CHAPTER XIII
THE ORGAN STYLE
100. The Rising Importance of Instruments.—Although in all
stages of musical progress instruments are interesting, in the
formal evolution of the art they were long remitted to a strictly
subordinate place, vocal music supplying the ideal norms of procedure.
All the fundamental rules of composition were first laid
down on vocal lines, all the earlier art-forms were vocal, and all
the early masters became dominant because successful with vocal
works. Experiments with instruments were made at first
either to imitate vocal effects or for their mere support or incidental
decoration. The entire theory and practice of artistic
music up to the second half of the 16th century was vocal in
basis and essence. As the 17th century approached, however,
and much more as it proceeded, a new tendency asserted
itself. Without giving up emphasis upon the voice as the primary
musical implement, it was perceived how advantageously
mechanical implements might also be used by themselves and
in ways essentially unvocal. In consequence, instrumental music
now shook itself clear and set out upon a vigorous development
that had marvelous later consequences.
The new tendency had many causes. Perhaps chief of these was the
mighty swing of interest from sacred to intensely secular music, with the exaltation
of objective forms over subjective, and of whatever could excite
and pique attention by its impact upon the listener rather than merely give
outlet for the feeling of the composer or performer. But combined with
this was the stimulus derived from the technical improvement of certain
particular instruments. The taste of the time called for more impressive
effects and more elaborate implements, and these implements and their
effects in turn reacted powerfully upon taste.
The two classes of instruments that took the lead were those
with a keyboard, especially the organ, and those sounded by a
bow, that is, the entire viol family. The former were prominent
because capable of concerted, polyphonic and massive effects,
the latter because capable of the finest solo effects and because,
