New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-05-19

crave and decorous. Neither in briliancy oi
the tone nor in the character of the phrases does
it ever assume an undue prominence OF nll mgr.
modern effects with Bachs antique melOuieo'
Franz is possibly over-cautous in the use Vi "uui'
tlonal instruments. Thomas think. has shown
concIusvely that the supple and expressive OicneS-
ira of our time is perfectly we'll adapted to the
ideas of the old masters when it is handled by
MASTER of instrumental cooring few lllustra-
tions of his manner of working will perhaps DO
of interest To begin with. Bachs newly
discovered trumpet parts cannot be played upon ING
instruments now in use. Bach frequently ei'0'
them the highest notes OF the scOre-ao IeaS' "
fourth above the limit considered pIactlcaole ~
modern orchestras and striking instance OF thiS
occurs in the opening chorus, where the melody aC
its first entrance is assigned to the trumpets when
begin on D in alt, doubled by the hautboys IN the
lower octave In such passages Thomas ai!o's tno
predominating phrase to the reeds, Strengthening
the hautboys with clarinets, and using the trum-
pets to color the tone. In the unison chorus bacn
employs three obsolete reed instruments, namely
two oboi P anore and one oboe ia caccia Tor tde be-
sides trunpcts and strings Thomas takes three haut
bows three clarinets, and three bassoOns Inc OOoe
da cacca occurs again in the duo for alto ana TENOR
this time as solo instrument. ana mere IL 10 10
placed by the English horn. Wherever IL Is leceS-
sary to reinforce part, instruments analogous Ill
character to those of the original score arc &c
lected and so where Bach ndcatesa crescehdo oy
the successive entrance of voices and INSTRUMENTS
and the obvious movement of the melody 'expres-
sion marks are almost altogether wantlngl inc
gradual augmentation of the orchestral forces IS
moraood with great delicacy q part doubling Bachs
skeleton band, and part running with the Volcest
Thus even such aggressive instruments rs the from
homes and the bass tuba are not allowed to asser-
themselves
When Mozart made additional accompaniment
for " The Messiah" he introduced great deal OF
new matter for which Handel had given no war
rant Thomas scrupulOusly avoids such license.
He has not interpolated q single figure ana one Oh
the most remarkable merits of his work is the skill
with which he has enriched the tone. filled up the
harmony and even made intricate polyphonlc &C.
COMMITMENTS upon bare " continue" Wl'houV
the use Of phrase which is not Bach's own. There
is one place in the first chorus where Thomas mas
supplied harmony by the bassoons and bass clari-
net another where he has written an initiative ac-
compartment for hautboys, flute two clarinets and
| two bassoons in the second number he has MADE
florid accompaniment for reeds and horns In mar
| mony, in the soprano solo. where Bach
gives nothing but figured bass he has constructed
| a most ingenious and intricate accompaniment IN
| the contrapuntal style, for one hautDOy' TWO
clarincts two bassoons. two horns, and the strings
but in all cases he has taken the figure wholly from
the ancient score In every respect it is most adj
mrabe and thorough piece of work, showing hlgh
technical accomplishment pure taste great practl-
| cal knowledge of instrumental effects, and close
| sympathy with the spirit of the original
Mr. Writings prelude is of course based upon the
theme of the cantata, which it treats very clev-
erlv in the contrapuntal style. Mr.. Whiting
PLAYED it himself aud he will manage
| tho organ in all the Festival performances.
hardly know how to describe the effect OF the ma
| iestic and difficult opening chorus. am sure 1t
must have been q surprise to most OF the listeners
and those who have been accustomed to dread the
dryness of Bach must have wondered ut the
hold this formal aud highly artificial, but pure and
elevated music began to assert over their I'M
aCinations The spell derived no small part OF Its
potency from the beautiful singing OF the chorus
the solemn movement Of the accompaniment, ana the
| exouisitely sympathetic reading; and all through
the work the charm lasted and the fascination grew
stronger The solos were in some respects admlra-
blv sung and in no particular they unsaiisfac-
tory. SgnOr Campanini, whose experience
lies far outside the domain Of Bach, sur
| nrised me by his success in mastering
this excessively difficult music, and was particularly
| good in the recitatve. Miss Cary and Miss Norton
| were likewise good; and Mr.. Whitney left nothing
| TO lie desired But it was the chorus that carried
off the honors. lis firm attack its clear full, ncf
tone, and its absolute stcadiness can hardly bC
praised too highly.
In the Handel Jubilate-the same anthem which
was given at the recent festival of the Handel anC
| Haydn Society of Boston-tho merits OF thu
| noble band of singers were still moro con
spicuous. We did not need this expert
ence to prove Thomass signal ability
| as chorus leader. That was established ten years
ago in New-York and four great Cincinnati Fest
walls have now reinforced the testimony.
Between the cantata and the anthem
came remarkable performance OF TIT
Jupiter ymphony-remarkable not only
for dignity and force such as we might have ex
pected from such grand orchestra, but for ex
treme delicacy and poetry of expression. am mucl
mistaken if the orchestral performances do no
proye to be among the most memorable incidents o
the week. j. r. L. H.