Indeed the only 'home' music of any vitality was the
'arietta' or 'romanza' for voice and piano, which varied in character from
the miniatur e operati c scen a t o th e popula r o r pseudo-folkson g wit h
dialect words . Suc h piece s wer e highl y fashionabl e i n Verdi' s youth .
Usually they were published in groups of six with picturesque titles such
as 'Nuits ; Pausilippe' or 'Soir;es de Vienne' (Schubert's publishers were
not alone in counting on the snob value of a French title). But one would
search them i n vain for the qualitie s of a Schubert Lied , if only because
there wa s no classica l traditio n o f pianism t o nouris h th e accompani -
ments, whic h merel y reproduc e th e mos t elementar y o f orchestra l
thrummings. No r wa s there a n Italia n Goeth e o r Hein e t o initiat e a
school o f lyrical poetry which coul d suggest to the musician a multitude
of shades of feeling.
