And though this folly scarcely lasted
more than three or four years--the length of the life of that little
magazine--Wagner's genius dominated nearly the whole of French art for
ten or twelve years.[209] An ardent musical propaganda by means of
concerts was carried on among the public; and the young intellectuals of
the day were won over. But the finest service that Wagnerism rendered to
French art was that it interested the general public in music; although
the tyranny its influence exercised became, in time, very stifling.
[Footnote 209: Its influence is shown, in varying degrees, in works such
as M. Reyer's _Sigurd_ (1884), Chabrier's _Gwendoline_ (1886), and M.
Vincent d'Indy's _Le Chant de la Cloche_ (1886).]
Then, in 1890, there were signs of a movement that was in revolt against
its despotism. The great wind from the East began to drop, and veered to
the North. Scandinavian and Russian influences were making themselves
felt. An exaggerated infatuation for Grieg, though limited to a small
number of people, was an indication of the change in public taste. In
1890, Cesar Franck died in Paris. Belgian by birth and temperament, and
French in feeling and by musical education, he had remained outside the
Wagnerian movement in his own serene and fecund solitude.
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