Scan 7
Musical Courier 1895-06-05: Vol 30 Iss 796, 1895
167 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 8. 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.
1ance of Elsa's Dream was most dignified, and she was called before the audience several times. Mr. Ben Davies, with his silvery tenor voice and powerful declamation, covered himself with glory; his Salve Dimora was nobly executed and excellently delivered, and after an enthusiastic applause he responded with ballad (Piatti) Awake! Awake! with 'cello obligato played by Hollman. The audience was not yet satisfied, and he responded with Rubinstein's The Dream. Mr. Mills was in good voice, and likewise met with great success; his performance all through was flawless, and he was obliged to give three encores. The duet between Messrs. Davies and Mills took the audience by storm, and they demanded a repetition. Hollman's performance of the Carmen fantasia was a revelation and inspiration in quality of tone. Hollman has no rival. For an encore he gave Schumann's Traumerei; it was absolutely the best interpretation I have ever heard. Miss Russell has just returned from England, where she went through a course of three years on the keyboard at the Royal College of Music. She played well, but by no means remarkably. Mr. Henry Lavigne played the accompaniments most satisfactorily.
3The Théâtre Français closed the season on Saturday evening last with a gala performance, which contained the fourth act from Rigoletto, the first act from Carmen, the second from La Trouvère and the third act from Lucia di Lammermoor. All the singers took part, and the performance was most satisfactory.
5The pupils of Mr. Pelletier, organist of St. James' Cathedral, gave a concert at the Y. M. C. A. Hall on Wednesday evening last. A large audience attended. Among those who participated were: Misses A. Crawford and L. Simpson, Miss J. Terault, Miss E. Kerr, Miss E. Newman, Miss E. Baile, Miss T. Macdonald, Mrs. F. Newman, Miss M. Patterson, Mme. M. Girard, Mlle. H. Villeneuve, M. J. Sauzier, MM. J. J. Goulet and J. B. Dubois. Miss Cartier, Mr. Goulet and Mr. Dubois played the trio by Haydn, for piano, violin and violoncello, with precision and sonority.
7Our musical season, which has been the most brilliant one we have had for many years, is fast drawing to an end, and I believe Sousa's Band, which is announced here for the beginning of June, will wind up our season, the same as it did last year.
9H. B. COHN.
11BINGHAMTON.
13BINGHAMTON, N. Y., May 10, 1895.
15A MUSICAL organization never before mentioned in THE MUSICAL COURIER, having for its head a committee of three ladies, headed by Miss Belle A. Mason, for the purpose of aiding the Y. W. C. A., now enlarged so as to contain nearly all of the prominent lady musicians in the city, gave a recital on Thursday evening, April 25.
17The affair is worthy of space not only on account of its musical merit, but because it was a Raff recital, the numbers being all from the brothers Joachim and our own honored and lamented Joseph. Interesting biographical sketches of their lives were given by Miss Mary Mason.
19The Misses Emma Meagley, Clyde Capwell, Emma Ely, Marion Ricks and Mesdames Charles Taylor, F. H. Matthews and E. A. Pierce were the pianists, to whom, if space permitted, would individual praise be forthcoming, as well as for the vocal solos of Mesdames I. T. Deyo, I. T. Stoddard, Henry S. Martin and Miss Emma Ely.
21The chorus Day Is at Last Departing was very pleasingly given by Mesdames Deyo, La Due, Carver, Hills, Parsons and Hitchcock, while one of the best numbers was Spring in the Land, very tunefully sung by the Misses Ely, Harding, Edick, Schneider, Dunn and Mason.
23J. C. Bartlett, tenor, of Boston, and Mme. Zippora Monteith, soprano, are the recent additions to the list of festival artists. The chorus is doing finely under the conscientious direction of Mr. Hoernerr.
25Wm. Courtney, the eminent vocal teacher, who will spend two days each week here during May and June, began last week. Many of the best singers have availed themselves of the opportunity for study; in fact his time is all taken.
27E. R. W.
