Verdi and 'Falstaff'

Author(s): John W. Klein

Source: The Musical Times , Jul. 1, 1926, Vol. 67, No. 1001 (Jul. 1, 1926), pp. 605-607
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.

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 THE MUSICAL TIMES-JULY I 1926 6o5
Rubinstein
is a large measure of truth in what he said aboutknows too much of other people's
innovators in music : music; that prevents his standing on his own feet.
He has only a few sincere, though rather banal pieces
When you listen to the new music [he said], (e.g., it
his songs for the pianoforte, E major and F major,
trequently seems that something good and melodious'Valse caprice,' and some others).
is just beginning, but before that good matter has
had time to start it is already finished and sunk
(To be continued.)
in unintelligent and unnecessary dissonances. The
composer torments and torments his hearers with
these dissonances until again there is a flash of
something intelligible, which again becomes sub- VERDI AND 'FALSTAFF'
merged. One is left with an unsatisfied and
disconnected impression.
BY JOHN W. KLEIN
'Though I greatly admire Verdi, I believ
be incapable of writing a comic opera.' Such was
My father was very fond of Chopin. For instance, the pontifical utterance of Rossini--an utterance
of the D minor Prelude, he said: 'Das ist Musik!/ which Verdi deeply resented. The composer of
And what a simple and novel way of finishing 'I1 the Trovatore,' indeed, emphatically declared that he
piece-those three D's in the bass.' had longed to write an opera of a lighter nature ever
Of one of Chopin's Valses he once said: since the failure of his first attempt, 'Un Giorno di
Regno,' but that he had never been given another
Chopin, like all composers, has some banal passages,
but he has few of them, and is good even in thosechance. Even the publisher his successes had
places; he is banal, but somehow banal in his own enriched, who was continually urging him to save
way. art and the theatre by writing another opera, stood
aghast at the prospect of a comic work-and perhaps
Once when I remarked to him that Chopin ishis not fears were not entirely unjustifiable. There is,
understood by people little acquainted with music, indeed, barely a trace of a sense of humour in the
for instance, by the peasants, he agreed with this, maestro's early operas. The first Act of 'La Traviata '
and said that unfortunately he had to admit that andathe part of the Duke of Mantua certainly show
certain musical preparation is necessary for an a somewhat lighter vein, and Verdi achieved a
understanding of Chopin. ' But I love him,'he added, master-stroke by his dramatic humour in the com-
'probably because my taste is already spoilt.' pellingly ironic finale of the third Act of 'The Masked
In addition to what has been said above about
Ball,' but there is, nevertheless, barely a hint of the
Beethoven, I remember my father said of the glories of 'Falstaff.'
Sonata in G major (Op. 14, No. 2), that in the firstVerdi was obviously influenced by the scepticism
part one hears, as it were, the conversation of a
of his friends, for-shortly after the completion of
husband and wife, and in general that it is a toy the Manzoni Requiem - he somewhat ruefully
sonata. In the Sonata in E flat major (Op. 7) he exclaims: 'I was thinking of writing a comic opera.
considered the Trio from the Scherzo (in E flat minor) A comic opera of mine would be entertaining enough,
its best part ; the Sonata in C major (Op. 53), he at least before it was produced.' It has been
considered artificial and brain-spun. Of the last erroneously supposed that Wagner's 'Meistersinger'
Sonatas he liked only the Adagio with variations
suggested the idea. In fact, the great maestro was
(E major) in Sonata Op. 109. weary of melodrama and tragedy, but only in his
We may say that his favourite duet was 'La ci
extreme old age could he afford the luxury of writing
darem,' from Mozart's 'Don Juan.' In a letter to ahis comic opera. Almost immediately after the
daughter (March I I, 1894), he wrote: production of 'Otello,' wishing to experience for
Yesterday, at Berg's, after an absurd [!] Quartet of once at least 'la goia bella' so beloved of Mozart, he
Tchaikovsky's, I started talking with a violinist who iswrites : 'After having relentlessly massacred so many
a student at the Conservatoire. Just then they began heroes and heroines, I have at last the right to laugh
singing. Not to disturb them we went into anothera little.' He could, however, think of no fitting
room, and I demonstrated warmly that music had taken comedy to set to music. The Italian Molibre, Goldoni
a wrong road. Suddenly something interrupts my (whom he greatly admired), was too lacking in pro-
thought, seizes it, draws it to itself-and demands
surrender. They had just then begun to sing the duet fundity, too innately cautious in dealing with delicate
from ' Don Juan,' ' La ci darem.' I ceased speaking situations, to suit the requirements of the maestro
and listened, and then felt glad and smiled at some- who craved for something more frank and outspoken,
thing. What is that terrible power ? more full-blooded and temperamental. He had,
moreover, sought in vain a libretto in Molibre and
My father's attitude towards Tchaikovsky's music the French plays of the day, and had even--mirabile
was cold. It has been mentioned in a previousdictu! -thought for an instant of setting to music
chapter that on one occasion Tchaikovsky's Andante Labiche's grotesque farce ' Le Voyage de M.Perrichon.'
moved him to tears. I think that was the strongest It was 'Don Quijote,' however, which appealed most
impression he ever received from that composer's to him. But eventually even Cervantes's masterpiece
music. I remember that he listened with pleasuredid to not strike him as being 'something thoroughly,
only a few of Tchaikovsky's songs and to one or completely,two and in allrespects suitable.'
other things of his (eg., to his first Symphony). He One day, however, he discussed the matter with
did not rank him high in comparison with other BoYto, and expressed a desire to compose a musical
composers. comedy that would rank with Cimarosa's 'I1 Matri-
In general he was not enthusiastic about Russian monio Segreto' (technically a masterpiece, if little
composers. One day, when I was playing the else), or even Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' (which he is
Overture from Glinka's 'Russlan,' he remarked, not supposed to have studied until the age of seventy,
'It is good, but not first-class; for instance, but thethe influence of which permeates a great deal of
Overture of "Der Freischtitz" is better.' the music of the last Act of 'Falstaff'). Bolto
Of Anton Rubinstein, he said: listened in silence, and showed no signs of any

