Nor was I alone in the experience. On the faces of the people round
about me I saw the reflection of my own emotions. What was the meaning
of it? The audience consisted chiefly of poor and commonplace people,
whose faces were lined with the wear and tear of a life without interest
or ideals; their minds were dull and heavy, and yet here they responded
to the divine spirit of the music. There is no more impressive sight
than that of thousands of people held spellbound by a melody; it is by
turns sublime, grotesque, and touching.
What a place in my life those Sunday concerts held! All the week I lived
for those two hours; and when they were over I thought about them until
the following Sunday. The fascination of Wagner's music for youth has
often troubled people; they think it poisons the thoughts and dulls the
activities. But the generation that was then intoxicated by Wagner does
not seem to have shown signs of demoralisation since. Why do not people
understand that if we had need of that music it was not because it was
death to us, but life. Cramped by the artificiality of a town, far from
action, or nature, or any strong or real life, we expanded under the
influence of this noble music--music which flowed from a heart filled
with understanding of the world and the breath of Nature.
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