Scan 29
Musical Courier 1895-03-20: Vol 30 Iss 784, 1895
109 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 30. See the scan on archive.org.
A town on its own line is one of the directory's headings. That is where the town on a maker's page comes from.
1LITTLE ROCK.
2LITTLE ROCK, Ark., March 9, 1895.
3LITTLE ROCK has enjoyed some very good musical attractions during the week just ended. On Friday evening, March 1, Mme. Cecilia Eppenhausen-Bailey gave a song recital in the Main Street M. E. Church, under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A. She was ably assisted by Miss Effie Pollock, pianist, and Mr. R. Jefferson Hall, tenor, of this city. The program was well selected and executed in a pleasing way. Mme. Bailey has a soprano voice of wonderful sweetness and good range, but quite light. She sang in a most charming manner, and was recalled after each number.
5Miss Effie Pollock, Little Rock's brilliant young pianist, never played to a more appreciative audience. She played in a smooth, finished manner, and received tremendous applause. Mr. R. Jefferson Hall gave several numbers in his best style. The best vocal number on the program was the Miserere duet, from Trovatore, by Mme. Bailey and Mr. Hall.
7The largest audience of the season was that of Monday evening at the Capital Theatre to see Wang presented for the first time in this city.
9Thursday evening a large and critical audience assembled at the Capital Theatre to hear Miss Ellen Beach Yaw. No one seemed disappointed. She successfully fulfilled the expectations of her audience. Her voice is like a silver bell. Her low notes are beautiful, her middle notes perfectly splendid, and her high notes are wonderful; she trills like a bird, and takes her highest notes with the most perfect ease. In the echo song she touched E above high E, and her audience went wild. She was recalled a number of times, and most gracefully responded by singing some sweet, old-fashioned Southern melody so dear to the hearts of her hearers. Miss Lay as an accompanist was decidedly good. Mr. Dick, violinist, was a favorite; his recalls were often and prolonged. His playing was very finished, full of soul and feeling, and the future of this gifted man is full of promise. Miss Yaw and her assistants will always receive a warm welcome in the City of Roses.
11On March 26 Miss Nellie G. Shorthill, one of the best soprano singers of the city, will be married to Mr. D. E. Bradshaw, a prominent young attorney. The ceremony will take place at the First M. E. Church South, in which church Miss Shorthill has been the leading soprano for the past two years; in fact, she has had entire charge of the choir.
13Next week gives promise of being one of musical events. Concerts by the best local talent will be presented, and Little Rock has some very good talent.
15The Easter music in the various churches will be unusually good this year.
17WILMINGTON.
18WILMINGTON, Del., March 15, 1895.
19A S foreshadowed in last week's letter, we have had a busy musical week. As the concert of the Wilmington Chorus under the direction of T. Leslie Carpenter, Mus. Bac., was looked forward to with unusual interest, it should have first place. The mantle of the late Professor Rhodes, who did so much for music in this city, seems to have fallen on worthy shoulders. I heartily indorse the remark of an old musician at the conclusion of the concert, that "Mr. Carpenter deserves great credit."
21The Wilmington Chorus is well balanced. The attack was sharp and clear cut, as especially noticeable in the Hallelujah of the cantata. The tempo was admirably taken and the shading nicely gradated, showing the ability of the director to hold his people well in hand. The cantata as a whole was so well given that it seems almost invidious to make especial mention of the fine work of the sopranos and altos in He in Tears That Soweth. Here is the program:
22Cantata, Song of Victory………………………………….F. Hiller Wilmington Chorus.
23(Soprano solo by Mrs. Howard L. Pyle.)
24Contralto solo, The Better Land…………………….F. H. Cowen Miss Mary K. Thielman.
25Chorus, How Sweet the Moonlight…………………J. G. Calcott Wilmington Chorus.
26Piano solo, Capriccio, op. 33………………………..Mendelssohn Mrs. Olga D. Baumann.
27Chorus—
28When Evening's Twilight……………………………J. L. Hatton
29My Love Is Fair (madrigal)………………………..Henry Leslie Wilmington Chorus.
30Solo, For All Eternity……………………………A. Mascheroni Mr. J. Newman Davis.
31Duet, O That We Two Were Maying………………..M. Smith Mrs. Emma Lake and Mr. J. Newman Davis.
32Baritone solo, Creole Lover's Song…………………Dudley Buck Mr. Horace B. Harrison.
33Trio, O Spring………………………………………Marie Wurm Mrs. Howard L. Pyle, Miss Annie Miggett, Miss Mary K. Thielmann.
34Chorus, Hymn to Music……………………………..Dudley Buck Wilmington Chorus.
36When it is remembered that Mr. Carpenter has had this organization in hand but four months, and that there was a number of interruptions to the rehearsals, the smoothness and precision of its work is noteworthy. And right here it might be well to remark that it deserved much better support from the public than it received, even after due allowance be made for the bad weather of Thursday evening. There seems to be a disposition among our people to wait until a musical organization has made a name for itself before according it proper support.