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606 THE MUSICAL TIMES-JULY I 1926

particular interest. But in secret masterpiece--is certainly well-planned,

he forthwith set to though the
work on Shakespeare's 'The Merry Wives of balance of dramatic action is not always as good as
Windsor.' Falstaff's character had always greatly it might be. Descending to details (in spite of
fascinated him and-strange to say-he considered Boito's stringent system of compression, and the fact
him spiritually akin to [ago and Mephistopheles. that 'Falstaff' is generally considered a manifesto
Shakespeare's Italian source, Giovanni Fiorentina'sagainst the stoppage, even for an instant, of action
entertaining novelette 'Peccorone,' served him as an on the stage), the first fooling of the fat-paunched
inspiration no less than the British dramatist's hero is somewhat too slow in arriving, and the
brilliant comedy. It seems singular that he did notcrowning exposure scarcely brings a sense of
-though at the time there were contradictory, culmination, but is, indeed, a direct anti-climax, the
rumours-venture to inform Verdi of his project,background of the picture unexpectedly becoming
fearing, no doubt, the latter's disapproval or the foreground. Moreover, the character-drawing---
indifference. particularly in the case of Ford, who is infinitely
In July, 1889 (more than two years after the more credible in the Shakespearean comedy-is
production of 'Otello '), he nevertheless presented often somewhat poor. Even Falstaff himself-during
Verdi with the libretto. At first the aged maestrothe course of the last Act-gradually sinks into
recoiled from the task with a cry of dismay: 'Haveinsignificance.
you ever considered the enormous number of my Boito's 'Falstaff' is, moreover, full of thoughts
years ?' Subsequently, however, he set to work with culled from other sources. Several of these
immense gusto. Long after his death, Boito wasare real additions to the effectiveness of t
wont to speak with tears in his eyes of Verdi's but a few others are not always in the best
delight and enthusiasm. 'Verdi enjoyed himself,' and we may justifiably ask ourselves whet
he exclaimed. 'How he enjoyed himself !' 'honour' speech-dragged in by hook and b
On December 3, 1890, Verdi wrote to an intimatefrom 'Henry IV.'--really lends itself to a musical
friend: setting. There are people who are capable of con-
For forty years I have longed to write a musical sidering it a masterpiece of comic verve; but it
comedy, for more than fifty I have known 'The Merry strikes me as being one of the least imaginative parts
Wives.' [The first idea of a 'Falstaff' occurred to him
of the opera, and the slightly philosophical touch of
in 1867; Ghislanzoni, the librettist of 'Aida,' was the
to speech is absolutely antagonistic to Verdi's down-
write the words.] Now Boito has written for me a right temperament.
lyrical comedy that can be compared to no other, and
The work as a whole-which was completed with
it causes me an immense degree of pleasure to set it to
music. 'Falstaff' [Verdi continues with mischievous amazing ease and never-failing inspiration - is,
glee] does all sorts of naughty tricks [Boito had however (apart from the final fugue, which reveals an
carefully ignored the more sinister features of the fat- element of unexpected pedantry), certainly the
paunched hero, and Verdi handled him still more nimblest and wittiest of all operas. No less an
gently], but in a humorous way. And he is a type !authority, however, than Grieg declares that in his
