Scan 33
Musical Courier 1901-12-25: Vol 43 Iss 1135, 1901
48 lines. Read by computer on 25 September 2026. Printed page 34. See the scan on archive.org.
1THE MUSICAL COURIER.
3ON MUSICAL EPIDEMICS.
5WASHINGTON is rapidly becoming the centre of many alarming musical epidemics. This fact became evident last year when germs were discovered by some of the bacteriological music critics, who found that many of the programs had become impregnated with infectious bacilli, and had communicated these germs to other programs, which later developed the dreaded musical disease. This year a number of new epidemics have made their appearance. Some have already reached an alarming stage, while others have only just begun. The Mendelssohn Violin Concerto has reached an acute stage, having been performed in whole or in part at no less than five concerts in about two weeks. Allitsen's "Song of Thanksgiving" proved extremely infectious during all of last season, and still continues its ravages.
7A word of warning may keep the Godard Berceuse, from "Jocelyn," from assuming an aggravated form, and Allitsen's "Love Is a Bubble" may not reach the malignant stage if the musicians do not remain in too close proximity to its alluring pages.
9What is the cause of these epidemics, and what musical sanitary measures should musicians take in order to avoid these attacks? The remedy is simple. First keep track of the new compositions at the Congressional Library, and make it a point to have some music presented at your concerts "for the first time." Let us have new pieces introduced here, and let Boston, Chicago and New York hear them afterward. The Congressional Library often affords our musicians the chance to see new music sooner than it can be seen elsewhere, and there is no reason why they should not present novelties to the musical public of Washington, instead of always harping on hackneyed compositions.
11If you cannot examine new music at the Library, at least read what music is being played in the great music centres of the world, and let's hear some of it here this winter.
13Did you notice in your papers that the Chicago tenor, Hamlin, gave a Richard Strauss song recital in New York a few days ago? Has it occurred to any director of concerts here to engage Hamlin to come to Washington and give that recital here? Or has any singer here thought of doing the same thing as Hamlin? Perhaps so.
15A concert player said in reply to the question where he found a certain sonata: "Oh, I knew that in Germany many years ago." Perhaps he has never looked up any new sonatas since, or perhaps he is still playing the music his teacher taught him. A man who followed this practice would be similar, musically speaking, to a man who never washed his hands or combed his hair.
17Another man said: "The people in Washington can't appreciate the highest music. They must have tunes." So he proceeded to give them what he thought they wanted. But all this time a few other musicians were playing programs of a high order, and the audiences were impressed. Some of the people went away from these concerts feeling that they did not quite comprehend the difficult music, but, like the man who "enjoyed the preacher's sermons because he couldn't understand them," they entertained a great respect for the concert giver who was trying to raise them to his level; and they grew contemptuous toward the musician who was playing down to their level.
19In short, now that it is about time to make resolutions for the coming year, it is here respectfully suggested that Washington musicians resolve to avoid these musical epidemics in future by using plenty of Bach and Beethoven disinfectant, that they determine to seek originality in their programs, and that they be as careful at all times in the selection of their program numbers as if they expected the German Ambassador or the Presidential party to wander into their concerts at any moment.
21DR. BISCHOFF'S NEW COMPOSITIONS.
23Dr. John W. Bischoff, who is probably the best known of any one of our Washington composers, wrote a number of new compositions while on his vacation last summer, which have recently been accepted and published by leading music houses.
25His Nocturne Orientale is a piano piece which is not too difficult for the average player. It opens with a figure suggestive of the gondola. There is a ground base with languid arpeggios of a cloudless Oriental sky and a still night, answered by intervals in thirds and sixths of rippling water. Occasionally the dip of the oar is proclaimed by delicate grace notes in thirds. The accompaniment continues and a melody floats through the still evening. This is repeated until a graceful cadenza is reached, ending in a modulation which brings us back to the original gondola movement. It is a graceful, soothing poem, and needs velvet fingers for its proper interpretation.
27Dr. Bischoff has dedicated his new song, "Come, Holy Spirit," to Elsie Bond Bischoff, his wife. It is remarkable for its simplicity of style and melody. There is nothing strained or unnatural about chords or melody, and this gives the most satisfactory sort of a setting to these well-known words. It is for high voice.
