]
[Footnote 208: In the meanwhile France saw the brilliant rise and
extinction of a great artist--the most spontaneous of all her
musicians--Georges Bizet, who died in 1875, aged thirty-seven. "Bizet
was the last genius to discover a new beauty," said Nietzsche; "Bizet
discovered new lands--the Southern lands of music," _Carmen_ (1875) and
_L'Arlesienne_ (1872) are masterpieces of the lyrical Latin drama. Their
style is luminous, concise, and well-defined; the figures are outlined
with incisive precision. The music is full of light and movement, and is
a great contrast to Wagner's philosophical symphonies, and its popular
subject only serves to strengthen its aristocratic distinction. By its
nature and its clear perception of the spirit of the race it was well in
advance of its time. What a place Bizet might have taken in our art if
he had only lived twenty years longer!]
At this time Wagner's success, in its turn, began to make itself felt.
For this M. Lamoureux, whose concerts began in 1882, was chiefly
responsible. Wagner's influence considerably helped forward the progress
of French art, and aroused a love for music in people other than
musicians; and, by his all-embracing personality and the vast domain of
his work in art, not only engaged the interest of the musical world, but
that of the theatrical world, and the world of poetry and the plastic
arts.
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