Programme Music

( Originally Published Early 1900's )

The final outcome of the Romantic movement in music was the establishment of the "programme" school. The tendency to make music reflect definite thoughts and scenes of nature may be said to have been founded and carried to its culmination by Berlioz and Liszt.

By programme music, or "music with a poetic basis," is meant that which presents an idea that could be expressed in words. It is in direct contrast to the "abstract" music of the classical composers, which sought only to express general ideas or moods, and clothed them in conventional forms, such as sonatas, fugues or rondos. Programme music, which includes all instrumental music with titles, may be divided into two classes. First, that expressing some single thought or image, and is not connected with a story; Schumann's compositions illustrate this class. To this division, also, belongs modern "landscape" music, describing some phase of nature.

Music that is associated with a story or succession of scenes is more strictly of the programme school. In writing music of this class, the composer selects or creates some poem or narrative, and lets the movement of his music follow that of the story. This poetic counterpart is called the programme. It naturally follows that in this style of production it is wellnigh impossible to model upon the old forms, and the order of composition is necessarily detached.