29His song, "If God So Clothe the Grass," is a setting of the familiar words from Matthew. This song, which is dedicated to Dr. Bischoff's pupil, J. Walter Humphrey, opens in that declamatory style so fitted for the "basso profundo." The melody following is pleasing and well adapted to the words. Then, again, as if the singer were speaking to the congregation at the words, "Yet I say unto you," the declamatory style is again brought into play. It is one of those songs which bass singers are always trying to find, and which brings out the peculiar gruffness of this voice which so pleases an audience.
31Among the concerts during the last two weeks were a song and piano recital by Mrs. Mamie Morrill Burdette and Charles Rabold, the baritone. Mr. Rabold's singing was thoroughly artistic, his tones being even throughout, and the quality of voice and his use of it satisfying in every respect. Mrs. Burdette played numbers by Grieg, Brahms, Chopin and Moszkowski, and the accompanist was Miss Ascherfield.
33Oscar Franklin Comstock gave a third studio recital, in which he again demonstrated his versatility and remarkable musical memory.
35Miss H. Theodora Wight was heard at an enjoyable McReynolds-Koehle lecture-recital, entitled "Evening with the Romantic German Composers." Miss Wight sang Schubert's "Serenade" with fine effect, and the rest of the entertainment was most enjoyable.
37William Worth Bailey has been here with the Musical Art Society. Nevada and Kubelik have given their concerts, and there have been a number of other recitals and concerts which I will try to record next week.
39BERENICE THOMPSON.
41THE RUBINSTEIN CLUB CONCERT.
43THE fifth private concert of the Rubinstein Club might not be mentioned here were it not for the fact that an invitation was sent for criticism. It took place on Tuesday afternoon, December 17, at the Waldorf-Astoria. Miss Agnes Mathilde Dressler played the 'cello with much verve and tone; Miss Io Kien, pianist, performed Liszt's Tarantella from the "Venezia a Napoli," and Frank Eaton, baritone, who sings in a Morristown church, sang the "Dio Possente" with a good voice, but unfinished registration. Should he improve his scale he would save his voice and do very well, for he has the material and has good musical intelligence. Mrs. Anne Price Strahan sang Bemberg's harmless waltz song, "Nymphs and Fauns," and in a chorus song by Manney, called "Song at Sunrise," Miss Moore (we believe she is Miss Olivette Celeste Moore, who possesses a beautiful mezzo soprano voice) sang with true charm we may say, for her singing was not only pure and always directly on the key but it was imbued with a great deal of fine sentiment, without sentimentality.
45It is strange that a well trained chorus, such as is composed by the ladies of the Rubinstein Club, should sing well one selection and then half an hour afterward or less do the very opposite. In the song of Henry Loge, "Across the Still Lagoon," cleverly arranged by Frank J. Smith, with seven changes of key, singing a capella, the chorus showed its tendency in adhering strictly to pitch and gave expression and dynamic color to the performance, and immediately thereafter, in a Reverie by the late Joseph Rheinberger, a monotonous and uneven performance took place. Naturally, we must look on a song of Rheinberger's as a more difficult piece of work, but for that very reason we expect more. After all, choruses that sing with piano or orchestral accompaniment never give a true test of their work. It is only in a capella singing that a chorus can illustrate its efficiency, and here we will say that Mr. Chapman has done a great deal with these people, and he must be a remarkable man as a disciplinarian and as a chorus conductor to produce such effective results as he has in some of the songs that were heard last Tuesday night. The trouble with Mr. Chapman is that he is an American. If his name was Chapmonkey or Chapwiskey, and instead of his first name being William it was Wilhelm, there might be something in his work; but Americans, while they have the right to be car conductors and Pullman conductors and electric conductors, have no right to be musical conductors except for nothing.
47Miss Kien produced a very refined quality of tone from the piano, which was a concert grand of unusual artistic merit, and an instrument thoroughly well fitted to illustrate piano music of the highest type. Mr. Levy gave out a luscious tone quality in his accompaniments. It was an Everett concert grand and it was one of the best concert grands that we have heard in recent years.
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