Scan 24
Musical Courier 1895-05-15: Vol 30 Iss 793, 1895
57 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 25. See the scan on archive.org.
1with their coadjutors, the devil and his angels, will be cast down into the maelstrom of eternal damnation, where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. Hell will not be thronged or crowded, for its boundaries are unlimited and extensive. But there will be a company of untold millions. What a heartrending scene to rise up before the terror stricken imagination! Reader, we will let the curtain drop upon it.
3Poor fellow! No doubt, after having read these few lines, every church in Christendom will make bonfires of its musical instruments.
5A writer in a contemporary, signing herself "C. S. N.," urges the organization of what she is pleased to term the "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Congregations by Choirs," and declaring that something must be done before the present evils become greater and more widespread.
7* * * No one but a crank would object to a proper amount of good music at every church service, but first let us be sure that the music is both good and suitable, that the singers are well trained, the organ well played and that no effort is made to exploit the piano or the tenor, the contralto or the bass in a series of inappropriate solos, unutterably wearisome to all but the performers themselves, and unduly lengthening out a service already too long in most churches.
9And after some more very sensible remarks, "C. S. N." closes thus, and even more sensibly:
11It is well within the truth to say that the ordinary service in our churches is almost if not quite doubled in length by the ill judged and ill timed musical selections that are superadded. The monthly service of song, so called, is a time of dread to many churchgoers, an evening to be shunned in self defense. The fact is that there is no class of art students or professors who are so notoriously intolerant of anything that differs from their own taste as musicians are, and they will not allow any contradiction, any interference, with the standards they have set up. The world, in their eyes, is never "broad enough for me and thee." Under such circumstances it is not plain that there is a great need for the new society? Let us have it speedily, even though we are not prepared to go as far as did the irascible English writer, Bayle St. John, who said that, in his opinion, merely musical people were far advanced on the road to beastdom.
13Dr. S. N. Penfield, formerly organist and musical director of the Broadway Tabernacle, has been engaged in a similar capacity at the Scotch Presbyterian Church, Ninety-sixth street and Central Park West, as stated in the last issue of THE MUSICAL COURIER. Mme. Dossert will be the soprano and Miss Helen Shawe the contralto.
15Mr. Damrosch Returns.
17THE provincial tour of the Damrosch German Opera Company was brought to a halt May 15 in Pittsburg, Pa. The members of the company arrived in New York Thursday, and the majority of the foreign resident artists sailed for their respective homes yesterday (Tuesday). Mr. Walter Damrosch stopped in Washington to meet Mrs. Damrosch and fetch her to town. Mr. Damrosch has been able to put by a rich profit as the result of his few weeks of labor. Rumor puts his net earnings all the way from $50,000 to $75,000. Mr. Damrosch for the immediate present refuses to commit himself as to what his future movements may be relative to giving German opera.
19Of course, golden profits may have the effect of changing the trend of men's minds; at the same time it will be interesting to quote from a conversation that Mr. Damrosch held with a representative of THE MUSICAL COURIER and published December 19, 1894. Mr. Damrosch on that occasion remarked:
21"Let me say here that as I neither expect nor intend to go into this kind of an enterprise again, I am going to expend every effort to do it well and leave a creditable record."
23The conversation occurred soon after Mr. Damrosch's trial production of The Scarlet Letter, and at that time he declared that after the German opera season had ended he would devote his time to composition.
25Mr. Damrosch was seen Saturday by a representative of THE MUSICAL COURIER, but declined positively to commit himself as to any future policy.
27"We had a delightful and a triumphant tour—all of which you know. How can I say anything more? There is nothing to be said. Should I have any plans to communicate in the future you shall certainly be one of the first to know it."
29Keva Stanhope.—This young artist, while at the theatres of Würzburg and Cologne, received great praise from the critics, and her popular success was pronounced. We append a few newspaper accounts of her singing and acting in some rôles of her repertoire:
31At the Royal Theatre of Würzburg the representation of Cavalleria Rusticana, with Keva Stanhope as Santuzza, drew an immense house. Her powerful voice in conjunction with intense feeling gave the rôle a perfect interpretation, which brought her unstinted applause from an audience which included many musicians. (From Würzburg daily paper.)
33Keva Stanhope appeared at the Cologne Stadt Theater with the great Fumagalli in Meyerbeer's Africaine. Her Selika was a worthy representative to Fumagalli's Nelusko. Her powerful voice prevented the latter's preponderance.
