Litchfield enquirer., 1868-05-21

performance has created among all musi- clans who were so fortunate as to hear if and who really comprehended its impor- tance. great singer declared that when 1t was over she rushed to the artists room and could hardly help screaming with de light: .Zerrahn has been treated as a con quering hero; everybody in Boston wants to shake hands with him; and when the next evening he met his chorus in their re- hearsal hall, they rose at his entrance and cheered till they were Loarse.
 Miss ALIDE ToPP
 An excitement such as Zerrahn aroused in artistic circles yesterday has been kind led to-day among both the artists and the pnbllc ny tho second appearance of Miss Aide Topp. She played Liszt's piano. forte concerto in E flat major, and snrpass- l ed not only her previous performance in Boston, but if am not mistaken all her past performances in New York I have l never heard her tonch purer, more spark 1 ling, or moro spirited The fire of the composer seemed to have entered into her own soul and giving even unusual force to her arm. The aUegretto vivace was splendi- dly played, and the closing allegro aaimato l was still better. To say that she was vocl- ferously Eapplauded is ridiculous weak ness of language. Artists crowded around her as she left the stage, the orchestra dropped their instruments to join in the clapping, and the people at large, not con- 1 tent with vigorous use of hands and feet actually shouted with delight. Remember, this was in decorous Boston, and you may have some idea of the sensation which the young lady is creating. HAYDN's sCREAT1oN." cannot say whether the remarkable 1 Bethoven performance of the preceding day had left me with an unusually fastidi- ous ear, or whether the singers were suffer- ing natural reaction after their artistic excitement; but the execution of this work did not seem to me more than ordinarily good. The chorus in several numbers was as fine as any one could desire 1t to be. .'The Heavens are telling was superbly done, and had to be repeated; but, during most of the evening, there seemed to me a lack of the spirit noticeable on previous oc- casions. dare say some of this lassitude was caught from the gentleman (Mr. James Whitney, who assumed the long and im- portant tenor solo part, and who was en- tirely unworthy of the occasion. There is so much of this part that any failure in it mars the effect of the oratorio materially, and is apt to exert depressing influence upon the other performers. The bass in the first and second parts(Mr. J. F. Winch) was fair, but not good enough to overbal- ance the defects of the tenor Madame Rosa took the soprano solos, and of course was admirable thrOughout In the open- ing measures of ''With verdure clad" lit tie more feeling would have been an inn provement, but the rest of the air was ren- dered with incompatible brilliancy. Her best passage was that short recitatiye for Eve in the last part. % thou for whom I am which was not only grand and beau tiful achievement in vocalization, but was dalivarea rpitl. na exquisitely nice concep- tlOn of the spirit of the words - wonder ed if many of the audience knew what a fine piece of elocMiOn it was In the fa- nous dialogue with Adam she had the SUD port of MT. M. W. Whitney, an excellent bass singer, who sang in Samson, on Tuesday night. He has rich sonorous voice, an emphatic method, and fair amount of culture
 HANDEL's '' MESSIAH"
 "The Messiah" was fitly chosen to wind up the festival tonight, for in Hanel's mas terwork the sublimity of the oratorio style of music seems to have culminated. The exquisite solos were we'll given (some of them superbly) by Madame Rosa, Miss Phillips, MT. Simpson, and MT. M. w. Whitney. II know that my Redeemer hveth, and ''Come unto Him. by the first 1 named lady were especially good, though not better than her delicate phrasing of that little series of recitatives-perfect gems of musical thought-beginning ''There were Shepherds Miss Phillips sang He shall feed his Flock and ss He was despised," with great deal of feeling, but not with sufficient power-certainly not wlth the volume of voice she Is capable of displaying. MT. Simpsons .. Comfort ye my People" was very gracefully done, and MT. Whitney received at various times a great deal of applause, which he general ly deserved. The feature of the evening was the Hallelujah chorus, the effect of which was certainly grand, though there was equal grandeur and perhaps some what superior massiveness of tone ill those other noble chornses, sFor unto us Child is born,' "All we like Sheep, and "Iift mp your Heads." The performance was a splendid, one, but the truth Is, the climax of the Festival was reached when the Cho- ral Symphony was given on Friday, and
 
 pectation. Fortunately, however, the clo- sing chorus this evening, Worthy is the Lamb" was one of tle best of the week; and, so with the roar of voices and instru- ments i'll the last s'Amen," and the deep roll of the organ, the great festival came to a glorious and appropriate end.
 CONCLUSIONS.
 This feast has it's lesson for us, which we shall take to heart If we are wise; The reasons of the musical superiority of our sister city are many. In the first place, Boston has already educated two genera tions in this sort of work, while we are on- ly beginning. Then the taste for music is carefully trained here; it is a port of popu- lAr education as much as the alphabet or multiplication table. The drilling of the choruses may be said to begin in the pub lie schools. As soon as child is old enough to totter from the classroom it is taught to sing, and it is marvellous to hear how sweet ly the little mites perform their part-songs in infantile chorus, and how early they be- gin to learn something of the principles of musical science. They are made to sing by note, not by memory, and teacher Of