38It does not seem to occur to those persons who bewail the fact that Wilmington is far from up to date musically that it is their duty to support such a body as the Wilmington Chorus, whose standing is guaranteed by that of the director, at its initial appearance.
40This is very often the critical period, furnishing, as it does, the gauge by which the members themselves judge of the appreciation of the public, and are encouraged to further efforts, or for want of the encouragement fall into that apathy which precedes disintegration. It is folly to affirm that a city of 70,000 people should not be able to furnish a musical constituency to support even two organizations for the exposition of high class music, when each would perhaps only demand it once or twice a season. When some local Gentleman Jim gives a reception at the Opera House the line extends from the auditorium doors to the street.
42It may be offered in answer to this that the exponents of the many art greatly outnumber the lovers of the musical. Admitting this to be true, I submit that if the former can pack the house several times a season the latter should be able to offer more than a corporal's guard once a season, and the management not be obliged to paper the house for the sake of respectability.
44The soloists of the concert—Mrs. Howard L. Pyle, Miss Thielman and Messrs. Davis and Harrison—shared the success of the concert. Miss Thielman's rich contralto, correct methods and conscientious work are a regular and acceptable feature of local concerts.
46The Columbian Glee Club gave the third of its series of complimentary concerts at the Auditorium Monday evening to a good house. The club was assisted by the Swedish Ladies' Quartet, one of the best that has appeared here for some time. Want of space forbids the program, but as there are future concerts this season I shall give this young candidate for musical favor more extended notice.
48JOHN L. HALL.
50NEW ORLEANS.
51NEW ORLEANS, March 13, 1895.
52THE music world, with the sudden exit of Manager Durieu and his opera company from the scene, sank into a deep sleep, and only awoke last week, when several minor interesting events took place. Of those the best is the concert of Mme. Samuels and the Kaiser Quartet at Odd Fellows' Hall.
54The program was composed of Mozart's quartet, Love's Dream and Tarantelle, by Liszt, interpreted by Mme. Samuels; Haydn's andante and variations, Kaiser Quartet, and Raff's sonata, op. 78. The concert was a treat, and the eminently musical audience present did not stint their applause to the performers. The Tarantelle was rendered with all those characteristics of interpretation and perfection of execution for which Mme. Samuels is famous in the South. The quartet also did very creditably, although not as well as the numbers assigned to them really deserved. There was a lack of ensemble work, and the various passages were not rendered as correctly as one would wish to hear them played. Mr. Kaiser acquitted himself with much credit, playing the Raff sonata delightfully.
56I had the pleasure recently to hear Mr. Percival Douglass Byrd, a young tenor who has made quite a name in Chicago. He has a sweet, even tenor voice and sings with correctness and expression. His forte is ballad and oratorio work, and he will no doubt be a valuable acquisition to our musical world.
58Miss Flotte, a pupil of Mme. Samuels, whom I heard play at a concert recently, impressed me as having the making of an excellent virtuoso. She plays with dash and bravura, and has a marvellously brilliant execution. She intends, so I am informed, to make a study of the piano, and no doubt will some day be heard as a prominent concertist.
60J. NELSON POLHAMUS.
62ATLANTA.
63ATLANTA, Ga., March 7, 1895.
64FOR Atlanta the past two weeks have been unusually full of musical interest.
66On the evening of Monday, March 4, an immense audience greeted the second concert this season of the Atlanta Vocal Society at the Grand.
68This organization has been in existence for three years, and from its beginning until now Mr. A. M. Burbank has been its director. The Messiah and the Mendelssohn Hymn of Praise have been its most ambitious undertakings. I was not able to listen to the choruses on this occasion, as I was anxious to hear the first part of a recital Miss Neally Stevens, pianist, was giving at the Phillips and Crew Hall the same evening.
70This young lady had a moderately sized audience, composed almost entirely, so far as I could see, of music students and teachers—a grateful sort of audience to play to. I particularly enjoyed the performance of the Bach-Tausig Toccata and Fugue in D minor, and the Scherzo from a Beethoven sonata in A flat. Much less enjoyable were the quieter parts of the sonata and of the program generally. She is rarely satisfactory to me where a quiet, steady time and singing tone are at the same time demanded.
72I returned to the Grand Opera House in time to hear Miss Marie Louise Bailey, who was the piano soloist for the vocal society, in the Schumann Carnaval, in Chopin's Nocturne in D flat, Etude in C sharp minor, Scherzo in B flat minor, and in the Liszt Hungarian Fantasie, the last without an accompaniment of any sort.
74Miss Bailey played with fervor, endurance and much technical skill. I also heard at the same concert a contralto solo by Mrs. M. M. O'Brien, which, together with its encore, Gavot, from Mignon, seemed to me the most artistic performance I had heard in a long while. Mrs. O'Brien was formerly a pupil of Mrs. Ashforth, of New York, and is a great favorite here.
