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Musical Courier 1896-09-16: Vol 33 Iss 863, 1896
98 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 5. See the scan on archive.org.
1THE MUSICAL COURIER.
3THE MUSICAL COURIER,
48 RUE CLÉMENT-MAROT, CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES,
5PARIS, AUGUST 26, 1896.
7NOTICE.—There is no necessity of irregularity in the receipt of Musical Couriers by subscribers. Write to above address on the very first instance.
9Subjects of the summer numbers, beginning June 3, were: Securing Engagements to Sing—Thoughts of a Prima Donna—Thoughts of a Pianist—Don'ts for Paris—Musical Career for American Girls—Miettes—Complaints from an Audience—Thoughts by Mr. Grau—Thoughts by Mr. Mapleson—The Relations Between Home and Foreign Musical Educations—Singing in Conservatoire, I.—Conservatoire, II.—Outdoor Music in Paris—Thoughts for the Coming Season—Musical Expression.
11Date of each may be found by the almanac; one subject each week.
13SOCIETY AND MUSIC.
15* * * The two kinds of people on earth that I mean
16Are the people who lift and the people who lean.
17Wherever you go you will find the world's masses
18Are always divided in just these two classes,
19And, oddly enough, you will find, too, I ween,
20There is only one lifter to twenty who lean.
22—ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
24WHILE attention is being drawn to society and music in New York, it may not be amiss to cast a glance back through the year in Paris and catch a suggestion of the order of musical entertainment to be found in the salons of the capital. At this season indeed it can be but a glance through memory, but a more complete suggestion may be looked for through the coming season.
26In the salon of Mme. Louis Desgenetais, sonata for piano and 'cello, by Rubinstein; Gounod's Mors et Vita, Celestial chorus of the same score by the chorus of the Conservatoire, pages of Bach and Scarlatti, Bach Pentecost air with 'cello accompaniment, an andante by Goltermann, berceuse by Fauré and Gounod's Gallia.
28Interpreted by professional artists. Among the guests: Comte de Montureux, Marquis and Marquise de Sayve, Mme. Lefèvre-Pontalis, Vicomtesse de Suppé, Marquise de Barral, Marquis de Chabrihan, Comtesse de Gournay, Comtesse de Montenard, Comte and Mlle. de Passage, Baron de Carnel de Saint-Martin, Comtesse de Yanville, Prince Lucinge-Faucigny, &c., an audience purely mondaine, you see.
30At the Comtesse de Treder's home—Biblis, with music by Massenet, and Comtes d'Hoffmann, by Offenbach. Best artists for music and mise en scène.
32At an at home of Mme. Angèle Duglé—Works by Massenet, Fauré, Lefebvre, Ducoudray, Hahn, Boellmann and Vidal, fragments of Don César de Bazan, Repentir, la Chevrière, an idyl by Noël with female chorus. Audience mondaine and artist combined.
34Reception by the Comtesse Pierre de Ségur—Works by Gluck, Berlioz, Gounod, Rossini, Saint-Saëns, Lalo and Leoncavallo. Interpreted by best artists; audience wholly society.
36Concert by Comte de Chambrun at his home—Works by Bach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Gluck, Gounod, Wagner, with full orchestra and organ. Bach cantatas and fragments from the Passion music are frequently given at this home.
38After-dinner music at the home of the Baronne de Bievre—Pages from Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Aida, Samson and Delila. one of two readings
39After-dinner music at the home of the Baronne de Bieville—Pages from Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Aida, Samson and Delila. one of two readings
41At the home of Doctor Ducor—Haydn's Burlesque Symphony, berceuse by Langer, Fileuse by Godard.
43At Mme. Tarquini d'Or's reception—Works by Vidal, Bruneau, Charpentier, Morietti, Gignoux, &c.
45Reception by Mme. Cibiel, wife of a deputy—Wagner pages and French romances by Van Dyck.
47In the Champs-Elysées salons of Mme. Vlasto—Siegfried's Chant d'Amour from Die Walküre, by Van Dyck, and pieces by Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Lalo, Gounod, and Galli, by French artists and French comedy. Society audience.
