New-York tribune., 1881-12-26
ISRAEL IN EGYPT.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE MAY FESTIVAL: H.,

All ,".N a., ,,r.oorqtions for the Music
1,os.;,,l or next NAY are being pushed 'S
-, -, he Mr. Theodore Thomas ana me 'I'Gc-
,o-s of iho Festival Association reaP'c"nb "
80, - t,,c rnsical works TO be used III 'be 'oH-
.rts stTiking 90 se in po.at rs the c'oice ~ '
odi,ion of Handel's oratOrO. "Isra'l III hR>p'
The vocal gco~o in common use III ''l7 ''l"'' "
4I.at edited bv Vincent NOvcio; IT ih"Ii'' '.'
- 1,+err,i,cl TO use tho score cdit"d by
Mendcl,sohn in 8 Il for the Handel o'cl,.F o,
don Thcr, beinqno American reprint Of Tins edition.
Al T1,o,,.,. oction mt the association 20 very
1.r,c ev,auee which might have been saved u
,I,. co,,,non Noycllo edition been used Acar'hh
examination Of the two scores, and comparison %
4bar, with each other and the publication oi 'ne
German Handel Society show the wisdom o' 'Nn
co,lrse taken At the fc tiya the Israel III LgNP
90 far nj least ag the vocal parts arc c'ncer'u VIZ
lac redeemed from al the alterations made by et"'
end given in lis purity precisely 1t came H""'
Hap5eI's hands What viii he done with tAc III
strnnental parts We do not yet %now.
The tcynntofion is strong to say that this sublime
or,-orio has Of al classical pieces suffered the most
nj the ruthless hai.ds of aIrnGers, directors ana
editors. Through a strange fatality that seems IN
cownrcbensibe in the light of the modern appre-
elation of HandelS works. his " Israel was dooine"
IN djsfguraaon from its birth. The composer nm
n,
duc.d organ concertos, and even Italian opeT" aiS'
hetyyce its NUN hers rs sops to hold the attention
of his audience Yet even with these adventurous
belDs il could not maintain q position III the
estimation of the degenerate aoc III which
Handel worked and it was torn to pieces
and used IL several Of the mnsic'
1,aSticcics which pleased London society century
and a half ago. The growth of appreciation ior
nusic of its exalted style brought with it the need
OF wider publication, and here 1t suffered the ia'e
which bafs many of the masterpieces OF IT'S period
both in England and in Germany. Musicians OF
a,nateursh tastes without the ability to pene'ra'"
to its spiritual essence, who thought thai everything
in tbe score which conld not be squeezed into the
Sponish boots of their comprehension OF the technics
Of compostion mus; be wrong, went over It's colossal
,agcs and "regised" the text 10 suit their
t,sto The authority Of the original manuscript
IN Handles handwriting piously preserved IN the
Oueeu,s library was nothing to them as against
their iudrm.nt A license to meldle with the vocal
rarts was wrenched from the liberty, which modern
taste had given of filing ont the INSTRUMENTATION OF
1be accomparimenis so rs to fl the work for ler
fors,apces Of larger dimension than Handel had ever
thought of controlling.
II was probably a recognition Of the necessity OF
prcserving the great work from coupung influences
Of this kind that ed the Council Of the Handel
So
oftbc "Jsraol in Ervpt" This may have been one rec
son. though we know that they were also extremely
a,xjous 10 have the music provided with expression
,ooyks having the high sanction of Nendelssohns
opprovaL Mendelssohn undertook the work, but,
unlike his Or sdeccssor3 among the musical eltOTs
lac entered Il on It in q spirit OF the most lowell
reverence for the sanctity of Handeps intentions.
In the short address with winch he rTcflced The
edition issued by the society he laid down is prin-
ciples concerning his duty rs an editor First it
Vas 10 iav before the society The score as
Handel wrota it; aiterward to offer suggestions
on the changes which English conductors. consult
inr their own taste and the traditions, plentiful
in LONDON, of the manner of performance in Han
CePs tilne were in the habit of making. On these
premises Mendelssohn reproduced the score. The
autograph rs. had long been familiar to him. FOR in
1873 ne had secured il to lip him in the produC-
ton Of the work at the Musical Festival in Dus5el
dorf. In nine instances where Handel evidently
omitted an accidental, or through an inadver.euc
wrote different note in one part from that which
he gave TO the others, Mendelssohn in conformity
with the decision Of the Council altered such notes
INT with these exceptions he gave the without
deviation from the original Ms, (which" he says
in his preface 81 found to be more correct than the
printed editions in spite Of the great haste with
winch Handel used to wIlte down his works"
These facts in themselves ought to suffice 10
recommend the Mcndclssohn edition of the Oratoro.
but we have that, for some reason which 1t Is
hard to explain, there is no American reprint. and
the Novello edition, reprinted by Ditson, has been
oGoptcd wherever the work has been studied. The
defects of the latter, which a comparison with the
Mendelssohn edition reveals, many
and some are vital Counting ont all
merely Typographical errors, such a'
uisspellings and omissions OF accidcntals, there
are more than forty differences. all of them the re
suit of Novelties tampering with HandePs music. II
would be tedious to enumcrate them all, but then
character can be described. The time Of notes has
been changed in many instances; words have beer
differently distributed; the character of musca
phrases altered so as as to meet what the editor con
eidercd requirement made by the context; an(
lastly, the harmony has frequently beer
changed. Some of these supposed amend
Inents of HandcIs score affect the music
20 slightly that they might be SCI
down as vcnial faults If they did not sprins
from principle that is as literally pcrncious il
the musical as in the other arts. Whatever can b'
sad in support of additional accompaniment to thu
works of Bach and Handel does not justify Io
drawing of their outlines and in instances The
changes made by editors are equivalent to this
An examination Of tn" changes in harmony referred
10 reveals the reason which guided the editor ant
also bis shallowness IL the manner of writing EN-
ployed by those old masters very often smOotlnos
and grace were sacrificed To the logic whcl
directed the leading Of the voices. In this however
lies one Of the characteristics Of the style
and all the resultant effects unqucsionabll
fully recognized in the composers plan. Chang
the mclodic figure. NovclO has sometimes done
or interpoate an accidental in roulade, because
musicians eye perceives what is "a brief dissOnance
and invariably the passa &c is weakened. There ar
many instances in the revised Israel" where tn,
drastic original harmonies aided the dramatic sentI
1ent Of the text. which has been woefully ener
vaed by this shOrtsiehtcd and essentially unartist
rrnnoc, w therafnra commend the EestiYal Asan