35That Keva Stanhope would create a Selika of highest conception could not be doubted by us who are aware of the dramatic character of her voice. The theatrical pose of his heroines demanded by Meyerbeer fits her. Her appearance grew with each scene in dramatic light, reaching the highest expression in the fifth act. (From Cologne paper.)
37First Symphony (first part)………………………………………Guilmant
38Romance in C (for violoncello and organ)………………………..G. M. Dethier
39Fifth Symphony (allegro cantabile)……………………………….Widor
40Symphonic Ode (organ and orchestra)……………………………G. M. Dethier
42The recital, which was for the benefit of organists and organ students, took place by special permission of the Archbishop, who reluctantly admits the performance of any programs within the church edifice which are not in procedure with a service. A large audience assembled and were generously rewarded for their pains. Mr. Dethier is an organist of versatile capacity, who, while he has the ability to handle intelligently a program ranging from Bach to the last French utterance, shows obviously a sympathy with the romantic and graceful; with suave themes in modern dress rather than with the strictly imposing or rigid in outline. His own compositions, which figured so freely on the program, disclosed this, aside from the fact that when he left Bach and Händel behind and reached Tinel, for example, his manner gained magnetism in a way to be distinctly felt.
44His performance of the Bach fugue was scholarly, admirably distinct, and as a purely technical exhibition alone would have been distinguished. His own theme and variations, written expressly with a view to the genius of the organ, and in this way differing from his Symphonic Ode, which makes the organ an incident only, showed alike a special talent in performance as in invention.
46Mr. Dethier is evidently in his native element with the orchestra. He possesses a rare color sense, and gains by his innate remembrance of orchestral nuance and variety a particular power over the organ. That he is a Wagnerian disciple is no mystery. His symphonic ode tells this plainly, while it contains no specific echoes. In it Mr. Dethier has given the orchestra his principal attention, the organ having slight showing. The work is rich and ingenious, about the length of one ordinary symphony movement, having been written for performance during the offertory, which compelled this brevity. It was to have been given at the service of last Easter, but was not sufficiently rehearsed.
48A broad lyric theme is first given to the strings, taken up by the various instruments, until it gets into possession of the full orchestra, and then modulated into a second theme, which is first given by the organ to a pizzicati accompaniment of basses and 'celli with delicate effect. The second theme is of light and graceful character, but is worked up through a broad crescendo to a powerful climax, which reduces itself again through a tremolo of the strings, when the first theme reappears, enters into a dialogue with the second and both are worked out to a brilliant finale. The symphonic ode has genius and warmth and shows more the orchestral composer who plays the organ than the organist who writes for the orchestra.
50Signor Arencibia sang in his pure tenor and with the churchly fervor native to him the solo Pie Jesu. The voice has grown largely in a couple of seasons, and while it has lost something of the seraphic tinge, it has gained in breadth and masculinity, retaining its clearness and purity in due proportion. This was one of the most enjoyable recitals.
52The Wednesday morning class of Albert G. Thies gave a charming concert at Chickering Hall. The program was dainty and everything moved forward with success. This choral class of amateurs is composed of ladies only, and under Mr. Thies' drill accomplishes some excellent work. It was assisted by Miss Louise Gerard, soprano; Mrs. J. Williams Macy, contralto; Mr. Wm. H. Barber, pianist; Miss Kate S. Chittenden at the organ and Miss Kate Vashti Baxter at the piano.
54Foote's Into the 'Silent Land; the chorus of cigarette girls, from Carmen; the Spring Chorus, from Samson et Dalila; Morley's The Lover and the Lass, and Beer's Goldfinch's Wedding for semi-chorus were among the numbers sung. It was a fragrant nosegay of a program, and was delivered with so much purity and taste that the suggestion arose as to what Mr. Thies might not accomplish with a body of trained singers in larger number. He is an exceedingly capable and inspiring conductor and has managed to evolve with amateurs in this Wednesday morning class work that compares favorably with that of older and fully experienced organizations in New York. This last choral work was simply delightful.
56Mr. Macy sang a song of Meyer-Helmund, together with some incidental solos in mellow musical fashion. But the pet solos of the evening fell to Miss Louise Gerard in the shape of two fascinating songs by Frank E. Sawyer, Chanson Orientale and Viens, both of which were heard recently at the Manuscript Society accompanied as they were the other evening by the young composer himself. Mr. Sawyer possesses himself irresistibly of the color and perfume of
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