Scan 34
Musical Courier 1892-12-21: Vol 25 Iss 668, 1892
45 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. Printed page 27. See the scan on archive.org.
1Organ Loft Whisperings.
3To those choirmasters who met me more than half way in the difficult task of collecting Christmas programs I return heartfelt thanks. For the many kind and appreciative words, compliments and gentle courtesies received on all sides I cannot sufficiently express gratitude. Wishing you all success, health and love for the coming year,
5I am, your friend, FANNIE EDGAR THOMAS.
7WERE I to bestow blue ribbons for distinctness, logic of placement and correct attention to all requirements in the matter of program work, I should have to give them to Choirmasters Pecher, of the Cathedral; Kofler, of St. Paul's Chapel; Young, of St. Francis Xavier; Tilton, of St. Ann's; Dressler, of New York; Gilbert, of Trinity Chapel; Smith, of South Church; Shaw, of Church of Disciples; Ford, of Eighteenth Street M. E.; Carl, of First Presbyterian; Parker, of Church of Redeemer; Hanchett, of Marble Collegiate; Brown, Brewer and O'Donnell, of Brooklyn.
9I must speak of the almost pathetic modesty displayed by the worthy choirmasters, whose sole work the program is, in the frequent omission of even the name, tucking it in some obscure corner, and in but three cases placing it boldly where it belonged, at the head of the list.
11ZION AND ST. TIMOTHY.
13Some men are born for a certain career, some drag themselves into it, and some are unceremoniously thrown into it by Fate without so much as a word of excuse on the part of that capricious dame for her untoward action. Of the latter class is Choirmaster Charles W. Douglas, who, preparing for the priesthood in Syracuse, passing through New York to visit a friend, was by mere accident "called" to the very important position of musical director of the Church of Zion and St. Timothy, 332 West Fifty-seventh street. The taking of orders, however, has not been relinquished. Meantime, let us pray that music may be benefited by his parenthetical connection with her.
15Old Zion, under Dr. Tiffany, one of the most important promoters of sacred musical interest in New York, is now "South Church" Reformed, Dr. Terry, pastor; Dr. Gerrit Smith, musical director. St. Timothy was a small building facing on Fifty-sixth street, when fire cleared the way for the charming edifice fronting on Fifty-seventh street, that is now one of the most complete of its class, its brick tower spires, with stone binding, suggesting dainty robes of terra cotta, trimmed in bands of gray fur. These unique spires form part of the cluster with those of Mr. William Lloyd's Central Congregational, Mr. Wilton Merle Smith's Central Presbyterian ("Mrs. Cleveland's church"), Mr. McArthur's Calvary Baptist, Dr. Tyler's Church of the Disciples, and the Paulist Fathers' castle-like structure on Sixtieth street. The wide and never locked doors are waited on by a bishop-looking sexton, and the frou-frou of saintly petticoats and musical vestments incessantly disturbs the sleeping echoes of the place. One entering the stately vestibule at twilight is awe-startled by a bar of soft light crossing the heavy shadow, and if bold enough to step upon it and look upward, discovers a tower bathed in a light so high and so bright that the idea comes of an opening in the heavens and the outpouring of heavenly light into the house of prayer. It is, however, nothing but a very excellent gas lamp swung in the tower in order to light the pretty spiral staircase and a series of parish rooms that bound the first two flights, one of which is the studio of the curate, Mr. Karl Schwarz, himself by the way a very fine tenor, who makes the singing of the service a feature of his work.
17The rector, Rev. H. Lubeck, M. A., LL. D., former rector of St. Timothy, keeps the choir and its music under his personal supervision. Extremely fond of music, he is an attendant upon the best musical performances in the city. The church is blessed with a singularly fine vestry, of which Mr. F. W. De Voe, Mr. Wm. S. Hawk, one of the Music Hall directors, and Mr. John J. Smith, a man of wealth and treasurer of the parish, are members. Dr. Geo. J. Geer, former rector of the church, was a voluminous writer, and many of his manuscripts are now being sung by the choir. "The day is past and gone," and "Hark, what mean those holy voices?" are well-known hymns of his writing. His daughter, an active church worker, is also a fine musician and member of the Oratorio Society.
19The organ, a three bank Roosevelt, has smooth and perfect voicing, but seems to lack a certain dignity of expression that is indescribable. Its painful newness, too, is indicated by the disorder of three of the notes, which frequently "strike back" when not "struck." Daily service held in the chapel and consequent unequal heating may be responsible for this. Owing to the absence of electricity on the street, hand motor is at present one of the burdens of the young organist's life. These are matters of small import, however, in comparison with the unusual musical advantages of the church. The acoustics are unexcelled anywhere, the organ placing excellent and tessellated floors the order of the day. Indeed the chancel is declared by Mr. Richard Henry Warren to be the very best in the city. The church being open only since Easter day, the choir rooms are scarcely yet finished, but the intentions are excellent.
