Page:The Library, volume 5, series 3.djvu/102

9 o RECENT FOREIGN LITERATURE. of his family and intimate friends, and so we have a real pidture of his personality. Light is inci- dentally thrown on the countries in which he sojourned or those he visited, chiefly Austria, Germany, France, and on earlier or contemporary musicians. We are so apt to lose the man in his music that it is profitable to learn to know the man in the ordinary aspects of life. In his c Histoire de la Musique,' from the beginning to the death of Beethoven, M. Jules Combarieu, the director of the ' Revue Musicale,' addresses, not only lovers of music, but all who are interested in the general history of civilisation. The first volume takes us to the Renaissance that is, to the end of the sixteenth century. It begins with the incantations of magic, which were suc- ceeded by prayer, and what Combarieu calls religious lyrism. He discusses the religious lyrism of antiquity and the religious and profane lyrism of the Middle Ages. This was followed by the conquest of counterpoint that rendered possible the musical developments of the Renaissance. Numerous musical texts are printed in the volume, and they serve to illustrate the author's technical and aesthetic points of view. While the book naturally appeals primarily to those interested in music, it will be found useful and enlightening by all students of the general history of the arts. A new volume of verse by Emile Verhaeren, entitled 'Les bles mouvants,' contains some charm- ing poems, mostly on rural themes. Of the