Books › Musical Courier 1928-12-20: Vol 97 Iss 25, 1928 › scan 39
Scan 39
Musical Courier 1928-12-20: Vol 97 Iss 25, 1928
77 lines. Read by computer on 30 September 2026. Printed page 40. See the scan on archive.org.
1WALLS HAVE EARS
2Catherine de Médicis, an Italian marchioness of conspicuous ability and despicable morals, who was Queen of France and mother of three kings, had tubes inserted in certain walls of the Louvre in Paris so that she could overhear the private conversation of friends and enemies in an adjoining room. This was the origin of the saying that walls have ears. It might as well have been the origin of a saying that walls have mouths; for the intriguing queen installed the "auriculares" in order that the walls of her room might repeat the words the other walls heard.
4The device was ancient before the days of Queen Catherine. An older tyrant, Dionysius of Syracuse, had a similar means of communication between his listening room and the state prison. Alexander constructed a statute of Esculapius which spoke by the same primitive contrivance. And in ages more remote there were the speaking head of Orpheus at Lesbos and the musical statue of Memnon in Upper Egypt.
6What would happen if the walls of concert halls had ears to hear and mouths to repeat the sounds which vibrated against their surfaces? Science now has instruments which make the walls of concert halls speak to thousands of listeners far away. But the sounds made by artists long departed can no more be heard by the physical ear from the walls of concert halls. Only imagination can revive a little of the silent music and restore a feeble picture of the scenes which held the attention of listeners who will return no more.
8The familiar concert hall of the Agriculteurs in Paris has now been taken by the cinema producers, and its walls will hear no longer the tones of the recitalists' piano, violin, and voice.
10I compiled a list of many artists I had heard in the old hall during the past few years, but gave it up as impracticable and over long. Longfellow's poem better expresses my sentiments than any words which I might write:
12All houses wherein men have lived and died
13Are haunted houses. Through the open doors
14The harmless phantoms on their errands glide,
15With feet that make no sound upon the floors.
17We meet them at the doorway, on the stair,
18Along the passages they come and go,
19Impalpable impressions on the air,
20A sense of something moving to and fro.
22There are more guests at table than the hosts
23Invited; the illuminated hall
24Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts,
25As silent as the pictures on the wall.
27All old concert halls are haunted; for within them the great composers and musical artists have expressed their deepest feelings and innermost convictions. No man of sentiment and imagination can look without a pang at the old, abandoned Pleyel concert hall of Chopin memories, now a store room for merchandise.
29In a lesser degree the passing of the Salle des Agriculteurs will cause a few regrets to those who have heard so much fine music in it.
31The last halls which remain east of the westward trend of modern Paris are the Salle Erard, and the venerable concert room of the Conservatoire, sacred to the manes of musical spirits which have passed into the other world.
33Over their portals may as well be written: Not Yet; But Soon.
35"DICK" COPLEY
36It must be nice for a manager to hear something nice about himself, especially when that something is said in public. This was the pleasant fortune of Richard (better known as "Dick") Copley the other day when William M. Sullivan, a director of the Society of the Friends of Music, read a report of Mrs. J. F. D. Lanier in which, among other things, the following was written: "Very warm thanks are due our manager, Richard Copley, for his wise, energetic, able and enthusiastic management." Mr. Copley has proved himself, through a career of considerable length (not to make him seem ancient, which he isn't), capable of exercising these same qualities in his promotion of the artists who come under his "wise, energetic, able and enthusiastic" management.
38THE FLONZALEY QUARTET
39At the end of the present season the Flonzaley Quartet is to disband, thus bringing to an end a long and glorious career. This seems a great pity, for why should an organization that has gone to such pains to make itself perfect, and has so eminently succeeded, cease to function? Is there no way to persuade the gentlemen and their manager to keep going? No doubt every sort of effort has been made to accomplish this desirable result, for the quartet is not going to be allowed to go out of existence without vigorous protest on the part of its host of admirers. Yet one still hears that the quartet will disband. This is surely a time for the thinkers to put on their caps of wisdom and scheme out a plan that will result in—at least—a whole lot of farewell tours. People who love each other take a long time saying farewell, and the public loves the Flonzaleys as the Flonzaleys love the public; so they should ease the parting and allow their friends to expect many happy returns. That would be their best Christmas present to America.
