The double gift of
poetry and music is in M. d'Indy up to a certain point. But is his
reason always in agreement with his heart?[163]
[Footnote 163: In his criticisms his heart is not always in agreement
with his mind. His mind denounces the Renaissance, but his instinct
obliges him to appreciate the great Florentine painters of the
Renaissance and the musicians of the sixteenth century. He only gets out
of the difficulty by the most extraordinary compromises, by saying that
Ghirlandajo and Filippo Lippi were Gothic, or by stating that the
Renaissance in music did not begin till the seventeenth century! (_Cours
de Composition_, pp. 214 and 216.)]
Of course his nature is too dignified to let the quarrel be shown
openly. His heart obeys the commands of his reason, or compromises with
it, and by seeming respectful of authority saves appearances. His
reason, represented here by the poet, likes simple, realistic, and
relevant action, together with moral or even religious teaching. His
heart, represented by the musician, is romantic; and if he followed it
altogether he would wander off to any subject that enabled him to
indulge in his love of the picturesque, such as the descriptive
symphony, or even the old form of opera.
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