And
most curious of all is the fact that the quarrel is not between the
conservatives and the progressives in music, but between the two most
advanced sections: the _Schola_ on the one hand, who, should it gain the
victory, would through its dogmas and traditions inevitably develop the
airs of a little academy; and, on the other hand, the independent party,
whose most important representative is M. Debussy. It is not for us to
enter into the quarrel; we would only suggest to the parties in question
that if any profit is to result from their misunderstanding, it will be
derived by a third party--the party in favour of routine, the party that
has never lost favour with the great theatre-going public,--a party
that will soon make good the place it has lost if those who aim at
defending art set about fighting one another. Victory has been
proclaimed too soon; for whatever the optimistic representatives of the
young school may say, victory has not yet been gained; and it will not
be gained for some time yet--not until public taste is changed, not
while the nation lacks musical education, nor until the cultured few are
united to the people, through whom their thoughts shall be preserved.
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