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Text extracted from opening pages of book: PREFACE FOR a proper appreciation of the colossal work of Handel many years of study and a book of some two hundred pages are very insufficient. To treat at all adequately of Handel's life and work needs a whole lifetime in itself, and even the indefatigable and enthusiastic Chrysander, who devoted his life to this subject, has hardly encompassed the task. ... 1 have done what 1 could ; my faults must be excused. This little book does not pretend to be anything more than a very brief sketch of the life and technique of Handel. I hope to study his character, his work, and his times, more in detail in another volume. ROMAIN ROLLAND. CONTENTS PAGE His LIFE i His TECHNIQUE AND WORKS in ( 1) THE OPERAS 122 ( 2) THE ORATORIOS ; 134 ( 3) THE CLAVIER COMPOSITIONS .... 143 ( 4) THE CHAMBER Music ( SONATAS AND TRIOS). 154 ( 5) THE ORCHESTRAL WORKS 158 APPENDICES LIST OF HANDEL'S WORKS 193 BIBLIOGRAPHY 201 INDEX 204 PLATES PORTRAIT BY THORNHILI GEORGE I AND HANDEL'S WATER Music tofacefage 69 HANDEL'S MONUMENT IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. . 107 HANDEL DIRECTING AN ORATORIO .... 165 INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR HERE in England we are supposed to know our Handel by heart, but it is doubtful whether we do. Who can say from memory the titles of even six of his thirty-nine operas, from whence may be culled many of his choicest flowers of melody ? M. Holland rightly emphasises the importance of the operas of Handel in the long chain of musical evolution, and it seems impossible for anyone to lay down his book without having a more all-round impression than heretofore of this giant among composers. M. Saint-Saens once compared the position of a conductor in front of the score of a Handel oratorio to that of a man who sought to settle with his family in some old mansion which has been uninhabited for centuries. The music was different altogether from that to which he was accustomed. No nuances, no bowing, frequently no indication of rate, and often merely a sketched-in bass. . . . Tradi tion only could guide him, and the English, who alone could have preserved this, he considers, have lost it. Can it be recovered to any extent, and, if so, how ? Behind each towering figure of genius are to be X INTRODUCTION found numbers of 8 eloquent men who prepared the way for him ; and amongst these precursors there is frequently discovered one who exercised a domi nating influence over the young budding genius. Such an influence was exercised by Zachau on Handel, and M. Rolland rightly gives due import ance to the consideration of this old master's teach ings and compositions, a careful study of which should go far to supplying the right key to Handel's music. One of the great shortcomings in the general musical listener is a lack of the historical view of music. It is a long cry from Bach and Handel to Debussy and Scriabin, but we shall be all the better for looking well at both ends of the long musical chain which connects the unvoiced expression of the past with the vague yet certain hopes of the future. No doubt we have hardly yet recovered from the false position into which we have all helped to place Handel. He was never the great Church composer which has been assumed for so long. Perhaps, rather, he leaned to the pagan side of life in his art. As Mr. Streatfeild says, You can no more call the Messiah a work of art than you can call the Book of Common Prayer popular as a masterpiece of litera ture. . . . Handel the preacher is laid for ever in the tomb, but Handel the artist with his all embracing sympathy for human things and his delight in the world around him lives for ever more/' Handel has been greatly, almost wilfully, misrepresented; but^ he has played too great a part in the history of English music to be cast aside on INTRODUCTION XI this account. It is true that there are many diffi culties in the way of a clearer understanding of his music. A two-hundred years' overgrowth of vain vocal traditions is not goi ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Product Description
General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1921Original Publisher: H. Holt and CompanySubjects: World War, 1914-1918Fiction / HistoricalFiction / LiteraryFiction / War ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Clerambault
In the foreword to Clerambault, the author, Romain Rolland, says that 'This book is not a novel, but rather the confession of a free spirit telling of its mistakes, its sufferings and its struggles from the midst of the tempest'. He is correct - the story of Clerambault and his family throughout the Great War is hardly a novel at all. The plot is weak and the characters, with the exception of Clerambault, are poorly drawn. But where this piece does succeed is in the questions it raises about a topic that is sadly familiar to us all: War.