41THE GERMAN INSTITUTE OF MUSIC FOR FOREIGNERS
42The German Institute of Music for Foreigners, to be held next summer at Charlottenburg Castle, Germany, represents a return of Germany to the teaching of music to Americans in a new way as well as a large way. The school, as has already been seen in the announcements, has some of Germany's leading musicians on its faculty and is doing everything to make its students' stay in Germany pleasant as well as profitable. The terms are not any higher than is to be expected for master classes of this calibre, and have been kept down so that there is no profit for the school, which is to be supported in part by subsidy. This institute is in every sense of the word a finishing school, and does not therefore enter into competition with American teachers or conservatories. The length of time given to tuition being only eight weeks in all, is, as the directors of the school themselves realize, insufficient to do more than give the finishing student a certain gloss and poise and an insight into what is likely to seem to most students a new world of art. The institute will prove to be a genuine addition to the educational facilities of the world and although it is open to all foreigners it is undoubtedly Americans who will take the most advantage of it.
44"AN AMERICAN IN PARIS"
45Gershwin's new orchestral work, An American in Paris, is a frankly melodious piece of symphonic tomfoolery tinged cleverly with jazz. The scoring is skillful and the harmonization of tactful modernity. The composition made a hit with its hearers even though a few sad eyed conservatives shook their heads over the question of its presence at a Philharmonic concert. Such objections are stupid. Nearly all the good composers have written on occasions in sportive mood, so why not Gershwin? He proved he could be serious and symphonically well behaved, with his piano concerto in F. It was heard here again, by the way, at the Philharmonic Pension Fund concert last Monday evening. Some folks think, by the way, that Gershwin is too solemn in most of his concerto. He cannot please everyone and should not even make the attempt. A composer who writes as he feels, in the end generally makes his hearers feel as he writes.
47CONGRATULATIONS CLEVELAND!
48As chronicled on page seven of this issue, the culmination of the celebration of the tenth birthday of the Cleveland Orchestra was a gift of $1,000,000 from Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, to be used in the building of a permanent hall for the concerts of the association.
50In the history of the symphony orchestra, here and abroad, there have been few instances of such munificence on the part of wealthy music lovers, and it is not surprising that the cheering news should come from the progressive middle-western city of Cleveland.
52In the opinion of some economists music and the other fine arts do not belong among the "essentials" of life; and, in the sense that potatoes, shoes, coal and (in America) ice cream do, those astute thinkers are unquestionably right. But people like Mr. and Mrs. Severance believe that the life of man is not complete with eating, sleeping, keeping warm, and the other activities that he shares with the rest of the animal kingdom; they think that the concert, the opera, the play, good literature, beautiful paintings and the various other edifying pleasures that man's intellect and aesthetic sense have created are not only essential to the well-being of intelligent people, but the very things that make life worth living. If the time ever comes when refinement, culture and love of the beautiful will be as widespread as the primitive instincts now are among the masses, there will be less crime, less grossness, less inconsiderateness, more gentleness, more spirituality and more real Christianity than distinguish the present "enlightened era."
54The splendid gift of the Severances is not only a boon to Cleveland and the cause of good music—considered in the light of the above reflections it is an object lesson to the world, which, if properly construed (and emulated by others in a position to emulate it), should help to pull the human family from the mire of sensuality, selfishness and indulgence in purely physical joys in which, to an alarming extent, it seems to have become enmeshed since the war.
