Scan 29
Musical Courier 1902-01-01: Vol 44 Iss 1136, 1902
39 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 30. See the scan on archive.org.
1TWO PERFORMANCES OF "THE MESSIAH."
3ONCE a year, at the Christmas season, multitudes become acquainted with some of the leading incidents in the life of Georg Friedrich Händel (printed prosaically this year on the Carnegie Hall program as G. F. Handel) through the performances of "The Messiah." As THE MUSICAL COURIER is a paper read by musicians, it seems hardly worth while to inscribe here the historical data which usually accompany the presentations of the oratorio. Händel possessed a powerful, forceful, surging brain and the biographers have told us that he wrote this voluminous musical work in just twenty-four days. The father of Händel, a "horrid" surgeon, who probably delighted in cutting people to pieces, was sternly opposed to the musical inclinations of his son, but the Fates overruled the parental will, and in the course of time Georg became a great composer, and among other great works bequeathed "The Messiah" to posterity. The custom of presenting "The Messiah" yearly in New York will continue to prevail so long as audiences flock to hear the work. To be sure these audiences are not musical, but then they are numerous and that is sufficient inducement for the officers of the New York Oratorio Society to produce the oratorio. The crowded audiences which assemble annually in New York, over in Brooklyn and in London to hear "The Messiah," belong as a matter of course to the church-going masses, who fancy they have performed a sort of pious duty by hearing the story of Christ told musically. Many of these people mean well and sincerely believe themselves better than the "heathen" who rarely go to church or who do not go at all.
5The two performances of "The Messiah" were given last Friday afternoon and Saturday evening at Carnegie Hall. The matinee performance Friday was pretty bad. Chorus, conductor and orchestra were continually at odds with each other. The "atmosphere" was lacking. Saturday night the chorus sang with more spirit, but the orchestra again played raggedly and with little or no regard of the conductor's beat. When we take into account that the New York Oratorio Society has now sung "The Messiah" sixty-one times no reasonable person ought to condone the shortcomings. In the matter of soloists, there was some disappointment. Miss Esther Palliser, a fine oratorio singer, who was engaged to sing the soprano solos at both performances, was prevented from filling the engagement on account of a severe attack of bronchitis. At the last moment Miss Sara Anderson, without rehearsal, kindly consented to fill Miss Palliser's place for Friday afternoon. Few in the audience knew, however, that Miss Anderson was herself somewhat indisposed. Saturday evening Miss Anderson made a heroic effort to help Mr. Damrosch out again, but when she arrived at Carnegie Hall she was so hoarse that she could but whisper that the task of singing was beyond her. Here was a state of things. It was time for the performance to begin. Even with the cuts "The Messiah" is a long work. Well, the performance was begun without a solo soprano, and by the time the Pastoral symphony was reached, when the soprano sings her first solo, it was announced that Miss Louise Leslie, a choir singer (who was reported to be in the audience), would undertake the soprano part. Under the circumstances she did as well as could be expected, and as a reward for her bravery the audience cheered her and again and again greeted her with enthusiastic applause.
7The golden moments at both the afternoon and evening performances were contributed, curiously enough, by the tenors. Glenn Hall sang Friday afternoon and Gregory Hast sang on Saturday evening. Mr. Hall comes from Chicago. This young tenor, then, is another one of those rarely refined artists from the West who do make the jocose allusions to the metropolis on Lake Michigan fall flatter than pressed tin. Mr. Hall's voice is very sweet and has that soft, appealing quality that is demanded in oratorio singing. The opening recitative, "Comfort Ye, My People," and the air, "Every Valley Shall Be Exalted," were beautifully sung by Mr. Hall. The solos in the second part the tenor delivered with even greater distinction.
9Miss Anderson's lovely voice was heard with evident pleasure by many in the audience. She sang the air "Rejoice Greatly" very brilliantly, and despite her indisposition scored a triumph. With her fresh, rich, full, vibrant voice and her abundant temperament Miss Anderson must reach the top and that before many years.
11Mr. Hast, as was expected of him, is an ideal oratorio singer. Never were the familiar recitatives delivered more beautifully. His distinct enunciation, smooth, even, musical voice made every phrase tell, and again in the airs allotted to the tenor the noble import of the text was faithfully portrayed. A sincere, manly and accomplished artist is Mr. Hast, and there were some persons in that audience Saturday who were glad of a second opportunity of hearing him. Miss Louise Homer and David Bispham sang the contralto and basso parts, respectively, at both performances. Both are operatic artists, and they sang Händel's music in operatic style. Mr. Damrosch conducted, as usual.
13At the last concert of the season, March 18, the Oratorio Society will present Schumann's "Paradise and the Peri."
15HERBERT WITHERSPOON.
17HERBERT WITHERSPOON, the basso cantante, recently returned from a three weeks' tour in the South and West. He met with such success that he was re-engaged in almost every city visited for concerts in the spring. Mr. Witherspoon recently sang in Atlanta, Ga.; Denver, Col.; Boulder, Col.; Cleveland, Ohio; Oberlin, Ohio; twice in St. Louis, and gave three concerts in New York, besides filling other important engagements. The press comments which he received in the various cities were most flattering, all of them calling attention to the power and beauty of his voice, his lyric and dramatic ability and his fluency in the modern languages. His work in "The Messiah" occasioned particular comment, especially for his remarkable phrasing, the large and hitherto broken phrases being kept intact and sung with one breath. Mr. Witherspoon is now booking for a Western tour, which he is to make in the spring, and which will include about twenty or twenty-five concerts. He has already been engaged in such cities as Chicago, Buffalo, Montreal, Cleveland, Oberlin, Akron, Belvidere, Ill.; Detroit, Toledo, Duluth, and will go as far West as Denver, Col. Mr. Witherspoon's success this winter has been really exceptional, and he finds himself in such demand that he is planning a tour to the Pacific Coast for next fall, covering the months of October, November and half of December.
