University of Oregon monthly., January 01, 1908, Image 13

16
U niversity of O regon M onthly
self is. This statem ent, however, is too sweeping; it m ight
be challenged. Perhaps there have been great musicians
who in the eyes of the world have offended against moral
principles; if so, how can their music be fit to be listened to?
The answ er it seems to me lies in the fact th at the music
was the out-pouring of the best there was in the man and
because he may have acted contrary to our ideas of right and
w rong need be no indication th at he was immoral. There
are exceptions then, but on the whole I should sa y .th a t our
great musicians, those who have found the harm ony which
God put into the world, have been religious men, they must
necessarily have been s o ; and, hence, too, they m ust have been
moral. Certainly this is true in regard to our five greatest
composers, Bach, Handel, Haydn, M ozart and: Beethoven.
To Bach religion was a cult and he devoted the greater part
of his life to the enrichment of the music of his ch u rch ;
Handel though perhaps not religious in the strictest sense of
the word, was a man of honor, integrity, and bla,meless
m orals; H aydn lived in simple faith and dedicated all of his
compositions to G od; M ozart was deeply religious; and Bee­
thoven, in spite of the fact th at he was once accused of athe­
ism, lived a pure life, hating w rong as much as he exalted
moral virtue. T hus we m ight go on through the list of those
musicians whose works have lived, and find at least a large
m ajority true to the higher life. W ith such transm itters as
these have been we are justified in. assum ing th at the effect
of music upon the moral nature cannot but be good.
It may be well to mention here th at there is a large class
of people, at whose head is Tolstoi, who believe th at the in­
fluence of music is decidedly bad. This is no recent idea
for long ago the myth of the sirens originated probably from
early conceptions of the moral effect of music. Concerning
this myth Emil M aumann says, “for, as H om er elsewhere
suggests, noble and manly music, invigorates the spirit,
strengthens w avering man, and incites to great and w orthy
deeds, whereas false and sensuous music excites and confuses,
robs, man of his self-control, till his passion overconies him