Scan 12
Musical Courier 1895-06-26: Vol 30 Iss 799, 1895
98 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026. Printed page 13. See the scan on archive.org.
1"Cornets and mixtures, all the old organ of Bach—these are the sonorities appropriate to the plainsong, harmonizing in amazing fashion with the polyphony of the masters of the sixteenth century.
3"Sown almost everywhere, native of Athens, Jerusalem, Rome, plainsong was handed down to us by the Middle Ages, after it had been cultivated carefully in the sunny domain of counterpoint, domain of which Palestrina was the last protector. Such was the legacy of the old masters to us; such ought we to bequeath to posterity. And as they have done for fifty years at the Paris Conservatory, so will they always do: annotate the cantus with florid counterpoint, either in the soprano or in the bass, or accompany it in strict counterpoint, note against note, as in church.
5"There are modern French organ builders who are so wrong and so prejudiced that they despise the registration of former days and do not even consider it. 'Tis a pity.
7"This year (1894) in July, at Notre Dame, where Cavaille-Coll had just restored the superb instrument, we wondered at the varying series of sonority produced by these 'jeux de mutation,' a foundation 32 in pedal; a foundation 16 in the bombard; a foundation 8 in great. 'Tis impossible to describe the effect produced by the chorals of Sebastian Bach with the crystalline sonorities reverberating under the pointed arches.
9"It is past, that time of cataclysms on the organ, thunder, tremulous, choruses of goats disguised as voix humaines, and all such nursery playthings. 'At the inauguration of the organ at X., Mr. Z. made a storm; he was wrong in not announcing it by some flashes of genius.'
11"We owe the great progress made in our generation by French art to Cavaille-Coll and his masterpieces, which lend themselves to all manifestations of thought, whether of the past or the present."
13* * *
15Such are the thoughts of Charles Marie Widor pondering his art. As I said, they explain in large measure the peculiar structure of his compositions for the organ, which are also influenced by the scheme and the effects of the organ at Saint Sulpice.
17Some of the points raised invite commentary. This must be reserved, however, for another letter.
19And yet why should there be any discussion of such points when, here in Boston at least, the organ is regarded by the majority as merely an instrument to accompany hymns and anthems? There is little or no interest in the organ as a solo instrument. Organists, in the main, are an ill used set of men.
21I mean organists that are worthy the name; for there are a few men in high places masquerading as organists. One is an amateur, without even a true organ touch, well to do and independent of the salary needed sorely by men skilled in the profession. Such a dabbler in music delights in the organ because he can experiment in the making of more or less agreeable combinations of stops.
23Others are pianists who in their hearts dislike the organ and use it only to swell their income. They play the piano on organ keys. They have no pedal technic. They show no imagination or sense of color in registration. They grind away as does any Italian with his barrel organ.
25And how many congregations know whether the man on the bench is a master or an impostor? How many church committees when there is a vacancy choose an organist by fair and open trial? There are social reasons; there is pulling of venerable and ignorant legs, there is attention paid to the sleekness and the pleasingly combed hair of the applicant. Let him play Braga's serenade with considerable emotion and receive a kind word of indorsement from the soprano, his calling and election are reasonably sure.
27PHILIP HALE.
29Boston Music Notes.
31Several of the Boston teachers who have summer residences in the suburbs will receive pupils during the months of July and August. This gives students from the West a chance to continue their studies. Among those teachers who will arrange for a summer course of lessons is Mr. Sumner Coolidge. His home is within easy access of the city, and he will take a few pupils who show promise. His special work is voice culture and he has had acknowledged success as a teacher. Naturally he prefers pupils who are studying with a view to making music their profession, for usually they are the most serious students, and he lays great stress upon thoroughness in elementary work. Mr. Coolidge is the chorus conductor at the Dudley Street Baptist Church, where he is responsible for all the music. Besides a chorus of forty-five voices, there is a male quartet in which Mr. Coolidge sings second bass.
33A song recital was given in Elocution Hall, at the New England Conservatory of Music, Tuesday evening, by Miss Maud S. Reese, a pupil of Signor Augusto Rotoli. Her rendering of three of Signor Rotoli's songs, especially Too Young for Love and The Dying Flower, showed considerable feeling and excellent method. The program concluded with a selection from the garden scene in Faust, which gave the singer an opportunity to appear in costume. Her spirited singing of the King of Thule and the Jewel Song was heartily and deservedly applauded. Miss Reese was ably assisted by Miss Rose A. Garrity, violinist, who played Raff's Cavatina and Sarasate's Spanish Dance, op. 23.
35Miss Jennie M. Crocker, the soprano of Trinity Church, was married at noon Tuesday, in Trinity, to Mr. Herbert V. Follett, of Cambridge.
37The annual closing exercises of the Boston Conservatory of Music, Herman P. Chelius director, occurred last evening at the conservatory music rooms, before a large gathering of students and their friends. The musical program began with Schuman's A minor concerto played by Miss Lillian Dally, of Baltimore, one of the graduates.
39She showed excellent technic, musical sentiment and fine phrasing. The accompaniment was given on the Liszt organ, which blended with the beautiful tones of a Mason & Hamlin grand like an orchestra. Mr. Chelius presided at the organ.
41At the close of the musical selections the diplomas and certificates were announced. They were awarded to the following:
43Miss Elenor Holbrook, Miss Lillian Dally, Miss Jennie Lindh, Mr. Clifford Sprunt, Mr. Bartelle Briggs, Miss Florence Blanchard, Miss Elenor Young, Miss Mae Tarbox, Miss Camille Brown and Miss Annie Tschander.