If not a novel, then what? The plot we have to work with is flimsy. Ag�nor Clerambault is a minor poet, one of the many ambitious men living in Paris, who wish to make a living of their work. Happily for Clerambault, he manages to support his family with the strength of his poetry, but it is clear to all (except, perhaps, Clerambault himself), that his talents are minor. 'If we cannot amount to much, a good appearance is a consolation, and we love to be reflected in eyes which lend beauty to our mediocrity.' This is Clerambault. He is a weak man, but sincere within himself. He writes poetry because he loves it, and what else would there be for a man of few mechanical or physical talents to occupy his time with?

The far-away hum of the approaching Great War increases in volume until it is a roar. Paris is the intellectual capital of the world, the belle epoque or 'beautiful era' is in full swing, though to the perceptive, its last grand celebrations are the thrashings of a dying animal and not that of a healthy creature luxuriating in its endless potential. What better time then, to be a poet? To be an intellectual, living off the fat of the working class? To be Clerambault? As Rolland makes so clear, 'Safe in their West, it never occurred to them that their civilisation could lose the advantages gained; the march of progress seemed as inevitable as the rotation of the earth.'

And then the war comes. The Great War, the war to end all wars, it shatters the heady lifestyle of Paris, of France, of Europe. But how fares our hero? He becomes suddenly enamoured of his great country, much more than before. He buys newspapers and reads avidly of the war. In the mornings, with his family seated around the breakfast table, he reads out loud not only his own hastily composed poetry, but also news of the Front, of the encroaching war, of death and disaster and grand patriotism in all its glory.

Thus far, Rolland has steadily built up a rather fascinating character living in a defining time for the world. Thirty or so pages in, we have a compelling narrative, exhilarating prose, and an acute awareness of the outcome of the war. Rolland is easing us into his novel, his writing ensures that we slide along with the gentle current of easy patriotism, delicate fancy and clear metaphor. There are no intellectual snags, thus far.

But the novel changes. Clerambault begins to muse on the nature of war, not so much the violence or the death, but the way in which it rouses an extreme form of patriotism. He wonders at the manner in which politicians portray the events of the war, so that the young men of 1914 are swept up in the grandeur of it all. How is that an eighteen year old man can be convinced to throw his future away in a country he has barely given a thought to in his entire life? Clerambault believes it is patriotism, that subtle exercise of the State that has come into its own since the solidification of national identity.

Rolland writes with a firm, engaging hand. Yet it is the hand of an essayist at work, not that of a novelist. Characters are introduced as having an opinion that either compliments or disagrees with Clerambault, which allows the poet - which really means, Rolland - a chance to wax lyrical his own thoughts on this new information. Characters are not real life people so much as templates for ideas. When Clerambault's son, Maxime, returns home from the trenches, and is dismayed at the attitude of his family and friends, there is a chance that the novel will return to a narrative. But Maxime leaves, and is killed, which allows Clerambault to spend most of the remainder of the novel outraged at the sheer waste of war and violence. The plot stalls and dies; we are left to read essays.

The depth and breadth of Clerambault's convictions are staggering. At first, Clerambault seems fickle, able to alter his thoughts as the winds - or other characters - shift him about. But soon, his ideas solidify. As the novel progresses, he explores, with deeper and more insightful thoughts, the necessity for peace, not war. Understanding, not hatred. Clerambault's message is certainly not new, but it is told with such freshness and intelligence that it is difficult to disagree.

The plot of the novel continues, if only so that the predictable ending can occur. The French intelligentsia is outraged at Clarembault's pamphleteering of his desire for peace. How dare an upstart, middling poet write such inflammatory words? He is attacked, by foes and by friends who become foes, in a relentless example of the very problem which he is writing against.

Rolland wrote Clerambault in 1920, two years after the Great War came to its exhausted end. It is amazing to consider that, eighty-six years later, his words have as much resonance and accuracy as they did then. The unquestioning (and unquestionable) patriotism of certain countries in 2006 is dissected and criticised with remarkable fluency, and the question of war versus peace is one that will never grow old. This novel should perhaps not be read as a piece of fiction, but it should certainly be studied as a plea for thought, for rational decision, for peace and for understanding. As Rolland says in the introduction, 'God lends us the world to enjoy in common on one condition only, that we act uprightly.' Can we say that the events of the last five years have reflected this idea? Or the last twenty-five? Fifty? Ever, in the history of our species? I would argue not, as would Clerambault. Peace is something that is perhaps out of our grasp, but it is a end to which we should always struggle. Silence is our enemy and their weapon, speaking out is our duty. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1910-13.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more