49We all know that the luxurious home of the Princesse de Polignac is a veritable temple of music, where Beethoven is played weekly on principle, where Bach music is the literature of the drawing room and where works of the past centuries and of all classic schools are given with the best accompaniments of ancient instruments, best artists and directors to be had, to audiences of the cream of society and artistic circles of Paris.
51An idea of the princesse, by the way, introduced at several of her late reception-musicales, was most attractive and instructive; namely, an illuminated chart containing the text sung, traced as sung by an indicator and accompanied by various motives taken from the musical subjects.
53The Princesse Bassaraba de Brancoran has artists from the Opéra, Opéra Comique and Conservatoire interpret works by Beethoven, Mozart, &c., with modern music also.
55In the superb salons of the Baronne Seillière a musical feature is the representation of scenes or comedies with musical background. At the last reunion of the season, before some 400 people of title, renown, position and culture more or less, was given a pantomime with music by Lemaire, a comedy, Au Mont Ida, by de Massa, and Supplice de Janot, music by Lemaire. Operatic artists and dancers performed.
57An exquisite thing of this style of music story is the Château de Königsberg, with music by Francis Thomé. It was all the mode the past season. The musical accompaniment to this legend is indescribably lovely, and one would forget if one could the line—
59"Pourquoi pleurer, on peut mourir!"
61Accounts have been given heretofore of the Russian music which forms the close of the elegant receptions of the Comtesse de Pétion. Dr. Blondel has whole acts of operas given in his parlors, rue l'Arcade, and all the French composers are there from time to time to accompany their works. Mme. d'Agoret and her daughter have interesting musical programs. Mme. Morsse, wife of the consul general of the United States, encourages American talent in her affairs. Mrs. Walden Pell is a great lover of good music and good artists, and good American artists when she can find them. The Eustises are musical benefactors in society in the sense of having and loving only the good and true and of having in the family artist amateurs of the best order.
63A Chinese opera, Tai-Tsoung, by M. Guimet, was admirably interpreted in the salons of Mme. Kirieewsky at the close of the past season. Mme. Moore usually has a musical program of value precede her cotillons. You all know of Mrs. Ayer's love of grand artists; and Mme. Harris Phelps is not behindhand in values musical and personal to accompany her fêtes. Fragments from Pardon de Ploërmel, Meyerbeer, Songe d'une nuit d'été, Thomas, Comtes d'Hoffmann, Offenbach, and Biblis, Massenet, were on the program of the last soirée given by the Comtesse de Treder. The History of Music since Bach formed a series of interesting talks which varied the mondaine monotony of another society leader last season; and the young Comtesse de Castellane shows a desire to make effective music a part of her entertainments, in doors and out, in Paris.
65These random souvenirs do not do full justice to the society musical spirit of Paris, which has many excellent qualities. One thing to be remarked among the parlor people of Paris as compared with our parlor people is that while our people know infinitely more about the various musics of the earth as musics, the French people know infinitely more about music intrinsically as an art.
67An American girl who did not know the difference between a major and a minor scale could talk a Frenchman blind on the various operas, concerts, criticisms, orchestras and music halls of the world. But the Frenchman, quietly removing his white gloves, without pose or flourish, can step to the piano and hum classic and modern airs, illustrate conversation by playing the subjects, transpose accompaniments, and without apology or to please his hostess can even play a Chopin or Schubert morceau wholly en amateur. Many society young ladies entertain their own guests or the guests of their friends by correct and unostentatious singing or playing, and very many of the season's hostesses are excellent musicians, who are never heard out of their own homes. There is everywhere greater respect for knowledge in music, greater interest artistically, better attention to a performance, and a stronger feeling for the musical subject than for the musical interpreter than in America—as yet. One is a boughten, the other a born knowledge—as yet.
69ART VOCAL IN FRANCE.
71Fourcaud says that one thing which has restricted the development of musical aptitude among the French has been the counteracting force of circumstances.
73Dramatic form has by circumstance been implanted, cultivated and encouraged at the expense of instrumental technic, and a vocal order purely lyric in distinction from the stage type.
75First, they had religious music of a rigorous ideal, dance music based on correct and impressive rhythm; then, scarcely had composition opened the door to a more liberal but wholly pure treatment, when in marched the Florentine Lulli, and opera took up its quarters, monopolizing body, soul and sense of the later tendency. Lyric tragedy, pompous, conventional, false, and brilliant, was queen.