Types are so rare! The opera is absolutely and comic opera Verdi's fancy no longer takes flight as
entirely comic. formerly, and that there is something short-breathed
about
Not quite so comic as he had supposed. There is a it; and Hanslick, who greatly preferred
rich vein of melancholy in much of Falstaff's Nicolai's
later pretty opera, adds that the aged composer's
masterpiece is more a work of talent than of genius
music, and Ford's despairing soliloquy-a worthy
(he had asserted precisely the same of Bizet's
pendant to lago's 'Credo '-is quite wrongly termed
'humorously dramatic.' 'Carmen' !), more 'causerie' than powerful musical
A few days later Verdi, indeed, declared: creation. However much we may deprecate such
I am not writing a comic opera, I am depicting statements,
a we may quite frankly admit that they are
type. My Falstaff is not merely the hero of 'The not entirely devoid of truth, and that in 'Falstaff'
Merry Wives of Windsor,' who is simply a buffoon, Verdi brought, to quote Mr. Shaw, 'thought and
and allows himself to be tricked by the women, but knowledge and seriousness to the rescue of failing
also the Falstaff of the two parts of 'Henry IV.' vitality.' Moreover, Verdi's delightful work is not
Boito has written the libretto in accordance.
merely lacking in elemental power, but also in deeper
In Verdi's mind there was not a moment of human interest, and-precisely on that account-in
hesitation, not a hint of the doubt that true greatness,
gnawed at and cannot therefore be considered
on the 'Only
the heart of Nicolai, driving him to exclaim, same plane
a of achievement as its only serious
Mozart would be worthy to set Shakespeare's rival in comic opera, 'Die Meistersinger.'
" Merry Wives" to music.' The composer of Nevertheless, how inexpressibly delicate is Verdi's
';Otello' had too high an opinion of the artistic touch in this work! He who was in the habit of
value of his music, or perhaps he had a premonitionmaking coarse daubs with his brush now paints with
that his opera was destined to become (as Strauss the daintiest of camel-hairs. How curiously wistful,
has asserted) 'one of the greatest masterpieces of sweet, and penetrating are the short love passages of
all time,' and a work of greater importance and moreFenton and Anne How exquisite the transition
imaginative insight and power than Shakespeare's
from
brilliant-if somewhat superficial-pi~ce d'occasion. is the chattering
an ethereal quartet
remoteness aboutof women
the . And of
fairy music there
the
Moreover, though less revelatory of Boito's last Act, a delicacy and spirituality hitherto undreamt
amazing knack of condensation than the libretto of by Verdi, though we may perhaps catch a glimpse
of 'Otello,' the book of 'Falstaff' is a model of of it in the final duet of 'A'AYda.' Music so thoroughly
lucidity and conciseness. Bolto has taken to heart imbued with the very essence of the true romantic
Shakespeare's dictum: 'Brevity is the soul of wit.'spirit had not, indeed, been penned since the days of
On scanning his libretto, Verdi realised that here Weber.
was an opportunity of writing a lyrical comedy of Strange to say, Verdi is less of a masterly
the most refine;kind. BoYto's work-compared with character-drawer in ' Falstaff' than in the
the libretto placed at Nicolai's disposal, a veritable
much more unequal 'Otetlo.' Nevertheless, the

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 THE MUSICAL TIMES-JULY I 1926 607

