Scan 10
Musical Courier 1895-02-27: Vol 30 Iss 781, 1895
40 lines. Read by computer on 20 September 2026. Printed page 11. See the scan on archive.org.
1not to lose one's head and send the world of stricture and restriction to thunder for the time being.
3The effect is heightened and restraint made hopeless under Mephistopheles' serenade, accompanied by the Sylphs—the incarnation of all worldliness. Then comes the real grip of the soul in the presence of love, with the music preceding the declaration; the preparation for disaster in the young girl's feelings reflected in the King of Thule; the agonized harmonies of separation; the hope of Faust's return and fear of his departure in the saddest of strains alternated with the rhythm of hoof beats, the heartbreaking songs and military music fading into the distance of despair.
5Then there are Faust's call to Nature, immense, impénétrable et fière, the only trève to an ennui sans fin, the response of whistling winds, storms, thunder and rolling of the waves of the sea and the crisis of a grief stricken soul. There are still further temptations in the guise of duty to save Marguerite, the signing of the paper with its hissing crackle of instrumentation, the final catastrophe, the inimitable chase to the abyss and the descent into hissing, scorching lakes of remorse, regret and despair, of which echoes come to all of us with every morning paper in the histories of our friends and acquaintances, and alas! perhaps, in the presentiments, salutations and catastrophes of our own experience.
7Meantime, "She has loved much" is the plea for pardon of Marguerite, and it is sufficient. Unlike Santuzza, she is admitted to the sacred altars.
9After a pandemonium in the key of B, sufficient to make the stoutest heart quail, comes a sudden crash in F natural that contains in it all the combined torments of ages; after which comes an imperceptible lulling in all shades of harmony (as of seething waters, of fire gradually cooling and calming) to a horrible "O terrors!" in B flat, and the opening of Heaven's gates in E flat.
11All the pain and trouble seem to tumble into a faint trembling of harp arpeggios, out of which the invitation to Marguerite rises through A flat to D flat in a steady rhythm of celestial voices weaving over the harps in broken time, growing every measure more distinct and clear, as if the very gates of Heaven were indeed opened to admit some one, closing gradually again to a lost pppp.
13You don't go out from the hearing with a sentimental memory of Faust and Marguerite to chat over.
15You get alone as quickly as ever you can. You get to your room. You get to your knees. You pray. You pray for your life. You implore for strength. You have seen the vision of the radiant, filmy mist hanging between right and wrong. You have seen it rent in twain before your very eyes, and all its beauty vanish. You are saved the experience yourself. You have seen the brink of the chasm over which in life's delirium your foot was already lifted. Your head is clear now. The scales have fallen from your eyes. You are saved—for this time. Thus Berlioz speaks.
17FANNIE EDGAR THOMAS.
19St. Petersburg.—At the Italian opera in St. Petersburg Favorita, Africaine, Traviata, Rigoletto and Tannhäuser have been heard and enjoyed by large audiences. Sembrich, Marconi, Battistini, Silvestri and Nannetti were the principal artists.
21Copenhagen.—At Copenhagen preparations are already being made for the celebration of the ninetieth birthday of the Nestor of European composers, Joh. Peter Emil Hartmann, who was born on May 14, 1805. Hartmann spent some little time in Thirties and had dedicated his first symphony, which was performed in 1838 at Cassel, to Louis Spohr. The other years of his life were passed in Copenhagen, which was the reason that his operas Der Rabe and Erikönig's Tochter, as also many concert overtures, &c., never became known outside of his Danish fatherland. His son Emil, already sixty years old, has been more circumspect in this matter, as he made it a practice to seek German art centres for the production of his compositions.
23on the 5th inst. The artist who most distinguished herself was Miss Ella Russell, our foremost soprano, in the rôles of Santuzza and Nedda.
25On the same evening the Primrose League gave a concert in the Queen's (small) Hall on the same evening. Two young artists who appeared deserve a special word of encouragement. Miss Lillian Littlehales, of Hamilton, Canada, has been studying the 'cello for over a year with Mr. Whitehouse, and gives promise of attaining a high position among the exponents of 'cello music. Her technic is already good, her bowing free, and she produces a full, round, singing tone. When experience has added depth of feeling to her other powers, a first-class artist will be the result. She has had several successful appearances in some of the minor London and provincial concerts. Miss Lillian Terry, of Chicago, has been since the early autumn studying with Mr. Sims Reeves and Mr. Alberto Randegger. She is the possessor of a soprano voice of wide range, considerable power and purity. Previously she studied both in New York and Chicago, and was much better prepared to profit by a European sojourn than many of the embryo vocalists who come abroad, sometimes without even a knowledge of the rudiments of their art. Miss Terry's coloratura work is done with facility and finish; she sings with considerable warmth, but some of her vowel sounds are at present too nasal. Her numbers included Bemberg's Nymphs and Fauns and My Serenade by Mr. Clarence Lucas.
27On Thursday evening the first half of the subscription concert was devoted to the works of Beethoven. Dr. Parry's will be drawn upon for the next concert, on March 7.
29The Welsh National Eisteddfod will be held at Llanelly on July 30 and 31, and August 1 and 2. Among the artists engaged are Miss Ella Russell and Mr. Frangcon-Davies.
31The Royal Amateur Orchestral Society gave one of their popular smoking concerts on the 7th inst. The most popular number was McCunn's Land of the Mountain and the Flood.
33Mr. Arnold Dolmetsch gave the third of his series of concerts of old music on Tuesday evening at the Queen's (small) Hall.
35Miss Amy Hare's piano recital at St. James' Hall on Wednesday afternoon attracted only a fair sized audience. The pianist, understand, is an Englishwoman, but has spent some time in America. She selected an interesting program, in the interpretation of which she was fairly successful.
37The Philharmonic Society has announced an interesting program for its eighty-third season. The concerts will be given at Queen's Hall on the evenings of March 7 and 20, April 3, May 1, 16 and 30, and June 13, under the conductorship of Sir Alexander C. Mackenzie. The works that will be performed for the first time by the society are Dr. C. Villiers Stanford's new symphony L'Allegro ed Il Penseroso, Dr. Hubert Parry's symphony in F, Dr. G. J. Bennett's new overture Leonatus and Imogene, G. W. Chadwick's Melpomene overture, overture Aus dem Schottischen Hochlande, by Frederic Lamond. From the North, by Dr. A. C. Mackenzie, Sir Arthur Sullivan's overture (Part II.) The Light of the World, Schubert's E minor overture, Concertstück for piano and orchestra by Mlle. Chaminade, Concerto for piano by Stavenhagen, and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Other works to be included are Beethoven's symphonies Nos. 5 and 6, Brahms' symphony No. 2, Mozart's symphony Jupiter, Cherubini's overture Der Wassertrager, Weber's Euryanthe Overture and Concertstück, Mendelssohn's piano concerto in G minor, Schumann's piano concerto, Max Bruch's violin concerto No. 1, Dvorák's violin concerto and Tschaikowsky's first piano concerto in B flat minor.
39The artists engaged up to the present are Mme. Adelina Patti, Miss Ella Russell, Mme. de Vere Sapio, Mme. Amy Sherwin, Mlle. Camille Landi and Mr. David Bispham, vocalists; Herr Emil Sauer, Herr Stavenhagen, Mr. Frederick Dawson, Mlle. Ilona Eibenschutz and Mlle. Chaminade, pianists; Miss Frida Scotta and Herr Franz
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.