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Musical Courier 1902-01-29: Vol 44 Iss 1140, 1902
37 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 6. See the scan on archive.org.
1AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS.
3The American Guild of Organists held their seventeenth public service at Trinity Church last Thursday evening. A large congregation of music lovers and churchgoers assembled long before the time for opening the services. The music was elaborate, indeed, too elaborate for those who prefer simpler music for the church. The singing by the surpliced choir is not what it was years ago at this historic church, or it may be that now our ears are more critical than they were some fourteen years ago when we attended the Easter services at Old Trinity. There are some rare voices among the boy sopranos in the present choir, but no matter what the music may be, boys' voices can never equal in quality the well trained voices of women, which are needed to blend and color the tenors and bassos. The least said about the tenors and bassos in the present choir of Trinity the better. Trinity is the richest parish in the United States. It enjoys an annual income of over $500,000, and there is no reason why it should not have the best choir in the country. To-day at many smaller Episcopal churches one hears far better music than at Trinity.
5The voluntaries at the service last Thursday evening were played by Robert J. Winterbottom, assistant organist of the church. At the opening Rheinberger's Adagio and Finale, from the Organ Sonata in F sharp major, was played, and it was played far too fast. As the processional, Hymn 73, "Allelujah Song of Gladness," by J. N. Steele, was sung. The responses were by Tallys and the Psalter before the Lessons, by Russell. The "Nunc Dimittis" and "Magnificat," sung after the Lessons, were by Horatio W. Parker. One of the best musical numbers of the evening was Hymn 15 (sung by the choir as an anthem), by Samuel A. Baldwin. This was devotional music, pure and simple, and very grateful to the ear. A tediously long and absurdly theatrical setting by F. E. Lucy-Barnes, to the Twenty-third Psalm, was sung at the offertory. There should be a law against such music in a church.
7The address of the evening on "The Consecration of Music and Musicians" was delivered by the Rev. John Harris Knowles, of Trinity Parish. Dr. Knowles is a musician himself, and he said some things that were timely, but unfortunately he addressed the congregation before the singing of the Barnes composition. Hymn 522, "On Our Way Rejoicing," to the charming and familiar setting by A. H. Mann, was sung as the recessional. A Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, by Saint-Saëns, was played as the closing organ voluntary.
9HERMANN KLEIN.
11The Musical Herald, of London, in its last January number published an excellent portrait of Hermann Klein by Mendelssohn, and an article that also mentions this celebrated teacher's visit to the United States. We quote some points that may be of interest to students of the voice:
13"Do you go into the physiology of the voice?"
14"Only in so far as regarding it is essential for a teacher to understand. Garcia understood it, but did not confuse his pupils with it. I remember he once brought me a papier mâché model of the human throat, but he never used any terminology but that which the merest layman could understand."
15"You recognize that there are certain registers?"
16"Yes, their existence is unquestionable to my mind, and the summa ars is to obliterate them. In the case of women's voices, I speak of three registers: chest, medium and head. I do not recognize the existence of intermediate registers, though I do recognize 'intermediate' qualities of tone which tend to unify these registers. I should describe the man's voice as divided into two main registers, with a series of notes of 'intermediate' quality of tone to combine them."
17"You spoke of singers' needs as to languages?"
18"I speak three languages besides my own, and to my mind the whole secret of singing well in a given language is to listen carefully with one's musical ear and imitate like a parrot, but at the same time to preserve the beauty of tone, no matter what may be the vowel or the word. Many singers imagine that in singing in a foreign language they must distort their throats in some peculiar way."
19"How would you describe such bad tone?"
20"The singer bawls or barks, or declaims as we frequently hear bad Wagnerian singers do. There are also singers who have never been taught to give a ringing, resonant timbre, and are content to sing with a veiled, husky tone, which is something more than breath and hardly worthy of being called voice. These two extremes worry me. They are weeded out by the concert agents before long, but during training the teacher must put up with them."
21"You must have wooden pupils sometimes?"
22"Yes. I was rather referring to the cold, dull, monotonous singer who thinks that one tone does for a whole song. I also depurate efforts to overdo interpretation. Some singers sacrifice everything to the word; the result is that the beauty of the voice or the song disappears."
23"Only the man who has tried to stand on his head can fully appreciate the cleverness of the man who walks on his hands, and the memorable struggles made by the majority to acquire a modest amount of technical skill on the keyboard causes the executive feats of piano giants to be fully appreciated. Again, the piano recital is, or should be, a cheap lesson to the ambitious amateur, who has no suspicion of the general hopelessness of the endeavor to go home and do likewise. I use the word 'hopeless' because in a large majority of instances the so-called training which the amateur receives is utterly different from that to which the professional is subjected. The desire of Mrs. Fitz-Smith is that her daughter may play a piece in as many flats as the daughter of Theophilus Brown, and in not a few instances teachers are obliged to devote all their efforts to instruct their pupils to play pieces, and to adopt the quickest means to obtain superficial results. On the other hand, the professional student undergoes a course of training for the development of that particularly fine quality of muscle which shall be the quickest acted upon by nerve force. This training is carried on for years. Every muscle contributing to the control of the fingers is developed from the shoulder downward to an extent undreamt of by the amateur, although the eyes of some have been opened by the system formulated by Macdonald Smith.
24"Another very important factor is the attention bestowed by the professional on what is technically known as 'fingering,' by means of which the varying natural strengths of the fingers are utilized to secure subtleties of expression, and this is carried to such a degree that it may be said that the perfection of piano playing arises from the imperfections of the hand with reference to the keyboard. Beyond all this there is the fact that really great pianists are more or less gifted with abnormal rapidity of transmission of nervous energy from the brain to the fingers, and the ability to remember and reproduce what would seem to be a countless number of musical combinations. The early age at which these gifts manifest themselves is no less wonderful than their exhibition, and there is much excuse for the multitude in its being attracted by 'musical prodigies' for they belong to the most wonderful phenomena of nature."
26Frederic Martin, Boston.
28FREDERIC MARTIN, whose successes have been recorded from time to time, has found honor in his own city, as the following press notices show:
30Mr. Martin sang his recitatives with an absence of affectation that was refreshing. "They That Walked in Darkness" he sang remarkably well, in a way that showed intelligent understanding of the text. Mr. Martin is one of the few singers who have sufficient command and mastery of breath to sing Handel's long roulades, as they are written uninterruptedly.—Boston Evening Transcript.
32Mr. Martin has a sonorous voice, which was doomed to dreary music until he reached "Why Do the Nations?" which he sung with great spirit. His sombre tones were well suited to "The People that Walked in Darkness."—Boston Journal.
34The bass was Frederic Martin, a local singer of reputation, who rendered the often difficult numbers that fell to his lot in a way that evoked frequent applause, expressive of genuine admiration.—Boston Globe.
36The bass music was sung by a Boston singer, Frederic Martin, who came newly to the work and acquitted himself honorably. He has a large voice, sonorous and solid, holds it well in time, accents and phrases justly and executes with a clear facility which proves him to have worked faithfully and intelligently.—Boston Herald.
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