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Musical Courier 1893-06-07: Vol 26 Iss 692, 1893
77 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. Printed page 11. See the scan on archive.org.
1is perhaps the keynote of his success in song writing. His studio in the church is an ideal one, homelike, artistic and comfortable in one.
3The Church of the Communion was founded by the estimable Dr. Muhlenberg, of whom mention was made in connection with Dr. Schnecker and the founding of St. Luke's hospital last week. By its tremendous charitable enterprises the church is brought in touch with the whole world.
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7Dr. Pecher, of the Cathedral, lost the opportunity of his life of playing for a princess by being absent Sunday when the Infanta took it into her head to worship in that edifice. He was at New Rochelle assisting in the dedication of the new church, of which his late chancel organist, Rev. Mr. Kelner, is to have charge. Taking his soloists with him, the mass by Benz was purely choral, and was very well managed by Mr. Fischer, a very young man with blonde pompadour hair, who seemed perfectly at home.
9The greatest organ loft danger lay in the possible tumbling over the railing of the score of young lady vocalists who forgot music and safety in their anxiety to catch a glimpse of the fine uniformed officers who were the royal lady's guard.
11There were scores of handsomer and more remarkable women all about, and at least a dozen in the choir, but all might have taken lessons in gentle tranquility of demeanor from the foreigner. Tall and slender, she wore a plain straight skirt and round waist of gray silk with white lace collar, such as encircled the pretty throats of four sopranos and three contraltos of the choir, and for bonnet the veriest mite of yellow straw with a bright red flower on the right side. Unlike our conception of the Spanish lady, she is pure blonde with slender dish shaped face, sallow blonde complexion and very bright golden hair. She carried herself easily erect as she passed down the imposing aisle of the Cathedral escorted by her guards and three robust, richly robed priests who left the altar for this courtesy.
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15The Boston Cathedral of the Holy Ghost has a huge organ loft and over 125 members in its choir, all excellent voices. Miss Ellen M. McLaughlin, soprano; Miss Celia Mooney, contralto; Mr. Samuel Tuckerman, tenor, and Mr. John J. McCloskey, basso, compose the quartet. Mr. Frank Donohue, one of the best Boston organists, is the organist, and Mr. Alfred de Seve is director. Rehearsals are held Friday evenings. The chancel choir is in charge of Miss de Lamott. Much of the excellence of the organ loft work of the cathedral is due to the efforts of Mr. de Seve, who is a first-class musician, tireless and enthusiastic. In two years over six masses from the best masters have been learned and given.
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19Two princesses in one day! On Sunday evening the Princess Dolgoroukoff played violin, and played it well, to the accompaniment of the Gilmore-Reeves Band, at Press Club Hall, Forty-third street. A fantasia of "Faust," an exquisite arrangement of the "Carnival of Venice," and an ethereal serenade held the audience spellbound and made one question why it is that this little lady has not been made more of by our standard musicians. Is it that she is not German, or that her selections are below the advanced standard? When will musicians learn to value a thing that is good of its kind without demanding that kind to be their specific brand? The princess is a musical Bernhardt. With panther-like grace and haughty mien, and with a fiery dash that is stirring; her form is perfection, her head small and shapely, and her face could be pretty. Her costume of pale pink, with pale green bows and bead hip drapery, was very sweet and becoming, and she wore many fine jewels and orders.
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23Speaking of costumes, one much admired by the audience was that worn by Mrs. d'Arona at Carnegie Music Hall Memorial evening. It was a Mary Stuart design, the robe in baby blue satin, the front in cream with characteristic flaring collar and puffed sleeves, exceedingly becoming to the wearer. She sang charmingly "The Flower Song," and was enthusiastically received and encored.
25Miss Katherine Fleming also scored a success.
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29On Wednesday evening Mr. Walter Crabtree, choirmaster of the Staunton Street Episcopal Church, gave a musicale at his home. Besides one of the sweetest of mothers and a pretty blonde sister, some of the interesting people present were Mr. Homer Bartlett, who played his "Harlequin," "Witches' Frolic" and "Ballade," and chatted and smiled with equal grace; Layman Montgomery, basso ruse; Miss Lander, daughter of the orchestral leader, a tall beautiful brunette, who is contralto at St. George's, and accompanies well; Miss Munn and Miss Pulitz, of Troy, the former a really uncommon pianist, the latter a contralto, pupil of Mr. Meyer, who are wisely making themselves famous in their own homes before bearding the metropolitan lion in his den. Miss Munn is short, piquante and alert as a bird, Miss Pulitz tall and fascinating. Miss Katharine Crawford, the organist, contributed some elocutionary numbers, which are a forte with her, and Mr. Crabtree surprised all by his greatly improved voice in the singing of many charming songs. A bountiful supper was served.
