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Musical Courier 1904-06-29: Vol 48 Iss 1266, 1904
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1MURIEL FOSTER.
3HERE is a symposium of interesting press notices of the recent appearances of Muriel Foster in Cincinnati, New York and Chicago:
5AT CINCINNATI MAY FESTIVAL. "DREAM OF GERONTIUS," EDWARD ELGAR.
6Of the soloists Miss Muriel Foster, contralto, proved the revelation. It may be said without fear of contradiction that not since the festival days of Annie Louise Cary has such a singer—of such wealth of voice material and voice quality—made her appearance in the Music Hall. And yet it was not so much the material—which expanded to a climax—that invited admiration as the carrying power of her voice. In the cantata the greater part of the solo work is assigned to the Angel—and to it Miss Foster gave a consistently beautiful and thoughtful interpretation. It was this exquisitely wrought conception that added a double charm to her voice. The power and vitality with which her voice gave expression to dramatic situations were only equaled by the tenderness and pathos that she imparted to those of gentler import.—The Enquirer, May 14, 1904.
8Miss Muriel Foster, singing the part of the Angel, created a furore. Her voice is one of those deep and lovely altos not often found out of England. Miss Foster's singing last evening left nothing to be desired, so admirably was it adapted to the work in hand. There was fervor, love, faith and prayer in all she sang.—The Times-Star, May 14, 1904.
10Miss Muriel Foster, the English contralto, proved a revelation to Cincinnatians in the rich, vibrant quality of her voice and her noble conception of the Angel.—Cincinnati Post, May 14, 1904.
12Her voice is a splendid contralto of a delicious richness of timbre and mellowness of quality. Miss Foster indeed achieved a triumph. She at once won the interest of the audience, which lost no time or energy in demonstrating its approval.—The Tribune, May 14, 1904.
14Miss Muriel Foster has a contralto of exquisite musical quality and extraordinary carrying power. Miss Foster was wonderfully true to each subject in her interpretation, singing with temperament and repose, and using her beautiful voice to the highest demands of art.—The Enquirer, May 15, 1904.
16WITH NEW YORK ORATORIO SOCIETY, "THE APOSTLES," EDWARD ELGAR.
17In Miss Foster the public made the acquaintance of an artist of striking gifts and graces. Nature has endowed her with prodigal generosity. Hers is an opulent voice in both quantity and quality, and it is full of emotion and fervor. It is a pity that she came to us so late in the season.—Daily Tribune, March 25, 1904.
19Miss Foster is another of those uncommon contraltos to be found only in England. She is tall and handsome and has a voice of extraordinary quality and power. She sang the music of Mary Magdalen with a tremendous sweep of passion and with touches of irresistible tenderness. She suited the part to perfection. If Wagner had known her he would have written his projected "Jesus of Nazareth" as he first conceived it.—The Sun, March 25, 1904.
21Miss Muriel Foster sang the music of the Magdalen with intense conviction, moving dramatic power and deep pathos. She is a singer gifted with temperament and great resources of emotional expression.—The New York Times, March 25, 1904.
23Miss Foster sang the Magdalen's part in a full, deep, resonant and, at moments, velvety voice, such as only English altos seem to have. Better still, unlike most of her kind, she has keen intelligence, imagination and temperament. It is long since we have heard in oratorio here a singer who could so color tones with the emotion of text and music; who could rise, when occasion bade, to unforced and stirring passion, and who, also, knew the value of reserve and delicate contrast.—The Globe, March 25, 1904.
25MISS MURIEL FOSTER LIFTS THE ORATORIO STAGE.
26English contralto for whom Elgar wrote a part in "The Apostles" makes a really sensational success as Mary Magdalen at the oratorio's second performance here.—The Evening Sun, March 25, 1904.
28AT GEORGE HAMLIN'S CONCERTS.
29The first few tones from Miss Muriel Foster's voice proved conclusively that this young English contralto was all, and more, than had been claimed for her. Full, rich and vibrant, her splendid voice is of beautiful quality through all the registers. It is a pure, clear contralto, and is as yet fresh and unworld. The fact that the singer possesses personal charm and an excellent stage presence caused her to be given close attention from the start, but she soon proved that her voice in itself could hold her auditors' interest. In the Gluck aria Miss Foster used her unusual volume to fine advantage. She was dramatic and forceful, but her voice never for a moment lost the beautiful musical quality that characterizes every note she sings. Later, in two groups of songs, she displayed her excellent interpretative powers. She is able to make the tender, sympathetic qualities manifest themselves whether she is using her remarkable pianissimos or is singing full power. She is one of the most pleasing singers now appearing in public.—Record Herald, March 14, 1904.
31The English contralto proved a singer of fine abilities. Her voice is rich, full and vibrant, of unusual sonority and warmth and excellently schooled. She sang "Chafaro," from "Orpheus," with admirable tonal smoothness, with abundant repose and breadth of style, and with full appreciation of the musical and emotional content of the aria. A group of French songs and an encore in German showed her a lieder singer of taste and individuality.—The Tribune, March 14, 1904.
