ABSOLUTE
sister,Theodosia, became very popular. She
published, in 1787, 'A Collection of Songs,"
and '
A
Collection of Scotch Songs harmonised
for three voices,' besides other pieces at later
dates. w. H. H.
ABSOLUTE and Abstract are terms
applied to music that derives none of its
interest from external things, and is thus in the
strongest contrast to Programme-music.
A reference to the article Peogkamme-Musio
will show at how very early a period musicians
made the discovery that music could serve an
illustrative function, and could be employed in
a subordinate capacity to the idea,
poetic, historical, or what
that might
not,
happen to suggest itself. In more recent times,
the vogue of programme-music has so greatly
increased that it has been maintained by some
writers that music which has no illustrative
idea, whether revealed to the public or not, has
no right to be considered as artistic music at
all. However much the fashion may grow in
this direction, it is probable that there will be
always, as there always have been in the past,
men whose interest in music itself is stoong
enough to make it worth their while to create
works in which the musical idea is sufficient
inspiration, in which the adventures, so to
speak, of the musical themes, in the process of
purely musical development, are of primary
importance.
In the great line of the classic composers
programme - music holds the very slightest
place ; an occasional jeu d'esprit, like Bach's
'Capriccio on the Departure of a Brother,' or
Haydn's Farewell ' symphony, may occur in
' popular forms, but without pretence to depth
their works, but we cannot imagine these men,
or the others of the great line, seriously under-
taking, as the business of their lives, the com-
position of works intended to illustrate a definite
'programme.' Beethoven is sometimes qiioted
as the great introducer of illustrative music, in
virtue of the ' Pastoral ' symphony, and of a
few other specimens of what, by a stretch of
terms, may be called programme-music. But
the value he set upon it as compared with
'
absolute music may be fairly gauged by see-
' with his name.
ing what relation his ' illustrative ' works bear
to the others. Of the nine symphonies, only
one has anything like a programme ; and the
master is careful to guard against misconceptions
even here, since he superscribes the whole
symphony, ' More the expression of feeling
than painting.' Of the pianoforte sonatas, op.
90 alone has a definite programme and in the ; has been published by Peters under the title of
'
Muss es sein ? of the string quartet, op. 135,
'
the natural inflections of the speaking voice, in
question and reply, have obviously given purely
musical suggestions which are carried out on
purely musical lines. It is only natural that
programme-music should for the time being be
more popular with the masses than absolute
music, since the majority of people like having
ABU HASSAN
something else to think of while they are lis-
tening to music. Tchaikovsky's 'Pathetic'
symphony is a good instance of a work that is
evidently written to a programme the exact
import of which is not revealed biit this, like
;
some of the tone-poems of Richard Strauss, or
Elgar's 'Cockaigne,' can be listened to as ab-
solute music with quite as much pleasure as if
the poetical idea were always obtruded upon the
hearer's attention. At the present moment,
the symphonies of Brahms seem to be the last
great monument of absolute music ; but there is
no reason to suppose that the art of writing
pictorial, music independently of external suggestions has
expired with him. m.
ABT, Franz, born at Eilenburg in Prussian
Saxony, Dec. 22, 1819. His father was
a clergyman, and Franz, though destined to
the same profession, received a sound musical
education, and was allowed to pursue both
objects at the Thomasschule and University
of Leipzig. On his father's death he relin-
quished the Church as a profession and adopted
music entirely. He was successively capell-
meister at Bernburg and Zurich (1841), where
he occupied himself more especially with men's
voices, both as composer and conductor of
several societies. In 1862 he entered the
staff of the Hof- theater at Brunswick, where
until his retirement in 1882 he filled the
post of leading capellmeister. He died at
Wiesbaden, March 31, 1885.
Abt is well known by his numerous songs
for one or more voices, which betray an easy
fluency of invention, couched in pleasing
or individuality. Many of his songs, as for
instance ' When the swallows," were at one
time universally sung, and have obtained a
more or less permanent place in the popular
repertory. His greatest successes in Germany
and Switzerland have been obtained in part-
. songs for men's voices, an overgrown branch
of composition unfortunately devoted to the
pursuit of the mere superficial enjoyment of
sweet sounds, and to a great extent identified
The list of Abt's compositions is enormous,
and contains more than 400 works, consisting
chiefly of Lieder of the most various kinds for
' '
one, two, or three solo voices, as well as for
chorus, both female and mixed, and, as already
mentioned, especially for men's voices. Of the
solo Lieder,' a collection of the less-known ones
'
'
Abt- Album. In the early part of his life Abt
'
composed much for the pianoforte, chiefly pieces
of light salon character. These have never had
the same popularity as his vocal works, and
are now virtually forgotten. a. m.
ABU HASSAN, a comic singspiel or operetta
in one act, the words by Hiemer, the music by
Weber, composed between August 11, 1810,