31Instead of going to the parade Memorial Day Mr. Bartlett wrote two Christmas carols! He brought one of them with him, also a rarely fine song representing a child's conversation with the moon. Both were in manuscript dress. Miss Lander sang one at sight, Mr. Crabtree the other.
33FANNIE EDGAR THOMAS.
35A Chat with Lablache.
37ON Sunday last we had the pleasure of entertaining Lablache, the celebrated contralto, who is spending a few weeks in New York before her departure for her country seat at Maison Lafitte, in the suburbs of Paris. Mrs. Lablache comes from one of the oldest families in France, and her husband was the son of the celebrated Lablache, the greatest operatic basso, besides being consul general at St. Petersburg. Mrs. Lablache was hof or court singer to the courts of Russia and Austria, the Austrian Empress personally giving her a diploma after her performance of "Trovatore" at Vienna. Last summer she was made an Officier de L'Academie de France, in connection with Marchesi and Mr. Mathias, the celebrated composer and pianist.
39This celebrated artist's début was made under peculiar circumstances. While singing at the palace of Prince Louis, afterward Napoleon III, who was at that time president of the republic, she was warmly complimented by Mr. Levasseur, the original "Bertram" in "Robert Le Diable," for whom Meyerbeer wrote the opera. Mr. Giorgio Ronconi, the great basso buffo and at that time the director at the Grand Opera, Paris, called on her mother and asked her what she intended doing with her daughter. She replied that she had brought her to Paris for a thorough vocal training. Mr. Ronconi told her that it was unnecessary, as the young lady was an artist already and she should make her début in "La Gazza Ladra" as "Pippo," with Alboni, the contralto, then in her zenith, as "Ninetta" and himself (Ronconi) as "Podesta." So the young lady, only seventeen years, homely and angular (as young ladies are apt to be at that age), presented herself at the rehearsal. Alboni on seeing her said it is impossible that the young lady can sing the part, so very thin; where is the voice coming from? (Alboni herself weighing nearly 250 pounds); but after the rehearsal all the artists were surprised at the young artist's ability and the performance was a great success.
41The Baron Brounoff, Imperial Ambassador of the Court of Russia, immediately engaged her for the season of grand Italian opera at St. Petersburg, in connection with such celebrated artists as Grisi, Mario, Persiani, Ronconi, Tamburini, Gardoni, Viardot, at a salary of 45,000 frs. for the season of five months, and a benefit at which she realized over $5,000. Afterward she reappeared at the grand opera in Paris, then given at the Salle Ventadour, now occupied by the Crédit Foncier as a banking house; and Rossini, who lived at that time at No. 2 Chaussée d'Antin, now opposite the present Vaudeville Theatre, taught her the contralto rôle in his Stabat Mater, and she sang it together with Grisi, Mario and Tamburini. Meyerbeer also taught her the part of "Urban," the page in the "Huguenots," then just completed.
43She afterward sang at the new Grand Opera House in the Rue Auber with such artists as Mrs. Krauss and Marie Sasse (the original "Selika" in "L'Africaine"), and at the Opéra Comique, in the Rue Le Pelletier, with Mrs. Miolan Carvalho, the original "Marguerite" in "Faust." "Il Trovatore" was written by Verdi in 1853 at Rome for Mesdames Penco and Goggi, and afterward rearranged for the Grand Opera in Paris, where it was done with Mesdames Penco and Lablache. She also sang in Paris the "Tre Nozze," by Alary, with Sontag in the soprano rôle. She sang at Vienna with the celebrated Marchesi sisters and other great artists, and in that city sang the rôle of "Pierrotte" in "Linda of Chamouni," at the first performance of that opera, with Mrs. Persiani as "Linda." This gifted artist has sung with all the great artists, among them being Jenny Lind, Tedesco Catalani Boisi Tadolini, Bosio Sophie Cruvelli, Frezzolini, Pauline Viardot, Persiani Medori, and many others.
45For twenty years she has sung between the Covent Garden and Her Majesty's Opera House in London, having made her début at the Covent Garden in Rossini's "Semiramide" with Grisi and Tamburini. She was a member of the first company brought over in 1879 by Colonel Mapleson in connection with such artists as Mesdames Gerster and Marimon and Messrs. Campanini and Galassi, and afterward with the Abbey Company at the new Metropolitan Opera House with Mrs. Nilsson, Albani, Schalchi and others.
