New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-11-10
MUSIC.
THE ORAT0RI0 sOCIETY-"ST. PAUL.
Mendclssohn's "St. Paul. has been so little

THE ORAT0RI0 SOCIETY-"ST. PAUL.
Mendclssohn's "St. Paul. has been so litto
sung in NewYork that to nearly ali the younger
ton OF muscloyers the performance last night must
have been delightful novelty. 1t Il not easy to under
stand why this should be neglected willie
Elijah" holds foremost place in the public favor The
su eIiory Of the latter work Is not very strongly
marked, and good judges INDEED have always
given the preference est Paul" Certainly this carly
composition. finished when Menies-obn was only twenty.
seven years old. POSSESSES all the great meriisbeauy
of forI delcacy OF texture. elevation OF tone religious
feryor, and dramatic truihfuness.-whch he layshed
upon Elijah" ten years later. II it contains single
numbers quite good ~ the best parts OF Elijah"
and IL open moreover TO the objection that
TIE climax Of interest il reached long before
the end Is the other hand superior to Elijah" in
variety AMI nearly equal 10 il IN freshness Of thought AMI
Richness OF melody. Tue frequent recurrence Of solemn
chorals which emphasize the successive scoues OF tho
sacred story very much the ancient Greek chorus
commented upon the drama, has peculiarly happy
effect aud does much 10 relieve that cloyng sweetness
which modern taste is somewhat ipcllnod to object In
Mendclssohns music. Many OF lis prominent numbers,
such as tho beautiful AMI striking passage IN which
the voice OF the Lord. represented by womens
voices and windinstrurnents. speaks 10 Saul
on the way TO Damascus the flno choral, "eleepes.
wake" whole of the stoning Of stephen aud
the exquisite chorus at the doath Of the pOto-martyr
'TIappy and bieSt they" the strongly conraaod
differences Of the pagan. Hobrew and Christian multi
tudes the touching bass solo, o sod. have mercy"
the ,enor air. BE thou faithful unto Deah" the air for
soprano, "Jerusalem, thou that ki,es the Prophets,
aud the aroso for alto, Yet the Lord is mindful these.
ana some few Others b. oassed with Meudessons
happest inspirations. e. Paul." &C any rate Will live
as long rs oratcrio music il cultivated nj all.
The Oratorio Society Is not only 10 be warmly com
menGed for rcseuing this admirable masterpiece from
fe neglect in which NewYork has 20 loag suffered il 10
lie hat To bo graduated hpOn highly successful ani
even brilliant performance. Better chorus singing our
city has rarely heard from any oratnrio society The
quality Of the voices Is superb, sopranos and BASES,
as usually happens, surprising the Others;
and as the ladies and gentlemen know how
to open their mouths and give their lungs
fair play ana are moreover Of their parts that
they not afraid to let themselves DO heard get
fine robust volume OF sound In which there is something
fresh and nspiring As yet they seem 10 havo given
special study 10 panisSimo efirctsfcr which indeed
"st. Paul" offers Oppornnitiesbut they sing with
breadth OF expression, and always with
essential refinement; they give magnificent
emphasis 10 all the moro vigorous passages and under
the direction Of their accomplished conductor they
exhibit the Characteristic spirit OF every chorus with
great dstlnctness Their work particularly good ia
tie "Rsc! upi arisei" in tho "Lappy aud blest," in
the omtOrO, 90 great is tho Depth" In
the difficult "The nations are tho
Lords" which opens the second and In that armng,
gently Gowing melody, How Lovely the Messcn-
GERS" which Mndsissohn alone 81 Ill the composers
who ever lived could have twas the choras
that they least satisfactory. and IN fact they sing
quick music generally better than they do slow. Th,y
are lot yet sufficiently precise IN giving each
its exact yanei they do not attack well and they
do not leave on all together. Uouoe all the clofss
les, blurred. aud by the fault the peculiar
fleet vhclf belongs 10 the opennC ~ the chorus Is
mfsf.. A. U.fa
feet, the Society shows remarkable Improvement since
last season. and bids come credit and benc.
III to the city.
The solo parts were all wen filed. Mrs. Tnogeno
Brown delivered the beautiful soprano recitatyes wlch
form SO Important part of The work with taste and
feeling, and succo >sul also ia her colo Her
most conspicuous ant was tendency TO cxaggeratc in
holding soft AZ the Gloss oi phrae., but tie uato
wac always good one and that palliao. the ofense
TIE alto solo, But the Lord Is MINDFUL" With its miro
ductorv fectatiye, beautifully by Miss DrlJ-
dill and ir George smnsbn. called upon az the hast
ment in consequence ct the Illness Of MI BschoG. inter
preted part with the uniang aud neili
gcnce which nave helped 10 give him hiyh place
among Oratono singers. DIR. A. L. stoddlrd has de-
shfu baritone voice. resonant, sweet and sympathetic
AMI he is making very great progress In several pas
So sea last night he produced marked effect. and 10
nearly all he good. He now needs 10 overcome a
d fectye unncation, which seems to be the principle
bar 10 lis complete sucscss.
We have left mention Of the orchestra til the last but
it was by no means the least important feature Of tho
evenings 1ue performance II is rare piece oi good
fortune to hear any accompanied by such band
Theodore rhomass. aud Ina "st Paul. where the
Instrumentation Is go beautiful, and the work Of the
orchestra prominent, the value such aid can hardly
bo oycutated. There occss on indeed, ~hsro
OF the players seemed 10 be little confused. prob
ably because obey not used to Dr. Dalnrosch asa
conductors; but there are spots even on the sun Ihs
brass all through tbs evening su erb and such glory
the tumpets cnl troul ones gave TO the "seoles.
waAe," Is something 70 remember.