33With Miss Foster the gods have been lavish. Had she not been endowed with a voice she would have been an uncommonly agreeable actress; but she has a voice, and presence and magnetism. Moreover, she lays claim to a degree of beauty that we too seldom behold on the concert stage, unhappy to relate. She won her hearers before she had half finished the Gluck aria, "Che faro." Hers is a voice of great richness; not alone is it remarkable for its clarity, but for its fullness, depth and mellowness. Miss Foster has temperament, and yet avoids the exaggeration that women of temperament and the dark style of beauty fall into; she is delightfully free from vicious mannerisms.—Chicago Post, March 14, 1904.
35Miss Foster at once made herself a favorite, her singing of Bizet's "Berceuse" and a little German encore being the gems of the program. The new contralto has a full, rich voice and sings with thorough appreciation of her work. She is a typical English beauty and possesses a wonderfully charming personality.—Chicago Journal, March 14, 1904.
37WITH CHICAGO ORCHESTRA.
38One of the most enjoyable features of the program is the appearance of Miss Muriel Foster, who possesses one of the rarest of voices—a pure contralto. Hearing such a voice as Miss Foster's one is given a new standard as a measure of vocal values. One never wonders whether she is a mezzo soprano or a contralto. There are a number of singers with deep, powerful voices, but few who have the same rare quality of tone. Their art may be great, however, wherever they are classified. There is an unusual warmth and richness in this English singer's voice, together with remarkable volume and carrying power. She is always musical and never lets the guttural sounds come into annoying prominence, even when she is singing German. Nature has been wonderfully generous in her endowment of this singer and has thrown in beauty, youth and personal charm for good measure.—The Record-Herald, April 30, 1904.
40The vocalist of the concert was Miss Muriel Foster, who was heard here at one of the Hamlin concerts earlier in the season. Her voice impressed then as one of the most beautiful the year has brought us, and the more important work she did yesterday but confirmed and deepened this impression. Miss Foster's voice is truly exceptional. A real contralto of wonderful smoothness, warmth and richness, and so perfectly schooled that every tone is a delight in its purity, roundness and sonority. It is a great voice, and yesterday it was controlled by an artist intelligent and refined. The lovely Elgar "Sea Pictures" became poems in Miss Foster's art, and the noble Strauss "Hymn" was delivered with telling eloquence and moving beauty.—The Tribune, April 30, 1904.
42Miss Foster is a beautiful woman. Her voice is one of those pure, rich and deep contraltos which have a compelling charm. It has also great power and extended compass. Miss Foster sings with unusual warmth and breadth of style. She has the temperament of the true artist and a dramatic intensity which makes her singing truly magnificent.—The Inter Ocean, April 30, 1904.
44Her singing is refined, elegant and intellectual in the highest degree. Each phrase is like a graceful line in some clear cut etching. Each tone of her very beautiful voice is perfectly taken, perfectly placed. Never does it lose any of the sombre richness heard only in a real contralto voice. Never does any stress of emotion or of dramatic effort move the singer out of this classic repose.—The Journal, April 30, 1904.
46José Vianna da Motta.
47THE eminent Portuguese pianist, José Vianna da Motta, is one of the few pianists to gain a strong foothold in London. Appended are criticisms from the leading dailies of the world's metropolis:
49On Thursday afternoon the eminent Portuguese artist, Senhor Vianna da Motta, proved himself once more to be a musician in the fullest and truest sense. His performance of two sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, of Daquin's "Coucou" and Haydn's rarely heard but most characteristic fantasia in C, showed his complete sympathy with the music of a bygone day, and his reading of the "Waldstein" sonata of Beethoven was a real interpretation, not by any means an exhibition of manual dexterity, though of this he has plenty, as was shown in what was called a "Concerto without orchestra," one of the immensely difficult studies of C. V. Aikin. In these and a couple of pieces of Chopin's his tempo rubato was of a kind that tells of finished musicianship and artistic intelligence of a very high order.—Times, November 21, 1903.
51The performer in question has many excellent qualities, among them firmness and fluency, both developed in no ordinary degree. Senhor da Motta can touch music, ancient and modern, with equal success. The sonata of the afternoon was Beethoven's "Waldstein," and here again he gave a bold and interesting account of the matter in hand.—Telegraph, November 20, 1903.
53Since Senhor José Vianna da Motta made his first appearance at the Bechstein Hall nine months ago he has improved greatly as a pianist. Last February he promised much; Thursday afternoon found that promise in many respects fulfilled. Like the Lady of the Lake he might almost have occupied the intervening months "sole sitting by the shores of old romance." For there is real poetry in his reading today; that quality which we must call artistic feeling. Beethoven's C major sonata (op. 53) was his happiest effort yesterday, and of this work he furnished a rendering replete with those properties which command attention and arouse interest. Earlier in the program pieces by Scarlatti, Daquin and Haydn were played with delightful crispness and delicacy; while Bach's great fantasia and fugue in G minor admirably displayed the force and technical precision of which the Portuguese artist is capable.—Standard, November 21, 1903.
55Another pianist who has made great strides in his art is Senhor José Vianna da Motta, who, it will be remembered, attracted considerable attention by his recitals last February at the Bechstein Hall.
57Clara Mae Hammer.
58MISS CLARA MAE HAMMER, a soprano from Winona, Minn., has been singing with good success in grand opera at Havana, Cuba. She especially distinguished herself in the coloratura role of Amina in "La Sonnambula." Miss Hammer is a pupil of Mme. Lena Doria Devine. Her success in Cuba secured for the young artist the engagement as prima donna with the Wilbur Opera Company for next season.
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