist/craftsman; Mathis der Maler,
creative genius; Kepler, philosopher.2 Each of these segments is
seen in all his publications.

When Cardillac was first produced, Lion was the librettist but
later Hindemith revised the libretto. Cardillac is an artist and
craftsman to whom the end is the finished product; a creator who will
not part with the item of his creation. He is indifferent to human
values and to social values.3 Mathis, the creative genius, is beset
with doubts concerning the value of his art. The last of Hindemith's
operas revolves around Kepler, a philosopher. The ideas of the historical
Kepler are mirrored in the opera. He believed in the concept that the
same laws that govern music apply also to the universe.“ He was a
Renaissance Man as was Hindemith.

Hindemith had difficulty in his own life due to the production

of Mathis der Maler. Certainly the music itself is German and should

 

have applied to the thinking of the day. The scene in which the books
are burned was reminiscent of Nazi action. Hindemith was guilty of a
political act. If they had looked closer they would have noticed that
the opera stressed that the artist is not competent to meddle in politics.
Instead of dealing in political matters, the opera dealt with the artist;

his doubts in his creativeness and the people for whom these works

 

2Ibid., p. 51.
3Ibid., p. 19.

“Ibid., p. 52.

59

are created.

Mathis wonders how worthwhile an artist is when humanity is
suffering. IS there really a purpose for the things of art? Through-
out the opera it is noticed that a talent is here in Mathis, but a
God given talent. In the end it is realized that he must use this
talent as his salvation and to a certain degree the salvation of others
depends on his talent. Mathis must realize that his talent is his
salvation irrespective of the world's opinions.

In the first part, Mathis is first seen assailed by his doubts.
He feels himself to be selfish, cold and vain because he is trying to
fight evil in society with a paint brush. His doubts will be echoed
repeatedly by himself and others throughout the opera. Schwalb, the
leader of the peasants, asks Mathis how he can paint during the times
of trial which the peasants are experiencing. Mathis questions if this
is sinful and is answered with a simple word - "Maybe." Even then the
doubt is not removed, as Mathis believes that painting dwells closer to
God than to man. Mathis is called a man of arts though he feels that
no one also enjoys his art. Here he is neglecting the idea of the
creative image. Mathis' labor is lonely and he must have his fulfillment.
His doubts mirror the doubts of many creative artists.

The characters in the Opera are human, not sterotypes. Each is
developed and treated with all his doubts and failings. They chide
themselves on their shortcomings and delight in meeting their expectations.

Albrecht, the Archbishop of Mainz, is the patron of Mathis.
Albrecht believes that in art he could be free. He wishes that people

would understand Mathis before they judge him. An artist is judged by the

60

standards of the uncreative. If Albrecht would, he would live free
in the arts.

Mathis relinquishes his world of painting in order to help the
peasants but he does not relinquish his doubts. In Part Four, Schwalb
states as he is dying, that his life had no meaning. Mathis is of the
same opinion concerning his life. 1

You tried to undo what Providence had planned. At

last, who and what are you? A.discontented artist,

as a man a misfit.

Mathis had his moral obligation to follow his creative urge.
Albrecht had a moral battle due to the possible moral degradation of

marriage to Ursula. For both, triumph was not obtained until there
was a test.

The aims and the place of the artist are seen throughout the
opera'but especially in the Temptations of St. Anthony; They are not
only the ideas of Mathis but also the philosophies of Hindemith.

And even more are we inspired by music, all those sounds
so simple and so human, yet born way up in paradise. Their
garments (the angels) are alive with music.

Painting and concern for money mattegs will rarely blend.
Where they do, 'tis art that suffer.

Man is made for higher aims. This is why he should fight
what is vulgar and cheap.8

You have been lent a rare and wonderful skill; When in
selfless love you have humbled yourself, have given unto
the world with open heart, what to you must be sacred,
you will be tied and yet be free.9

 

5Paul Hindemith, Mathis der Maler, trans. Walter Ducloux (New
York: Associated Music Publishers, Inc., 1967), p. 38.

6

 

Ibid., p. 50 71bid., p. u?

81bid., p. 49. 91bid., p. 52.

61

All you are and all you ever will be, Is planted and

guided by God upon high, While all of your deeds are

rooted forever deep, in the life giving soil of those

whom you call your people.

Though Anthony states that he has always done what he thought
was right, the noble idea must remain uppermost in his cause. By
joining the peasants he had betrayed them both. When one goes down
to the level of those he wishes to aid, the noble ideas are sacrificed.
Mathis tried to fight against his art, but the forces that chose him
would not let this be done.

Mathis spoke as he placed his behangings into a chest and exs
plained how the world would look on them, but more important he stated
how he valued them. Here is seen the "small token of what was good

11 This is the

within me, of what I strove for, all I have wrought."
melancholy of an artist who reached the end of his creative genius

and would wait for his earthly time to cease. This also echoes the
words of Hindemith, who had been true to his ideals; the man who was

the creative genius in his compositions and theoretical works.

