f Berlioz and Liszt. Yet there is, in
general, something more than an abstract presentation of musical
material, however beautiful. The varied moods aroused by the Ballades
and Nocturnes, the actual pictures we see in the Polonaises, must have
had their counterpart in definite subjective experiences in the life
of the composer, and so from a broad psychological standpoint--even in
the absence of explanatory titles--we may call Chopin a thoroughly
romantic tone-poet; indeed, as Balzac says, "a soul which rendered
itself audible."

[Footnote 212: He was born of a Polish mother and a French father, and
these mixed strains of blood account fundamentally for the leading
characteristics of his music. From the former strain came the
impassioned, romantic and at times chivalrous moods, prominent in all
Polish life and art; and from the latter the grace, charm and finish
which we rightly associate with the French nature. For side-lights on
Chopin's intimacy with George Sand see the well-known essays by Henry
James and Rene Doumic.]

As Chopin composed so idiomatically for his chosen instrument, the
pianoforte, to which he devoted himself exclusively,[213] no
understanding or adequate appreciation of the subtleties of his style
is possible without some knowledge of the nature and attributes of
this instrument which, in our time, has become the universal medium
for the rendering of music. All of Chopin's works were not only
published for the pianoforte but were conceived in _terms_ of the
pianoforte; his style in this respect being quite unique in the
history of musical art. For there are noble and poetically inspired
thoughts of many composers which may be satisfactorily presented
through a number of media: pianoforte, organ, string-quartet or
voices. This fact has been the cause of many so-called transcriptions
of orchestral or string-quartet music for the organ. A composer,
furthermore, often publishes a work for a certain instrument when the
inner evidence shows that, during the period of creation, he actually
had some other medium in mind. Beethoven's Sonatas abound[214] in
effects which, for their complete realization, require an orchestra;
so that, notwithstanding the beauty of the thought, his style is often
anything but pianistic. In certain of Cesar Franck's pianoforte works
we are conscious of his predilection for the organ, as the spirit of
the music demands a sustained volume of sound which the organ, with
its powe