New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-05-08
MUSIC AND DRAMA.
THE MUSIC FESTIVAL.
ooYN,c CONCERT.

= hnnn laboring 30 industriously fOr the pasV
pa,o tan Ypontbs to bring their undertaking 70
nlo conclusion. Few people have any idea
- .ha enormous amount Of work that such al eH'oi
- entails upon those who have TO carry II Out
Ill, "a there the training Of the chorus ana
Nrohsstra. which falls upon the conductor ana MS
...arts hut there are q Thousand details OF lnan-
'-'n, email and large which need the most care
"e,14.o,on md an infinite number OF small ques-
-. rb;ch require promptness and ready VIII ioI
uOs9 so.is;on Tint the Festival has passed on
o,bIv and with so few mishaps gives abundant
80 81 the caro- and energy OF those VINO h"'o
ts :. in charge. In looking back over INC p'S'
-, ,,eir feeling is probably one OF entre sa'ia'o
49, THE public has shown an interest III inc au"H
s.,E;ob was abundant at the outset, ana "hcn ''''
80 nm increasing to the very end huiho'i "a
sronortant works have been PRODUCED anu iu nus
~ase. the performances have been SATISFACTORY -
che general public, Though they nave poon
Gar from perfect Finally the fesuNai "'9
snccessfu financially far beyond the eAle'."''O1'
se.o,,o and in an undertaking where the eA-
OF 60 enormous as they must necessarily De
g. sncb case as this, this considera'io" - '
A. utmost importance 10 the managers
viewed from an artistic standpoint the sncc.SS y,
Al, rost;vol does moi appear so complete ~ si0''"
t.o..,uherod that great festival like tluS u ho'
=. IA i,d,ed nv the usual standards. As us nlas''
tudo its protensions and its influence ,Io ~,
than those of an ordinary concerts 80 In' P'"--'
nf che performances ought 20 be liner Inc cn's'0
of the audiences at large musical ieS''"'s ''A'I'
sntirelv from that Of common concert auAc'''',
1base latter are made up for the most P"i' VI
,ba babitual attendants at concerts VINO nav
hoard a comparatively large amount Va
music. and who have chance to ioIh S'''I-
- af co-rDarison. and single bad performance j.
lotro
,,non their taste for they able TO detect
pt with festival audiences the case Is altoe''u''
d;F.r,pt They are composed chiefly Of people VINO
ore attracted by the size ard noorety OF the ahal
o,d who. not being in the habit Of hearing much
,nnsic come with no fixed notions OF what Is e'cuoi
had. They have few prejud'ces or prechec'lo"S'
thew have no power of critical Judgment ana 'HeS
ccn+ what is offered them for what II processes To
he II is one of The chief uses OF large
festivals that they attract so many people %
this class and that through them 80 hiucn
b ran be done for the extension oil mu'lCaI
t,ovq,odpe and the Improvement Of the pubic
taste. A great festival whose prestige is immense
and whose size is imposing. exerts an influence over
them which is absolute, and leaves impressions
which are very lasting If the standard of its work
IL high its influence for good viii be immense
uitis low the harm that il may do is ncalcuiabie
Or Damrosch's aims in the Festival were no doubt
exalted enough out it cannot be said that the aver
age Of achievement was a high one. In the case Of
at least two of the works the Dettingen Tie Deum
and the Berlioz Requiem, the performances were
Eucb a. Dr. DamrOsch would neverhave permitted
the Orator0 Society to give IN Steinway Hail. ana
he should have been far less willing to permit
themt0 be given at the where the audiences
were five times as large, and their power for harm
was hundred times as great. In the Requiem.
To. ofa II IN
the chapter of accidents, but in tho Tie Deum
fhe shortcomings arose from the lack OF thorough
drill.
In the accompaninents to the solos in the after
noon concerts disagreeable effect was produced by
Dr. Damrosch's neglect to concentrate his band. He
would employ only small body Of strings, which
was placed near his desk, while the wood wind ana
the brass were situated at the extreme ends of the
orchestra. The result was always unsatisfactory,
and many of the Accomplishments were spoiled by
the arrangement.
tions from Wagner's Die Meistersingcr - the
Sorspiel Pogners address to the Meistersngers'
WafheTs Trial Song, the quintet between hrG
Ma0daleRa Halthcr, D0rM and Hans Sdch'
on the eve. of the tournament. and the
s sSS Beciboy snF choral symphony. Excep
FOR the Vorspel and the ChoIale, the seectiAn'
from Die Meistersincer were not harry. The
Work is especially interesting. because II Is W az
ner's only comic opera and though II would not be
possible to reproduce in the concert-room tht
aeghtiq spirit Of fun WHICH d PeIade sod it.
lions which would show Wagners method
Of treating humorous subjects, such, for
instance as Hans Sachs'S delightful cobber's song
and Becmesse1's serenade. But not only was nothing
OF the kind done, but the numbers themselves were
BY no, means the pest which could have
beautiful than his Prize Song, - and the
quintete, though il is an excellent spec-
ing Last night it failed 70 make any impression at
oil. MIR Stoddard did unusually well IN IOgacrS
address and All Of the other selections were excel
lently done except the NOrspiel which was for the
most part very confused.
The Choral symphony was better gwen than
almost anything during tie whole Festival. The
lack of finish and refinement which Ia,
marked all is work, i is true, and
Or. DamrOsohs reading of It always does
but the band played with much more
smoothness and precision than 1t has shown
Of any other time and in the last movement the
work OF the chorus was really admirable. II was
firm. proiGpt ard fun Of spirit, and was much the
best thing that it has done at any time.
The quartets not well given. Both Cam
panin and Mime. Gerster sang the music as If they
had never seen it before. But the good singing IF
The chorus redeemed the movement. and served to
bring the Festival TO q crcditable close
THIRD AFTERNOON CONCERT.
At Yesterday afternoons concert the management
was great deal better than it had beeIfat the con-
cert Of the night before, when the Messiah" was
sung. Far fewer admission tickets were sold. and
though the crowd about the doors was very large,
and numbers of people were unable to gain aduls-
sion. the entrances were kept comparatively free,
and there much less of a crush than on the pre-
oeding evening Inside the Armory nearly every
seat was filed and all the available stsndipg-room
was occupied, but the aisles were clear Of people.
and there was no trouble in moving about. The
Programme was as follows:
TOccata F, (arr by H. Esser ............... Bach
Ky. Ceatrry Hymr ALA Trinta. .. Author unknown
Chorus " uoGrts Paradise and the Pen"
Schumann
Air, " Ober0n "a her
BshroOn Scene. from icnco and Jalict"