The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-06-20
TAe Peaee ydbilee i. Bosto.,.

~s, Tne Rence Jupftee IN Bottom. - {
This great musical event, which Opened
to all the world in Boston on Tuesday,
has received the critical consideration of
many Of the newspaper correspondents,
and among the rest that of the New York
Tribune, whose account seems to be
calm and iudicious, notwithstanding the
hubbub and universal din Of the occa-
sion and its surroundings. The writer
says:r gyay5 s!us. .....v
The view,of the stage rs you entered
was highly imposing. There was
grandeur in that compact mass. Of more
than 10000 human beings rising rank
above rank, in solid order, with the great
organ pipes towering above them in the
background, and the monster, drum,
eight feet in diameter, and colored, a
brilliant scarlet, rising out of the middle.
The view from the opposite direction
was not SO pleasant, for the seats filled
very slowly, and at no time was the
building more than three-fourths full.
The Hon. a. H, tBiee had prepared q
very long speech, and, sent it to the
newspapers, in advance, but he delivered
only little bit of it, for it came to his
ears that he-wonld be conghed and clap
ped down If lie spoke longer than ten
minutes. At the first symptoms of i'm
patience, which took the form Of loud
and long applause in the middle of
sentence, he wound up, and the business
of the afternoon began. Mr.. Gilmore,
the originator and principal organizer
of the jubilee, took the stand amid ap-
planse which. bordered upon frenzy.
People shouted, and waved their hand
kerchiefs, in q way which would hnve
astonished New York, and in caln1, phi
losophical Boston, seemed little short of
insanity; but during this week, MS has.
been said before, Boston means to be in
sane Many other favorites had SINH
lar reception, There was a. grand up
roar, for instance, when Ole Bull took
his seat with the. orchestra, to play the
first violin, Carl Rosa playing beside him;
there was wild enthusiasm for Madame
Parepa- Rosa. a'-''t
Luther's, famous choral, the opening
piece. sung by nearly 10000 voices, with
the string orchestra and organ, was done
with great precision, and seemed to set
tie the doubtful question whether SO large
q company could be brought to sing to-
gether without producing q mere babel
of noise. The hymn Of peace and "Nfy.
Country, It's of Thee, also went smooth
", and in general, may say, that hll the
slow music was successful. But cannot
pronounce the experiment of this jubilee
as altogether satisfactory. Near the stage
the noise was certainly loud enough, but
people at the further end Of the building
did not find the din quite as awful as
they expected it. To person sitting in
the front row OF. the, balcony, opposite
the stage, the music was unexpectedly
weak in its effect. 10000 voices in the
Coliseum sound no more powerful than
500 would sound in Steinway Hall. 1t is
a mistake that the number of singers,
beyondre certain limit, adds anything to
the impression, on, the audience, if the
space over which their voices have to
spread is too much enlarged Last wear.
LOCO people sang at the Handel and
Haydn. festival in the Boston Music Hall,
and produced q much greater effect than
the 10000 who sang here to-day. Be-
sides, when you have many thousands
together, especially if they have re.
hearsed in squads instead of all at once,
it is impossible to make them sing deli.
cately so long as they scream their loud
est 1t is all right, provided they also
scream their slowest; but the soft pass
ages are apt to be too soft, and the
QUICK ones are confused. It was pre-.
dicted that even if all sung exactly in
time it would be failure, because sound
does not travel with sufficient velocity for
all the voices to reach the ear at the same
instant. This has proved to be true,
though not to such q troublesome extent
as was feared. The chorus is packed
closely, yet it covers an area oftabout
300 feet sql,are-that is to say the voices
OF the rear ranks have 800 feet further
to travel than the voices in the front rank,
and if both start precisely at the same
moment, one will come in a fifth of o
second after the other This interval of
time, fshort as it is, can be appreciated
by the ear. and the least tagging on the
part OF those distant singers aggravates
the difficulty to distressing degree.
In the, quicker movements of the chorus,
from Mozart's Mass, everything seemed
agpg., In the "Star-Spangled Banner"
too, there was FREQUENT confusion.
;The.. features of the day, however.
were the "Anvil Chorus, ''The Star,
Spangled Banner" and "My Country.
It's OF Thee, accompanied by every con.
ceivabie device for making noise. For.