New-York tribune., 1876-02-29
MUSIC AND THE DRAMA.
TIE oRATORIO SOCIETY.

The New-Yor OratOrio Society gave their
.A,, cooeart OF the season night ut seinway Hail.
presenting programme remarkable both for its interest
and its cuty and executing 1t In the most credable
manner Isszt's Cnristus." o select from which
formed the first part Of the entertainment is excessively
irving 10 the singers all the because Its Difficult
.,es are not likely to be realized by the audience; aud
Mepdelssohn's "walpurgls Night" which brought the
soncert to q close, likewise demands much haru
work Tho chorus Csomewhat smaller than usuap
triumphed over bOrh and the Thomas orchestra gave
invaluable aid. In the "walpurgis Night" the solos
were effectively sung by Miss Mary Werneese WI
Rischof and Mr. stoddard, AMI the two most famous
numt,ers "Dlsperse dispeIse" and come WIN
torches" as well the Impressive nnaie "' -,
successful The curiosity OF the au'ehoo "'
dtracted however TO the Chrlstus "hic" IL H'' ''
nm ant,re novelty in America, but also one OF the
oost curious OF Iiszt's musical experiments IL ID an
o,, m throe distinct parts the first relating 10 the
nativity. the second certain prominent events /" our
,ord's life ON Garth. namely, the sermon on the o,
the teaching OF the Lords Prayer the establishment o
Tho Church the miracle OF Christ walking OH 'he "'
and the tr,unphil entrance into Jerusalem ana inc
,h,rd concerning itself with the Passion and Resur-
rectlon II is the first part, bearing eho sPeci''
title of q Christmas Oratorlo tHehn9c"'S O'""-
y1,un, which Dr. Damrosch chose i0r periorlhahoo
last night The whole work is set IN pecuiafI! uoN"
tiopai KEY and its most marked characteristic Is 'he en-
Of the old ecclesiastical modes he intervals
Of the scale differing considerably fiom those OF moder
nusc, not in their native simplicity which would hardly
lie tolerated by our generation but with many ingenious
variations and he addition OF modern harnohes. Inc
occasional use OF these old scales Is familiar d'Vee OF
COMPOSERS; Handel has rsorted to IL IN his isr"oi III
Egypt" Bach in OF his fUgues, and Beethoven nus
an Interesting specirnen Of the Lydian Mode in one
NJ bis ouartets; but We not acquainted with any
modern work In which the revival OF these forgotten
scales has been extensive. solemn anu ysterous
effect Is produced by the of one of the old church
modes i'm the instrumental Introduction which has ioi It's
motto the verse from Isaiah XIV, s: Drop down. ye
heavens, from above, and let the skies pour uo"h
rghteousness" The principal subject Of this striking
movement is q severe ecclesiastical melody IN canon
FORM played for the most part legato ana piano. the
string band predOminang largely In the scoring Ia
serves to a,tune the mind for the remarkable variety o
devotional music which to follow. Thenext number is
the Pastoral aud Message Of the Angels ana CONSISTS
Of two parts. instrumental the other vocal The
frat (AIegretto moderate pasorale follows the intro
dueon without pause 1t is OF more modern character
than what precedes 1t, hut 1t nevertheless retains
strong flavor Of the antique. Here naturally the fuSc
reed instruments of the orchestra become prominent
There are two clearly marked subjects both simple ana
short and treats both at considerable length by re-
peating them over and over again with accomr-
pying variations, sometimes employing oOth suuec's
simultaneously, and making q number OF abrupt Dol
agreeable moduatons The second part OF THIS secohd
number depicts the appearance Of the heavenly NEE
The narrative sentence, And the Angel said unto them
Fear nor for behold bring you good tidnss tthe
text ia In Iatln Is chauted by soprano voice SOLO
without accompaniment and after an antlphonM
response by the clarinet, two sopranos III unison
answer "AIleluia." This word is thrice repeated
ca IA time with augmentation OF female voices
In harmony, and corresponding Increase III
the responses by the wooden wind instruments; ana
the 10 voice then goes on with the story Thns iar
IAszt las kept strictly the old Dorian Mode whose
scale IL formed D. without either sharps or hats Du
with the Gloria in excelsis" lu female chorus loFus
smo, nc passes into the modern fiat, and then m0du
iates as his custom Is into other keys at WILL changing
the saature at least five six times IN the cOurse O
the rather short number. The effort OF the whoie
Is magnificent The chorus ends with an " Alie-
iuia" diminucndO, and there is then mite
orchestral symphony fun OF "reminiscences OF
what has gone before. The tbHd number
is Latin bymn "stabat Mater speciosa," describing the
Yirnn aching joyful the infant Christ an adapta
tion of the better known "Stabat Mater dolorosa,'
which is introduced with fine effect Of contrast III the
third part OF the Oratoro II seYenpart eh"fs "o
sopranos one alto two tenors, two basses without or
chestra but with intermittent accompaniment Tor the
organ The melody s very simple the rhythm Is clear
and though the HYMN is long, ch9rming variety Is
given il by frequent changes Of expression and
notifications OF tempo, diminishing or increasing
the Voices and very curious and agreeable ateFhaon
Of triple aud common tune. The diihcut haIhohie7'
which
the highest degree imposing and no one with spark OF
poeticai feeling can listen 10 the Hymn without emotion
The two remaining numbers both for the orchestra
alone No is the Song OF the shepherds at the Man
GER" q beautiful pastoral Of much ncher "hu more
modern tone than the first, in the course OF which Tie
harm tics introduces passage with very remarkable
rhytam consisting Of alternaons Of "a and 2-i time III
terpoated In a 6-8 movement. NO. Is "A
highy-colored March, nlustr tive OF the journey
of the Wise Men from the East in which occurs strik
ing violin passage on word, And To- the star which
they saw In tue east went before hcm aud charming
Ada do eosienuto illustrative Of the text, "And when
tbev had opcned their treasures they presented unto
him gifts gold and frankincense, and myrrh The Ora
toio Society deserve the highest praise for interpreting
even tins small part Of work iu of rare beauties, Of
devotion and of romance. We trust they may be en-
oouraged give before Ions other prs 80 that
we may understand and appreciate 1t better when we
study ifs full proportions.
ENGLISH OPERA.