47In all probability Mrs. Lablache will return to New York in the fall and open a music school for the training of artists for the operatic stage, and with her great experience and ability she will find a great field in our city, where an artist who can both teach singing and accompany it with action and traditions is so much needed. During her stay here she has had many artists who have taken advantage in studying operatic rôles, among them being Miss Lizzie MacNichol Vetta, the contralto of the Hinrichs Opera Company, whose late husband, Franz Vetta, the basso, was a former pupil and a great admirer of Mrs. Lablache's abilities.
49WILL TAYLOR.
51FRANK DAMROSCH has bought Walter J. Hall's interest in Frederic E. Bristol's famous summer school at Martha's Vineyard for the present season, as Mr. Hall has come to the conclusion that in the end it doesn't pay for any man to work all the year round. If Mr. Damrosch enjoys the summer there it is quite possible that he will buy Mr. Hall out for good. Mr. Damrosch will take his family and occupy a cosy little cottage near the school. His work will be similar to that of the winter months in New York, with the specialty of sight reading classes. Mr. Bristol will pursue his usual plan of vocal culture, and will have no less than eleven members of the Bostonians under his care. He has purchased a new naphtha launch, which he has named the "Musurgia" in honor of Mr. Damrosch and his famous club of male voices. Mr. Hall will seek recreation in the mountains, but is as yet uncertain whether he will go the White Mountains or the Adirondacks.
53Miss Emma Mueller, the much admired contralto of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, has quite recovered from her prolonged indisposition of last winter, and her voice is in magnificent condition. She will spend her vacation at her old home in Minneapolis.
55The eminent pianist, John Francis Gilder, considers Dr. Dvorák's recently expressed ideas about negro music as an emphatic endorsement of his, Gilder's, plantation compositions, and is highly elated in consequence. Bayne's 60th Regiment Band played Gilder's "Zanzibar Caprice" last Friday at Battery Park, and it received more enthusiastic applause than any other member on the program.
57Have you heard "The Knickerbockers?" Well, it doesn't begin with "Robin Hood." Several of its numbers have a most familiar sound, notably "Katrina's" solo at the opening of the second act, which is powerfully suggestive of Gounod's "Sing, Smile, Slumber." But the Bostonians make the most of it, and have turned a musical nonentity into a popular success.
59Marie Litta was born in Bloomington, Ill., on June 1, 1856, and only lived to be twenty-seven. James Cutler Dunn Parker was born in Boston on June 2, 1828. Harry Rowe Shelley, of Brooklyn, will be thirty-five years old tomorrow. Next Wednesday will be Max Hinrichs' birthday.
61R. Huntington Woodman, the well-known and highly esteemed Brooklyn organist, teacher and composer, will be heard in organ recitals at the World's Fair during the first week in August.
63J. Craig Clark has been chosen solo basso of the West End Presbyterian Church, 105th street and Amsterdam avenue. Mr. Clark has been a choir singer in Gotham for many years, having sung at St. Chrysostom's, Calvary and other prominent churches.
65George W. Fergusson, the baritone, was summoned to Chicago last Thursday by telegram on account of the illness of Mrs. Fergusson. He does not expect to return to Gotham till September 1. His place in the choir of Grace Church was acceptably filled last Sunday by George H. Wiseman, formerly of St. Louis, who will doubtless continue to act as his substitute until the choir's summer vacation.
67Rumor hath it that Miss Jeanne Pottinger, "a plump and pleasing person," who came to Gotham from England, and sailed recently for a vacation in the mother country, will be married before returning to America. This lady won many encomiums here last season as a skillful and conscientious accompanist.
69Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Dean, with their new baby, will spend the summer at Avon-by-the-Sea, where Mr. Dean will deliver a course of musical lectures, as he did the previous summer. They will go to Jersey City to live in the fall, where Mr. Dean has already joined the staff of the "Evening Journal," as musical critic.
71Charles Bauer has succeeded James L. Dickerson as solo
73NEW YORK VOCAL INSTITUTE,
7497 Fifth Avenue, NEW YORK.
75Voice Culture and singing for Home, Church, Concert, Oratorio, Opera and Teaching. Beginners and the most advanced. Over 200 Class Lessons during season. All students have private lessons. Tuition rates according to teacher. Season of 1893-94 begins Sept. 18 and ends June 5. Total expenses for entire season, including room, board, piano, music, tuition, classes, &c., $470 to $640. New York gives best opportunity to hear opera, oratorio and other music and all the great artists. To live in New York is to become educated. Send for catalogue.
76FRANK H. TUBBS, Musical Director
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