Consequently, with wondrous energy, skill, and in the face of the usual relentless opposition, he gradually worked his way to the construction of what was, until his time, an absolutely unknown form of dramatic accompaniment. In so far as it was continuous, and expressive of the stage situation, it resembled the music of the Italian composers who preceded Scarlatti. But the great and original innovation of Wagner was his use of melody (a feature non-existent in the works of the Monodic writers); not melody of the stereotyped nature which we designate as tune, nor even the rhythmic, square-cut, and often beautifully appropriate melody of a Mozart or a Beethoven. Wagner’s melodies were so constructed that they had, generally speaking, definite signification: every subject (or _leit-motif_, as it was called) was intended to suggest to the mind of the hearer some definite idea connected with something occurring upon, or suggested by the stage. Not that the entrance of a certain character was always accompanied by certain music; rather, a deeper psychological problem was offered, the words sung calling up definite ideas, or such suggestions being left to the music alone on occasion. And for this type of theme Wagner chose either certain definite passages or fragments of melody, such as the opening phrase of “Parsifal”— [Music: Melodic Leit-motif. (Wagner’s “Parsifal.”)] or certain chord progressions, such as the following:— [Music: Harmonic Leit-Motif. (Grail Theme, “Lohengrin.”)] or sometimes characteristic methods of orchestration. Moreover, since the stage action or words would very often describe or suggest many ideas at the same time, these themes would be often superimposed; with the result that the music of Wagner’s operas—at any rate the later ones—is not so much a stream of melody as a flow of many combined melodies, working together in contrapuntal richness and fertility into a harmonious whole, which can be listened to either casually (in which case it may or may not please the auditor) or after considerable study, when it will undoubtedly awake interest and admiration. Now, between this kind of opera and that of the Rossini school it is very evident that a very vast amount of difference exists. Whereas in the latter the hearer had his ear delighted and tickled, without any trouble to himself, to his immediate satisfaction, the Wagner operas demand careful attention, study, and oft-rehearing for intelligent appreciation.