e drama that is being played in the hearts of his characters. This
lofty shame of emotion is something as rare in opera as a Racine tragedy
is in poetry--they are works of the same order, and both of them perfect
flowers of the French spirit. Anyone who lives in foreign parts and is
curious to know what France is like and understand her genius should
study _Pelleas et Melisande_ as they would study Racine's _Berenice_.

Not that Debussy's art entirely represents French genius any more than
Racine's does; for there is quite another side to it which is not
represented there; and that side is heroic action, the intoxication of
reason and laughter, the passion for light, the France of Rabelais,
Moliere, Diderot, and in music, we will say--for want of better
names--the France of Berlioz and Bizet. To tell the truth, that is the
France I prefer. But Heaven preserve me from ignoring the other! It is
the balance between these two Frances that makes French genius. In our
contemporary music, _Pelleas et Melisande_ is at one end of the pole of
our art and _Carmen_ is at the other. The one is all on the surface, all
life, with no shadows, and no underneath. The other is below the
surface, bathed in twilight, and enveloped in silence. And this double
ideal is the alternation between the gentle sunlight and the faint mist
that veils the soft, luminous sky of the Isle of France.

[Illustration]

THE AWAKENING

A SKETCH OF THE MUSICAL MOVEMENT IN PARIS SINCE 1870

It is not possible in a few pages to give an account of forty years of
active and fruitful life without many omissions, and also without a
certain dryness entailed by lists of names. But I have purposely
abstained from trying to arouse interest by any artifices of writing and
treatment, as I wish to let deeds speak for themselves.

I want to show, by this simple account, the splendid efforts made by
musicians in France since 1870, and the growth of the faith and energy
that has recreated French music. Such an awakening seems to me a fine
thing to look upon, and very comforting. But few people in France
realise it, outside a handful of musicians. It is to the public at large
I dedicate these pages, so that they may know what a generation of
artists with large hearts and strong determination have done for the
honour of our race. The nation must not be allowed to forget what she
owes to some of her sons.

But you must not accuse me of contradicting myself if in