77The French, feeling temperamentally the restriction of the narrow and insincere rulings, did their best to swing free of the torpor and to enlarge the sphere of vitality; but things were too strong for them, all unarmed as they were by not yet having sufficiently developed technic.
79Rameau did his best toward reaction and strove for the harmonious and true. His powerful genius did much for freedom and strength. The still more powerful influence of Gluck, profiting by that experience, was quickly counterbalanced by the Piccinnistes, and in the hands of Italian pupils and their pupils. In like manner Méhul's efforts were counteracted by Rossini, whose influence penetrates to-day.
81The cutting of opera into sections for concert purposes tends directly to the process of personal glorification by the artist. Plan, plot, subject and idea are all lost sight of through the personal intrusion of the singer. While enriching the pathway of basso and contralto Rossini created the roulade queen, and made a superficial personal spectacle take the place of fancy, imagination, thought and story. Stage decoration grew apace as fitting frame for the song, personality and dancing did the rest, till the day when the poem literally disappeared, devoured by meretricious superficialities.
83Added to these licenses, the "artist" again added personal licenses, each one after his and her kind, to suit his and her throat, regardless of art or created symmetry. Stage work became a series of solfège examinations, and naturally composition followed in the wake of "impressionist" execution. Artists, real artists of the classic concert type, were left powerless, no matter what their intention. Vocal art was dropped and lyric drama or singing in action became the plague of the nation, and entered into the blood of the race.
85Of the vocal artists who strove to the best purpose for this "restoration" in her art Mme. Miolan Carvalho is to the French the apostle in chief, the princess, queen, almost savior, of their national vocal art. She carried the qualities of their school to perfection. The honesty of her style, perfection in shading, detail in mechanism, and purity of emission made of her a type admirable and consummate. She did what she could, but of course these qualities had to be applied to the modern school of composition, which again hampered their authority.
87Other artists in the same line were Mmes. Damoreau-Cinti, Dorus-Gras, Cabel and Mme. de Saint-Huberty, Countess d'Entraigues. Fourcaud indeed holds that more than one great singer, permeated or born with the Italian frenzies and exaggerations, when placed in contact with French art became transformed, their style purified, manner enlarged, acting vitalized and the whole soul made heroic and victorious. He cites Malibran, Sontag and Pasta as examples of this. Pisaroni and Alboni he refers to as examples of superb vocalists wanting in all else, and above all in the power to move souls. They had prodigious organs, splendid notes, richness and quality in singing, but it was all "singing." To be the incarnation of the song, an actress, to have diversity, truth, grandeur, charm and soul was not theirs to be.
89As foreign singers, virtuosi, who became immensely improved by French association, he cites Mme. Krauss, Rosine Stolz, Cornélie Falcon, Nourrit, Duprez and Rogers.
91There is scarcely a vocal pupil in Paris who is not intelligent enough to deplore the lack of certain qualities of the above order in certain roulade princesses now before the world. So far so good. But their fault is that invariably they supplement such observations with a:
93"Look at So and So! She can do nothing on earth but singing. She gets on. I don't need to bother with anything but singing. I only want to 'get on.'"
95There is one of the most damning sentiments in the whole vocal creed to-day! Do they never realize that it is not on account of her lacks, but in spite of them, that So and So gets on? Do they ever stop to imagine what she might have been had she taken on some of the divine qualities of mind and heart? Do they ever stop to realize that they have not the first faintest symptom of the superior vocal organ that has lifted So and So into an unmerited throne? Do they never think what will become of their getting on without anything to back it? Sponges grow heavy where salt melts.
97An interesting study of Orphée by that able searcher and student, Julien Tiersot, gives the first Orphée as an Euridice represented in Florence in 1600 on the occasion of the marriage fêtes of Henri IV. and Marie de Médicis. Mazarin had a hand in transplanting the dramatized legend into France. The list of those who have clothed the subject in music in different nations looks polyglot. Berlioz's competition subject for the Prix de Rome was the Death of Orphée. Delibes, Liszt, even Schütz, all tried it. Weavers, Riches, Winters, Springs—one might say Smith, Brown and Jones—all sought immortality in this myth with the face of a child and soul of a woman, termed Orphée. Like all other women it had its one lover, and
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