There
is, however, no trace of an oriental atmosphere in this music. We find
rather the melodies of Italy, the reflection of a mellow light, and a
resigned calm. I feel in it the languid mind of the convalescent, almost
the heart of a young girl whose tears are ready to flow, though she is
smiling a little at her own sad dreams. It seems to me that Strauss must
have a secret affection for this work, which owes its inspiration to
the undefinable impressions of convalescence. His fever fell asleep in
it, and certain passages are full of the caressing touch of nature, and
recall Berlioz's _Les Troyens_. But too often the music is superficial
and conventional, and the tyranny of Wagner makes itself felt--a rare
enough occurrence in Strauss's other works. The poem is interesting;
Strauss has put much of himself into it, and one is conscious of the
crisis that unsettled his broad-minded but often self-satisfied and
inconsistent ideas.
Strauss had been reading an historical study of an order of
_Minnesaenger_ and mystics, which was founded in Austria in the Middle
Ages to fight against the corruption of art, and to save souls by the
beauty of song.
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