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Musical Courier 1926-05-20: Vol 92 Iss 20, 1926
56 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. Printed page 5. See the scan on archive.org.
1SUCCESS OF HARRISBURG FESTIVAL A TRIUMPH FOR CONDUCTOR WARD-STEVENS
3Fourth Annual Event Proves Tremendous Artistic Success—Enthusiasm Knows No Bounds and Conductor Particularly Is the Recipient of Repeated Ovations—Noted Soloists Heard and Chorus Is Superb
5HARRISBURG, PA.—Ward-Stevens, composer, teacher, organist and director, achieved a great triumph in the fourth annual May Festival held Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, May 12, 13 and 14, in Grace Methodist Church. The financial side of the festival is assured by a large group of guarantors and patrons and, musically and artistically it swept along from one splendid concert to another, with chorus soloists and audience in full accord.
7The May Festival, organized four years ago by Bernard R. Mausert, now numbers 105 selected voices. The organization is what might be called the follower of the Harrisburg Choral Society, which gained wide celebrity for many years under the direction of the late Dr. W. W. Gilchrist and later under the baton of Dr. J. Fred Wolle, but which disbanded some years ago when Dr. Wolle decided to give all his time to his Bach Chorus. Singers who were members of the Choral Society formed a large part of the chorus directed by Ward-Stevens.
9The enthusiasm of the singers and the interest in rehearsals, begun some months ago, spoke glowingly for the inspiration of Ward-Stevens, who came to this city last fall to assume his place as director of music and organist of Grace Methodist Church. Ward-Stevens was untiring in his efforts and his mastery of the art of conducting, evidenced throughout the festival, was recognized by chorus and audience alike. He is a finished and capable leader.
11Large and enthusiastic audiences were present at every concert, three evening programs in which the choruses were heard and two afternoon recitals by artists. Ward-Stevens and the choruses received ovations after each number. The soloists were recalled for encore after encore and the listeners seemed loath to let them go. The soloists for the festival were: Grace Kerns, soprano; Nevada Van der Veer, contralto; Judson House, tenor, and Fred Patton, bass. They were not only acclaimed as great singers but they were treated royally as guests. J. Horace McFarland, president of the May Music Festival, entertained the soloists and Ward-Stevens at his home. Ehrman B. Mitchell, member of the festival committee, was host at a luncheon party for the musician-guests at the Harrisburg Country Club.
13THE OPENING PROGRAM
15The festival program opened with the presentation of Verdi's Requiem, sung in Latin, with Frank A. McCarrell, organist and choirmaster of Pine Street Presbyterian Church, at the organ, and Helen Bahn at the piano. The famous mass had an inspired reading at the hands of Ward-Stevens, whose appreciation of the spiritual values of the composition was shown when he led the chorus from heights of spiritual fervor to the contrite prayer of the unison Agnus Dei. The Sanctus, fugue for double chorus, was probably the outstanding chorus number of the evening, the singers showing the utmost familiarity with the score and following their director's every intent, thrilling the audience with the dramatic climaxes. The soloists gave splendid account of themselves during the evening. Grace Kerns' voice is notable for beauty and color, and she uses it well. She has excellent breath control, diction and flexibility. Her floral passages were limpid and her obligatos floated clear and high, with the high C easily reached and sustained with great beauty over the power of the chorus. Nevada Van der Veer's singing is most satisfactory. Her voice is luscious, rich and vibrant, with thrilling high tones and with low tones of richness and deeply moving quality. She brings her glorious vocal powers to bear with a rare intelligence in all her singing. Her voice seems to flow of itself, her throat relaxed, never tense nor taut, with the full volume of sound coming easily and swelling unconstrainedly. Judson House possesses a most beautiful tenor voice of great volume and capable of the warmest of pianissimo tone. His opening phrases in the Kyrie Eleison were indicative of the treat in store for his hearers during the Festival season. Particularly beautiful was the trio, Lux Aeterna, sung by Mr. House, Mme. Van der Veer and Mr. Patton. Fred Patton's singing was an increasing delight throughout the entire Festival. His numbers were given with profound impressiveness, intensely musical quality, diverse tonal qualities and finished phrasing and enunciation. His Confutatis demonstrated great dramatic feeling and was singing of the finest sort.
17THURSDAY, MAY 13
19Thursday afternoon, the quartet of soloists presented a well-balanced and varied program before an audience which again crowded the auditorium. Fred Patton opened the program with the Handel Largo, The Two Grenadiers and I am a Roamer Bold, by Mendelssohn. He has the way of establishing, with the first note, the atmosphere of every song he sings and his three songs were followed by hearty applause to which he responded with a superb singing of Huhn's Invictus. Grace Kerns' songs were modern in type—Call Me No More, Cadman; The Dew Fairy, Forsyth, and Ecstasy, Rummel, to which she added the encore, The Answer, by Terry. Following a splendid reading of the duet from The Jewels of the Madonna (Wolf-Ferrari), by Mme. Van der Veer and Mr. House, the latter sang Passing By, by Purcell, with exquisite beauty and tenderness of tone. With suave, lyric voice of lovely timbre, Mr. House also sang Eleanore, by Coleridge-Taylor, and The Pipes o' Gordon's Men, receiving so much applause that he responded with two encores. Mme. Van der Veer's contributions to the recital were Quelle Souffrance, by LeNormand, and two songs of Ward-Stevens, In the Dawn of an Indian Sky and Summertime. Her interpretation was given with much artistry.
