Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 1.djvu/306

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CADENZA.
CAECILIA

conspicuous feature. In instrumental music it fulfils a peculiar office, as it is frequently introduced where a pause in the more important matter of the movement is desirable, without breaking off or allowing the minds of the audience to wander. Thus it occurs at points where the enthusiasm of the movement has been worked to such a heat that it is necessary to pause a little before returning to the level of the natural ideas of the themes, as in Liszt's 'Rhapsodie Hongroise' in A, and Chopin's 'Notturnos' in F minor and C♯ minor. Chopin uses them frequently when the main business of the movement is over, in order to prevent the close, which follows immediately, being too abrupt. At other times it occurs as a connecting link between two movements, or between an introduction and the movement following it, where for certain reasons it is expedient to pause a while on some preparatory chord, and not to commence serious operations before the minds of the audience have settled to the proper level.

Specimens of this kind are common in the works of many great masters—e.g. Beethoven's Sonata in E♭ (op. 27, No. i), Adagio; Sonata pathetique; Variations in F (op. 34); Brahms's Sonata in F♯ [App. p.574 amends to F♯ minor] (op. 2, last movement); Mendelssohn's 'Lobgesang,' connecting the first movement with the second.

The greater cadenza, which is a development of the vocal flourish at the end of a vocal piece already spoken of, is that which it is customary to insert at the end of a movement of a concerto for a solo instrument. Like its vocal predecessors the cadenza usually starts from a pause on a chord of 6–4 on the dominant, preparatory to the final close of the movement, and its object is to show off the skill of the performer. Such cadenzas may occur either in the first or last movement, and even in both, as in Mozart's Concerto in D minor and in Beethoven's in G. With regard to their form there is absolutely no rule at all. They should contain manifold allusions to the chief themes of the movement, and to be successful should be either brilliant or very ingenious; containing variety of modulation, but rather avoiding progressions which have been predominant in the movement itself; and the more they have the character of abandonment to impulse the better they are. It was formerly customary to leave the cadenzas for improvisation, and certainly if the frenzy of inspiration could be trusted to come at the right moment, impromptu cadenzas would undoubtedly be most effective in the hands of real masters of the situation. Moreover, it is chiefly in the sense of their being the exposition of the player's special capacities that they are defensible, for as far as the composer is concerned the movement generally offers full opportunities for display of the powers of the executant.

Still custom is generally stronger than reason, and it does not seem likely that cadenzas will yet die out. And as the art of improvisation is for various reasons considerably on the wane it will probably become habitual for composers to write their own cadenzas in full, as Beethoven has done in the E♭ Concerto, and Schumann in his A minor Concerto.

Beethoven also wrote cadenzas for his other concertos and for Mozart's D minor; and these are published separately. Many famous musicians have supplied the like for classical concertos, Moscheles for Beethoven's, and Hummel for Mozart's.

The indication for a cadenza, when not written out in full, is a pause or fermata

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \new RhythmicStaff \stopStaff s\fermata }

indicating its comencement, usually over a rest in the solo part, and

over the last note in each of the orchestral parts; another pause over a shake in the solo part indicating its close. The example is taken from Beethoven's Concerto in C minor, pianoforte part.

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \override Score.Clef #'stencil = ##f << \relative d'' { r2\fermata \afterGrace d2\trill\fermata { c16[ d] } }
\new Staff { \clef bass r2\fermata <g b! f'>\fermata } >> }

CAECILIA, a German musical periodical, conducted by an association of scholars, art critics, and artists, started by Gottfried Weber in 1824, and published by Messrs. Schott. It appeared at irregular intervals, lasted till 1848, and forms a series of 27 volumes of 4 nos. each. Weber conducted it till his death, at the 20th vol., and was succeeded by Dehn, who continued editor till its discontinuance in consequence of the political troubles of 1848. By its opening prospectus Caecilia was intended to be not so much a regular periodical as a collection of original articles of permanent interest, and a medium for the exchange of views and opinions on art. It contains papers on the theory of music and acoustics, on history and æsthetics, reviews and notices of music and treatises on the art. The earlier numbers also contained tales and poems, and other light pieces. Amongst the theoretical articles of most value are those on the compensation of organ pipes (xi. 181–202) and on the production of aliquot tones in reed pipes and clarinets (xii. 1), both by W. Weber; on the voice (i. 81; compare iv. 157 and 229), by Gottfried Weber; an account of the experiments of Joh. Müller on the formation of the voice (xxi. 16), by Häser; on equal temperament (xxvi. 137), and on measurements of tones and of temperament (xxi. 117), both by Kiesewetter; and on the value of notes and the length of string necessary to produce them (xxiv. 91), by Krieger. Among the historical papers may be named those on the literature and history of music by Anton Schmid (xxi–xxvii)—chiefly notices of ancient MSS. in the Vienna library; also a paper by Aloys Fuchs on the musical collections of Vienna, interesting for its descriptions of MSS., especially those of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (xxiii. 40); several communications by Dehn on the Bach MSS. in the Berlin library (xxii. 166, xxiii. 34, xxiv. 17); critical papers by Gottfried Weber on the authenticity of Mozart's 'Requiem' (iii. 205, iv. 257, v. 237, vi., viii. 128, ix., x., xiv. 147, xx. 279), written with unnecessary violence and personality, and since superseded by the publication of the ori-