29CLEVELAND.
31CLEVELAND, Ohio, May 16, 1895.
33OUR local musical season reached its height and close by a May festival on May 11. The Vocal Society, assisted by William H. Rieger, interpreted, under the direction of Mr. Alfred Arthur, Felicien David's Desert and Berlioz's Requiem. The society was supported by the Boston Festival Orchestra (Emil Mollenhauer conductor). The concert proved the most satisfactory one ever given by the Vocal Society, and many flattering tributes are paid to Mr. Arthur, who conducted with an enthusiasm that proved contagious. At the matinée the following program was rendered:
35Overture—Melpomene………………………………….Chadwick
36Introduction to fifth act of Manfred…………………….Reinecke
37Pizzicati…………………………………………………Latann
38Orchestra.
39Aria from Joan of Arc…………………………………Bemberg
40Miss Stein.
41Piano Concerto in F sharp minor (op. 69)…………….Hiller
42Mr. Sherwood.
43Aria from La Juive…………………………………….Halevy
44Mr. Clarke.
45Harp solo—La Fee des Eaux……………………………Parish-Alvars
46Mr. Van Veacon Rogers.
47Aria from Carmen (Habanera)………………………….Bizet
48Miss Stein.
49Overture—Leonore, No. 3…………………………….Beethoven one of two readings
50Overture—Leonore, No. 3……………………………..Beethoven one of two readings
51Orchestra.
53The National League of Musicians of the United States was in session at Cleveland May 10. Mr. Max Droge, the illustrious 'cellist, was a leading spirit at this meeting. The following is the program of the concert tendered to the delegates:
55Fest Ouverture…………………………………………..Nicolai
56Concerto for violin………………………………………Mendelssohn
57Andante. Allegretto non troppo—Allegro…………….Ludwig Bleuer.
58Vocal, Mignon…………………………………………..Liszt
59Harp solo, Souvenir di Trovatore……………………..Thomas
60'Cello solos—
61Andante from Concerto, D major……………………..Moliq
62Spanish Dance, Vito…………………………………..Popper
63Perpetuum Mobile………………………………………Fitzenhagen
64Max Droge.
66Vocal—
67Song My Mother Taught Me……………………………Dvorák
68Mirage…………………………………………………….Liza-Lehmann
69Violin solo……………………………………………..Sarasate
70Ludwig Bleuer.
71Overture, Hans Sachs…………………………………Lortzing
73Alfred A. Farland gave a banjo recital on May 8. It was under the management of Professor O'Neill, our prominent banjo artist. Farland was supported by the 'cellist Max Droge and the sterling accompanist Professor Krosen. Farland raised the appreciation of the banjo as a musical instrument. His performance was phenomenal.
75Miss Sabin-Hyde, a contralto, has returned from Paris to Cleveland. She appeared recently in a number of concerts, and our daily papers have exhausted all superlatives.
77Miss Yaw, referred to by Mrs. Adams, of our Gazette, as the "Eiffel tower soprano," has recently treated Clevelanders to vocal pyrotechnics.
79TORONTO.
81TORONTO, May 15, 1895.
83A FINE audience filled Massey Music Hall recently to hear a concert given by Miss Ellen Beach Yaw, assisted by Miss Georgietta Lay, pianist, and Mr. Maximilian Dick, violinist.
85As so much stress had been laid in advance notices upon Miss Yaw's altisonant vocalism people were inclined to imagine that would prove her only claim to distinction. It was therefore all the more agreeable to find her possessing a voice of pure and charming quality and with a high degree of artistic finish. She "took" immensely, but the feeling prevalent is that, admitting her present qualifications to be quite unusual, the zenith of her possibilities and fame has yet to be reached.
87Miss Lay and Mr. Dick, if somewhat cast into the shade, nevertheless were recognized by the connoisseurs present as being very capable artists.
89Toronto is indebted to Mr. H. M. Hirschberg, the well-known local impresario, for the genuine musical treat provided on this occasion.
