Washington sentinel., 1853-11-09

but he is gentleman with whom one can agree
to disagree
HAVE WE NATIONAL MUSIC.
We were at the brilliant concourse assembled
on Monday evening at Carusi's Saloon to listen
to the grand concert Of our esteemed friend
Ole Bull. Strakosch opened with an inimitable
execution on the piano forte. Sweet little Sig
norma Adelna Patti sung a sbrilliant cavatina'
from the opera Of Ernani, a piece from La
Somnambula, the beautiful ballad Of "Home,
sweet home, and Jenny Lind's far-famed
Echo song.' Ole Bull, with his pristine yigor
and delicate sensibility, performed his compl-
Gated ROlacca Gudnieaa, his Fantasia 4ppa
siondta, his Fantasia Religiosa, This carnioal
di Tenice. 1t would be superAuous for us to
say that each performer was more than equal to
the part each assumed. We think Strakosch
would bear the palm as a pianist from the much
famed Leopold de Meyer; that Ole Bull is fully
the equal of the late Paganini; and that the dear
little child Patti is the best singer Of her age in
the world. So much for so much.
But what we wanted to ask is this, to us a
very interesting question-have we national
music? At the conclusion of Monday even
ings performance, we inquired of very intel
igent Virginia gentleman how he was pleased.
"Very much" said he, 3but wish there had
been more Of the "Home, sweet home' in the
programme, and less Of the hyia-lu-tin, for
that part Of it / cannot feel" We will confess,
though we lay ourselves obnoxious to the
charge Of possessing an unrefined taste, that
we regarded the critique of our Virginia friend
as one full of good oldfashioned common sense.
Quite all the "musical rockets Of Strakosch
we're lost upon our ear, save when, in his
"Scherzo Cappriccio,' came laundering upon
that organ the notes of Yankee Doodle" and
sold Folks at Home" The ears of the audience
caught with our own these notes, and for mo-
ment spontaneously beat time to their music.
Accuse us Of want of refinement, if you will,
we say this indicates that what our Virginian
calls hy.fa-lu.tin'' music is not the music for
an American audience. Yet we must admit
that there is among many polite and intelligent
men and women an affectation Of interest and
admiration when they hear music we do not
understand, and rendered, too, in language
equally incomprehensible. They seem to be
transported with everything not national, so it
be Of foreign growth, though it be Italian, Span
ish, French, or High Dutch Such folks may
have, however, more intelligence and a more
keenly appreciative sense Of the exquisite than
we have.
We are not disposed to confess to the bad
taste of not admiring the musical compost
tons of Italian and other foreign artistes. We
should copy from them, but not in servile
spirit. The lulling softness and the dying
falls should be accommodated to an Amer
lean audience in the utterance Of such senti-
ment NATIONAL and traditionary, as will
touch the American heart. Music, as well
as poetry and oratory, should appeal to the
! general sense Of mankind. The eloquence Of a
kossuth, ifdelivered in his native tongue before
| an American audience, can be no more appreci-
ated, than, in our humble musical judgment, the
recitative Of the best Italian opera before the
same audience. We want more national mu.
sic at our concerts-we want music that we
can comprehend that music, or so much
of it as we have, designed merely for chromatic
ears. We have but an ordinary ear ourselves,
and the great mass Of our people have ordinary
ears, and we profess to be able to Judge
whether a sound properly expresses passion
and whether Il Is pleasing and melodious ia
our senses. If this were not Ole Bulls last
concert we would ask him to consider our sug
gestions in the same kind feeling we make
them. We are National Democrats and prefer
National music.