Music for the Children of Marshall McLuhan

Abstract

* The name Luigi Cherubini doesn't loom very large on today's musical horizon. Every once in a while the overture of his Medee appears on a symphonic program; and in Europe his opera Les Deux Journees is performed occasionally. This opera has been translated into German as Der Wassertrdger-the Water Carrier. With the Age of Aquarius upon us, with its symbol the water carrier, it may be that some enterprising impresario will produce it for its astrological, if not musical, interest. Even in his own day, in spite of the fact that Beethoven said some kind words about his music, Cherubini was considered dull and pedantic. Yet this man has exercised a most profound influence upon every musician and upon every serious music student. For in 1795 when the Paris Conservatoire was founded, Cherubini was one of the so-called inspectors and a dominant member of the special commission appointed to compile a treatise on harmony for the school. He went on to write solfeggi, which are probably still taught there, and a Treatise on Counterpoint and Fugue. In 1822 Cherubini was made Director of the Conservatoire and for the next twenty years, in spite of a well publicized quarrel with his student Berlioz, he ruled French music education with an iron hand. If I use Cherubini as a symbol of