19The following press notices are of interest:
21Mr. Witherspoon in his solos captured the audience, and was obliged to acknowledge the numerous recalls several times. He was particularly good in his rendition of "Had a Horse," a Hungarian melody, arranged by F. Korbay. His power of expressing the subtle shades of feeling in this song, the words of which are based on a defeat of the Hungarian army by the Turks, was exceptionally good, the audience giving vent to their appreciation in the most marked applause of the evening. Mr. Witherspoon has a magnificent voice, under full control.—Pittsburg Post, October 19, 1901.
23Mr. Witherspoon then sang a group of songs and delighted his audience. It was his first appearance in Pittsburg, and he established a future welcome for himself.—Pittsburg Dispatch, October 19, 1901.
25Herbert Witherspoon was introduced to St. Louis yesterday at a recital given under the auspices of the Union Musical Club at Memorial Hall, and he made a very favorable impression. Mr. Witherspoon had more than a dozen songs of a wide range in character and sentiment, and proved the possession, not only of a sonorous and musical voice, but of unusual sympathy and adaptability. His voice is very flexible and expressive. His rendition of Korbay's "Had a Horse" was one of the most dramatic performances heard here in a long time, and thrilled his audience. The delicacy of his art was illustrated in his singing of a group of French songs by Chaminade, Bizet, Bemberg and Weckerlin.—Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, December 4, 1901. one of two readings
26Herbert Witherspoon was introduced to St. Louis yesterday at a recital given under the auspices of the Union Musical Club at Memorial Hall, and he made a very favorable impression. Mr. Witherspoon had more than a dozen songs of a wide range in character and sentiment, and proved the possession, not only of a sonorous and musical voice, but of unusual sympathy and adaptability. His voice is very flexible and expressive. His rendition of Korbay's "Had a Horse" was one of the most dramatic performances heard here in a long time, and thrilled his audience. The delicacy of his art was illustrated in his singing of a group of French songs by Chaminade, Bizet, Bemberg and Wekerlin.—Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, December 4, 1901. one of two readings
28"Messiah" at Oberlin, Ohio.—Herbert Witherspoon, the basso, was obliged to sing twice the part, "Why Do the Nations?" While he has a powerful voice, it was his interpretation and highly cultivated style that won.—Cleveland Leader, December 13, 1901.
30Mr. Witherspoon undoubtedly made the hit of the evening in Walter Damrosch's grewsome setting of Kipling's "Danny Deever." Mr. Witherspoon possesses a bass voice of wonderful depth and power, and he hanged Danny Deever with all the spirit that could be demanded. Great interest centred in the "Ich trage Meine Minne" of Richard Strauss. From a purely musical point of view, this was the best of Mr. Witherspoon's solos, and was given a thoroughly artistic rendition. The well-known bass aria from Verdi's "Sicilian Vespers" was splendidly sung and well received by the audience. After some of his songs Mr. W. was recalled again and again. A more spontaneous and hearty welcome has not been accorded any singer in Denver in recent years.—Denver Times, December 6, 1901.
32Mrs. Wyman and Mr. Witherspoon were remarkably alike in one particular—each has the dramatic feeling and the "art that conceals art" to a degree that leaves the bearer free to appreciate the personality of the singer. * * * Mr. W., indeed, was carried away at one juncture by his own feeling. He sang as an encore to Mr. Korbay's ballad, "Had a Horse," another ballad, which Plunket Greene taught us to love, about the chap who took a club and stood for the wedding with dire intention against the bridegroom. And at the climax of the song he actually betrayed his concert self, imperturbable, smiling, kid-gloved, into the gesture that belonged to the line. It was a delicious lack of abandonment to his own dramatic sense. With a voice of good volume, a pleasing lack of mannerism and absolutely faultless technic, he won his hearers from his first encore, and was forced to the task, believed to be grateful to most singers, of declining to sing by coming forth to bow repeatedly. He was a fine singer in good voice.—Denver Post, December 6, 1901.
34ESTELLE HARRIS, HOBART SMOCK AND BUSHNELL AT GOSHEN.—The Goshen Vocal Society gave their annual performance of "The Messiah" last week, with the above soloists, Mrs. Lulu B. Cornu singing the alto solos. There was an orchestra of thirty, chorus of 100, organ, and Rev. Robert Bruce Clark conducted, this being the fifteenth season of the society under his direction.
36Miss Harris sang "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" with beautiful conviction, lovely tone quality, and "Rejoice Greatly" effectively; after the latter she had to bow twice. In red and black she was a picture of youthful beauty. Mr. Smock, though under the weather, received warm applause, and Mr. Bushnell many recalls after his "Why Do the Heathen Rage?" The choruses all went with spirit, the orchestra was rough, the audience large, quite filling the church, and Mr. Clark the recipient of congratulations.
38The fourth concert occurs Thursday p. m., February 6, 1902.
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