trauss improvises on this opening theme as much as to say--you have
listened to my musical story, now let us indulge in some reflections
as to the fate of poor Till, for after all he was a good fellow. (See
Supplement, Example No. 6.)

It is evident, therefore, from the foregoing examples that the basic
principles of musical structure are coherence, refreshing variety and
such unity of general impression as may be gained chiefly by a
restatement, after contrast, of themes previously heard. Our
subsequent study will simply illustrate these natural laws of music in
their wider application.

CHAPTER II

THE FOLK-SONG

In the preceding chapter we made some general inquiries into the
nature of music and of those methods by which emotion and thought are
expressed. We shall assume therefore that the following facts are
established: that in music, by reason of the intangibility and
elusiveness of the material, sound and rhythm, the principle of Unity
in Variety is of paramount importance; and that the hearer, if he
would grasp the message expressed by these sounds and rhythms, must
make a _conscious_ effort of cooperation and not be content with mere
dreamy apathy. Furthermore, that Unity and Coherence are gained in
music by applying the principle of systematic Repetition or Imitation.
(We shall see, as we continue, how Variety has been secured by
contrasting themes, by episodical passages and by various devices of
rhythmic and harmonic development.)

We may now investigate the growth of musical structure and expression,
as manifested in the fields of the Folk-Song and of Polyphonic music,
beginning with the Folk-Song--historically the older and more
elemental in its appeal. We cannot imagine the time when human beings
did not use their voices in some form of emotional outpouring; and, as
far back as there are any historical records, we find traces of such
activity. For many centuries these rude cries of savage races were far
removed from anything like artistic design, but the advance towards
coherence and symmetry was always the result of free experimentation--hence
vitally connected with the emotions and mental processes of all human
effort. One of the most significant of the many sayings attributed to
Daniel Webster is that "Sovereignty rests with the people"; and it is
an interesting inquiry to see what wider application may be made of
this statement in the field of art. For it is a fact that there has
seldom