s of Art have
refused to accord music a place, so little was thought of it; and other
arts were indignant at being mentioned in the same breath with it. This
is illustrated in the eternal dispute among M. Jourdain's masters, when
the fencing-master says:

"And from this we know what great consideration is due to us in a
State; and how the science of Fencing is far above all useless
sciences, such as dancing and music."

The first lectures on Aesthetics and Musical History were not given in
France until after the war of 1870.[238] They were then given at the
Conservatoire, and, until quite lately, were the only lectures on Music
of any importance in Paris. Since 1878 they have been given in a very
excellent way by M. Bourgault-Ducoudray; but, as is only natural in a
school of music, their character is artistic rather than scientific, and
takes the form of a sort of illustration of the practical work that is
done at the Conservatoire. And as for Parisian musical criticism as a
whole, it had, thirty years ago, an almost exclusively literary
character, and was without technical precision or historical knowledge.

[Footnote 238: On 12 September, 1871, at the suggestion of Ambroise
Thomas. The first lecturer was Barbereau, who, however, only lectured
for a year. He was succeeded by Gautier, Professor of Harmony and
Accompaniment, who in turn was replaced, in 1878, by M.
Bourgault-Ducoudray.]

There again, on the territory of science, as on that of art, a new
generation of musicians had sprung up since the war, a group of men
versed in the history and aesthetics of music such as France had never
known before. About 1890 the result of their labours began to appear.
Henry Expert published his fine work, _Maitres Musiciens de la
Renaissance_, in which he revived a whole century of French music.
Alexander Guilmant and Andre Pirro brought to daylight the works of our
seventeenth and eighteenth century organists. Pierre Aubry studied
mediaeval music. The admirable publications of the Benedictines of
Solesmes awoke at the _Schola_ and in the world outside it a taste for
the study of religious music. Michel Brenet attacked all epochs of
musical history, and produced, by his solid learning, some fine work.
Julien Tiersot began the history of French folk-song, and rescued the
music of the Revolution from oblivion. The publisher Durand set to work
on his great editions of Rameau and Couperin. Towards 1893 the study of