Books › Musical Courier 1926-07-08: Vol 93 Iss 2, 1926 › scan 10
Scan 10
Musical Courier 1926-07-08: Vol 93 Iss 2, 1926
72 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. Printed page 11. See the scan on archive.org.
A town on its own line is one of the directory's headings. That is where the town on a maker's page comes from.
1July 8, 1926
3READING, PA.
5READING, PA.—The Reading Choral Society sang, in the large Rajah Theater, Mendelssohn's Hymn of Praise, Max Bruch's Jubilate, Amen, and Schubert's Omnipotence. These works were sung in conjunction with the Mendelssohn Club and Strawbridge-Clothier Chorus of Philadelphia in the Sesqui-Centennial Auditorium in Philadelphia, June 17, with impressive effect. The distinguished director of the Reading Choral Society conducted both performances with his accustomed intelligence, command of his forces, and musicianship. A large and decidedly appreciative audience heard the local chorus and although the customary instrumental support of members of the Philadelphia Orchestra was lacking, Carroll W. Hartline, the capable accompanist of the society, was at the large Rajah Theater organ and did admirably. More than 200 singers participated in the performance and the volume of tone was imposing, its quality pure, and its balance of parts commendable. Remarkably distinct and understandable was the enunciation of the text of the works, a feature of performances in which this fine chorus excels, to the pleasure of its audiences. The soloists were local singers—Caroline Yocom Kirkhoff and Laura M. Snyder, sopranos, and Wellington Wolf, tenor. The work of the soloists was such as merited high praise and the singing of Mr. Wolf was worthy of especial praise for his excellence in delivery, purity of intonation and his musical grasp. Mr. Norden, whose unquestioned value and ability as a conductor is always manifest, gave a reverent, artistic and clarifying reading of the respective works, and the performance was in every respect one that impressed favorably and gave exceptional musical enjoyment.
7Umberto Sacchetti, tenor, formerly of the Metropolitan Opera Company and later with the Boston Opera Company, gave a concert in the Y. M. C. A. Auditorium, June 22, and scored a signal success. His voice is strong and resonant, true to pitch and of even register. He manages it with commendable ease and skill. The program was one that revealed Mr. Sacchetti as a pleasing, modest and satisfying singer. Mr. Sacchetti was assisted by a young, local violinist, Caroline Fox, who has been heard here a number of times in the last few seasons and who is being received with increasing favor in her successive appearances. She played with genuine feeling, good technic, feeling and intelligence. Rene W. Irwin, at the piano for Miss Fox, and Emilie Strauss for Mr. Sacchetti, were contributing factors to the fine work of their principals.
9W. W. B.
11REGER FESTIVAL IN ESSEN
13(Continued from page 5)
15the subtlest nuances of tone he often loses sight of the structural line of his work. Fiedler, on the other hand, is the type of severely rhythmical, energetic conductor, who is chiefly concerned with a clever building-up of climaxes. His equally great talent for choral conducting was revealed in the wonderful Requiem which he made the highest achievement of the festival. The solo part was sung by the contralto, Frieda Dierolf, with a lovely voice and a fine sense of style.
17Less well performed were the a cappella male and female choruses, under the leadership of G. E. Obsner and N. Meissner, but they were very interesting as samples of Reger's "miniatures." Very welcome also were the Mozart Variations for orchestra, unfortunately stamped as a show piece, and the less often heard Hiller Variations. They are two big works giving eloquent testimony of Reger's peculiar genius for the variation form.
19Hölderlin's poem, An die Hoffnung, set for contralto and orchestra was sung by Frieda Dierolf in a somewhat cool but musically assured manner. The same artist sang a song cycle, beautifully accompanied on the piano by Max Fiedler.
21There remain to be mentioned the masterly performances of the fantasy and fugue in D minor, and the fantasy and fugue on B-A-C-H (B) by the Berlin organist, Fritz Heitmann, and the delightful Concerto in the Old Style, played by the two violinists, Adolf Busch and Alexander Kosmann. Particular praise is also due to the Busch Quartet which, with Rudolf Serkin as pianist, Philipp Haass as second viola, and Hermann Busch as second cellist, played characteristic examples of Reger's chamber music, including the seldom-heard string sextet, opus 118, with compelling verve and beauty of tone.
23Space does not permit detailed praise of each artist, but they all earned the enthusiastic gratitude of the public, and the entire festival which followed a serious and genuine artistic ideal also met with outward signs of appreciation and success.
25E. T.