76Among the local happenings of interest was the performance of an excellent program on the evening of February 26 by Mrs. Anna Simon Werner, vocalist. She was assisted by Mr. Gustav W. Pringitz, violinist, and by Mrs. Mae Pomeroy Graves, pianist.
78We shall have the Gilmore Band, with Natali, Frieda Simonson and Victor Herbert as soloists, on the 20th and 21st. They appear in connection with the Atlanta Vocal Society.
80HENRY HOWELL.
82ALBANY.
83ALBANY, N. Y., March 16, 1895.
84A VERY enjoyable concert was given in Jermain Hall last evening. The attractions were Miss Frieda Simonson, the child pianist, and Charles Meehan, the boy soprano, of New York. It must be said that the size of the audience was not very creditable to Albany, as it was very small, but what it lacked in numbers was made up in enthusiasm. It is needless to go into any elaborate criticism of Miss Simonson's playing, and let it suffice to say that it was remarkable for one of her age. She played excellently last evening, and her playing was thoroughly appreciated, although the audience did not warm up until she had played two numbers.
86Charles Meehan, the vocalist of the evening, made a decided hit. His style of singing and voice were good, and between the two it can be truthfully said that it was one of the most delightful concerts of the season.
88The concert of the Union Glee Club and Ladies' Glee Club last Sunday evening was well attended. The music was all of a sacred character and mostly taken from different Masses. The soloists were Mr. T. E. Murray, Miss A. E. O'Malley, Mr. A. S. Bendell, Miss M. Maloney, Mr. J. M. Cassidy, Mr. J. J. Martin. The accompanists were Mr. James Gregory Maher, director of the Union Glee Club, and Miss O'Malley, for the Ladies' Glee Club. The concert was excellent in all respects.
90The first musicale of the Albany String Quartet will be given at the residence of Mrs. Corning on the 25th. The soloists are Mr. Charles Ehricke, of this city, violin; Mr. James Liebling, of New York, 'cello, and Mr. Ferdinand Dunkley, piano.
92Sousa's Band, with Miss Marie Barnard, soprano soloist, and Miss Currie Duke, violinist, will be at Harmanus Bleecker Hall on Wednesday evening next.
94There is some talk of bringing the Apollo Club, of New York, here for a concert late in April.
96ALFRED S. BENDELL.
98TROY.
99TROY, N. Y., March 11, 1895.
100I HAVE three concerts to report for the past week, or rather one concert and two recitals. On Wednesday evening, March 6, at Music Hall, the first concert of the twenty-first year of the Troy Vocal Society took place and a brilliant event it was. There are not many male choruses in the country with an unbroken period of twenty-one years to their credit, but this is the commendable record of the Troy Vocal Society—and Troy is proud of it. The concert Wednesday night was attended by the usual large and brilliant audience, and that they were hearty will be attested by Mlle. Carlotta Desvignes, the contralto, and Mr. Plunket Greene, the baritone, who were the assisting artists, with Dr. J. Albert Jeffery, the well-known organist.
102What a superb voice Mlle. Desvignes has! It is one of the grandest ever heard here. She chose for her introductory number the aria from Samson and Delilah, by Saint-Saëns, and gave it a beautiful interpretation. I understand that she was coached on the number by the composer. She was of course encored, and responded with Tosti's Serenata. Again she was heard later in a triple number, choosing these selections: Ich Kann's Nicht Fassen, Schumann; Roses d'Octobre, Massenet; The Fountain Mingles with the River, Gounod. An unusual thing for a Troy audience is to encore a triple number, but Mlle. Desvignes proved the exception and had to respond, giving The Mission of the Rose, by Cowen, admirably.
104Mr. Plunket Greene had been much heralded, and everyone expected great things of him, and it is pleasing to say they were not disappointed. His is indeed a baritone voice of the finest quality, big and round and of large compass. His singing gave infinite pleasure, and he was encored again and again. It is indeed doubtful if a more satisfactory singer was ever heard in Troy. He gave first Gounod's Nazareth, the organ and piano accompaniment greatly enhancing it. It was a grand effort, and he had to repeat a verse before the enthusiasm of the audience ceased. He next gave The Sands o' Dee, by Clay, and nothing has given more pleasure in music in Troy than Mr. Greene's rendering of it. He gave in response to a tremendous encore The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond (old Scotch). He was heard for the last number in Jess MacFarlane (old Scotch, 1776), arranged by Lucy Broadwood, and Father O'Flynn, an old Irish song arranged by C. V. Stanford. He then had to respond for another encore, giving Off for Philadelphia splendidly.
106Dr. J. Albert Jeffery always plays well, and gave an Allegro by Widor, Vesper Hymn by Batiste and Toccata by Widor. He also played the organ accompaniments finely.
108The society went on the stage in a crippled condition, thirteen of the strongest members being absent, these including Thomas Impett, our well known tenor, but with this serious handicap gave one of the best sets of selections for a long time. The members present seemed to understand that much was expected of them and worked liked one man, with admirable result. Prof. E. J. Connolly was as usual their energetic leader and C. A
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