hero himself is undeniably Verdi's most or

and a harpsichord admirable
organ, sometimes also a lute or
character-study, far surpassing, a theorbo. To theseanything
indeed, were added on rare
he occasions
had achieved before. Falstaff's sublime self-conceit two trumpets, and, perhaps, one or two trombon
is revealed, with almost incredible skill, in every and timpani. The oboe and bassoon were com-
paratively new instruments, which were first used in
bar of a music that for tantalising wit and boisterous
fun in vain seeks its equal, a music so tingling opera
and in Cambon's 'Pomona,' in 1659.
mercurial that it would have delighted even the The souroboe, which had been evolved from the shawm
Nietzsche himself and driven him to exclaim : 'Here (chalumeau) in France about the middle of the
is a morning song, so sunny, so light, so fledged 17th
and century, was one of Handel's favourite
instruments from early boyhood. The double-bass
so divinely serene that it will not scare the tantriums,
but rather invite them to take part in the singing hadand
been added to the opera orchestra by Pignolet de
dancing.' Falstaff, indeed, seldom provokes coarse Monteclair only some twenty years before Handel's
laughter; he more often awakens in us that gentle birth, the violone having until then taken the place
and thoughtful mirth which Meredith called of the fundamental bass. This was the lowest
'intel-
lectual merriment.' bass of the viols, which had been superseded b
The remaining characters are, however, mere their cousins, the violins, except for the viol
thumb-nail sketches. With regard to Ford, we are gamba, which lived on in semi-retirement in th
often at a loss to understand whether or no Verdi hands of a small number of its admirers, chiefl
expects us to take him seriously. The Ford of France and England.
Nicholai is a purely comic character; the Ford of Both Purcell and Corelli championed the cause
Verdi is, however, a fatuous fool with-strange to sayof the violin, which in Italy was in fact almost
--moments of astonishing power and eloquence exclusively used from the early I7th century.
scarcely in harmony with his real nature. Witness Handel followed their example, and already in his
his monologue, on which Verdi has concentrated his first operas, violins formed the basis of his orchestra.
heaviest artillery: truly a wonderfully expressive His musical conceptions, which were always true to
piece of declamation, wrongly termed 'humorously his own nature, were stated in a direct, simple manner
dramatic,' a song more replete with the agony of with comparatively simple means, but the almost
jealousy than many of Otello's more pretentioussuperhuman surety of his musical feeling led him to
outbursts. In short, Ford is neither dramatically find with unerring judgment the right medium in the
right place to express exactly and effectively what he
nor musically consistent. As for the other characters,
wanted. He realised that the voice in conjunction
they are almost entirely devoid of interest. Even the
quartet of women-in which there is a touch of with a well-contrasted accompaniment could rise to
the older style-is lacking in fine differentiation of
heights which neither could attain by itself, and that
character. through the different qualities of tone in different
However, 'Falstaff' as a whole is perhaps theinstruments
most it is possible by judicious selection
delightfully sane and irresistibly humorous comic always to find one which is suitable to express
opera in existence, far surpassing . Cimarosa's a certain mood, character, or situation. This
' I Matrimonio Segreto'--the model on which Verdi possibility he used to the fullest extent, and never
is supposed to have worked-and even Rossini's hesitated to adopt any instrument, whether new,
old, or even obsolete, that would give him the
' I Barbiere di Seviglia,' and revealing a mastery of
nuance not inferior to that of Mozart himself. The exact tone-colour that he had in mind. To
delightful work literally overflows with vivacity, substitute another instrument for one chosen
genial ardour, and high spirits. We. may well with great care and deliberation for a par
repeat Bofto's dictum: 'What an inestimable boon purpose, must therefore necessarily destroy t
to art when all will be able to understand it,' and, that he had intended. The performance of such
we may add, prefer it to the vocal gymnastics of music in its original form will naturally offer great
'Il Trovatore' and even the Salvation Army rhythms difficulties, as it is not easy to procure the necessary
of ' Aida.' instruments nor the people who can play them;
but Mr. Arnold Dolmetsch has taught us that the
task is by no means impossible, and that it fully
HANDEL'S USE OF UNCOMMON repays the trouble. Below is printed a full list of
INSTRUMENTS AND COMBINATIONS the instruments used by Handel, mentioning the titles
of the works, and the instances in which they were
By E. VAN DER STRAETEN
employed.
Handel's
The majority of people think of Handel orchestra
chiefly as at the opera, in the later period,
a vocal composer, while his merits asconsisted
a writer normally
forof eight first and seven second
violins, Again,
the orchestra are rarely fully recognised. four violas, three violoncellos, three contra-
most people are wont to look upon hisbasses, two to five oboes, two to five bassoons, two
orchestration
as of a primitive nature, yet he was in two
flutes, reality
horns, two trumpets, harp (occasionally),
and
a great pioneer. Before his time the timpani: thirty-seven to forty-three in all. For
instruments
of the orchestra had been chiefly used in his oratorios the orchestra varied between twenty-
contrasting groups of wind instruments, brass, five and thirty-five instrumentalists, and an equal
and strings. Effects of tone-colour from the use number of singers for the chorus.
of individual instruments were practically unknown, Handel used what was in his time the quite novel
except for a few solitary examples in the late device of dividing his violins into three different parts,
17th century operas. The orchestra at that time of which instances occur in most of his operas and
was composed of the concertino, consisting generallysome of his oratorios-e.g., in the Overture to 'Saul,'
of two violins and a violoncello, and the concerto and in the Overture to 'Athalie' he has even four
grosso or full string orchestra,* recorders, oboes, violin parts. The first who followed him in this w
probably Weber, in the Overture to 'Euryanthe,' an
*f A survival of this combination is still to be found in the Adagio
of Haydn's Symphony in D, No. 43. by modern masters the device has been used mo

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