the most
sublime chamber work of recent times; a String Quartet, notable for
its interrelationship of themes and movements; two elaborate
compositions for pianoforte solo, the _Prelude, Chorale and Fugue_
(the fugue showing a masterly combination of strict fugal style and
free form) and the _Prelude, Aria and Finale_; a wealth of organ
works--the three _Chorales_ being of special beauty--and several
Symphonic Poems of lesser importance. His purely vocal works,
oratorios and church music lie outside the province of this book.

[Footnote 273: On account of the length of these works it is
impossible to include any of them in the Supplement.]

The Symphony[274] in D minor is in three movements; the first in
complete and elaborate sonata-form, the second a fusion of the two
customary middle movements, and the Finale (though fundamentally on a
sonata-form basis) an organic summing-up of the chief themes of the
entire work. The first movement begins, Lento, with the main theme
proper (thesis) the motive[275] of which is the foundation of the
whole work, _e.g._

[Music]

[Footnote 274: Study, if possible, the orchestral score. For
class-room work there is an excellent four-hand arrangement by the
composer, and one for two hands by Ernest Alder.]

[Footnote 275: This terse phrase is identical with motives from
several other works, _e.g._, the beginning of Liszt's _Les Preludes_,
the motive "Muss es sein?" in Beethoven's quartet, opus 135, and the
Fate motive in Wagner's _Valkyrie_.]

The phraseology of the theme is noticeable for its flexibility; since
the first phrase is expanded to five measures and the second phrase
(antithesis), with a descending motive, to seven, _e.g._

[Music]

The harmony of this second phrase illustrates a striking feature in
Franck's style, namely the fact that his resolutions seldom come out
as expected but, instead, drift imperceptibly into other channels. In
measure 13 there begins a long series of modulatory developments of
the main theme--of a preludial nature--but _not_ a mere prelude in the
ordinary sense. That this entire opening portion is the _main body_
of the work is seen by a comparison with what takes place at the
beginning of the recapitulation. In measure 29, allegro non troppo, we
begin with a presentation of the motive in the usual first-movement
mood. The answering phrase, antithesis, is now quite different; and,
in measure 48, is developed--with some new contrapuntal voi