It was impossible to set up a
rival society against him; and an exclusive monopoly in music was,
therefore, held by him. According to M. Saint-Saens he was a mediocre
musician, and had, in spite of his passion for music, "immense
incapacity." In _Harmonie et Melodie_ M. Saint-Saens says: "The few
chamber-music societies that existed were also closed to all new-comers;
their programmes only contained the names of undisputed celebrities, the
writers of classic symphonies. In those times one had really to be
devoid of all common sense to write music."
A new generation was growing up, however,--a generation that was serious
and thoughtful, that was more attracted by pure music than by the
theatre, that was filled with a burning desire to found a national art.
To this generation M. Saint-Saens and M. Vincent d'Indy belong. The war
of 1870 strengthened these ideas about music, and, while the war was
still raging, there sprang from them the _Societe Nationale de Musique_.
One must speak of this society with respect, for it was the cradle and
sanctuary of French art.[215] All that was great in French music from
1870 to 1900 found a home there.
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