New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-01-12
THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.

soeny sweet French bonnet, and lyrical smiles and
tinted gloves and other delcacies of the season
For the purpose Of hearing the nicer delneations of
symphony or IA instrumental solo, commend US to
worse place than the Academy, if it can be found Al
orchestra on theatrical stage with an absorbent sea
of canvas behind is in poor arena for such musical
discourse. The notes, crcling in space, come more
or less sodden the ear compared with the sclntian
Damascus blade-like periphery in a concert-room OF
the right size and shape. The Philharmonic Society
has ougown its due proportions the orchestra is not
too srget is not large enough-but the auditory and
tn. auditorium are. multitude Of hearers is not ne
ce,sarly an army Of amateurs. Ofthis fact assurance
is given by the mortal cbliness of the reception OF
every piece where the audience cannot worship solo
player. Whenever it is a question OF musical
deas pure and simple dssociated from representa-
tive in the shape Of singer or perforner-aud
merely integrated with the quasi-inpersonalnm oil
some eighty e1ecutants in the orchestra-then the
popular claw and beak have nothing to fssten upon
Then let the orchestra do its beet its worst and the
manner in which its efforts are received is pretty
much the came, being one of undemonstrAtive fgdiy
and want of appreciation.
The first piece last night was MozaIts symphony,
called JnpsteT. The dominant good sense aud good
iaste of the composer shown in this work. His
Italian vocal studes-hs melodic training in setting
music TO Italian meters, which every composer must
do in thousand ways TO arrive at the inefable grace
of the school, and the only school OF singing whether
OF the voice or it's mimic the orchestra-these al are
beautifully displayed in this so-called Jupiter sym
phopy To the aspirants for musical reputation az
composers in this country would give word OF
advice as we receive in the course of the year evil
dences of the awakening talent in that direction.
We would cay, if they wiki TO arrive at the
mode Of constructing musical phrases OF making
vocal statement, whether for the singer,
or. asthetically, what is the same thing, for
performer on an instrument, let them study the Italian
school of vocaty as exhibited in the most successful
writers whether for voices instruments. Thalberg
said TO us the other day: AS beginning fJr playing
" the piano. and composing, studied Italian singllg
for five years" II s the want Of this vocal training,
ard the want of ranscendental acquaintance with the
manner in which Italian poetry determines the graceful
uninterrupted flow OF vocal melody by reason OF its
.ylabifcaiion its cesural pauses, and its metncal
.oftnesf which makes the average compositions
for voices and instruments 90 stiff AMI dis-
iointed. But Mozart, trained in writing operas TO
Italian words, had prObed this secret OF me!odic
continuity and possessed i in perfection, or
with an unbroken certainty and habit not found N the
most original and to US greatest purely German Ora
matte composer Won Weber, and ETH less IN the
operatc work Of Beethoven Fidelio, or in his Mass
This want of lovely flowing melody is fell in the latest
expr, ssion of the German school, AM OF tie precursor
the French school Of which the great nstrumentais
and orchestrator, Hector Berioz is the Acknowledged
chief As for pooh pooling down the csims the a'p!-
ratiobs, or even the shortcomings OF such men IS
Wagner, Berlioz and others, il simply ridiculous.
They are delivers and divers for pearls beneath the say
face and good comes of such dsrfg but they are on
wrong track far as they neglect the spontanei'y
Of melody. The composer should respect hs once
child-Hke aspiiations-the early times when love-
melody made him reach the empyrean OF ecstasy, and
find therein that one Of the hhest if not the highest
element Of music is the sepsuousness-o- the
e1otic principle. The Greeks understood it
when they made Apollo-the procreaot Sun
the god Of music. Now music lie to be intellectual.
Mercury-the god of hcisns well sc thieves
is enthrcned a. the deity. Intellectual music, 80
called, is Wanted above the diamonds Of melody the
hesrt. fret gush of lyrical joy and affection 10 this
underestimate of the superior claim OF melody we are
r.ipded of the fable of the fox without the tail: no
COMPOSER who can make q melody refrans from doing
80. The alliance Of the most beautiful melody with
| the most romantic, mccarthy spnusl, religious or
vhatnot expression is not only perfectly compatible,
but give. us a special interest Weber has provedit.
| The instrumental piece. performed on Saturday
evening, Mozsrt's symphony and wssners Overture
70 "Fau.t were in strong contrast as representatives
| Of the old ard new schools. The new school INST
connect more of the beautiful with It's emotional az
pirstous, Il ii wishes TO be popular People viii ike,
! for example, the smoothly fluent and continuously
wrought out slow movement of Mossrts Jupiter n
prefer, zee 10 the wild unrest and calculated melode
| phrases-melodies we cannot cal them-of wagner.
Amtody worth the name be utterly associated from
chords or instrumental accompaniment, and be sung
ard remembered; and we find nothing OF the kind IN
the rewly-imported pieces the Philharmonic Society
gives Hence such pieces vii not please fresh,
true ear for music, though they may ote which Is
jaded biased calculating In speaking thus we DO not
wish to be understood as wsrring against tue new
school, or considering tbs cid niInahIy hoe Bat 4
musical comrceiiicn take any direction in thu COMFY
should steer clear of fIatici-m h.r eher. A. prs