56SIR THOMAS NOT TO RETURN
57In spite of his laudations of America, following his successes as a conductor here last season, the propulsive and picturesque Sir Thomas Beecham is not to return to this country after all during the current winter. He gives illness as the reason for his cancellation of engagements with the orchestras of New York, Philadelphia, and Detroit. Sir Thomas will be missed here. He is not only an engaging personality to watch on the conductor's stand, but he also is a highly gifted leader, expert with the baton, and imaginative and deeply musical in his interpretations. It is to be hoped that this country has not seen and heard the last of him in our concert halls.
59Musical Courier Forum
60Mr. Norden Writes of Church Music
61Philadelphia, Pa.
62To the MUSICAL COURIER:
63Every once in a while there appears in the musical papers an article on Church Music. Several times in these articles I have seen reference made to the music of the Russian Church, generally in praise of this music. Occasionally, however, the statement is made that the texts are not suitable for the American churches. This, of course, is not true. Having edited some 125 of these compositions for various publishers, I feel that I may speak with some authority. In the list before me as I write, I find a number of settings of Oh Gladsome Light, a hymn which appears in nearly all hymnals. I find also in this list thirty compositions where the text is from the Bible—very often from the Psalms. I also find a number of settings of Canticles which are generally used, such as The Lord's Prayer, The Creed, etc. There are a few in this set, the texts of which are religious poetry strictly of the Russian Church, such as The Cherubim Song and certain hymns, as Rimsky-Korsakov's The Bridegroom Cometh, Archangel's Day of Judgment, or Lvovsky's Lord our God, Have Mercy. But these are relatively few in number, and most of the texts are suitable for performance in any church. It is needless for me at this stage to point out the rare beauty which these compositions evince. Their religious effect is remarkable. Since they were first published there have been sold something over 103,000 copies, which would seem to indicate a very large usage of these pieces. However, I may add, without any desire to be egotistical, that some of the larger ones are very rarely heard, and a number of these have been presented only by myself. The reason that many choirs do not sing these beautiful pieces is due to the fact that the conductor will not sufficiently prepare the choir for a proper rendition. If all conductors could only know the great value of a cappella training and singing, even when a choir also sings with organ accompaniment, they would not neglect this field. The texts of these Russian arrangements are all translations, with the exception of a very few, which were so thoroughly unsuitable for performance in America that the text was written in and so noted on the copies.
64I think, therefore, before this statement is made again, it would be advisable to look into the large list of these numbers and the great variety of Biblical texts which they contain.
65Very sincerely yours,
66(Signed) N. LINDSAY NORDEN.
67November 5, 1928.
69Elliott Schenck Writes
70To the MUSICAL COURIER:
71In a recent issue of the MUSICAL COURIER you stated, in writing of my music, to The Light of Asia, that I had evidently made an intensive study of Oriental rhythms and music; this is, of course, self-evident. I went many times to the Public Library, where I made exhaustive studies. From the music dealers as well as from my own library I gathered and studied such material as I could find.
72But after having done this, after having steeped myself in the various characteristics and idioms of the East, I resolved, rather than risk the somewhat monotonous compass of its rhythm and melody, to compose an original score, tinged it with the color and scale of Hindustan; I therefore omitted entirely the use of authentic themes. The work I found very interesting, especially such numbers as the funeral chant, in which I attempted to keep up a constant repetition of three or four notes without monotony. I found the oboe, the tom-tom and certain registers of the flute, as well as the use of diminished and augmented intervals, added to unaccustomed rhythms, of great assistance in obtaining local color.
73Following the precedent set by many well-known composers, I broke away entirely from the Oriental equation in the love-music, the music accompanying the gradually increasing light on Buddha seated under the tree, as well as in the storm scene, where I gave full rein to my imagination; in these parts of the scene I wrote as I felt regardless of clime or country. Gluck chose his subjects from ancient mythology, yet wrote in the manner of his own time. Verdi assuredly did not go to Egypt for his thematic material in Aida, nor did Handel seek musical ideas in ancient Jerusalem with which to clothe The Messiah or Samson; these are only a few of the hundreds of cases which might be cited.
74Yours truly,
75(Signed) ELLIOTT SCHECK.
76New York City, December 12, 1928.
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