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23BERLIN OPERA CLOSES AFTER A REMARKABLE "RING" UNDER DR. MUCK
25Closed for Reconstruction Till End of Year, While Kroll Theater Carries On—Closing Concerts of the Season Contained Much of Interest—Furtwangler Returns—More Young Composers Heard
27BERLIN.—The power of the Wagnerian work of art is prodigious and beyond comparison. All of us have had our spells of discontent with Wagner, the illusion that Wagner is becoming less of an active power in our age, and yet, actually sitting in the theater and hearing a good performance, we are fascinated, consider all our former doubts as immaterial and are willing to stand performances of five hours and more.
29Thus it happened again in the Wagner cycle which closes the season of the Berlin State Opera abnormally early this year, owing to the necessary renovation of the old house Unter den Linden, which will take to the end of the year. During this time the State Opera will play only in its second house, the Kroll Theater in the Tiergarten.
31The first performances of the Wagner cycle have already been mentioned in my last letter. Special attention is due to the four performances of the Nibelungen tetralogy, conducted by Dr. Carl Muck, who on this occasion made his reappearance in the place of his former activity. Until he was called to America as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1912, Dr. Muck had been kapellmeister at the Berlin Royal Opera for twenty years.
33The thirteen years' absence from Berlin have not weakened his artistic capacities in the least. His rendering of the four scores was of a clearness, mastery, power and intensity which made these performances a memorable event. Spontaneous ovations showed how highly the audience appreciated Dr. Muck's achievement.
35As regards the cast these Ring performances suffered by several sudden changes occurring at the last hour. Thus Frieda Leider, an admirable Brünnhilde, prevented by sudden illness, had to be replaced in Siegfried by a singer from Stuttgart, far inferior to her. Tristan, Die Meistersinger and Parsifal were presented by Erich Kleiber, of course with an abundant display of his admirable art of conducting and splendid musicianship, though not in that classical Wagnerian style of which Dr. Muck is the greatest exponent. Also Leo Blech and Georg Szell had their share in the Wagner cycle.
37WAGNER AT MUNICIPAL OPERA, TOO
39A Tristan and Isolde performance at the Municipal Opera House demands attention on account of the participation of two great singers. Helene Wildbrunn is unequalled in her power of singing most beautifully those most exacting roles which are generally considered "unvocal." Her Isolde is a treat for the ears, a triumph of pure vocal art, though not in the same degree of dramatic art. Quite similarly Sigrid Onegin charms the ear in an uncommon degree. Hardly ever have I heard Brangane's Wächterlied in the second act sung with equally enchanting effect. But also in her case there is a gap between singing and acting. Erick Enderlein, who has already sung in Bayreuth, is only approximately up to the demands of Tristan. Schipper's Kurvenal on the other hand fully exhausts the possibilities of the part. Bruno Walter conducted with the ecstasy and the exquisite lyric sentiment peculiar to him.
41FURTWÄNGLER RETURNS
43Symphony concerts have come to a definite close in April. Furtwangler, after a three months' absence in America has returned to Berlin and completed the series of his Phil.
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47OVATION FOR JACCHIA AS BOSTON SYMPHONY "POPS" OPEN
49BOSTON.—A fortnight ago when Serge Koussevitzky conducted his final pair of concerts of the Boston Symphony season the audiences that heard him established a new precedent in enthusiasm which exceeded mere handclapping and found adequate voice only when cheers were heard in the auditorium. Enthusiasm of a similar nature was manifested on May 3, when Agide Jacchia appeared on the stage of Symphony Hall to begin his tenth season as conductor of the "Pops," the forty-first season of these famous spring and summer concerts. The applause was long and sustained, and was finally reinforced by cheers from the more vocal admirers of the large audience that filled the hall.
51In outward aspect the "Pops" have changed very little with the years. The platform has again assumed a verdant aspect, tables have replaced the customary chairs on the floor, and becomingly attired waitresses again respond to the needs of listeners who would have more than musical fare. It is in the character of the music that these concerts have progressed far beyond their original scheme. At the outset the programs abounded in music that was essentially of a light nature. Since the advent of Mr. Jacchia, however, they have gradually assumed a more serious phase, with a noticeable increase in the size of the audiences and in the enthusiasm with which they have reacted to his offerings. To be sure, one still finds an occasional waltz or march or potpourri from some current musical comedy; but the programs are made up principally of operatic fantasies, movements from symphonic pieces, overtures from the symphonic and operatic repertories and transcriptions, generally from Mr. Jacchia's skilful hands, of songs and piano pieces.
53Thus, on the occasion of his opening night, Mr. Jacchia began with the sonorous Rakoczy march of Berlioz, proceeded to Thomas' overture to his opera, Mignon, continued with an arrangement by the conductor of Moszkowski's Scherzo opus 18, No. 2, and brought the first group to a close with a fantasia from Alfano's opera, Resurrection. A second group comprised transcriptions by Mr. Jacchia of Brahms' E flat rhapsody, Scott's Negro Dance and Albeniz's Cordova, and completed the group with a stirring perform-
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