45The Honolulu correspondent of THE MUSICAL COURIER is at present in San Francisco where he is spending his vacation.
47A Soulless Singer, published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., is the story of a professional singer whose mechanical power was marvelous, but whose execution lacked soul. When she had learned to love and to suffer she found the secret of her art. The artist's life in the country is a simple pastoral, full of charm, although there is much of sadness.
49The rehearsals of Kismet, or the Two Tangled Turks, began on Thursday morning at the Tremont Theatre.
51Miss Helen Ormsbee, a pupil of Mr. Lyman Wheeler, has been engaged by the Reeves Opera Company for the part of Josephine in the Pinafore season at Crescent Beach, which begins June 29 and closes September 1.
53The B. F. Wood Music Company has just issued a hymn with words by Lorin Ludlow and music by H. Edwin Warren, entitled "Faith, Work, Hope and Crown of Christian Endeavor."
55Mr. Carl Zerrahn is at present in Berlin, and is thoroughly enjoying his European visit. A few weeks ago Mr. Zerrahn had a personal interview with Bismarck at his home. He has attended a number of oratorio performances and operas in different cities and is very enthusiastic over them. Mr. Zerrahn will return on the steamship Fürst Bismarck, sailing early in August, and will at once resume his professional duties, which begin with the musical festival at Newport, N. H., to be followed by the annual festivals at Worcester and other New England cities.
57The Worcester Daily Spy of Thursday, referring to the musicale given by Mrs. Carrie King Hunt, says:
59"Wednesday evening the pretty studio of Mrs. Carrie King Hunt was the scene of one of the most delightful entertainments that has been heard in Worcester for very many days, when Mr. Townsend, of Boston, and Mrs. Hunt gave a recital of vocal and instrumental music.
61"The program was as unique as delightful. First, Mr. Townsend sang Eililand, a sequence of ten songs by Alexander von Fielitz, never before given in Worcester. It tells the story of an unhappy attachment. He becomes a monk, she takes the veil, yet he continues to write and sing his love for her until the abbot forbids. Then he locks his verses up in an iron casket and buries them beneath an old tree. Each song expresses some incident or emotion in this chain of events.
63"Then Mrs. Hunt played the Petit Roman, by Margaret Ruthven Lang, the daughter of B. J. Lang, of Boston.
65"This was played in Boston last winter, but has never before been heard in Worcester. Mrs. Hunt played it with a delicacy, a warmth and sympathetic feeling for its strong emotional and romantic coloring that made it a delight to listen to. Mrs. Hunt should give her friends the privilege of hearing it again.
67"The recital closed with a group of songs by Mr. Townsend. Mr. Townsend is, we believe, a pupil of Mr. Max Heinrich's, but whosoever pupil he may be, he is one that a teacher might well feel proud of. He has a superb baritone, which he uses with a mastery, a perfection of control that is rare indeed, and last night he sang with a dash, a verve, a consummate style that fairly captivated his auditors.
69"The musicale was given at the request of Mr. B. J. Lang, with whom Mrs. Hunt has been studying all winter."
71Mr. John W. McCoy is much pleased with his new location on Tremont street. He has just added the Novello, Ewer & Co.'s publications to his list.
73It is said that the estate of the late Martin Roeder amounts to about $6,000, which is left to his three sisters in Germany.
75A recital by members of the graduating class of the New England Conservatory of Music will be given in Sleeper Hall next Monday evening. The program will include compositions of Chopin, Saint-Saëns, Händel, Raff, Wagner and Godard.
77The Theodore Thomas cottage, at Fairhaven, Mass., has been opened, contrary to expectation. The famous orchestral director is in Europe, but his daughter, Miss Marion Thomas, accompanied by Miss Page, of Chicago, has arrived at the cottage for the summer.
79Mr. Joseph Toppan, the well-known organist and for a series of years an employé of the Newburyport post office, died suddenly Friday, aged sixty-eight years.
81Mr. Johannes Abloescher, zither virtuoso and trombone player in the Symphony Orchestra, will leave Boston next week for a stay of two months at his summer home in Yarmouth, N. S.
83Miss Lucille Hill, who has been in Boston since April, left last Thursday for New York, and after staying a day at the Marlboro Hotel went aboard the French steamer Friday night, and early Saturday morning was off for France again. She was accompanied by a cousin, who will act as companion and chaperon for her while she is again preparing for a début. Miss Hill is to rest a short time at some resort and then return to Paris, where a famous surgeon and specialist is to treat her throat. She expects to be able to reappear in October, and hopes for an engagement at the Opéra Comique.
85Julian Edwards will take his place in the director's chair at the Tremont Theatre a week from to-morrow, and continue as leader for The Sphinx.
87Mrs. Vanderveer Green Sings Before Royalty.—At the grand musical soirée held in Eaton square at the house of the Duke of Cambridge recently Mrs. Vanderveer Green sang several songs, among them one by Tosti, accompanied by the composer. At the close she received hearty congratulations from many of the distinguished guests, among them H. R. H. the Grand Duchess of Mecklenberg-Strelitz and the Duke and Duchess of Teck.
89D. Ffrangcon-Davies.—This eminent English baritone has made arrangements through Mr. Henry Wolfsohn to visit America for a series of concerts in the spring of 1896.
91The Widest Ranged Soprano in the World—YAW.
93Under the Management of
95Mr. VICTOR THRANE,
96148 East 56th St., New York City.
9727 Gilfillan Block, St. Paul, Minn.
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