21Absolute sincerity is a strong feature of the architecture here. A slice cut from the pillars would show alike clear through. The organ pipes, English fashion, are natural woods, silver gray, and there is not an atom of paint in the church structure. The altar of white marble is the one white spot in the room; creamy Caen stone and alabaster are extensively used, and the images of saints and apostles valuable. Mr. Halsey Wood, the architect, was for many years organist of the House of Prayer, in Newark, and is an enthusiast on the subject of church building.
23The difficulty of getting good material for choristers is the chief organ loft trouble in the mind of Mr. Douglas. He dwells more upon the value of steady, even character than vocal gift in selection. He gives premiums for the discovery of good boys by his choir, and supplements this by earnest and persistent personal endeavor. He much wishes there might be some place from which to draw trained choristers.
25The hymn and chant work of this organ loft are specially fine and the intonation quite good. The growth is slow but sure. Much has been done in six months.
27The director devotes eight hours a day for seven days to his choir work alone. He has fourteen classes of boys, a class of little girls, a man's class, a congregational class, and general rehearsals for service study. The men members of the choir are amateurs from the congregation. He has rehearsals as much as possible for the children in daytime, objecting seriously to nightwork for them. He is working toward a daily choral service, and has a high standard of work upon which he proposes to enter in the autumn.
29The choir has thirty trebles, five of whom are probationers, five altos, five tenors and eight bassos. The bass soloist, Mr. Morris B. Squire, a brother of Mr. Squire of St. Thomas' has a full, round, deep voice, entirely free from string quality, and running to F sharp, who sings much in the city and always pleases. Messrs. W. L. Boyle, S. C. Ferris and E. Yenni are the tenors. Of the boys, James Sayles, for three years chorister of the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Washington Douglas and William Hohmeyer have unusual talent and voice. The altos of this church are peculiarly musical, and rapid readers. As to girls in choirs, Mr. Douglas thinks that much fine effect may be had from them in small pieces, fine parts and antiphonal passages. They are not strong enough for choir service in general, and he does not find them as musical as boys. The quality of voice, too, is stringy. He hopes to have fifty in his choir by Lent. They range from eight to fifteen years, and are vested.
31Sacred vestment is one of the pet hobbies of Mr. Douglas. He is perfectly conversant with all the details of sacred wardrobe, and the earnestness with which he dilates upon the subject must to a non-churchman seem unique. Born in Oswego, N. Y., and always loving music, his sole attention was given to books till his eighteenth year, when he commenced the study of music, and graduated later in music and classics. Having a financial as well as a professional way to make alone in the world, he deserves the credit belonging to one who has to merge two lives in one (God pity them all!). He studied piano and organ under Mr. Parker, of Syracuse, composition, harmony and counterpoint with Dr. P. Coetschius, of Newark, who taught these subjects fifteen years in Stuttgart and is the author of valuable works upon it. He made a special study of church service under Rev. Henry M. Fuller, of St. Paul's Cathedral, Syracuse, who has done remarkable work with the choir there. Mr. Van Allyn, of St. John's School, in this city, is an old college chum of Mr. Douglas, and together they intend at no distant date going to Oxford, the latter to take degrees in letters, music and priesthood.
33Mr. Douglas is working hard at composition. He is at present engaged upon a new mass in F major, a set of organ preludes, a suite for strings in D major, and the orchestration of an ambitious effort. He keeps up his piano technic and devotes much time to advanced organ study. FANNIE EDGAR THOMAS.
35CHARLES REHM.
36(See biographical sketch MUSICAL COURIER December 14.)
38Odious Comparisons.
40A NUMBER of daily papers have devoted space to comparisons between the violinist Wolff and 'cellist Hollman, who are in this country at present, and other violinists and 'cellists. The "Herald" comparison must have caused a smile upon the features of Wolff, as it totally ignored the giants of the violin, such as Sauret, Ondricek, Marsick, Ysai and the greatest virtuoso of the day, Cesar Thompson. Hollman's respect for daily newspaper criticism must have been shocked by the crass ignorance of writers who do not appear to know that Piatti, David Popper and Julius Klengel are alive. Mr. Hollman does not belong to this class and does not claim such a place. He is a virtuoso of the drawing room, and plays small and dainty works superbly, such as a Goltermann concerto and his own small work. These are conservatory pieces and are not played by such artists as Popper or Haussman, or Klengel, who play the Davidoff, the Molique or the Rubinstein concertos.
42The "Evening Post" does not appear to know that there are two concertos by Rubinstein for the 'cello, and some of the other dailies speak of Hollman's 'cello as a Stradivarius, an error readily discernible by one who from the model can at once tell that it is no Strad. Hollman himself is not sure whether it is a Guarnerius; he is too honest to claim for it what it may not be.
44As a tone producer he is pre-eminent and can do wonders on any good 'cello. But to classify Wolff and Hollman, two artists who belong to a distinct genre of salon players, to men like Sarasate, Wilhelmj, the great Joachim or those mentioned above is strange and does much to make daily musical criticism absurd in the opinions of musicians.
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