 

1Ol'bid. , p. 9,

11Ibid., p. 56.

CHAPTER V
LIMITATIONS

Whether Hindemith's views were right or wrong depends on many
aspects, one of which is viewpoint. In recent years modern mathematics
was introduced into the schools. For the first grader without previous
knowledge there was no problem; to the junior high student there were a
few problems, but since the subject had a new approach it was not too
difficult; to the adult, due to previous conditioning, it was a diffi-
cult task to adjust to a new system.

It is time to think of music other than in the line of conditioned
logic. It cannot fit into the logical Vocabulary of history of litera-
ture. The Greeks were the greatest of philosophers and because of their
logic they applied to music the power to move, to change and to determine
moral forces. The horizons of the mind, along with its limitations, have
been expanded since then by psychical research. "The fact that minds
may be in communication when the brains to which those minds are related
are thousands of miles apart throws into a new perspective the theories
of mind and brain, and suggests, even if it does not prove, that the
mind has no causal dependence on the brain."1

In this research, psi is used to designate the faculty which

embraces all phenomena. Some regard the faculty as an extension of

 

1R. C. Johnson, Psychical Research, p. 33.

62

63

awareness in a high direction beyond the range of sensorily acquired
knowledge. Beyond this higher mind are regions which must be searched
if the values of life and Spiritual meanings are to be sought.2 The
mind is not to be tied to the earth but released from it to communicate
with a Divine or cosmic mind. Can music be this release, if music has
the moral character which Hindemith states must be there?

Hindemith lived not only in the world of the spheres, but also
in the real world. He existed as one who was a craftsman, an author
and a philosopher.

Hindemith was a craftsman who refined until a perfect item was
created. As a craftsman he believed that his work and the work of all
craftsmen had a high purpose--that of bringing moral value into music.
At times his theoretical thinking may not have been sound but he was
true to his philosophy. In the books of theory his rules and examples
are clearly and logically set forth. EEEHQEE£E.2£.§251°31 Composition
was to contain three volumes, but the third volume was never written.
Some of his critics viewed Hindemith's theory as being superficial;
that it could not be sustained through a third volume.

Most musicians, who taught as much as Hindemith did, have had a
'school' develop. This was not the case with Hindemith, as there was
no mass acclamation of his theoretical finds. During his career he was
an influence on contemporary music, but in recent times his compositions

have not been frequently performed.

 

2Ibid., p. 34.

6h

One quote in A Composer's world is reminiscent of the beginnings
of the works of Nabokov.

Every fact given is derived from somewhere--even some

ideas which I cherished as the unique results of my own specu-
lation turned out to have come from predecessors, parallels,
or Similar formulations elsewhere. Thus the only merit of
this survey seems to be its tendency to focus everything
surrounding us on the one point: The composer's work.

Those who served as in-put for A Composer's world is perceived
but there is a question of how much of the work comprises original think-
ing. The book does not contain any footnotes for cross-references.

St. Augustine and Boethius are often quoted but there is nothing to
indicate which of their many works were explored. Boethius served the
purpose of reference to the music of the Spheres; Augustine presented a
philosoPhy. Hindemith represents their philosophies as being opposed but
their views tend to be complementary.

The sense of hearing gains us more knowledge than the sense
of sight. Rhythm and time correspond to qualities of the motion of the
soul. These statements are discovered in the writings of both Augustine
and Hindemith. The comparison of‘Hindemith's idea of his series of one
to six and Augustine's division of sounds into six classes would provide
ample material for research. Many of Hindemith's views are Aristotelian
in content, expecially regarding the audience and the performer. It
would seem that Hindemith emulated Aristotle more than Boethius. It
should be remembered that the writings of Aristotle were used by many
philosophers. Hindemith's work appears as an up-dating of the writings

of Boethius, Aristotle and Augustine.

 

3Paul Hindemith, g Composer's World, p. vi-vii.

 

65

Hindemith frequently compared himself to Bach. At times this
comparison is vivid and at other times it is only perceived. One wonders
about Hindemith's reasoning. It seems at times that the comparisons with
Bach are overtaxed. Hindemith states that even if a man fails to attain
the summit, he has by trying, risen above the average man. The summit
is reserved for the 'chosen.' "If music has the power to direct our
entire existence toward nobleness, this music is great. If a composer
has dominated his music to this point of greatness, he has achieved the
utmost."u In the eyes of Hindemith,.Bach achieved the summit.

If no one else was in agreement with Hindemith, he did not con-
sider it important. What was important was to be true to the moral
certitudes which were revealed to him by his Creator. The cost of his
adherance to this cardinal belief was the dimming of Hindemith's own
fame in the course of his life, and during the last part of it a time of
isolation. The character of Hindemith is seen in Mathis. With Mathis,
Hindemith can say of all his publications that they were "a small token

of what was within me, of what I strove for, all I have wrought."5

 

“Paul Hindemith, J, g, Bach, p. 44.

5Paul Hindemith, Mathis der Maler, p. 56.

 

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66

 

...Iltlllrl inkLIl...

67

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68

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