91Of home production unquestionably the finest concert given in Toronto this season was that on May 2 by Mr. A. S. Vogt's Mendelssohn Choir, assisted by Miss Mary Louise Clary, contralto, of New York; Mr. Arthur Beresford, baritone, of Boston, and Mr. Ludwig Bleuer, violinist, of Detroit. This took place at Massey Music Hall, which contained a large audience, representative of our best musical and social elements. The program was:
93PART I.
94Motet, Judge Me, O God……………………………Mendelssohn
95Violin solos—
96Adagio from First Concerto………………………….Bruch
97Elfen Tanz……………………………………………..Popper
98Ludwig Bleuer.
99Part song, The Singers……………………………….Gaul
100Vocal solo, Revenge! Timotheus Cries………………Händel
101Arthur Beresford.
102Choral transcriptions—
103Just a Song at Twilight…………………………….Molloy
104Still as the Night…………………………………….Bohm
105Aria, Vanne, from Robert le Diable…………………Meyerbeer
106Miss Clary.
107Chorus, Song of the Vikings………………………….Eaton Faning
109PART II.
110Part song, Where Are You Going, My Pretty Maid?….Caldicott
111Violin solo, Zigeunerweisen………………………….Sarasate
112Ludwig Bleuer.
113Motet, Say, Watchman, What of the Night?………….Sullivan
114Songs—
115Persian Serenade…………………………………….Colyn
116Two Grenadiers………………………………………Schumann
117Arthur Beresford.
118Ladies' chorus, Whirl and Twirl………………………Wagner
119Songs—
120O That We Two Were Maying………………………..Nevin
121Trahison……………………………………………….Chaminade
122Miss Clary.
123Part song, Pray, Have a Care, Thou Clumsy Soul..Mendelssohn
124Romance, My Love Dwelt in a Northern Land………Elgar
126The singing of the choir was simply superb. Mr. Vogt had his forces so beautifully balanced and trained that they sang as one voice, with clear enunciation and definite observance of nuances.
128The soloists were all satisfactory. Mr. Giuseppe Campanari had been engaged, but, according to a slip which was circulated, "owing to a breach of contract * * * at the very last moment, and after the program had been printed," he failed to appear. Mr. Beresford was substituted, and when once heard no one could have regretted the change, as indeed he carried off the solo honors of the evening.
130Now that Mr. Vogt has so ably demonstrated what he can do in choral work, it is to be hoped his sphere of operations will be enlarged and that next season his society will sing with an orchestra, not a hotch-potch affair, but one that can play instead of bungle. Given his present chorus and a good orchestra, we might indulge in the most agreeable anticipations.
132On the afternoon of May 4 Mr. W. E. Fairclough gave the eighth and last of the series of organ recitals, which he has been holding at All Saints' Church this season. He was assisted by Dr. C. E. Saunders, tenor. I was unable to be present upon the occasion, but judging from the admirable program sent me, and knowing how high are Mr. Fairclough's qualifications as an organist, I feel that I missed a treat.
134I had all but forgotten to note the last annual convention of the Canadian Society of Musicians, which was held in Toronto April 16 and 17. The proceedings were of the regulation character, the one exceptionally interesting feature being a resolution—the outcome of a motion by Mr. C. Jeffers—to arrange for a deputation of musicians to wait upon the Minister of Education with a view in ultimate to having instituted examinations in music under the supervision of the Ontario Government, and possibly with the co-operation of the Canadian Society of Musicians. The scheme appears to me well intended, but Utopian and impracticable. If inaugurated it would probably be ignored by the mass of musicians throughout the country, to whom no board of examiners the Government could appoint would prove generally acceptable. And they would well know that the surest way to prevent the successful working of the scheme would be to pay no attention to it. The bed of the Ontario Minister of Education is not one of roses at the best of times, and I very much doubt his willingness to add to the difficulties of his position by taking hold of what would certainly prove a most delicate question to handle, and one that never could be handled satisfactorily—at least that is my impression.
