"Next to rhythm, modulation is the most stimulating and enchanting element in music. No composition of any scope can be considered truly great unlesss it abounds in beautiful modulations. Certain composers, to be sure, have in this respect more genius than others—notably Schubert, Chopin, Wagner and Franck whose music seems to waft us along on a magic carpet of delight. But just as Unity depends upon a definite basic tonality, so Variety is gained by this very freedom of modulation. … By the perfect balance in his works of these two related elements a genius may be definitely recognized."
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Walter Raymond Spalding
Walter Raymond Spalding (1865–1962) graduated from Harvard College with an AB in 1887; graduated from Harvard University with an AM in 1888. He taught music at Harvard from 1895–1932 and was Chair of the Music Department from 1906–1932. He is the author of the books Music: An Art and a Language (1920) and Music at Harvard: Historical Review of Men and Events (1935).
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