27Critics Praise Hortense Barnhart-Jones
29Hortense Barnhart-Jones recently returned to New York after a successful concert tour on the Pacific Coast. One of her engagements was for the first annual administration day of the Advertising Club of Los Angeles at the Biltmore Hotel. Miss Barnhart-Jones was referred to on the program as "a charming young mezzo-soprano whose dramatic, powerful voice and artistic interpretation has distinguished her in operatic and concert successes in New York and other eastern cities over a period of years." By request, she sang the O Don Fatale aria, the Habanera, and Frank La Forge's Song of the Open.
31The mezzo soprano has numerous splendid critical reviews of her singing. According to Carl Bronson in the Los Angeles Herald: "Miss Barnhart possesses a dramatic mezzo soprano voice of rare timbre and she handles it with the poise of one who understands it thoroughly. Her forte is undoubtedly the dramatic phase, which requires intensity and verve, and those songs containing these requisites evidence her art lavishly. The smooth and free melody of the Gluck O del mio dolce ardor was splendidly rendered by Miss Barnhart-Jones and her excellent breath control emphasized the phrasing into a vocal clarity not often met with in the operatic singer. Her aria from Meyerbeer's Le Prophet offered her her best opportunity and made one want to hear her with full orchestra coloring. In the little classics she was also perfectly at home and her Strauss, Marx, Fourdrain, Brunel and Respighi won encores which she responded to graciously."
33An appearance at an open-air concert in Venice, Cal., led the critic of the Venice Evening Vanguard to write: "Hortense Barnhart-Jones lent variety to the program with several solos, and her voice, with its clarity and power, proved to be remarkably well adapted to open-air singing. Miss Barnhart-Jones has received high praise from critics in every section of the United States, and Venetians expressed themselves as heartily in accord with their judgment."
35Baltimore, Md., praised the singer for the fine vocal and histrionic ability she displayed when she appeared in that city as Azucena in Il Trovatore and Amneris in Aida.
37Maier-Pattison Novelties
39"That venerable and perennially fresh institution," as the New York Sun has recently dubbed the musical two-piano firm of Guy Maier and Lee Pattison, is again busily engaged in preparing two-piano novelties for the next season. The two-piano literature has already been materially enriched by their labors and next season will register the following additions to their repertory: Guy Maier's arrangement for two pianos of Saint-Saens' orchestral work, Carnival of the Animals; Sowerby's Syncopata, specially written for these twins of the piano (this work is described by the composer as a modern work in jazz rhythms, but written in sonata form); the Bach Goldberg variations (a welcome addition in these days of "Bach renaissance"); Guy Maier's arrangement of Grainger's Turkey in the Straw; a new fox-trot by Lee Pattison; a Berceuse by Florent Schmitt; a Siciliano by Bach; a Prelude and Pastorale by Richard Platt. In addition, Messrs. Maier and Pattison expect to play in Minneapolis, St. Paul and other cities next season Hutcheson's new piano concerto, which was recently introduced in Philadelphia.
41HORTENSE BARNHART-JONES
43CHARLES STRATTON
44Tenor
46During 1925-26 Mr. Stratton appeared at three pairs of concerts of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and was soloist at the Ann Arbor May Festival.
48ANN ARBOR FESTIVAL
49"Charles Stratton displayed a voice of warmth and power and gave an interpretation that had life and meaning."—Detroit Free Press, May 21, 1926.
51BOSTON
52In Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, November 22 and 23, 1925:
53"Charles Stratton notably bettered all his recent predecessors in this ungrateful music."—Boston Post.
54In Liszt's "Faust" Symphony, February 19 and 20, 1926:
55"Charles Stratton is notably the best tenor who has been assisting soloist with the Boston Symphony in a choral concert in the past 15 seasons."—Boston Globe.
56In Prokofieff's "Seven, They Are Seven!" April 23 and 24, 1926:
57"Prokofieff's tenor is the shrilling priest, piercing the night with his cries and spells, flinging phrase upon phrase riven until Mr. Stratton sang the music almost too well."—H. T. Parker, Boston Transcript.
59Concert Management
60ARTHUR JUDSON
62CHARLES STRATTON
63Tenor
65Present bookings indicate that Mr. Stratton will have as busy a season next year as last. Mr. Stratton should be on your concert course for 1926-27!
67ANN ARBOR FESTIVAL
68"Charles Stratton, the tenor, did an excellent evening's singing in a strong and most agreeable voice."—Detroit News, May 21, 1926.
70Packard Building
71Philadelphia
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