136The election of new officers for the society resulted as follows: President, Mr. J. Humfrey Anger.
137Vice-President, Mr. J. D. A. Tripp.
138Secretary-Treasurer, Miss Denzil.
139General Representatives, Messrs. W. O. Forsyth, R. S. Ambrose, A. M. Read and J. E. F. Aldous.
140Toronto representative, Mr. H. M. Field; Hamilton, Mr. J. E. P. Aldous; Ottawa, Miss Christie; London, Mr. W. C. Barron; St. Catharines, Miss Vanderberg; Brantford, Mr. E. Jacques; St. Thomas, Mr. Jones; Stratford, Mrs. Pendercast; Belleville, Mrs. Campbell; Kingston, A. M. Howells.
142On Friday evening, 10th inst., thanks to the enterprise of Manager I. E. Suckling, we had the pleasure of hearing Nordica, Adele Aus der Ohe and Victor Herbert in concert in Massey Music Hall. These artists are all so well known to New Yorkers that comment from me on their work would be very superfluous. It will suffice to say that the event was a genuinely artistic treat, and as such was heartily appreciated by a goodly sized audience, among whom Toronto's professional element was well represented.
144E. L. ROBERTS.
146PROVIDENCE.
148PROVIDENCE, R. I., May 10, 1895.
150THE season of 1894-5 practically ended last week with a May musical festival by the Arion Club, lasting two days, and made more memorable by the presence of Nordica and Melba.
152The press of the country has compared and praised these two great artists until further words are superfluous. Each represents a certain style and caters to an entirely different class of concert-goers. Like audiences of other small cities where noted artists seldom appear, the Providence public was persistent and unreasonable in demanding encores, evidently thinking Mme. Melba in possession of an iron throat—perhaps not far amiss, however, in regarding her as a singing machine, for there was but little heart or soul accompanying the brilliancy and correctness of her style and rendering. Her selections were the Mad Scene from Lucia, Indian Bell Song, Delibes, and a waltz by Arditi—compositions well adapted to display her remarkable skill and execution. How fortunate for Donizetti & Co. that there are still such 'phenomenally gifted people to keep their works alive!
154Lillian Nordica also earned well deserved success the previous night with Hear Ye, Israel, although it is unsuited to her dramatic power. The choice of Gounod's Ave Maria for an encore was not a happy one. Could nothing better be found than this mixture of modern and classical music? She was, without doubt, more in her element in the solo part of Jordan's Barbara Frietchie and in the Mendelssohn Loreley.
156The cantata Barbara Frietchie is surely to become very popular. It is well invented; modeled somewhat after Max Bruch's Fair Ellen, brilliantly written for chorus, and especially adapted for this country, Jordan having made use of patriotic airs in a leitmotiv-like way.
158Another soloist of fame was Ben Davies, who rendered the recitative and aria Waft Her Angels, by Händel, in a superb manner, as did Miss Gertrude May Stein with Saint-Saëns' My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice.
160The chorus throughout sang splendidly and exhibited a body and fullness of tone of which the club and its conductor, Mr. Jordan, may feel justly proud. Perhaps there could be some improvement in the attack, which sometimes could be a more all-together one. The selections by the chorus for the two evenings were: First, Walpurgis Night and Loreley, Mendelssohn; Gipsy Life, S…umann; Dream Pictures, The Desert, David.
162Mr. John C. Manning, a Boston pianist, gave the B flat minor scherzo of Chopin (why not the B minor, as advertised?), a hackneyed selection, often and even well played by amateurs. His reading of it was conventional.
164A novelty the second night, and one to be heartily commended, was the Spring Fantasie, by Gade, for quartet, piano and orchestra. It is a really charming composition, but was rendered in a rather inferior manner by the quartet, which consisted of Miss Susie McKay, Miss Luella B. Flagg, Mr. John F. Brine, Mr. T. O. Bartlett. The soprano sang too low, but perhaps she appeared to disadvantage after a Melba.
166The orchestra accompaniments were one night in the hands of
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